Karaoke Forums

I'm the main contemporary producer at Pocketsongs, and as some of you know I've dropped in over the last year or so to get your input on what you'd like to see out there, etc. Thanks to one of your suggestions, we went ahead and produced a really fine version of the musical "Next to Normal."

But most of my time is not spent doing Broadway, it's contemporary rock, pop, and country.

I wanted to ask what many of you are still dying to get a hold of, and also, ask you how many of you are using iTunes to find and fill your karaoke needs (that is, those that don't require onscreen lyrics). We've been very active in getting current hits up there as soon as possible, rather than waiting until we assemble a full "Current Pop Hits' type album (even though we still do those).

So shoot me some feedback and let us know what you guys want out there! And yes it helps if more than one person wants the same thing...if I keep hearing about a given title in the form a many requests, it WILL get done ....

Thanks
Tom

I would kill for Tango shoes by Bif Naked and I know a few others who would as well.
I've also have several requests for Just Came Back, Voodoo Thing, and Five Long Years by Colin James.

As for Itunes, I never use it.

Would love to buy some older Springsteen songs from i-tunes. I've bought quite a few Springsteen tracks from i-tunes already and I just make my own CDG files for them. I also bought PSJT379 BOSS RADIO CD and made the cdg files for those so I could sing them. I would have saved a few bucks if those songs would have been on i-tunes a little sooner. Would love to see the ALBUM "GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK" done the same way if you couldn't get the licensing for the songs to have lyrics added to the disc.

The following Paul McCartney and Wings renditions from their live Wings Over America album I'm sure will make some karaoke producer a mint when they are done :

Spirits of Ancient Egypt
Call Me Back Again
Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)
Richard Cory
Bluebird
You Gave Me the Answer
Magneto and Titanium Man
Time to Hide
Letting Go
Venus and Mars/Rock Show/Jet medley

If you can't do the three song medley, then just do Venus & Mars and Rock Show as a medley.

Sweet Painted Lady - Elton John
Hey God - Lonestar

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

My perpetual request has been, "In Spite of Ourselves" by John Prine and Iris Dement. Every time it comes on our bumper music, people ask if we have it on karaoke.

I don't use ITunes.

Great, keep it coming guys.

When some of you say you don't use iTunes, is that because you are only interested in karaoke discs with lyrics? Just curious. We have been doing very well since getting our catalog up there, and it's not even all up there yet.

Re Paul McCartney, might be fun. Pocketsongs still gets a lot of downloads on Beatles stuff, but that was done years before I began doing tracks for them, and I've been wanting to redo them more accurately etc. I'm a huge Beatles fan and know the music inside and out.

I'll check on the John Prine song. Keep the suggestions coming. Again, the more people agree on certain titles the greater chance of getting them done. The fees involved, not only for production, but licensing, are ridiculous, and if only 4 copies are sold you can understand why some things don't get done. I always try to cover a few odd titles here and there, just so we have them in the catalog, even if they weren't big selling records, but for the most part, it's a business.

Anyway I'll be checking in a lot this week so please keep it coming!

Thanks
Tom

Hey yeah I did that CD "Boss Radio" that was awhile back. We didn't do anymore of Bruce because as I recall that CD didn't sell that much, but who knows. Hope that one works for you.

We have gotten out of the habit of just doing an entire album by anyone, we do their most popular tracks off a given album though. Like the new Katy Perry, it has about 16 songs on it and I'm only going to do about 3 or 4.

Now that we are on iTunes, if "Boss Radio" came out today you'd see the most popular tracks from it on iTunes...

Thanks
Tom

I made a home made version of that song, for a friend of mine, that came out GREAT. I even changed the lyrics a bit so a guy can sing it as a solo if he doesn't have someone to sing the female parts. I think I posted it on the Singers Showcase when I first made it, but that was a while ago.

I think the problem with a disc like that is the lack of on screen lyrics. Many karaoke singers need the screen to allow them the confidence to get up on a stage and sing a song in front of an audience. I know I do. That is why I learned how to create CDG files just for that reason. It takes me quite a while to do them right but I've been told by some people that my karaoke files look better than some of the professionally made karaoke tracks on the market.

I tried to remove the vocals on two different MP3's of that song but had no luck so I went to karaoke version dot com and voted for it. Hope that helps a little bit.

I'll have to dig through my request sheet for songs that have never been made, probably too many to list !
As far as I-Tunes, I wouldn't be interest in that, I want a physical disc in my posession. Which brings up a question, I noticed Selectatrack.com now offer Pocket Songs music - this is where I get all my custom discs, may as well ask are they offering your tracks legitimately?

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Hey let me check on that, thanks for the heads up...I'll let you guys know..

Tom

Ok yes it's legit. They handle international sales actually but it's OK.

Thanks for pointing it out....

The Pocketsongs website is being redone and should be live very soon, you'll be able to order songs off of it as well as iTunes, with the guide track and background vocal tracks for those who don't need graphics...

Tom

Célèste, by Doc Gynéco, is a must. I would be proud to do this song.

-denise

Unless you're willing to accept tracks with no graphics, Collin James will never make it to karaoke. The copyright holders will not allow it

-James

Tom: just to answer your other question, yes for me personally, i have little interest in itunes because of no graphics file. Then there is the whole other grey area on whether their tracks are legal to use for commecial use *to the best of my knowledge their end user agreement says you can`t*.

I would have to be pretty desperate to have a song before I would use a music only version. It would probably be something so obscure that no one in their right mind would produce a full karaoke version of it.

Case in point
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBoLA_BQ4tU

just my two cents.

The terms of use on iTunes have changed a number of times and the most recent copy specifically states:

"You shall be authorized to use Products only for personal, noncommercial use."
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html

There was a posting made a while back that contained information in a letter that came from a representative of Apple legal with regards to iTunes stating that it was acceptable to use the tracks for DJ'ing (provided public performance licensing was paid of course). The caveat was that it couldn't be distributed again, used in a manner where it might be distributed (as a remix, part of a music video, etc) or multiple copies of the tracks shared, etc. I've been trying to find the post, but I can't remember which board it was on.


I spent the better part of 6 months going round and round, trying to get clearance to use tracks with my DJ company as part of my music library I had bought online. The company referred me to the labels directly (who referred me back to the distributor later but that's a whole different part of the story).

So I called and talked with the head of a couple of the record labels and this is what they told me:

"Look, what we want is really quite simple. Buy your music legally and pay ASCAP/BMI/SESAC when applicable. That's it. A lot of people try to make it more difficult than it really is."

Tina Turner - Back where you started.
Grammy winner in 86.
Pretty please.

a few more...

California Man, Cheap Trick
Touch and Go, Cars
Brickyard Blues, Three Dog Night
Sure As I'm Sitting Here, Three Dog Night
Seven Days, Bob Dylan
Took the Last Train, David Gates
You Won't See Me, Beatles
Go Away, Gloria Estefan

Thanks, Bruce! I know at least 3 other hosts who would buy it and probably 3 or 4 singers who would snap it up. I'm sure there's more, but it's not something I generally discuss with the general public. These are people who specifically brought it up to me.
As for i tunes, I just don't use it because I prefer to buy discs. That way, if anything goes wrong, I have a hard copy. OI have exactly 3 downloads and those were Jonathon Coultrain songs bought specifically for a customer who requested them. I don't think you can buy them on discs.
However, if you were to make these songs and only offer them for download without lyrics screens, I definitely WOULD purchase them as they are ones I'm really eager to have.