Karaoke Forums

At every show I go to, fully 90% of the music played (and most of the time, 100%) is "old music." So I bristle a bit at the insinuation that this is somehow a shopworn item. SC is in the business of selling music, so I don't think anyone should be surprised that SC wants to sell music. I will also note that people criticize us for suing people, saying we don't sell music anymore (which is false, but that's the criticism), but when we try to sell music, we get criticized as well. It's like you would rather we just went away. Tough luck on that score.

But the purpose of the audits is to protect SC's intellectual property while enabling hosts to move the content to the medium of their choice.



The full set is 200 discs, each of which has 30 tracks, all encoded at 320 kbps. Moving the full set on a moderate-range computer takes a few days, as opposed to weeks to rip the equivalent number of tracks. When you consider the value of your time, the product quality, the availability of low-cost financing, and other benefits of being a GEM licensee, it may be worth the price of acquisition.

Avg 10-12 songs per disc
6000 tracks in GEM
Equals ~500-600 discs worth

My time is worth the expense. That is why I paid a neighbor kid to rip for me.

The audits are performed for compliance. Not to sell old music. But you can't fault a company for marketing their product during any kind of customer interaction. That is just good business.

-Chris

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-Chris

I did mine over the course of several evenings. If I had a full day to dedicate to the job, I could have done it it one.

How much Longer before Chip returns Songbird?

I have to laugh everytime someone brings up 'OLD' music. 70's-2000's are primarily what get sung at our shows - and the 'older' music is typically done by the early 20 year olds while 'newer' music is done by the older people in the crowd - thinking that is what the younger crowds want when the younger crowds like older stuff .
I wouldn't give up my older music for anything. It isn't the dust collector many claim it is. And looking at the most people most requested song, the majority is also the 'older music'.

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

OK let me get this straight you want me to rip my discs first. Hmm I have 128 SC discs right now.
Ripping them at a maximum of 30 minutes per disc (this includes renaming them when needed, installing removing the disc) that makes it 3,840 minutes or 160 days if I did nothing but rip them 24 hrs a day.

If I only spent 8 hours a day ripping them it would be 480 days.

Seeing that I work 8 hours a day and not including time going to and from work and sleeping, eating,etc. I might have 3-4 hours a day to rip them making it 960 days or just over 2 1/2 years (I really don't think SC is going to wait that long).

This all assuming that:
1. Do not buy anymore SC discs.
2. My computer or disc drive doesn't give up the ghost from running it that hard.
3. I ask myself why the heck am I really doing this as it will take even longer to rip all my CB,SF,LG, and assorted other 700 discs, so I can be completely computer operated, as why would I only rip SC and yet carry all the others.

As to buying the Gem Series. If I could afford the almost $5,000 it cost it might be a good Idea if I didn't already own so many SC discs and was thinking about acquiring all the bricks and a few odd and end discs which would be significantly less and give me most of the SC's current catalog.

I'll think about it for a while....quite a long while.

I do thank you for your information as this might help others contemplating shifting.

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I like everyone when I first meet them. If you don't like me that's not my problem it's YOURS!
A stranger is a friend you haven't met yet

If it takes you 30 minutes (or even 10 minutes) to rip a single disc you have either an incredibly old CD-drive, computer or crappy ripping software.

I think you have a math error somewhere.

If it takes 30 minutes per disc to rip them, that's 3,840 minutes, or 64 hours. At 2 hours a day, you would have them all ripped in just over a month. At 8 hours a day, you'd have them done in a Beatles week (8 days).



At the same rate of two hours a day, ripping the full 700 other discs would take you about 6 months.



They will do a trade-in on your existing CD+Gs on a three-tracks-for-one-track basis. Hard to say what the discount on that would be specifically, but it's not zero. Also, they will do an installment agreement on the GEM series.



Certainly, anytime.

Yep you right got my fingers crossed on the key pad somewhere.


Buying the Gem Series requires a "Leasing Agreement" and I'm DEBT FREE and will not ever make payments to anyone ever again for anything that I buy. If I can't pay for it in CASH I don' need it that badly.

Thanks Again Jim

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I like everyone when I first meet them. If you don't like me that's not my problem it's YOURS!
A stranger is a friend you haven't met yet

[quote="Lonman"][I have to laugh everytime someone brings up 'OLD' music. 70's-2000's are primarily what get sung at our shows -

WTF.......whatever happen to the music from 1950 to 1970?...... I guess I'll just go kill myself...

We get 40s to 2011 done but mostly 50s to 90s except for country. I am old and do the new songs, not to impress the young people who think I'm weird, anyway, but because I've been listening to the old stuff decades longer than they have so I want to try something new. Plus I don't want to take up all of the old ones that they are doing.

We get very little sung prior to the 70's, it does happen on occasion - but more from the 60's when it does.

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

Every once in a while, I sing a new one. Old gray hair man singing a top 40......all eyes get big, big smiles on almost every face........ and yes some people actually break out in laughter..........that's what I'm there for.......

"...Ripping them at a maximum of 30 minutes per disc (this includes renaming them when needed, installing removing the disc) that makes it 3,840 minutes or 160 days if I did nothing but rip them 24 hrs a day. "

Yeah, 64 hours not 160 days... and check this out...

15 song CD+G ripped to 320 in just under 3 minutes! Windows Vista 32bit system, free AudioGrabber that will file the MP3+G files in a directory with the Disc ID.

I always rename the files using MBD's KFR...

I have three such drives on my system, so if you multiply 3 minutes per disc by 128, you get 6.4 hours and consider that I am ripping 3 discs simultaneously, you could see how this could be done between lunch and dinner on a weekend afternoon.

Get a grip. The whole intention of the audit is for you to obtain authorization to rip the discs in the first place. This is for YOUR benefit. This is a right you did not PAY for, it is reserved to the karaoke mfr.

I'll be honest with you... I licensed the entire Gem Series as soon as I was aware that it was available. It was a no-brainer to get that many unduplicated songs at once. I did not finance the purchase. I also took my entire SC CD+G collection to Charlotte back in November 2010 and had the audit done (both SC & CB) with the first group of KJ's to do so.

I did this in response to my experience in my isolated part of the country when someone with a pirated hard drive offered it to me and when I refused I saw the same drive in use at another KJ's show. I believe SC's product to be among the best available. Very often (as I recently discovered with a Billy Squier song) they are the only company to have produced a particular track. In that, I value the company and what their product means to my business. I am one of the guys who gets requests for Sound Choice tracks from singers all the time. It happened again last night. I went to computer back in 2006 and started ripping my CD+G's on Windows XP. My collection includes more than 50 mfr's for a total approaching 6000 individual discs. I don't want to see any karaoke manufacturer victimized by thieves. I make a living in this industry. Working with the mfr's instead of against their efforts seems to be more productive.

I have since acquired another 150 or more original CD+G's and am in the process of cataloging and ripping the last 40 or so (sat afternoon). When I am done I'll be updating my information with Sound Choice. I'd like to add that I am pleased to see the terms laid out.

I have to say that it seems too me as if you are skeptical and suspicious. I'd like to think that I am as well. For what it's worth... my experience with Sound Choice and their representatives including Kurt Slep himself have been nothing less than cordial, professional and even fun.

Relax, get your ducks in a row and do something beneficial to your interests as a Host/KJ and the rest of us who aren't on one extreme or the other, but see a common enemy - the thief.

What is it that you believe you are losing or compromising or allowing that makes you reluctant?

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Never the same show twice!

I actually agree with both of these posts. Lon is right, in that "older" music gets the most use- at least in my experience. I do have progressive singers that want the newest tracks, but they are still a minority.

On the other hand, most of us have already bought the older stuff. It came out a long time ago- that's why it's "older". There would be no reason to buy it again. SC's process would certainly be an efficient way to recycle their old library.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Ah, but we are only 3 years in and still have a lot of "old" music to buy...... in fact had to go the extra mile to get in "Two Tickets to Paradise" for someone and last night I fired it up for the first time and as soon as the first bit of music came on people were shouting, "Yeah!" Another SC moment......

Ok, what if someone did not want their songbook to be posted on your site? Don't we have a right not to have our songbook posted?

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

If it's legit, why would it matter? More advertising for you!

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

REALLY? Do you REALLY think there are a whole bunch of people in my area looking at Sound Choice's site reading songbooks?? Maybe in big cities, but not where I am.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Any true Karaoke addict would kill to see a copy of the book and plan out their songs ahead of time. I know I did when I was just attending shows and they didn't have books on the internet so my buddy and I had to take a copy home with us. luckily in my area the hosting company took that into consideration when printing their books.

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