Karaoke Forums

Here is my situation: I currently have just over 3000 CD+G songs. I currently have 2 solid accounts that keep me busy 3 nights each week. I want to build my business and a following. Obviously I need many more songs to compete with the kjs who have thousands more to choose from.

Here are my questions:
1.) Is there any industry standard minimum amount I need in my library?
2.) Is digital the way to go?
3.) If, for example, I need to get to 10,000 songs, what the best way to get there I how much should I plan on invest.
4.) If I need a computer and software, what do you recommend?

A plan that requires $5000 or less could be done this year. If it's more I can save for something in the future. I want to do our industry justice. I have the customer service piece down. I know my limited library is holding me back. Thank you some much for your time and any advice you have!

Dave

1) There is no minimum amount, it is more a minimum selection. If you have any sort of proper mix in your 3000 songs, you have it.
2) Yes, in my opinion.
3) Your $5000 budget should be plenty.
4) A $400 laptop from Walmart and $180 Compuhost. You will get plenty of suggestions for software, but I have tried them all and Compuhost is the best for basic karaoke hosting.

The question is not so much quantity, but quantity/quality/selection. And also, genre. With a budget of $5,000.00, you can go quite a ways.

If you feel selection is most important, you could do worse than buying Chartbuster Essentials 1 through 10. It is 4500 non-duplicated songs, covering most everything. That would cost you about $1,700.00. It would also get you a lot of new stuff. It would be excellent especially if you have a lot of country singers in your crowds. But it also has a fairly good coverage on mainstream pop.

The rest of the money you could spend on buying individual disks -- you could get about 150-200 of those, which would again go an awful long way. I like buying Chartbuster artist disks for popular artists.

But some of this depends on your genres. If you have a very young non-country audience, you may be best going with the Soundchoice Foundation and Bricks and then using Tricerasoft and other download sites for legal downloads of Zoom, Sunfly, and SBI. The Chartbuster Essentials is weak on alternative.

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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.

Dave
#1 Don't be concerned with the amount of songs you have.
The quality of tracks and selection of songs is the key to success
There is no standard but you should have a core set to build on - Soundchoice Foundation Series and Soundchoice Bricks are an example.

No one can say if digital is the way to go ( but it is ) - What you can do once you're dgital is DOWNLOAD SONGS ON THE FLY - this will allow you to add songs that are requested at your gig. Your library will build itself over time and you won't dissappoint anyone ( in theory ) -- Your cost PER song may be higher but you won't be spending and wasting money on song that never get sung. And in addition you keep looking for SALES on CDGS and you can pick up cheap but quality tracks that way also.

HINT: - Don't market your show by the NUMBER of songs you have. I would concentrate on other aspects --- DO you have a KICK AZZ sound system ? - Profesional presentation and books , monitors . stands etc. - If you LOOK LIKE A MILLION BUCKS..people won't even ask about NUMBER OF SONGS.....

or you can just buy 100k songs on a hard drive and go from there ( THIS IS NOT SUGGESTED AS IT IS ILLEGAL) but its an option

Foundations and bricks are a good investment, as are CB Essentials. I'd look for these on eBay as you can get good deals, especially if you are an expert sniper!

Take requests from people, either download on the fly from the sites you feel are legal or save up a list and get a custom disc. I've found selectatrack has some of the more obscure downloads not available at other sites. If you show your customers that you can get their songs you will achieve greatness!

- Jonn

Second taking requests from the singers then you can get them. Don't just go buying a bunch of stuff to make the books bigger, chances are you would duplicate what you had already & stuff it with other stuff people don't really want. Get what people ask for & you'll be better off in the long run.

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Get yourself a tethering capable 3g phone, Verizon or otherwise. You can get an all you can eat plan from Boost mobile for $50 @ month.

If a customer asks for a song, check to see if you can get it on the spot from Tricerasoft.
http://www.tricerasoft.com/cgi-bin/Kara ... /index.asp

Make sure you always use your paypal account to buy it. This way you have a history of what you bought. I've purchased 198 songs this way in the last year. It's probably the most expensive way to go, but the up front cost is lower.

I just wanted to thank you all for your advice and insight. I definitely like the ability of adding songs on the fly and getting regulars what they want. When I have explained I am building my library legally and that their input helps me get the songs people want to sing, I can tell they appreciate that. The venues where I have shows have wifi so that will be awesome. I am officially shopping for a laptop to take this to the next level. Thanks again,
Dave

Someone at this site turned me on to THIS GUY. I picked one up and it's been a great little KJ laptop for the price. Runs Compuhost flawlessly and the DVD drive reads CD+G subcodes too.

Don't skimp on a laptop but at the same time - If you are using it JUST for hosting Karaoke you don't need REPEAT don't need the top of the line "GAMER" type computer. Pick a hosting program and then get the specs on what is reccomended by the developers of that particuliar program.

I was a big fan of Compuhost, still am but their latest release has left me behind because I don't have the video RAM to run the latest version. I have since switched to JustKaraoke and their remote tool which replaces slips with networked computers.

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

I gotta 1/2 disagree Jam. A fast CPU and loads of ram will make a huge difference.
Heck, even a nice video card (compared to the intel things I see included with most laptops) makes a nice difference.

The other thing to note is hardware is finally fast enough where software mixing and effects are a reality. A single CPU system isn't up to it, but a dual core system has plenty of oomph to mix a few channels of audio and add some reverb to a mic.

1.) Well, yes and no. I would say the Sound Choice Foundation Series and Bricks are a perfect starting point. I would say, on an average karaoke night fully 50% of my requests come off of that. You can get the complete series NEW for about $1200

2.) Yes, IMHO. For you the host, and the patrons, digital streamlines the process. The disc spinners will claim otherwise, but I can have a song request qued and up it the time it take to open a disk case or book. I don't really even need song slips to tell the truth, and my hosing program (compuhost) automatically handles the transition from karaoke to fill music. I

3.) Once you have your foundation series take a look at ebay and craigslist at KJs selling their disc collection. I have got a ton of disks for a fraction of the price this way. Just make sure you are getting original discs, not copies, and you can save a ton of money buying second or even third hand discs. As a digital KJ I do take advantage of Tricerasoft and Karaoke Version for individual requests where it doesn't make sense to buy a whole disc. You library will reflect your singer requests. Keep good notes about that, and then get the songs.

4.) For ease of use, features, resource management, and minimal system requirements I would recommend Compuhost. I've seen 'em all, and nothing IMHO really comes close. I would recommend a decent graphics card, but I'm using a second hand pentium 4, with 500mb graphics card and the program runs smooth as silk. I might also suggest a full sized computer over a labtop for durability. I've also got a very nice 19" monitor as well... makes seeing things for me and the singers easier. Total cost: Pent 4 $150 + Graphics Card $100 + 19" flat screen monitor $150 + Compuhost $180 = $580

Hope this helps

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