Karaoke Forums

I was wondering as to how many KJs use the billboard as a guide to decide what songs to buy????

Yes. I check billboard top 40 every now & then. I will download songs from well known artist such as TKeith, TSwift, Adele, Maroon5, KPerry, etc. The rest, only if requested by my singers. If requested that night, they’ll have it following night.

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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!

having access to so many brands now on a per track basis, i just get what singers ask for.
before that, billboard was not a winner in my area, but in others i'm sure it was.

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

The original Billboard charts lost relevance decades ago as they were based on record sales which were inaccurate and eventually died along with the record stores. They actually publish the BDS charts now which are based on actual, monitored on-air spins.

If you want to know what your audience is hearing on the radio, you should go straight to the horses mouth. Much easier to get the big picture than the Billboard website:

BDS Charts
Click the "New and Active" or "Most increased" links at the top to see the hot up-and-comers.

CHR/Top 40

Active Rock

Adult Contemporary

Country

Urban

Alternative

Triple A

Smooth Jazz

Rythmic

Hot A/C

Heritage Rock

Urban A/C

It works for me. I'm in the city and I update my filler music every month or two using billboard. Their site is a bit of a pain because they use myspace to preview music, so I end up opening a youtube tab and toggle back and forth.
Every song has to pass through my personal filter before it makes it into a playlist. No straight rap, has to have some melody in there. No slow songs, usually very little country, but ever since about 5-1-5-0 until now, there's been a lot more getting played.

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If you're going to eat my mic, do you at least want some condiments?

I absolutely use Billboard. I used to listen to the radio, but over the last few years, my tolerance for music has diminished substantially. I have come to appreciate peace & quiet!

I don't go strictly by what is on the charts. I sample each song and use my head as to whether or not people will actually sing the songs. I buy very few on my own. I normally wait for someone to request it. However, it is a little bit different for my DJ/filler music. I am much more likely to buy an original artist rendition that I am to buy a karaoke rendition. Actually, playing the brand new originals is a great way to decide whether or not to buy - ya'll know how people hear a filler song and want to sing it.

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I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!

Right there with you. I surprised a customer when I told him that I almost never turn on the radio in my car. He thought because I was a KJ, I must listen to music all the time. But when I leave the venue after hearing music for 5 hours, the last thing I want to do is listen to more.

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If you're going to eat my mic, do you at least want some condiments?

This is why I love these forums, you learn something everyday. The sites listed will definitely change my download activity – for the better. Thanks, Bazza.

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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!

I agree, never heard of the BDS before. I never use Billboard though for the reasons stated.
I do go to the Sirius Top 40 station & look at what's playing (my daughter loves this station so I hear it whenever I take her somewhere).
http://www.siriusxm.com/hits1
Not that I buy anything just because it's on this list - I still wait for people to actually request the songs the majority of the time, but often times, the new PHM or All Star releases will cover alot of what's playing now.

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

I use it every now and then but the slow to load thing is a problem for me, too. I also check Rolling Stone and used to consult with youngun's I worked with. But I also take note of what is played on the jukebox while I'm setting up and tearing down so that way I know what that particular venue likes. In general I will buy some new songs via All Star just because it is cheap enough to speculate with but if it is an actual request from a regular singer than I will search for the best version and spend the extra money for it.

BDS is a Nielson company. It's a service aimed at radio Program & Music Directors and not the general public which is why you have never heard of it. Although the national charts I linked above are free, if you want precise metrics about your market or region (or if a radio station wants to see exactly what a competitor is playing) you have to be a subscriber. Practically every contemporary radio station in the US is a BDS subscriber though and is what they use to spot songs that are trending, etc.

They actually have listening stations in every market that automatically detect and tabulate actual song airplay. Its pretty slick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_Br ... ta_Systems

There is also a Canadian version for our neighbors to the north. Go here: http://www.bdsradio.com and choose the Canadian chart you want from the dropdown.

Here's one I use for up and coming artists... I don't listen to the radio as much as my clients do, so I will wait until I get two or more requests for a song, and then I'll listen to it, to see if it passes all my personal filters, before purchasing it for Karaoke show... If and when it becomes available, which is getting harder and harder these days!
http://americasmusiccharts.com/