Karaoke Forums

I am not a KJ or anything....Just curious. I see where KJ's are talking about having to have "licenses" for different companies. How does one find out about the legalities of Karaoke? Do they have auditors that come out and check on you guys? What if you buy CD's from ebay and they happen to be pirated (not really sure how one can tell) is it illegal for you guys to use them? Sounds like a lot to have to keep up with. Like I said, I was just curious.

Complex answers all..

"IF" you use discs only, you're good to go. (The venue pays required performance fees)

"IF" the disc you purchase is original, use it.

"IF" the disc you purchase is "Counterfeit", ask for a refund. (Good luck on that)

"IF" you read a few of these threads, you will better understand the issues..

Lots of grey area, lots of moving targets, something new every day. We're in the wild west of industry regulation. The only thing that's for sure, is you MUST buy every track you use in your commercial show, and keep good records of those purchases!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

What jdmeister & TopherM said.

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

How do you know if a disk is pirated? I pretty much buy all of my discs on Ebay or Amazon. I have no desire to "steal" music, I would rather buy it, but how do I know if I'm buying something legal?

If the disc has a silk-screened label, it is "generally" considered to be authentic. Just about anything with a paper label can be considered pirated as can most CDR and DVDR discs though not 100% as some manus did use CDR's in the later years. But there is NOT a lot of that on the market that I have come across.

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-Chris

If you are talking about a Sound Choice disc, the following criteria usually indicate a pirated disc:

(1) Disc has a white label with only handwritten markings.
(2) Disc has a paper stick-on label. (All SC disc markings are printed directly on the disc.)
(3) Label printing is off-center, uneven, or otherwise imperfect.
(4) Label does not conform to SC's standard layout.
(5) Label contains spelling mistakes.
(6) Disc's center ring carries the name of a CD-R manufacturer (Memorex, Maxell, etc.).
(7) Tracks on the disc are in MP3+G format.
(8) Tracks contain noticeable graphical or audio quality errors.
(9) Disc contains non-SC tracks.
(10) Depending on the disc, the disc is burned rather than pressed.
(11) The disc is a DVD rather than a CD.

These are the most common, but there are other indicia of piracy. I have also seen some forgeries that were so good that it took microscopic inspection to determine whether they were real or fake, but that's unusual.

I have a couple I think I got taken on because when I hold the disc up to the light it has a slight green tint instead of being silvery in appearance. The label looks good to me.

I think numbers 8 and 10 are iffy. SC has produced some defective tracks on a disc before (and have exchanged them for non-defective discs). Not only that, but if you were to purchase a used disc, it could have poor graphics due to wear and tear over the years. As for discs being burned, I have received some discs directly from SC that were burned instead of pressed (these were discs that I had replaced due to wear and tear over the years). So, "Depending on the disc" (item 10), how is one supposed to know unless they call up SC directly and ask?

It is possible to produce a counterfeit disc that is difficult to detect..

Burned discs can be printed just like the pressed discs.

A "Pressed Disc" may not have the signature green tint the "Phase Change" dye type burned disc.

This does not prevent counterfeit pressed discs being produced. All things are possible.

I can buy a Rolexx watch if I choose to.. But if I buy a Rolex, and receive a Rolexx, I was ripped off..