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I heard from several reliable sources investigators are out in Sarasota this week. Letters have been going out the next day or shortly thereafter. Maybe they finally have it right. Time will tell.

Singyoassoff.....I have heard they have investigators in Fl and 2 other states very active within the last month (from reliable sources).......I think we will be seeing a couple more filings VERY soon. SC is moving into more and more states and I am glad to be here where we are seeing ALOT of action . What have you seen in your area ? We are seeing many pirates "vanishing" and alot of bar owners looking for legit hosts......it will be GREAT when they are willing to start paying what legal hosts are worth

Not that I have been able to verify but word on the streets is CB is starting investigations here in Fl very soon as well.

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

Come to Gainesville! Come to Gainesville!!!

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Kelley
Star Sounds Karaoke & Mobile Recording Studio


[shadow=black][scroll]You have to respect your audience. Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself....KD Lang[/scroll][/shadow]

I am SOO with ya!!

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Kelley
Star Sounds Karaoke & Mobile Recording Studio


[shadow=black][scroll]You have to respect your audience. Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself....KD Lang[/scroll][/shadow]

Is Florida law more tolerant than other states of shoddy investigative work? Do they have a judge that seems to be more sympathetic than in other states? Is Florida a cesspool of that many illegal hosts? Really what gives with their relentless pursuit in Florida? I've always thought of Florida as a bunch old people playing shuffle board. Wouldn't you think that New York City, Chicago or LA to be good starting points. You could hire an investigator that lives there and he wouldn't even have to get a hotel room, or rent a car to find hundreds of places doing karaoke in these large metro areas. I could speculate further that large cities are also filled with a lot more nefarious characters that would quickly act on on a "snitch" in ways that would not help the manufacturers cause. By all means persue, but let's start asking questions first before naming and accusing. They have shown that they mean business, but they have yet to show any teeth. Only time will tell. Our legal system was set up to protect it's citizens from legal abuse and let's not loose sight of that.

Mrmarog

Not seeing any evidence of that at all. Oh, the occasional hit in one state or another, but all the "sweeps" seem to be in Florida, Va, and may be some in the Carolinas.

To Mrmarog: I don't think you will see them do anything major in the large population centers -such as LA, NY, Northern NJ, Chicago, Las Vegas - in the near future. I believe they already know hoe that would work out for them...

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

How quickly you forget Phoenix, Arizona. They have been to New York, I believe that is where they caught Dan Stern (it's late and I'm trying to remember). They've also been all around Virginia and of course, the Carolinas. They've been in Oregon as well haven't they?

They've just won a case against Hot Shot Entertainment in U.S. District Court (Eastern Virginia).

I hope this accelerates the rats fleeing the ship... we'll be sailing pirate-free seas!

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Never the same show twice!

Was it a win or a default? I'll have to check later.

Default, so not really a real win.

Call it what you will. 10,000.00 is no drop in the bucket. I hope they come further south in to Naples again. While a few of the local venues have stopped or switched karaoke companies, the majority are running status quo. These venues are the same ones named in the lawsuit.

Time will tell...

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

While you are correct in that I forgot AZ, there have been no "sweeps" in NY, NJ, Chicago, LA, or Las Vegas, or Oregon. There may have been a few isolated contacts in some these places, but that's it.

Dan Dan was not from the NYC area at all. Don't know where that came from..

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Right, it was Dan Stern - Bill Bene - out of LA. I vaguely recalled something about purchases made in NY that the FBI used to track him down.

I think we understand each other. You're saying "no sweeps". I am saying that may be right, but there are many actions taking place on many fronts. I named a few, and I believe there are more that we aren't aware of.

There was supposed to be something happening in Chicago at the beginning of the year from another source, but that hasn't panned out and I've heard no more information on the progress of that activity.

Do you think the "sweep" strategy is worth it? Maybe that is why they aren't doing "sweeps" in too many places.

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Never the same show twice!

Good question, Sandman. If I were to be thinking in terms of mfrs. other than SC, and if it were handled properly, maybe- in the short run, but I have doubts. Pirates may get a little leary for a little while.

However, in the long run: Once the sweeps become farther apart, they won't keep up with the re-growth. Keep in mind that we are in the midst of a bad economy. Now one can own a business for under a grand. Their own home lappy, pirated music, pirated software, 2 powered speakers and some mics- done.

How do you end THAT on a permanent basis? Many of these people aren't just creeps, but are desperately looking for a way to EAT. They won't stop- not permanently any way.

And of course, there is my assertion regarding venues...

I'm afraid there may only be two ways to put even the smallest dent in the thousands and thousands of pirates nationwide.

1) Prosecute the hell out of pirate distributors. There is a problem here in that there is no profit in it without a lot of time and economic layout. I'm not knocking anyone, just being practical.

2) A new media developed that can't be pirated. A few years ago I had heard of research on cards that would self-erase if an attempt to copy was made. I haven't found anything happening since.


I guess what I'm saying is that while KJ hunting might ease things up in that specific market for a little while, it will have no lasting effect.

I make the comparison with The War On Drugs in NYC. They go after every little crackhead, junkie, and corner dealer- which costs the state and city a fortune in court and enforcement time.

What happens? THAT block is cleaned up for a month- because everyone moved a block. The big distributors are still in place, the producers are still in place, and drug use is rampant- and the block eventually returns to action.

Another thought to add. When I was born, there was ONE THIRD the amount of people in the U.S. as there are now.

That means there will ALWAYS be a new supply of drug users, pirate KJs, and anything else that requires a semi-warm body.

I wish I had more positive input, but I think the cat is out of the bag. and that the only way to truly knock out the competition - pirate or legit- is to go back to basics, be the best at what we do, and show 'em what competiton REALLY is.

This DOES work. I'm living proof.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Karaoke Kelley...let them know you have a pocket of piracy there.....they will come.........even just a speadsheet of venues with addresses and nights of shows....you dont even need to list hosts or if they are legit or not if you do not want to....send them a starting point and they will come

_________________
"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

WE WILL GET THERE

_________________
"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

I have it on reliable source that someone was at a legit KJ's show last night masquerading as a investigator....his methods were obvious and not at all like a real investigator...KJ laughed him out of the bar....so real or fake that is the question


HAD to add....I really hope he hits one of our shows when I am there

_________________
"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

I'm not so sure there have been any "real investigators" in any case. At least considering the number of legit KJs that have been named at this point.

Birdofsong

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Birdofsong

What were the indications they were an 'investigator'?

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

Lonman,

This guy came in aggressively started asking questions like...do you have any songs not in the book? how many songs do you have with dupes? will you make me copies of these tracks? ect and was using a video cam to record the KJ and screens to the point of standing right beside the screen recording only the monitor and KJ ect. I can assure you these are not the methods used by a real investigator at least in this area....If a real investigator comes in they are using button cams and visit more than once asking questions in much more subtle ways.......most people have no idea they were visited....and they visited a show that had already been vetted by SC and CB so I cant really figure out this guy's angle

Athena

_________________
"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

If I had to take a guess, it would be that he is named in one of the suits and thinks he is gathering evidence to support his case. The "everyone else is doing it" defense. Not an effective defense, but a last ditch effort if that's all he's got