Karaoke Forums

Went to the SC website and took a look at the Certified Hosts section and it seems to have grown substantially since I last looked. Leading the way with the most listed is Florida, North Carolina and of all places OREGON!! Little Oregon tucked away in the Pac NW with SMALL Population density yet up there with Fla and NC! Why is this?

1. Efforts have been more strenuous and effective?

2. Hosts seem to be more concerned with getting Certed?

3. Better more effective education and publication efforts?

3. Random circumstance???

4. Or does Oregon have the highest per-capita Karaoke density vs the other states?

Any ideas?

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

the lawsuits hit the Interstate 5 corridore from northwestern washington state to oregon...

nice little 4 hour drive, why not hit the 2 major cities in the northwest seattle and portland

portland oregon, has lots of little subburbs:
Eastside Portland, Clackamas, Happy Valley, Westside Suburbs, Beaverton, Orenco Station, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Northwest Portland, Southwest Suburbs, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin, West Linn, Wilsonville and another 20 miles from wilsonville you hit salem.

same with seattle, and their surroundings.

so it's actually a really big area to hit!
so why not go there.

you being from portland area why even ask that question....

i was actually living in salem and doing karaoke. decided to move to back to idaho.
and a few months later the lawsuits started up in that neck of the woods....

not that i had anything to fear.

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It's all good!

5. Loosest requirements for filing a lawsuit?

6. Nice weather/beautiful scenery while........um working?

Pdx/Oregon has mileage...but low population. Lawsuits have been thru twice from Pdx metro...Salem, Eugene, Medford areas...so not a really huge number of veues to hit....so not really sure about the reasoning of your comment aas this specifcally refered to Oregon vs higher population states. Could be the endless rain.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Florida hit the most (with no real dent in piracy I might add), judges more...tolerant...of SC's methodology and allowing mass suits? Plus the weather IS nice...

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

KJAthena has something quite different to say about your "no real dent" comment.

I'm aware of that, but I am speaking of the state, and Athena is speaking of her area, with which she is most familiar, and also where she does the most as an SC ambassador to push the SC thought process/program to venues and KJs. However, even Athena admits that although her competition has been diminished a bit, others pop up to take their place.

I'm sure that Thunder, doing the same, would be in complete agreement with Athena in regard to HIS area.

The thing is, these places are limited to the work areas of the KJs in question, having secured their territories in a manner that they saw fit.

I stand by my "no REAL dent" statement.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

I have to agree with you Joe, in my area in California, no suits, no mention of SC and really nothing about PR/DT/CB. Depending on whose figures you use there are something like 30,000 to 50,000 hosts nationally, only a little over 400 of these are certified. That is less the 1% of the total. It would take years just to get everyone audited, much less investigate and bring to trial, and that is if all the hosts and venues cooperated which doesn't seem likely. The only dent is in their minds, as far as the certified hosts. Then of course they are entitled to believe what they want, even if it has no basis in reality. The certified hosts cooperate with SC because they feel in the long run it will help their business and bottom line. Just like SC this maybe true but at what cost to the industry and the feelings of the other hosts about them? Thunder doesn't care, I think Athena is more sensitive to how other hosts view her. Just my opinion of course. Have a blessed day.

I'm in Florida and I don't think that there any less pirates now than before the lawsuits started. However, there are way less disc based operators that were already legal. Go figure? I think the ODB operators found it too much work to carry the discs around and they didn't want to spend the time ripping.....so the just got out. With their departure in came the real pirate with not even 1 disc in their possession, and no assets to lose. I think the plan has worked well so far.

Based on some of the karaoke disc collection deals I have seen and some of which I have picked up, I would also attribute the decline in disc based hosts to those capitalizing on selling their in demand discs to buyers on eBay, Craigslist, or acquaintances. Sound Choice discs are still fetching a premium compared to most other brands.

In the Seattle area, I think the lawsuits ruffled some feathers and scattered the cockroaches when the light was shown on them. But even cockroaches come out with the lights on if there is nothing else to scare them away.

-Chris

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-Chris

Sthato the q becomes what happens once the sweeps r done? What follow up? Will the sweeps go on forever...I doubt it....I belive it will be back to biz as usual....with those run out simply replaced by new pirates and new venues that either dont know or dont care.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

KjAthena is not coming on here for awhile as she needs to use her energy elsewhere, however, I have agreed to watch the forum and post on issues she would feel are important. This would be one. We can only claim to be knowledgeable about our 4 county portion of our part of the state.

Per Justia The Middle district of Florida has had 30 suits filed by SC and as I understand more are in the pipeline. So the question of the "sweeps ending" is not much of a factor, hopefully they will end when venues and KJ's find it unprofitable to continue to STEAL the tracks they use.

As we are in the middle district of Florida we are most aware of those cases. Piracy is VERY much diminished as a result of the lawsuits. Some non-compliant KJ's have settled or passed audits, some have disappeared, some have gone back to using discs and some have stopped using SC/CB and Stellar tracks. Any one of these is a win for 1-1 KJ's

Our area is back to seeing an average of one "Newbie" every two months down from a high average of 8 every month in 2009. Our rates are rising (up over 60% in the last 3 years) and we are booking new shows at quality venues much more easily. Venues that were never really viable have gone back to Jukebox or sports programing on TV, a few have even gone to the Karaoke Jukebox options. This is increasing attendance at our shows substantially.

Any area that has KJ's willing to show they are legal and help educate other KJ's and venues can have the same success. If you are not part of the solution then you are a part of the problem. This is not a fast process but it is an effective one. I want to see karaoke as an industry not only survive but thrive once again.

I heard it from a friend that Kurt Slep bought a nice place on Marco Island which makes it easy to keep an eye on the venues in South West Florida. Just a stones throw from Naples and a short drive up to Fort Myers. It's easy to figure out who on this forum is the one pointing the fickle finger of fate at their competitors, and former partners. They had identical songbooks for years and then all of a sudden, one former partner gets all high and mighty.

BruceFan4Life,
Since I have never had a ex-partner or had a competitor with even a similar songbook I know you are not talking about me.

What do you find wrong about anyone reporting thieves ? Ex-partner or not. What is so high and mighty about that ? If it was your house that was robbed would you not want
someone to report the thieves if they were aware ?

If a finger is pointed all that is done is an investigation. The only ones that have to worry about being investigated are those who can not show they are 1-1, also known as thieves.

I hadn't heard that Kurt Slep was moving to Florida, I hope his new place on Marco Island is real nice and that he does keep his eye on the middle district of Florida.

I didn't shine a spotlight on you kjflorida. Kurt has every right to chase down as many thieves as he can catch. I would do the same thing. I make karaoke tracks for my personal enjoyment. I make a very conscious effort to keep people from getting copies of them. It's easier for me to do because I never try to sell even one of them. It's not a business for me; just a hobby.

What I have a problem with is a former business partner and friend ratting out someone for doing the same thing that they were both doing "TOGETHER" for years, to gain a financial edge.

Brucefan4life,

There are always reasons someone becomes a "former" business partner or friend. I have parted ways with freinds and even family that went on to do more of the same behaviors that caused the rift. Since I do not know the details of the case you are discussing all I can do is state that sometimes people realize when they are on a wrong path and turn over a new leaf.

If the "former" business partner/friend was not stealing then there would have been no legal problems for them. Again I ask if a thief's "former friend or even ex-partner" knew who broke into your house, would you not want them to report it ?

Kurt lives in Charlotte, NC. He hasn't bought a place in Florida and will not be moving there.

Honestly, I don't know where people come up with this stuff.

It would be nice to hear about more positive results around the country.Most areas still think nothing will improve.What gets Sound choice into an area?
Would an offer of a plane ticket and hotel do it?
Party for a week?
They already have hundreds of leads from every corner of the country--so what else does it take.?

Dave it is simple really, a few legit hosts willing to get certified and be willing to spend some time educating the local KJ's and Venues. And set up a good line of communication with SC...no need to offer a plane ticket or rooms just some ground troops.

first: pay for and conduct an audit for certification
second: report pirates to SC
third: buy safe harbor packets from SC
fourth: take those packets to venues to help inform them
fifth: duck and run when the owners throw things
sixth: bring the packets to fellow hosts to help inform them
seventh: walk away as they laugh at you
eighth: repeat report of pirates to SC
ninth: repeat entire process for two years with 0 venues or hosts caring or obtaining new shows
tenth: remove all mention of SC in advertising and reap rewards of more new shows than you can handle.

worked for me.

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