Karaoke Forums

Sad. =(

"Dear MyKaraoke CDG customer:

Clark Music Australia will no longer by offering custom CDGs. After many years in business we are forced to close our doors due to the effects of piracy on the Karaoke Market. Sound Choice is trying to get set up to produce CDGs in the USA, but it will be at least 90 days before that option is available due to the time to arrange licensing, which is significantly more complicated and time consuming in the USA.

Thank you for your past interest and business. Al"


http://www.mykaraokecdg.com.au/customer/home.php

_________________
Sal "Kjmann" Esquivel
Karaoke With Sal - Website

Well that bites! I had two projects started with them! Looks like it's just the SC side, the ProBurn side has no disclaimer like that.

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

Store is still open and ProBurn still open, only the SC is not being made.

_________________
Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Sad to hear. I ordered a lot of customs from them to ‘fill the gap’ on sc tracks I’ve been missing. Fortunately, there’s a silver lining coming forth our way, to repeat quote “Sound Choice is trying to get set up to produce CDGs in the USA, but it will be at least 90 days before that option is available”. (Seriously? )

_________________
To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

i'll hold my breath.....

_________________
Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

I don't know about that silver lining. Didn't HarringtonLaw post something to the effect that the new releases (when they do come out) would only be made available to those who are Certified?

I just talked with Al. He told me he sold it all and closing shop - no more custom discs from Pro-Burn either. All the custom CDG equipment he sold to a company affiliated with the Cloud. Maybe custom Digitrax??? I'd be all over that!

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

While I am no longer allowed to give my opinion on the reasons for Clark no longer selling SC tracks, I believe that I am still able to express a lack of surprise......and I do.

_________________
"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Based upon the information I received via email Clark has been completely put out of business. No brands at all will be available from them on custom disc. It seems that piracy is killing even overseas manus.

Joe, what does the first half of your statement mean? (Not being allowed to express your opinion)

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

There is a difference between being put out of business and selling a business.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

First the "No Fly List", now this. What's gonna happen next ? Maybe The Cloud made them an offer they can't refuse.

_________________
My first choice IS Sound Choice.

He stated it was directly due to piracy. Selling because the money is not being made anymore.

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

The last sentence of this quote is the only thing that can be assumed with a high level of accuracy, IMO. Anyone who chooses to close and/or sell a business typically do so for a combination of reasons. Blaming something of that caliber on any one reason could be considered a bit inflammatory, and certainly naïve...

If nothing else, the embracing of the Digital Age amongst the Karaoke Summit posse could quite possibly be enough of a coup to doom any CD creation company...

i think it is quite a bit more than piracy. when they are not selling enough CD's anymore, it is automatically blamed on piracy. i have not gone to a B&M store in many months. not because i am stealing, but because i have the option of buying what i need on the fly for less. others like Chris are buying their large amounts of discs necessary for business from third parties used locally or on e-bay, Still others like Cue have bought the GEM or subscribed to the cloud or get the monthly DT sent automatically. most Manus have made a more concerted effort to offer their material directly to consumers (was an option for a long time, but with GEM, Cloud, etc. more of a push) and offering downoads a-la-carte already digitized for a reasonable price has i think more to do with it than piracy. think about it, most of the monthly updates everyone here is buying come from DT, AS, SF, SBI.......

_________________
Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

You got me mixed up with others. I am not PC based, so the GEM series and subscribing to the DT Cloud service is useless to me. As for purchasing a monthly subscription (for the newest/latest releases), I am more of a Buy-As-I-Need/Want-It person. At best, I will purchase a downloaded track from DT, and convert it to a BIN File (to be burned onto a disc for my use at a show), or I will purchase Custom tracks from SBI Karaoke or All Star Karaoke (since they will make discs for me).

I leverage just about every path there is for karaoke content.

For old content -
I do bulk buys of discs from eBay and Craigslist.
I have a GEM Set (voluntary....not the result of a lawsuit) and I plan on buying more GEM over time
I was on auto-ship from PHM for a year.
I also occasionally (though rarely) buy discs from retail outlets.
I direct download from anyone associated with iCroons
I monitor Digitrax but to date have only bought the Unplugged package.

For New Releases -
iCroons & Partners
Monitor Digitrax
(basically I don't buy discs for any new release content)

-Chris

_________________
-Chris

sorry Cue i should have known better. thank you for proving my point in a different way, even you ODB are buying from DT, SBI, AS when you need them instead of running to the B&M store for everything. you just helped put more out of business but you are not a pirate.



thank you also Chris for proving my point. you are not a pirate but helped put B&M stores out of business by purchasing in new ways.

this is all i mean when i say blaming piracy is not the answer for most of this. WE as legal hosts have decided to go different ways to get our material that does not include them or manus that do not offer the material in the way we want it.

_________________
Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Not an uncommon or unexpected occurrence in the course of any industry's evolution...

No business is in the business of keeping other businesses in business.
Any business that stays in business as a result of one's business is a pleasant side effect...
(that was fun to type! )

There are just some things you can't get from a B&M store anymore. Customized (individual) tracks is one of those things (because it would be illegal for them to do so unless they were the actual producers of said tracks). So, in a round-about way, I didn't help to put some B&M store out of business... the Internet did.

Now, you might argue that nobody is forcing me to use the Internet to satisfy my Karaoke needs, but, then again, the B&M stores are forcing me to go in that direction when I can't get what I want (and it's legally available elsewhere). Just like the EZ PASSES on our Highway, Parkway, Bridge and Tunnel Toll Plazas. More and more lanes have become EZ PASS lanes, and less lanes are available for CASH ONLY transactions. Thus the lines are much longer and slower at the CASH ONLY lanes. I got my EZ PASS 6 months after I got my first car (in 2000). At first, I was against getting an EZ PASS because I was of the conviction that if I got an EZ PASS, I would be putting some Toll-Taker out of a job. After a few months of nearly pulling my hair out (if I had any to pull), I got too frustrated with having to wait on a line for 20 minutes or more (just to pay a toll), while EZ PASS lanes were taking about 5 minutes to pass through. It gets to the point where you have to sacrifice your convictions and beliefs, and make a decision as to how long you are willing to sit in a single lane of traffic to pay your toll in cash, while the other lanes are whizzing right by you (and I even smile and wave as I pass by you).