Karaoke Forums

Streaming music services such as Spotify have eclipsed CD sales and are closing in on digital downloads as the largest source of revenue in the music industry's biggest market, according to new data from the Recording Industry Association of America.

US revenues from subscription streaming brands such as Spotify and Rhapsody and streaming radio services including SiriusXM hit $1.87bn in the US in 2014, a 29 per cent increase on 2013 and equivalent to 27 per cent of total music industry revenues.

Sales of CDs slipped 12.7 per cent to $1.85bn, even as the decline in total sales of physical formats was cushioned by the renaissance of vinyl records, which accelerated in 2014, with a near 50 per cent jump in sales of LPs to $315m.

Now i don't know what format new SC production will be, or going forward, what any karaoke manufacturer will do, but it sounds like it would be insane to dump money into a dead technology.

It will be interesting to see if the karaoke industry can survive these changes. Maybe we'll be to a point where singers will bring their own songs in on a device and just plug into the kj or house sound system and sing that way.

I'm 65 percent of the way there already.

I currently only pay for around 35 percent of the new Karaoke songs I purchase. The other 65 percent is paid for by the singers requesting a song.

It's amazing how many people will give you 5 dollars for a 3 dollar song just to be able to sing it on the next rotation.

I never force them to pay. I just let them know that the song is available for immediate download for 3 bucks and they invariably offer up the cash without even being asked. They pay me and I put the song on my account and download it. If they don't offer and it is a song that I want anyways I just pay for it myself and download it. If it's some clunker that I absolutely hate I can quietly toggle the wifi off and give them my apologies that the internet connection is down or go to a site where I know they don't have the song.

This is one of the great results of the digital download revolution. They actually expect to pay for the song.

Music is the cost of doing business for us (and a write off as well). We don't let the singers pay for any of the tracks we buy though some tip the respective hosts. It is one of the ways we differentiate ourselves from all the rest of the hosting companies out there.

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-Chris

I buy all my songs, but if I get tips, I put them towards songs.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

When I get tips at any of my shows, I give it to the kitchen staff. I figure they help me as much as anybody else by making sure the food gets out to the customers while I'm there. The bartender and wait staff get tips but the folks in the kitchen never do. I certainly don't get as many tips at the shows I do now compared to when I ran a karaoke show at the resort, but I'll usually get anywhere from $15-$25 a week in small denominations. I also tip the waitress at every show $3-5 for bringing me water. Once again, it's not a lot, but if a girl is having a slow night, that $5 from me is a big deal. You can bet if I ever need anything though, that staff is all over it. I checked with the owners before I started doing this and they were all for it, as you can imagine.

I don’t expect my singers to pay for their requested song tracks either. But sometimes they will give me $3 or $5 to cover the download.

I make it a point not to touch the money being handed to me because it can be interpreted as I’m accepting a bribe & that person will get preferential treatment. That’s when I tell them if they really want to - they can drop it to my “song fund” jar. And I really mean ALL will be used to purchase more songs.

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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!

My tip jar says "New Song Fund".

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-Chris

WHAT?! NO! WE NEED HARD MEDIA! MORE ANTIQUE CD'S! EVERYBODY GO BACK TO CD'S! NOW!

Enjoy your VHS tapes.

It is not difficult to recognize that this entire thread is a perfect example of an exercise in semantics.....

Vinyl isn't dead technology, but cds are?

Are you kidding? Yes. Vinyl is dead technology.

Sure. You can still buy it. Yes there has been a bit of a nostalgic Renaissance in recent years with bands releasing on vinyl. But thats what it is. Nostalgia. Hipster Chic. Cool Retro. Hey there are people out there right now that will make a replica Edison Wax Cylinder of your song, or a brand new 8-track. But that doesnt mean that the technology isn't dead unless your definition of "dead" is -zero- in production, in which case Cassettes are still alive!

You are lying to yourself if you think we are returning to a turntable in every home, a record store on every block and teenagers running to buy the latest 45.

I feel the same way. I never take money for a song, however if they throw it in the tip jar (which I do not point at or make any reference to when declining) that is part of their saying thanks. I know some kj's that will only buy music if a patron pays for it. Not cool.

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

I don't tip kitchen staff, they close an hour after I start & there is rarely food being bought in that time frame. I always tip my bartender though - $5 for $0 to $10 tabs, $10 for $20-30, $15 for $30-40 and so on.

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

This would only work when I'm working personally, the hosts that work for me keep their tips (as I expect yours do).

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

I was responding to the OP going on about the death of the CD whilst citing the vinyl renaissance. The question mark was intended to indicate an incredulous reaction at that juxtaposition.

I think the case is being overstated...

Yes, streaming is big and young people have embraced it, but people still like to own a physical product - especially if the artwork is cool.

I'd love to see a reality TV show or maybe a game show testing the claims of "audiophiles" to see just how golden their ears really are. I suspect a lot of them would be emperors with no clothes.

Absolutely! The first contestant should be Neal Young.

Should we presume that you mean NEIL Young???

Kneel Young?

"KNEEL" YOUNG???

Don't know about that one...but, it IS ironic that Neil YOUNG is as OLD as dirt.....

Gneel Young?