Karaoke Forums

People do that here and we have the new-fangled multi-colored lights.

I have mixed feelings about drink specials.    On one hand it could help bring people in and make them want to stay longer.   On the other hand if the drinks are too cheap then you get the riff raff.   This is why bars intentionaly keep the prices a little high.     Kinda like a job application where they say they want 2 years of college and that could be in toilet scrubbing or they want you to be a journeyman in something... They know they just eliminated all of the hard core riff raff.    

If you want to get people in the bar on karaoke night give something away.  Even if it's a box of crayons, people love FREE stuff.    

I did a place that charged $6 for a glass of wine.    People came but they didn't drink a whole lot.    The owner quit karaoke  because he said the only people making money were me and the bartender.  Now would drink specials have helped him raise the till?    The crowd was decent in size but they didn't spend.     We are going through the FREE water debate now.    Where they want to pay me on the cash register.   FREE water doesn't help my cause.    I say on an entertainment night Draft beer, pop and bottled water should be the same price.   Then it doesn't matter what they drink, you still make your money.   I use to work a Hoilday Inn and draft beer was $1.75, the same for fountain pop $1.75.    They got you either way.     Everyone should realize that any entertainment is not free and needs to be paid for somehow.     If you don't support it (money wise) then it will be gone.  

The drink prices should reflect the areas average population income level and should also reflect a higher price to pay for the entertainment and the elimination of the riff raff.   So it's still a kinda judgement call and a juggling act to get the right combination to keep everyone in business..

again good points bigdog, but if the prices around here matched the income levels and population, we'd have to pay them to come in!

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All work and no play make Homer something something

I hear ya Bigdog. All the bars around here raised their prices last year trying to help with the 'riffraff' problem. Around here we're not so kind, we just call them what they are 'white trash'...
Most of the bars sell their regular bottled beer for around 2 bucks, at the Marina they sell it for 2.50 a bottle. Now being a city boy who spent 20 odd years playing venues and bars in Atlanta, that's nothing. But this is a small factory/farming town for the most part so it did have an impact. The attraction to the Marina is that we have a liquor license, which is a rarity in these parts. They all pile in wanting to sit and slam Jager down all night long, and you folks know the trials and tribulations of Jager, it gets pretty ugly sometimes. 1 part alcohol, 1 part redneck= instant arsehole.

Around here, word of mouth has been my best advertisement. The families and couples that come out enjoy the fact that they can bring their kids out to the show as well.
Like I've said before, it's not uncommon to come to one of my shows and see me doing the 'Hokey Pokey' with a bunch of kids onstage. I enjoy it, the parents enjoy it, it's great for tips. I've even started doing a little standup comedy at the beginning of the show to help loosen things up. The humor is somewhat of an adult nature, but without the profanity, and is usually above the kids heads.  
Now as always, keep in mind that these things work for me, they may not apply to anyone else's situation. So when I make these comments, I'm not trying to be the Karaoke king, or the know it all. I'm just trying to do something different, find my little niche. I have three other bars that I compete with on a weekly basis. I guess the thing that let's me know that I'm doing something right, is when I have the other bar owners coming to check the show out. I mean it's Friday night, and they're sitting watching me while their own bar has a Karaoke show going on. When they ask me, what do I do that's so different, I just laugh and tell'em "nothing, I just 'smile' when I sing."

James
Maninblack

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I serve no man and am loyal to only one God.

Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

Avoiding Riff-Raff is a good idea. That may be part of the reason the Beer is $2.75 for longnecks currently at our watering hole.

As a singer what's most important to me is:

Undending adulation from the other singers and the listeners and especially from that cute blonde at the other end of the bar.

Wild and enthusiastic applause!

Throngs (Keith, that's throngs with an "r", not thongs) of attractive willing ladies who love the way I sing.

or

A plentiful supply of wayward girls.

Actually, I don't look for or expect much more than a chance to sing from time to time.  My standards are pretty low and my expectations have been conditioned by the general lack of quality in the karaoke shows I've attended (with the exception of Big Mike's show which was a real breath of fresh air.  I could get spoiled by his show!)

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

I did an early night for a while so kids could come and sing.   It worked for a while and then it started to drive people out..   Something about going to a bar and seeing kids running around.    Most people go to bars to get away from the kids.   They certainly don't want to feel like they are baby sitting, in romper room.   Then you have the parents that are brain dead and think because they are there spending a little money that everyone one else should put up with the kids running wild and they could care less.    They need slapped upside their little brains.    :shock:   I'm talking about the parents....   They won't even try to correct the little monsters.    That is a business killer.   I hate being anywhere that has kids running around and not behaving.   Teach them to act appropriately in public or keep them and yourself locked up at home.  

Just me, but if I had a restaurant it would be 12 and over.     No little kids unattended at the salad bar with their dirty little hands and the sneezing, running, coughing, snot flying little noses.   No kids running wild or you will be asked to leave.   People go out for dinner and an evening out to have a relaxing fun time.   They don't need to be stressed out by someone elses rug rats.   I blame the ignorant parents.

If I were single today, I would like a bar that won't turn-up the lights at 2:00, thus wrecking 4 or more hours of work I did trying to impress a lady.


<====There's me bein' nosey again.

I'm finally getting the point about drink prices. Man, what a simple way to maintain a specific atmosphere.

All of this information is invaluable and very much appreciated. Many of these bits of info, we had not even considered.

Hey Phatrat, Isis, and Texas GiGi, there is a thread about karaoke rules here that you might have already seen.
http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic. ... ight=rules

Sexy women??? you mean GRO?

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

I'll have to admit that I often expect too much or the wrong things in a karaoke club. I adapt quickly though and if I am treated as a valued customer, as we all should be, I let go pretty quickly and enjoy myself.