Karaoke Forums

With what you write about me, you deserve everything I throw at you. It's too bad this isn't a more relaxed forum, because i would tell you what I REALLY think of you. All you know of me is what I have posted here. You know nothing else, and yet you are comfortable making assumptions about me. You know what they say about people who assume. I have no intention of buying one of those hard drives. All I said, is that I see the appeal. It's cheap, it's easy, and can get one started real quick. It's a disappointment that they are illegal. It's a disappointment that pot is illegal, too. All these illegal things in a free country. It's a shame.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Thank You Mtn! I miss the days around here where all us KJ's could talk freely about business without worrying that someone was going to stab us in the back. It's just not that way any longer and I have a hard time being in such a distrustful space. BUT, I am woman!! And I will fight back! I know there's a b*tch in here somewhere!!

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

So you apparently feel justified in when you lash out with insults and slurs. I completely understand.



Yes too bad. I still could not care less what you think of me.



You seem to have difficulty grasping the concept of communication in an open forum. This statement is absolutely true about any 2 individuals who have never met in person and are communicating on an internet forum. It is just as correct if I said that all you know of me is what I have posted here. I am not assuming anything when I am commenting/replying directly to one of your posts.



I did not assume. I commented directly on what you stated about buying an illegal hard drive and dumping the files that would cause SC, CB or PHM to come after you. You stated that you'd keep the other files if you bought a hard drive. I stated that I could understand the appeal of stolen items to someone who has already declared that they intended to steal. Those are facts, not assumptions.

You're still ignoring the facts when you make a statement like "It's cheap, it's easy, and can get one started real quick."

This goes back to what you stated in your original posts here on this forum. Yes, I agree with you. Stealing thousands of tracks by purchasing an illegal hard drive can get you started real quick.



?? You're disappointed that you can't legally acquire stolen property?




It isn't illegal in Colorado (at the state level). I voted several times to pass the laws that allow me to have my license and my prescription. That is a subject for the Lounge (off topic). The best thing about this free country is that if enough people do the right thing, they can make a change for the better.

You've clearly demonstrated your intentions and your negative opinions about everything and everyone that you have a problem with. Are you certain this is the industry for you?

If you do become a Host/KJ in the future, what would you contribute to the good of this industry and the honest, hard working Host/KJ's who play by the rules? Anything positive?

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Never the same show twice!

Around here they just undercut the price. That's a situation I couldn't compete with!

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KNOW THYSELF

I am not looking to bring anything to the industry as a whole. I am looking to enrich my bank account, my collection of karaoke discs and/or downloads, the club I play at, and whatever vendors I choose to deal with.

See I am tired of seeing this nonsense of "hard working" KJs, as if I would be some lazy slob who wouldn't improve my own show as I could, like everyone else. Just because I refuse to work with SC and play the game THEIR way, with their audits and and paying more than I need to pay so I can use their products, doesn't mean I would not be hard working or honest. Saying that I wish it were legal to use one of those HDs doesn't mean I have intentions of using one.

No, what it means is I wish I COULD use one. And YES it is because it's cheap. Cheap is goodas I have little money to spend. Legal is better, and I am not planning on using any tricks. That is why I bought the SGB set, and I will be buying a bunch of All Star, and downloading from Tricerasoft to fill in gaps. ALL of that is cheaper than SC and I don't need to deal with their crap. If you want to have Big Brother watching over you, have at it. I don't want them in my life.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

That's what I've been saying, I can't compete with $100 shows. I can do a better job because I'm a pro and I have lots more experience. But when it comes down to a bar owner that is only looking at the short term, I can't compete. We are not just doing this as something fun to do for a few extra bucks.. this is a business that supports families. We have overhead that the illegals don't have. So even if I was willing to do shows for $100, it's impossible financially for me to do so.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

Smooth, how much do you plan to charge a venue?

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

I am figuring $150 a night, at least until I have more music. Maybe $200 for a Saturday.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

And how will you feel if some schmuck come in and steals your gig from you for $100?

I know you say you are going to do this legally... I am being a devils advocate here. Beware the undercutter.. the one who did buy the pirated HD. Being legal and having something to show to prove it could be what saves your job some day. May not be a problem now... but from what I've seen here lately, the smaller areas seem to be being hurt the most by illegal KJ's.

So, what I'm saying is... don't get so stubborn about the certification thing... it may be in your best interest some day soon to become certified.

If this 'movement' goes the way most of us want it to, venues will be looking to hire only the certified legal KJ.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

I shouldn't have to be FORCED to certify to get work. So yes, I will be stubborn about it. If it comes down to being forced to certify I will just stick with DJ work. We are already FORCED to pay taxes. We are FORCED to follow copyright laws. I will NOT be forced to certify with a CD vendor so I can work, and I would fight that tooth and nail. SC is a vendor, nothing more.

As for undercutting, I plan on telling whatever places I try to get into about the piracy going on, and warning them about what could happen to them if they get an illegal in their place.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Bobby, SC is not just a vendor, there the best damn producer of karaoke music...Are we still crying foul, really make your choice and live with it, and please stop your whining already...

Jon

Um, I don't feel like I'm being forced. I could go back to using discs and not do the cert. thing at all. I prefer the computer, so I will follow the rules. The copywrite laws were written to protect those that produce a commodity that is easily copied. It's just as illegal to reproduce a Kirby vacuum cleaner, but it's not easy to do that. If the copywrite laws weren't enforced then there would be very little music produced at all, of any sort.
To each their own... but I do see a day, if you stay in the business for very long, where you will find it in your best interests to follow the crowd. I do believe that is where this is heading... that even if you are disc based and completely legal, a venue will ask to see your certificates. And if you don't have them, the venue will assume there's a reason why and not want to hire you. Beside the fact that people believe being on the 'cutting edge' of technology is better. A disc based KJ will most likely seem out-of-date to some venues.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

They are producers of NOTHING. They may as well be out of business. I have made my choice, but Lisah is talking about pretty much being forced to certify with them. That doesn't fly with me. That is a crock.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I'm not talking about being forced. I am not being forced, I'm making a wise business decision. Sound Choice and Chartbuster have offered me a tool. I'm going to use the certification as a selling tool. Use it to benefit my business. Media shifting the karaoke to computer also benefits me. Sound Choice, while they aren't putting out new stuff right now, most certainly does 'produce', you can still buy cd's... that they produced. AND, I hear that they are talking about making some new stuff soon...most of us will be happy to buy it too.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

See, I can be on that cutting edge without SC. There are others that DO allow computer use without audits and certifications, and their quality is getting better, all the time. Meanwhile SC is just suing people, and falling behind. They keep that up, and they will lose their spot, and never regain it. At that point, only you folks will care. Look, I have nothing against those of you who are happy with this certification stuff, but I have never liked authority figures, and I have never liked being ruled by anyone. I don't expect that to change in this lifetime.

NOW you aren't being forced. NOW it's all voluntary. If they make it so the venues will only hire certified KJs, that would then be a situation where people are FORCED to certify, or they won't be able to work. To me, that is too much power for one business to have over another.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Who are you Bobby? And what makes you think your opinion means anything to us. You have contradicted yourself so much I don't believe a word you say, I'm sure others feel the same. One minute your an active KJ running illegally, the next your not...Why don't you just crawl back under the rock you came from. Or is that a trailer?

Jon

Do you think SC & CB should just ignore the illegal stuff then?

Pirating will hit the others that you talk about also... someone will download (and pay) for a song, then put that song on a hard drive, sell it on the cheap and... round and round it goes... then how long do you think it will be before Sunfly or one of the other will start trying to enforce their copywrites?

Pirating has hurt the karaoke industry tremendously. If there isn't some sort of penalty for doing wrong, what do you suppose will happen to karaoke as an entertainment source?

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

I just see that it's better to look at the big picture instead of the small world of one's own life.

I can see original artists refusing to release rights to their songs for karaoke BECAUSE they won't get paid BECAUSE of piracy. Then there won't be anything to produce by ANY manu.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

See, while I know the pirating hurts the manus, it's not going to die. Even if manus like SC were to go under, new ones will crop up. There is so much music out there that people will be singing forever. And while SC's lawsuits may have helped some ares, they will never get everyone that pirates. The ONLY way for it to stop is to cut off the source of the pirating. If they do not do that it will never end. Forcing people to certify and pay extra fees WILL kill the industry way before pirates do. When I see that CB is charging $199 a year for their certification I think it's robbery. If a KJ spend $1000 a year on music per year, they shouldn't have to pay $200 more to be able to play that music. That is taking advantage of your customers. Making people pay $125 for an audit, or charging people $4,500 for a set of discs, then charging them another $100 a year to use them is robbery. THAT is what is going to kill Karaoke.

@pyledriver, no, I am not an active KJ, except for running my friend's show, using his music and equipment, right now. I have most of what I need to start my own show, I just need a few hundred more songs. I would like to be at least around 2000 songs before I start. I have bought the SGB 68 set, the All Hits 26 set(of which much of it is the same as SGB, but I did get about 150 more songs off it), and I am going to be buying a bunch of All Star in a few weeks. I will also be using tricerasoft to fill in gaps. I have run no show illegally, nor do I intend to. Whether you believe me, I really don't care. I know who I am and what I am about. What others think of me means nothing.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

It's illegal KJ's that are doing a large amount of the pirating... if not actually copying hard drives for sale, then buying them and using them in shows. THAT is what I am upset about! It's hurting my business.. and it will hurt yours to eventually. I want it to stop... going after illegal KJ's is only one way. They are trying to get the ones selling the hard drives also. That is just harder to do. IF us legal KJ's step in and do the right thing.. piracy would suffer. As for the renewal on the certifications.. you don't have the facts straight.. but I can't correct you because I don't know them exactly yet. CB's cert will be easy, since I buy everything they put out every month...directly from them. SC just wants you to notify them if you add over 2%. I haven't heard of any renewal fees.

So SC goes under completely.. and new ones pop up... and the cycle repeats itself. Problem not solved.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!