Karaoke Forums

Hmmmmm......


You know, I'm thinking about bringing suit against Jive Records for signing Britney Spears. If they hadn't, they might have signed me and I could be a major star and multi-millionaire right now.

Perhaps when I win (and I'm rich and famous), you can use my victory as your case precedent.

Also, I heard that Cottonelle might sue my friend Chuck. Seems he's been using the thin, generic toilet paper over at the local gas station. If he hadn't, then they're positive it would have generated some huge sales (apparently Chuck is rather prolific in that area).

_________________
Birdofsong

Harrington Law wrote (sorry I dont know how to qoute the small area)

"We are considering requiring KJs we have sued to pay a fee for the post-suit audit, in order to incentivize KJs not to wait to be sued, but we have not yet decided to do so."

Are we in China? Last I checked we are Innocent until proven Guilty. WTF? You want an audit Soundchoice can pay for it! That is your request... Pirating is a problem, you want to sue to see something you pay and find out. If you sue and catch a pirate great. That's how freedom and the right of any American works. I like soundchoice music But when you make statements like that I lose respect for them......... AGAIN I do NOT like pirates Nor do I like seeing statements like that posted in our free country. Makes me sick

Harrington Law wrote again sorry I am not a forum Whore (yet)

It is true that in one instance an operator who plays from original discs was sued by mistake. His name is Rodney Burge. At the venue where he was playing, there are actually three different operators on various nights, two of whom use computers. Rodney himself uses a computer to play DJ music as filler, but he plays karaoke from original discs. As soon as his claims came to my attention, we took steps to determine what had happened. I personally visited Rodney at one of his venues in Orange County, California, examined his system and his discs, and recommended that he be dismissed immediately. He was dismissed. An apology was extended. As far as he and SC are concerned, the matter is concluded.


This is the part that bothers me about Rodney. At what cost did it affect Him? Soundchoice was wrong, Did he lose a show? How much was legal? Was he reimbursed for harassment?


I wish someone would just say either way if we are legal at NO FURTHER COST to the kj for playing music he bought. The way I look at it is We made soundchoice and chartbuster by buyer their music.

I also would like to add Haringtonlaw You assume anyone against the Unfair treatment of Americans( Meaning KJ's) are pirating. Talk about biting the hand that feeds ( Or used to) I learned a lesson here after just a week of posting. I am done buying soundchoice in the future just for this. Soundchoice should do the work and get the real offenders. The pool of lawsuits are BS

You want to incentivize KJ's to not wait?....How about you don't charge for the audit.

Personally I could care less about being listed on a web page or having access to any SC marketing materials.

Lot's of karaoke going on in Texas yet not one certified KJ listed for Texas or any in the neighboring states of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas or Lousiana?

_________________
My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.

Hiteck, I guess Texas isn't big enough.

Wonder if this has anything to do with it:
"Texas makes losers pay for frivolous lawsuits"

_________________
My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.

"Innocent until proven guilty" applies in the criminal context; these are civil actions with lower burdens. Even so, we have pretty much everything we need before we file suit to make out our case if necessary.

What would you suggest we do about the KJ who knows he's at 1:1, knows he is not in compliance with the media-shifting policy (because NOTICE to SC and submission to audit are required to comply), yet is waiting for us to sue him?

In that situation, we have to spend a lot of time and money investigating that guy, filing a suit, and so forth, only to have him claim to be at 1:1 correspondence and get out of the suit. I would prefer not to waste my resources going after that guy, but if he is going to make us spend the money, maybe he should have to pay a little bit to get us to do the audit early in the suit instead of making him answer, submit to extensive discovery, and then get dismissed.

Now, as I said, we have not yet decided to do this, but it is under consideration.

And why I question the fee for the voluntary audit in the first place.

If a KJ were to go through the audit and you or one of your investigators ended up at a show the KJ was hosting you could check your list find the KJ listed and be on your way. No time or money wasted on the investigation.

This would also show that SC values me as a customer and they want me to continue to be their customer.

_________________
My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.

The fee for the voluntary audit covers the cost of doing the voluntary audit, which confers a benefit on the KJ (the right to duplicate the contents of your original media over to a more convenient medium and format). I think it is not unreasonable to charge a small fee for that service.

I agree.

The first audit, if initiated by the KJ should be no charge.

I could accept an annual fee ($25-$50 seems reasonable) for re-certification so that I could register any additional CDG's/tracks and maintain my 1:1 verification and compliance with the licence agreement(s) that I have in place.


You want to give KJ's an incentive to initiate the audit?

Make sure they feel like valued customers/professionals and not suspects.

That being said... I put my money where my mouth is and initiated the process myself. It has been over a year and I have had no (ZERO) issues with the mfr's that certified my library.

_________________
Never the same show twice!

They should do it for free. If it is a free audit I'm in, Ill consider my used up time as payment for the audit.After all its about getting pirates right? Or Buy My sc collection, And give me a Marked File so if I ever was to sell it, Bang you know right where it came from and by who. I have 3 jobs and 2 kids. My time means more to me than SC ,.We the consumer made soundchoice. As for the Rodney case you never spoke on that in reply. Did he get compensated? Can he counter sue?

Now there's a compromise that makes sense!
Where's that [LIKE] button when you need one?!?

_________________
My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.

He didn't ask for anything other than to be dismissed. I don't think he would be able to countersue, and I doubt he's interested in doing so. He's a genuinely nice guy, and I enjoyed spending a couple of hours with him, talking about karaoke. I wish I'd been able to get to one of his shows, but I had to catch a plane back home.

1) As for suing disc based hosts: It is virtually impossible to make a mistake. Either someone witnessed the logo being displayed from a non-disc source, or they did not- period. A computer or 12 computers in the room mean nothing.

No one witnessed such a display in this case because it simply didn't happen. Someone lied. There was no "mistake". I'm only guessing, but I think that those who supposed to "investigate" are paid on a contingency basis, "incentivizing" ( yup, I like this word- kind of like "efforting"...) them to lie in hopes of a larger payout.

I have consistently been told that SC "taken measures" to improve their "investigative" techniques. STILL no evidence of this, going all the way back to the Mcleod's fiasco.


2) Most of the venues in my area that have been contacted about their KJs and have stopped using that host have yet to hire another host. Go figure.....


3) My time and energy is as valuable as SC's ( actually more so, because I provide a service to the public and they don't). Any audit will cost THEM my minimum private event rate. I wouldn't need an audit, they simply would prefer to do one. Not my problem, or any KJ's who is not a track thief.


4) Sound Choice product is becoming unwelcome in my area in a big way, both by KJs AND venues. ( Please keep in mind that when I say "my area", I am only referencing my little 25 mile work radius, where I have first hand knowledge. It may be the same elsewhere, but I am not making that claim).

It is my opinion that even if SC were to produce new tracks NOW, they would find them a bit more difficult to market- again, in my area at least. As time goes on, with more and more KJs using other labels for more recent releases, the SC brand may be relegated to a nice position in memory. Also, as these new releases are added to libraries, KJs will be loath to buy duplicates just for the label change.

Folks may have noticed that I have been a lot less vocal on this subject here lately. The reason for this is that after much information gathering from here and other public sources, I simply don't believe SC will be much of a presence in the near future if they continue as they have.

I think they will ramp their litigation efforts to the max while they can, then as things start to fall apart for them, they will simply go away. Problem solved.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Having been in business for many years, with a business degree, and having been a quality engineer and having deal with customers I say,,,,
BALONEY!

I'm one of those who has slowly begun to turn away from being a "cheerleader".

If you have someone who is an obvious honest customer, you just-don't-do-this-to-them! Period!

It's up to SC to figure out how to do these audits without making their HONEST customers have to pay. As a Continuous Improvement Manager, I teach everyone that if it isn't value in the customers eyes, it is a WASTE and needs to be eliminated! Don't pass the pain on to the customer! This is obviously a waste! SC wants to get back to the top, they better figure out how to make happy customers, not peed off ones!

_________________
KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Amen! "LIKE" !

_________________
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 feel a disturbance in the force..." -- Obiwan

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

Well said, But as a former sound choice Purchaser (doubt I will be supporting the Nazi Regime any longer) They haven't made new music except for the karaoke channel (which we can't use commercially) I could care less now if SC folds.gone a couple years without,wont be missed. Maybe someone will buy them out with their logo and run it like CBuster. They are selling drives and music ( Mp3+g) ready to roll. SC had its head in sand. Now they want Us honest dj's to pay to show our cards. That's not how to play fair IMHO. I Understand where Soundchoice is comming from, I really do But As doing sweeps in Iraq, My friends had to look before shooting. Even after kicking in door almost awaitng a possible ambush, they had to actually Look to insure no INNOCENT people were killed. Where seconds are valuble there was little to NO deaths from shooting blindly. imagine that Harrington law.
These forums are a great find. If it wasn't for STeve O getting sued I may never have found them. Great tech section and answers to alot of things karaoke.

And so right you are.... except that these customers are feeling "peed off" only because they are tired of feeling as though they've been "peed on."

So let's check the scoreboard and see what's currently left:

It appears -from not-so-distant-history - that you WILL BE SUED or otherwise be required to "pay a fee" if any/all of the following statements are true:

(1) Own SC discs but mediashift without permission
(2) Own SC discs and don't mediashift at all.(Also known as the "Rodney Syndrome" or in scientific terminology: "investigatus mistakus giganticus")
(3) Don't use SC tracks in your shows at all, whether you own them or not.
(4) Request a "voluntary audit" before #1, #2, or #3. (You get to pay for it.)
(5) Fail to request a "voluntary audit" before #1, #2, or #3 (you get to pay for it later.)
(6) And of course, actually pirate their brand where you will win a giant deep-discount financing on the lease of some of their finest "oldies."

It looks like it's a simple deduction from here: Whether you use them or not, you will most likely either be sued for one reason or another, or simply pay them a yearly fee for whatever they want to call it at the time.

Only in America!