Karaoke Forums

Here is a question not asked.

What Would happen to people who havent heard of these audits/certs?

As I stated when I found your website I was looking over STeve-o Stuff when I came across it. I asked 2 other KJ 's in the area they heard Nothing of it. That make em a pirate or Uncooperative? Just a legit question on how you would treat them.


I spent 8 years of My life on standby for this country even went to Iraq, I do Not like to see innocent United States Citizens Harassed or Bullied by anyone When they are innocent Civil or criminal. Guess you know why I stay active on here.

That is all, Explain away Praytel

From what I understand .. info gained here: If you are disc based, they won't do anything. But if you are computer based and haven't asked for an audit, they will name you in a lawsuit because you did not get permission to media-transfer your disc's. After that, if you can prove that you are 1:1 with original disc's, they will drop the suit. (I wouldn't count on it though.. I'd spread the word... get legal or quit.. that's the point anyway)

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

I didnt ask question for a cheerleader. Sorry Lisa. And people who don't Get audit arent all pirates or Hard drive users. Question is direct and valid. Last I knew prior to ever getting to this website was as long as you had disks. I Am ripping though I may use another KJ's hd to transfer music ripped already. As long as files are same I'm safe. No Gem sets or Pirated drives. ( I'm sure they have ways to see common errors in them) My KJ friend has as large of collection so further ripping for me will be minimal. all at 320 I dont advise this for all unless you know the KJ personally and are legit as you are.

Heard you can thru the grapevine.

I don't think it makes them a "pirate" or "uncooperative." If you don't know about the program, you can't intend not to cooperate with it.

That being said, there are instructions on the packaging for the discs, if not the discs themselves, about not copying them without permission. There are also copyright and registered trademark notices on the discs. I think a lot of people operate from assumptions rather than finding out what is needed. The thing about our programs is that it really doesn't matter whether you know what the law is or not. If you're 1:1, you can pass an audit whether you knew that audits existed or not. And if you're not 1:1, it doesn't matter whether you knew about it--it will take something extra to put it right.



I really don't think we harass or bully anyone. When we encounter someone who's genuinely innocent, or we discover that they are during our process, we tend to bend over backward to accommodate that person. The same is true for the people who are 1:1 but haven't done the audit at the time of suit--people you might consider innocent (but that we don't consider 100% innocent). When someone claims to be 1:1, we quickly provide them with paperwork and complete the audit as soon as we can.

On the other hand, when we encounter people who have clearly done what we accused them of, and they are uncooperative, we tend to lower the boom on them. But everyone is given at least an initial chance to cooperate.

oh i'm sure James there out there. TY for your answer. Dude are you being paid bt the hr here?

Any news on SC end of anti piracy for futur IE: water marking mp3+g or such?

I don't get paid anything for spending time here. But I find that spending time here is an excellent way to find out what questions and concerns people have about our various programs and to get correct information out there.

And it's a privilege to get your legal advise and opinion for free

This question is ONLY for Lisah....

Excuse me?????????????? Why do YOU believe they (SC) wouldn't drop the case against someone they named in a lawsuit if they can prove they're 1:1?

This is a question only for johnny......
Why do you always feel.....left out?

I felt that way AFTER talking to SC. They gave me permission to media shift (told me to do so) and then they'll do the audit. I media shifted a long time ago and told them that.. they told me that it was good that I called for the audit not b/c they won't let you media shift BUT b/c they will name you in a lawsuit for it IF they haven't given you permission to media shift. They may drop the suit after you prove you are 1:1 BUT they don't have to... it says clearly on their site and discs'... "Unauthorized duplication is a violation of federal copyright laws".

Sorry if I upset you.. yelling at me makes me upset too.. so we're 1:1

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

he called me a cheerleader ack!! Sorry I should have stated that I had a long conversation with Sound Choice yesterday afternoon. I wish none of this was an issue.. but it is.. I'm tired of losing money to KJ's that buy hard drives full of music (for pennies per song) that I've spent 15 years buying one disc, one collection at a time! If that makes me a cheerleader then so be it... buy me some pom poms! btw, if you don't want a comment on a question you post.. send it in PM to the intended recipient.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

a virtual set of pop poms headed your way...some tried to use it as a derogatory term and we turned it around on them.We hate loosing shows to those who never paid for a CDG and shake our pom poms with glee....welcome to the club

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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

Thank you! Happy to join! Can't wait for my legal status.. biting at the bit to do what you are doing! Am so happy things are going well!

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

OK, so now that you're considered "legal" ( meaningless though that may be) by SC, how much more do you plan to charge per show, now that you are no longer "losing money" to pirates?

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Joe - My rate before and after certification is exactly the same. I may be wrong, but I don't think anyone gets certified and raises rates.

Being certified doesn't increase my rates.
Being certified helps me justify my rates.

-Chris

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-Chris

Chris, surely you don't believe that you needed to spend money for a certificate to justify your rate?

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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.

Chris,

How many shows do you do per week and how many shows have you been able to take from pirates since you have been "certified"? Of course, you don't have to answer this question if you feel it's too personal.

Being certified helps me justify my rates.

Among other things...

-Chris

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-Chris

Perspective - I have a day job that supports me completely. I can drop karaoke tomorrow with zero impact to my income. In other words, I am not in a big rush with my karaoke business.

I currently have 1 show per week.
I am adding a 2nd night at the same venue in 2 weeks.
I may add a 3rd night at the same venue at the same time. I am working the owner on that.

Stellar Certified since December.
Chartbuster since early February
Sound Choice officially since yesterday when I received my actual printed certificate and final paperwork.

I have not directly pursued pirate shows as of yet because I wanted all three certs in my pocket before going directly after pirates. I am also going to make absolutely sure that someone is a pirate before trying to take a show/or push them out.

I am still tweaking some marketing info I am putting together. In the mean time, I have focused on pitching to locations that don't currently have karaoke. The host I hired in December pitched to a few venues last week that don't currently have shows and I am meeting with a couple of them this weekend.

-Chris

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-Chris

I don't plan to charge more... I am doing the audit process to justify my rates. I've actually taken cuts in pay over the past two years.... I'm tired of doing this! The cost of living has increased yet my pay has decreased! I've lost one gig in the past week to a KJ undercutting my price by 25%. About a year ago, I lost another (2 nights) to a kj that undercut me by 50%...though, that kj lost that gig also because of lack of interest in his show, the venue decided not to use karaoke any longer). I keep seeing new KJ's come into the market charging 25% or more less that what my rate is. I need more gigs, but I can't afford to do more gigs at the rate the illegal KJ's are charging. Ours is a business, it totally supports one family (the owner) and supplements two other families (mine and a husband & wife that work for us... I am the assistant manager). With taxes, vehicle insurance, and all the other costs of doing business and having employees, we have been going in the red for the past year or more. It won't be long before we go out of business all together if something isn't done. Yes, we do other things besides karaoke... mobile dj for weddings etc, voice and piano lessons, equipment rental and performance. Karaoke is/was a nice size chunk of that income. Once we had five nights a week but now only 2. This company has been in business for 30 years.. we tried to just 'go with the flow' but we can't let the illegal kj hurt us any longer. There was a time not too long ago where we co-existed with other legal kj's in our area.. there was an silent agreement not to go 'shark' the other shows, since there were enough to go around. That atmosphere is no longer. And I'm not going to continue to stand silently and take it. For some this is a hobby and that's fine... for us it is a livelihood! We have to get more work! So yea... I'll be trying to get my old pay back but will continue to work for less (not $100) just to get the gig. Oh.. and I'm not 'legal' certified yet.. just got the paperwork from SC today. But am expecting the final stuff from CB this week... hopefully. Then I'm going after some gigs!

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!