Karaoke Forums

The fact that he pays ASCAP & BMI fees means nothing. From the KIAA's website:

But I Pay My ASCAP & BMI Fees
Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) such as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC only represent the rights of the musical composition owners (song writers/publishers), however these licenses do not cover the karaoke sound recordings themselves.

The only way you would be protected would be if you legally own, and can prove it, all of the original discs, not copies but the actual manufacturer's discs of all the files on your hard drive.

It could very well be that this guy that you got this hard drive from was a pirate. Most likely operating illegally. Lot of that going around, ya know.

So...cottons, if you want to call yourself legal, you better own every original disc that those 40,000 songs came from and be able to prove it. You are NOT protected just because you pay your ASCAP and BMI fees.

Like I said, it is rare for most legal karaoke operators to own 40,000 songs. It just doesn't happen. Unless you're rich, in which case you wouldn't be doing this anyway.

My last reply to this subject. Obviously RLC is on to something with this guy and I should know better than to waste time replying.You evidently did not read the entire posts because if you did you would know that this came with the disks (chartbuster,soundchoice,SGB,custom disk fromtop hits and numerous other off the wall brands) As far as the # of songs,like I said I only look at the files I didn't count them .As far as ASCAP and BMI ,I did not say that clears me of anything other than my venues shows,DJ and Live music.I can go on and on about the things I have done to keep everything in this bar legal and safe but I find find maybe I should tell it to a brick wall because it's not gonna listen and doesn't know how to read either.However the brick wall is capable of keeping a working relationship with the othe walls connected to it.So lean forward a little bit and let that chip fall off your shoulder.I will be hiring out the show and keeping the system I bought for my kids

If you really thought that what you now own was 100% legal, I don't think you'd relegate your investment to the family room.....but it sounds like another good story. What's the name of your bar? I'm sure Sound Choice would love to stop in some night.

I'm quite well read my friends. I choose to cut to the chase instead of dwelling on the scraps. I'd like to ask all of the legal KJs here a question. Would you sell your entire CDG Collection (Original discs included) of 20,000 to 40,000 songs and one of your laptops and a pre loaded hard drive for just $4,500.00??????

1200 discs at TEN DOLLARS per disc is $12,000 alone. I don't think they made 1200 BACKSTAGE discs @ 5 dollars a pop....and that would still be $6,000.00

You can just about buy the complete GEM set for around $4500 and that would give you 6000 songs. So, to answer Bruce's question...Hell No!

Hmmm,,, Not trying to defend cottons here, but just for the sake of possibilities,,, yes there ARE legal KJ's out there with that many songs/discs and even more!! I have a friend who has over 70 thousand songs, and I have seen each and every disc, from laser discs to VCD discs to cdg's.. He scooped them up from ebay, people going out of business,,etc. And he paid less than a grand for all of them. He told me he just got lucky. Several sets were just given to him. So, as far as cottons story goes, unless you others here can prove anything different, you can have your suspicions of course, but give the guy the benefit of the doubt. If you can't give him any credit for what he says, then don't reply to him at all. Simple as that. You guys are NOT the karaoke police, so stop trying to play Detective Wannabe here. For those of you who are perfect, then you can cast the first stone.

Your friend is certainly the exception. Not saying that you couldn't legally own that many songs but it just doesn't happen all to often. The average KJ may have an average of around 15,000 songs which has taken years to aquire. Many, a lot less. But rarely have I seen a legal KJ to have more than 20,000 songs.

So, when we see the words "hard drive", and "40,000", a red flag is going to go up. Yes there are exceptions but not that many. Most of the KJ's with 40,000+ songs are pirates. I know it, you know it, we all know it.

Actions speak louder than words. Cotton is now "hiding" his hard drive in his house. YES! I'm a little suspicious and I don't think I'm alone.

Yes there are some legal KJs with large numbers of tracks...but there are many more pirates out there with many more songs than most legal KJs.

Playing the percentages, I'd have to say ARRRRRRRRRRR!

Wisdom says its better that 10 guilty go free than to accuse one innocent. So the odds are then that every single one of the KJ's are pirates, including you Bruce. So sad to think there are people like you. Makes me weep.

What I find funny here is that I'm basically doing the same thing that Sound Choice is doing. The same people that think Sound Choice has every reason to demand audits of every KJ that uses a hard drive are the same people telling ME not to be a bully. Maybe Sound Choice should just give EVERYONE the benefit of the doubt and go away unless they have something nice and fluffy to say???? Hmmmm?

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

And please....Don't cry for me Argentina.

And BTW...I'm not a KJ but I do own an eye patch...I guess that makes me a pirate.

It's not your job to judge,,,if you believe someone to be a pirate, that is totally your right to an opinion, but it it NOT your place to judge. It is Sound Choice's right to make those type of decisions, in order to protect their investment and business. If you think this guy (cottons) is a pirate, then instead of accusing him right off the bat, then maybe sending your suspicions to the powers to be is in order. Your responsibility is to not support what he is asking. In other words, don't help him by answering his questions. What I am saying her is this, innocent until proven guilty. And yes, I believe Sound Choice, Chartbusters, etc. should also not make the same mistakes.

Bruce, you can be such an a$$. That is what makes me sad. You rarely have anything positive to say about anything. You seem to "know" everything about everyone and everything, and feel it is your right to spread your "attitude" among us. Please feel free to bite your tongue once in a while.

There are ways to buy alot of songs without spending $15 a disc.

I've acquired about 25,000 songs in the last 2 years for less than $4000. I bought the Chartbuster 1-6 SCDGs, DK Millenium SCDGs, Nutech SCDGs, Panorama SCDGs, Big Apple SCDGs, Hot Stuff SCDGs, and Cavs SCDGs. I also bought the SGB set, SAVA and SAVP sets, Chartbuster 7-10, Backstage set, Supercore 2008, Sound Choice Headbanger Pack, 100 Pop Hits Monthly CD+Gs plus numerous other single discs and packs. I also bought about 150 downloads from Triceasoft. My most recent buys were 358 used discs for $746, they were primarily Sound Choice and Chartbuster. I got most of the discs on E-bay but also acquired some from former KJ's and online retailers.
Sure, I admit I've got alot of duplicates, but not counting duplicates, I probably have 12-14,000 songs.

Thank you Mr. Scott

_________________
Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Thank you again Mr. Scott!

_________________
Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Duplicate post. Deleted

_________________
Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

If you have the original discs for every digital file, and you were somehow insulted by my one sentence reply, I apologize. However, I also agree with the others that such conclusions are not at all far fetched.

Now might be a good time to just re-rip everything. I'll bet if they are several years old, it was done at a low bit-rate for space savings.

Too many duplicates doing it that way. I'd not want to waste the money in that manner. I have approx 12K songs that are not duplicated out of 14K.

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

Yeah, but I bet you spent alot more than $4000.

No but I didn't waste any money either on songs repeatidly. Having a big song book just for the sake of having the illusion of a ton of songs is not necessary IMO. Besides all the SCDG discs you listed aren't legal to begin with but that is an entire different thread and will not go there here.

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

You know what? I was just sitting here thinking,, it IS possible to get at least a decent sized library of songs without spending much at all. Now, this would have to be a lucky situation for sure, but it is DOABLE. Think of this one.. SGB collection, 69 bucks off ebay,,,, getting a used Monster Hits collection (had a friend who got one for 50 bucks), maybe an older Pioneer collection of cdg's,, (possible to attain for less than a $100, if lucky)... So there is a collection of over 5000 songs for about $200+... Now add to that some of the other cheaper brands out there,, it's very possible to get up to 10 thousand songs for well under a grand. Now, not saying these are versions that are top notch by any means, just saying it's actually possible to put together a sizable collection for not much money at all. And really not too many dupes either.