Karaoke Forums

I agree! And any of those "purchased hard drive" shows that actually print out their catalogs often have 3-6 versions of a title. Sometimes they even have multiple versions of the same track from the same manu but from different discs! Actually, most of the shows with purchased hard drives, which they got for cheap, don't even want the expense of printing a catalog and they have none. How's that for cheap? So a catalog with a legitimate, up to date and distinct 12000 songs can be quite appealing to a true karaoke aficionado!

I have never stated how many songs my catalog contains. Since I've been in business there are many karaoke shows I compete with that advertise that they have 100,000, 150,000 tracks and even more.

So what DO you advertise/say about your catalog when pointing out the number of tracks by itself is unimpressive?

When out soliciting business I haven't been mentionining any NUMBER of songs just a "Large Diverse Selection of Karaoke Titles" I think quality is more relevant these days than quantity.

I don't advertize much directly. I rely mostly by word of mouth,and 1 line announcments in the entertainment callender , but when I do I usually put in a weblink to my songlist.

I think that is far more important than a number.

I know that a lot of my regulars check the list (and even some first-timers).

It is my expereince the larger the count claimed, less effort was used to eliminate duplicates from the count.

I don't advertize much directly. I rely mostly by word of mouth,and 1 line announcments in the entertainment callender , but when I do I usually put in a weblink to my songlist.

I think that is far more important than a number.

I know that a lot of my regulars check the list (and even some first-timers).

It is my expereince the larger the count claimed, less effort was used to eliminate duplicates from the count.

I don't really say much about the catalog itself, just a small blurb 'a large number carefully selected "non" duplicated songs from all genres/decades from actual singer requests' (not just songs to fill the book out)' and that's about it.

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

Yep, exactly.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

I've never felt the need to advertise it. I've actually never had anyone ask either. Most people who have hired me don't ask any of the questions I would about equipment, experience etc... It's usually, how much do you charge?

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Babs, this is true - usually the first question out of a prospective venue's mouth is what do I charge. I don't answer immediately but say first off, well, this is what you'll get from me....then I briefly describe top quality sound equipment, a very complete song selection, PR experience, etc. Most venues don't really give a hang about how many songs you have -- I believe that those whose first words uttered are "100,000 songs" probably don't have much else to lean on as far as the quality of the show. It's a good way to blind them with BS...then top it off with an extremely low cost. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.

Babs, when I have gone out looking to get hired for a show, the first 2 questions that I am usually asked are:

1. How much do you charge?
2. Do you have a Following?


As for the question of how many songs I have in my library coming up, I usually tell them that I have over 8,000 songs, and more than enough variety to keep the singers interested. If they come back with a response about others having 100K+ libraries, I simply explain to them that when it comes down to it, the most that might get sung during a 4 hour show is about 60 songs (averaging 15/hr).

Advertising the number of songs you have is about as useful as a mechanic advertising the number of wrenches he has.

It says nothing about their ability.

My wrench is bigger than your wrench. LOL :D

That is very true!

And it doesn't matter what the owner knows about your catalog, he isn't the one who will be looking for a karaoke show to attend! But why has everyone assumed that the "promotions" I had in mind are directed at venues? In fact, I was thinking about promotions directed at the general public.

And today just about every pirate advertises that they have a catalog with XXX thousands of songs! When I started singing out, NO show mentioned how many songs were in the catalog! I do find it appealing to know that a catalog is pretty comprehensive. It doesn't have to be XXX,000 songs, but i don't want to find out upon arriving at the show that there are only 3500 listings, including dups, of outdated titles from genres that don't excite me, either!

Again, how many doesn't matter, a successful show can be run with 500 carfeully selected songs total, since no more than 75 songs can be sung in a 4 hour period. However, it's few venues or singers would actually seek a show like this, it would be a stumble on or heard about situation. When I first started working in karaoke in 90, advertising songs wasn't anything special, there were only 2 libraries out that contained no more than 1000 songs (if that) per. When CDG really came on scene, then song count kind of meant something in an ad and I did push this fact when I started, 3000-4000 songs was a big deal in 94-95, but then the CDG copiers came about & was able to make that number for me worthless as they were copying & trading libraries with other kj's to quickly build and grow to 3-4 times what I had, and that number became COMPLETELY useless when the computer pirates came into play. Although now I think singers now are starting to wise up to these advertised 100K song places that they really don't have what THEY WANT to sing & rarely update their books with new songs of any kind.

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

Well I'll post the first counter-view, I do list the number (well sort of) on my marketing materials including my website. I state that I have over 6,000 songs which is an accurate depiction of how many I have in terms of non-duplicated titles. If I include the duplicates (which I keep intentionally BTW) it would be much higher.

I do agree, most venues don't really care. However, having the number on there has led to at least a few conversations with clients about the dimwits that advertise over 100,000 songs. This gives me then an opportunity to educate them in terms of legality, duplicate songs, useless songs and track quality. I get the opportunity to explain to them how I choose which tracks to add. When I discuss legality, those that aren't familiar with the law sometimes get nervous that they could get in trouble with one of the 100K guys.

I also always direct people to my website (both clients and attendees) where I have a searchable version of my song list (not a static document but an actual search engine). There was one client of mine who booked me simply because he did a search on my site and found a song that he liked to sing that no one else seemed to have.

Ultimately, having the right songs is way more important than the numbers, but some clients will use the number as a way to measure the likelihood that you'll have the songs they or other people want. Not realizing that in reality, that's no measure at all.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Great. So where else do you promote the catalog size other than on your website and do you say anything more in that material than noting that you have over 6000 titles?

I don't mention it. People often ask, though. I say "I have over 950 CDG disks worth, and about 10,000 different songs". They seem somewhat disappointed, probably because other people claim they have 50,000 and more. Rarely do they leave unhappy, though, because I have a good amount of everything and lots of stuff from the past 13 years (since PHM started coming out).

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

It's on my website and in a 3 panel brochure that I include as part of my promo pack. I also mention it when I start the show. I'll point out to folks where the song books are and mention that I've probably got something they like afterall it's got over 6,000 unique titles.

That's about it though, all I mention is that I've got over 6,000 (I could actually update that now to over 6,500, but why bother). I don't make it a big focus, I just mention it.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Mentioning our numbers isn't a good thing as we are in an area that actively promotes 50,000 to 100,000 song shows. We are in the 5,000 and growing range. So I tend to put more emphasis on our variety and the fact that we also have some modern hits. I also say that we will order songs on request and can play singer's discs. As we are in an area that is undergoing "investigation," I also mention that our library is legal.

Once I tried some little posters with our website address in tear offs at the bottom--said something to the effect that people could view our song list on line and choose their songs before the show. I basically was just trying to see if anyone even looked at the poster. Next week I checked and no one had torn off anything. But it was at a grocery store a bit far from home. I may try it again but post it somewhere closer.

Anyone who ever tries to quote numbers to me turns me off straight away.

Firstly, it's meaningless. Above a certain level it either means you have a very diverse collection, lot's of randomness or lots of duplication that you have failed to manage. Take your pick?

Secondly, I can tell you from experience that I run very successful shows now with about 8000 songs, but was equally successful with 2000 starting off.

I just tell people that I have a wide varied selection covering all the bases, as well as some more "Oh wow you got that..." songs.

The front of my books says something along the lines of "we have over 6000 different songs, taking customer requests all the time. . . if you want to sing it, we want to own it"

Sadly certain phrases mean very little now-a-days and even though I am guilty of using them myself. . . they irk me when I see them elsewhere.

To name a few. . .
10,000 + songs
Comprehensive list
Top of the range equipment
Best sound around (Sound is personal... as are hearing ranges and ability)
Professional
Family run (which would apply to nearly everyone in this business??)

and my big favourite

"we won't let you down like other dj's" Which I'm proud to say I rephrased into "our reputation is our future, so we will do everything we can to make your event a success"