Karaoke Forums

a lot of these great deals for legit karaoke discs on ebay and craig's list are from KJ's who have converted their discs to digital and are now selling their discs to get some of their investments back. I knew a guy who bought a boatload of discs from E-bay and once he ripped them to his PC, he put those discs right back on e-bay to get his money back.

Babs you did well. The only thing I would have done in addition was not to let them sing. I haven't been to another show in ages (we work 6 nights a week). I always wonder if a bunch of hosts are at your show all the time, exactly when do they work. . Afterall if they have 50,000+ songs ad especially just starting out, you'd think they'd have to pay for ALL that music they obtained.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

At one of the bars I work at, there's this guy that sells illegal karaoke discs for $10 a pop. Talk about a slime ball... he even looks slimey.

I know for a fact that almost all the discs the other KJs have there are from him... they are some old hold outs that still use discs only.

He's a real character. Comes in, has his own wired mic he wants to plug into the system... and the bad part is he's a horrid singer!! Anyway, he's a little torqued because I'm really not interested in buying anything from him. Its completely amusing.

I was talking to him, and he's trying to dis the computer, and its clear he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about or he's a BSer. He's so use to talking to the idiot KJs at the bars (who have been in the area for over a decade BTW) that he thinks I'm buying his line. "Oh yeah, my discs are the best. It takes me an hour to rip 1 disc."

And I'm like, "What are you using, a Gerbil drive?" Even at the slowest rate, It takes me maybe 5 minutes to dup one of mine... an hour? Oh, please.

Now he's been selling these $10 discs in the area for YEARS, so I decided to have a little fun with him. I said, "Alright, I'll buy some original DKs from ya... I need 50, but I'm only gonna pay $5 for your duplicated discs...."

O-M-G.... Talk about a caniption... I thought he was gonna hurl! "That's not worth my time! I mean, I really have quality stuff, Uh, Uh...."

"Ok, that's cool. Just thought I'd ask...."

Later on he came over and started talking like he was actually gonna sell them to me, and that's when I said, "Dude, I really don't want you discs, I just wanted to have fun gouging you on the price... Thank you for the amuzement."

This was his face

Man does this guy hate me.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

I got my steady gig with less than 3000 songs. Another host sent them a letter advertising 5000 songs and a laser light and fog. They gave me a tryout and after hearing my system and show hired me full time. This was before I had my laser light. I think their laser is a spider which is like comparing a p3ss ant to a whale. (Mine is a chauvet scorpion storm)

While I have had mucho comments about my unbelievable sound and light show, no one is complimenting me on my song chocies. People constanting asking for this song and that song. I tell them I will do my best to get that song next time. Now all my money is spent on the music. Using ebay and other online sites, I've done very well to keep my price per song around 30 cents or so. I do now have over 5000. People appreciate that. I've only had one person ask me why I can't have a selection like "those other guys". I just smile and say that for me to get that many songs, I would be illegal. Then I add, not that I think THEY are illegal, but I would be.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

P.S. Have yet to have a request from someone to play their cdg. Player won't fit in my custome built rack, nothing tilting my decision not to carry one to providing one yet.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

I had 2 new songs that I wanted to sing the other night and the KJ couldn't play them. She lost a potential regular customer.

That's weird, maybe it's a locale thing or the crowd isn't experienced enough that they get their own discs. I don't go through a night without at least one customer disc.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I've yet to see a customer disc and like ripman I can't play outside discs. I have a I'll get the song for next time just tell me the version and I will see what I can do.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

We got a few last night also--funny how perceptions change according to what area you are in. In Ripman's area disc people are "old holdouts" and in our area computer is suspicious of "pirate." Not saying that computer people are pirates but just in our tiny spot the only 3 computer shows involve copied hard drives and illegal downloads. So when people bring us their discs to play and see my boyfriend has a laptop set up which is for bumper music and song lists and doesn't even have a karaoke program on it they stand there with their hand out after their song wanting their disc back immediately. I guess they fear we will try to copy it.

This got me thinking that out of 5 nights of karaoke among 3 bars in our immediate area, 3 of those 5 shows involve pirated music. I'd call that a bit of an impact.

I simply don't have these issues. I can play people's personal disks as well as the computer. Its a simple enought rig with a 1 space karaoke player and an A/B switch. No big deal, but when people see I'm on the computer the come up to me and say, "Well since you're on the computer I guess you can't play my disc."

I just smile and say, "Of course I can!" The person's face lights up immediately. I make friends just by doing this simple thing... and gain regulars. I got one singer who probable has the most obscure karaoke disc collection I've ever seen, and he's a great singer too. I'm happy to play his discs, and anyone elses that come to my show.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

That was our fun we we were customers--we got our own discs to have exclusives or find obscure songs to make people amused or amazed. One guy used to wheel in his collection in a suitcase and then set up a laptop to find his songs. We thought that was a bit over the top but people who bring their own discs are usually addicted to karaoke which is good for business.

But I could see how in different areas where computer karaoke was the norm and a KJ had internet access and could buy an immediate download of any request where people would go "huh? Why would we need to buy our own discs?" Guess it all just depends.

Like BFFL, the "I'll try to have the song for the next time" line doesn't cut it with me... especially when I like to travel a good distance to go to your show. It's one thing when I am going to a show that's local to me, but when I'm traveling to other cities or states, it's a waste of my time and pleasure for the night if you don't have what I like to sing, and can't play my discs. And, it's ridiculous for me to contact you in advance and expect you to get the songs that I MIGHT sing if I decide to come out to your show... especially if it's probably going to be a 1 time visit.

ripman has already admitted to having a library that's at about 5,000 songs. My library consist of about 8,000 songs (maybe 6,500 if you take out the repeats). How many songs in your library Danny?

And to those of you who say that nobody has ever come to your show/s with their own discs, like Lonnie said, I find that hard to believe. Maybe your show is the only show they've been to, and they know anything about other selections out there (thus they don't feel the need to obtain their own discs).

To me the quality of your show will keep you gigging. I hate to sound like a dick but, The talking about busting people like you are some kind of a cop just unhinges me. Its like my neighbor who watches the neighborhood and snitches to the manager about eveything and anything she can.
I dont believe in piracy either but a snitch i am not!
So many people out of work these days be glad that they are trying to hustle karaoke instead of robbing you in the parking lot or breaking into your house. Or shooting you dead for no reason other than they are unemployed and desperate.
People who do shady things get what they deserve in the long run. Bar owners wittling down pay is no different than other types of business strong arming their employees for more production under the threat of not having a job anymore and not finding one because they dont exist right now.
I also am a tattoo artist for the last 21 years. I have never and will never work in a shop because I dont want just anyone having my art. In the tattoo world they talk the same trash about people like me .They call us scratchers because we dont work in a shop and charge people their first born children for a piece of art.
The industry charges too much for karaoke discs just like the record companies do for a regular cd. The entire business model is failing because of greedy people demanding too much for their goods and services. For every15$ cd the artist only gets at best 30cents per disc. Karaoke is the same way. Too many greedy hands in the pie and i think the world as a whole is tired of the greed.
I remember years ago reading that Lee Iacocca made 35,000 every 15 minutes he "worked"
The music world is morally bankrupt and suffering the consequences.
I will even go as far to say that KJ's that want these huge amounts of money for 5 hours of work are out of their minds with greed.

When i am out gigging with my band we make 800-1200 a night split between 5 people. So basically thats 280 per person on a good night. You divide that by how many hours invested in learning the music(if you play covers) and it comes out to less than minimum wage. And thats four 1 hour sets constantly working a high energy show!
KJ's as a whole expect 2-300 a night and really only have to load and unload gear ,set it up and work the crowd between songs. We all know it takes no time to rip a cd and catalog it so that is minimal time invested with a huge asking price. Greed is killing this country. Im sure i will get ripped up over my views and thats ok too.
Unless you have a way to hack their pc's to see if they are legit or you have some other way of spying on these "alleged" pirates then you are just being too nosy for your own good. Worry about making your business fail safe and enjoyable for your crowd.

I feel your pain STL, but where do you live? I need to move to where I can make 2-300 a night!

In my world I'm thrilled to get $200, and usually settle for $150 a night. I do this 5 nights a week. I'm always looking for new music, and cheap discs which takes time. Not counting keeping the equipment running good, printing books, song slips, and the accounting that goes along with running your own business.

The pay ain't great, but it pays the bills.

You have a sound man for your band right? You don't pay him? A good sound guy is hard to find... and so are good KJs. The good ones are worth every penny.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

None of us want to live our lives as snitches and the fact that there are so many pirates out there means we aren't. But transfer this situation to other businesses. If someone copied all their friends DVDs and opened a video store where they charged half of what a legal store did would that be just some poor person trying to earn a buck and leave them alone or would they get busted pretty quickly? If the legal store owner complained about unfair competition would you tell them they must not be running a good enough store and to quit whining?

If a bar opens up using stolen beer and charges half price I bet bar owners would feel within their rights to complain about that. But KJs are supposed to overcome this obstacle by just running a better show. Problem with that is, while a pirate isn't going to kick a good host off an established job, they may keep a host from getting a job in the first place as these days venue owners are very concerned with cutting costs.

Obviously you don't know the amount of time it takes to have a professional karaoke show. It is not a matter of "just seting up, show, tearing down". Any host here will tell you that.




I just love when people say things like this. Don't get involved. That's the problem in the world today. That's why criminals get away with their crap and then people (@$%&#!) at the cops for not doing their jobs. Remember if you're not part of the solution then you're a part of the problem.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

STL Musician: I don't know if your name indicates St. Louis or Seattle, or maybe not a city at all, but you are certainly in a different part of the world than the PNW. My husband is lead singer in a VERY very good original band - they have just finished mastering their second CD at a considerable cost. Seattle is a "pay-to-play" city pretty well now - means bands are scrambling to find venues, the venues expect the bands to SELL tickets to their shows. Three bands on a billing, last one starts playing around midnight. Oh yah, we used to be in a situation similar to yours - $800 to 1200 a night but unless you're a casino cover band, forget that kind of money here. (Hubby's band is NOT a cover band.) But here's a good example - we're competing in the clubs with these really cut-rate, poor quality, 3-chord growler bands who can't play more than one original because all their stuff sounds the same. So it's kind of a similar situation - bands that are willing to work for the door (gawd forbid) split 3 ways. Even at the busiest club in downtown Seattle you may be looking at $100! Yes, we DO have a sound guy who gets paid before everyone else. Yes, we have a HUGE investment in equipment. I own the trailer and the truck that haul the equipment. We're an LLC in fact.

Here's the deal with my gripe about pirates - karaoke has become sort of a joke because of the quality of the shows many of these guys do. So a place goes thru 3-4 pirate companies in a year, gets desperate because they can't think of another way to bring in money and they call me - can I come in and turn the place around? Oh yes, eventually, but certainly not in six weeks. Repairing a reputation for krappyoke takes longer than building it up in the first place. If they aren't willing to come up with a HUGE marketing campaign (and THEY pay for that, not me, though I end up doing a lot more than I should in the name of supporting my venues), it takes FOREVER to turn it around.

I'm not worried about my own shows, believe me. I've been in the biz for many, many years. I turn down jobs. I am legit, using computer format. I used to make $250 per show. I've worked anywhere from 2 to 6 nights a week over the last 13 years. I reinvested the bulk of my income in new equipment but mostly in music. There isn't a weak link in my chain at all as far as equipment and I don't consider expecting at least $175 based on my ability to fill a room with paying patrons who in turn walk out having left upwards of $2000 for the night GREEDY. Geesh. Where'd you get that idea? I make $22-25/hour in my day job and I darned well earn it.

I'm not looking for these guys. I LOVE LL's example of the video store. VERY similar. These guys get busted, though. Obviously the movie industry is a little more serous about pirating than the music industry.

Yes, we KNOW the music industry is full of scum suckers who get a lot for doing nothing, and as the whole house of card falls, as it is now, things will change. Hubby's band will NEVER sign with a major recording company using the business model they use now....but as the industry goes through its growth changes, that might change.

I'm not naive about the music industry at all - I'm just tired of getting ripped off by fly-by-night creeps.

Fact is, it gets as old for me to talk about it as it does for people to read about it and respond, but damnit, I'm so tired of it.

I would like to have a little more info about how to do this koyote - Can you give me some direction please?

Thanks

Stlmusician - If everyone had the attitude that pirating was okay none of us would have jobs. The manufacturers have to make money to stay in business. Who is going to want to produce karaoke music if everything gets pirated. It has to be profitable for them to want to stay in business. Pirates are suicide to karaoke staying alive.

I'm confused. Are you a KJ? If you are you should know having a karaoke business isn't just setting up, tearing down and being there for the night. We also don't get paid near what a band does. A decent band in my area gets about $1000 a night and an average karaoke host makes $100 - $300. I don't see the comparison.

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Playing discs -

I have the capability of playing other people's CDGs. I don't think it would make or break me, but it does solidify a small amount of regulars who come just because I can. I do have some nights when no one brings in a disc, but I'd say on an average I probably have at least 3 -5 a week. It feels good to offer a service not all KJs do.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]