Karaoke Forums

The Doc is not the only example of people doing thing for "free"
Winamp+plugin is free too, and so is karafun

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Right and i'm willing to bet that over 75% of the undercutters & illegal downloaders are using these too, another thing they don't need to purchase to help the continuation of lowering prices for decent entertainment.

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[shadow=deepskyblue]I'm impressed, I've never met such a small mind inside such a big head before.[/shadow]

No but I know my bar is not doing too well financially, and I am friends with the bartender. I want to help him keep his bar open, If I commanded the maximum he could pay me, it might be a lot of stress on the bar's finances and he would probably go under. If not he might have to make other changes, like charging more for drinks etc.

It is as much of a mutual support situation, the bar provides a place for me and my friends to go sing karaoke. He tolerates a bunch of people to come into his bar, many of whom drink little and some nothing.

In any case the "average" market price for KJs in most bars in my area is very low. I know one bar that was not even offering free drinks to their unpaid kjs. They only offered half priced drinks to the KJ. That was the situation with some bars BEFORE I became a Kj.

I live in a very musical town (Athens GA). There are currently about 100 active bands in a town of only about 100,000. There are also about 30-40 active DJs, and a dozen active KJs in town. THe vast majority of bands, DJs and KJs in town are paid little or nothing. The local market is saturated. Only a select few bands or djs can really get paid enough to justify their effort as a business.

I do shows on thursdays.
On that same night in town there are 11 bars with live bands (24 different bands), 3 different DJs, and 4 karaoke shows. The market for entertainment is already hit the bottom. Over half of the shows are no covercharge, and the most expensive cover was only $6 at a bar with 4 live bands. Most of the bands and DJs are unpaid or very minimally paid.

never mind

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Once a bad KJ ruins the karaoke night at a bar, the bar owner will tell you  Oh ..Yeah i tried karaoke and it didn't work.    No karaoke works and works very well if you have someone that knows what they are doing.  You being a stupid bar owner thinking you can save a buck, hires some no talent, no investment "hack" and wonder what happened to my nice profitable karaoke income.   Bar Ghost towns are popping up all over because of worthless KJs thinking they are good and worth something.   And bar owners that think they know a bargin when they see one.

Once a karaoke night is ruined, it's practically gone forever.  Not even a good KJ can revive something that's been dead too long.   I'm a good KJ, not GOD.

My price reflects my worth compared to all the other worthless KJs. I know what i can do for a bar.  I have seen what others can do to a bar and it isn't pretty.

My worth is actually higher.  But because of all the worthless KJs in the area, i have to compenstate downwards on my worth.   Doesn't mean i'm worth less money.   It means if i want to work i have to take less money.   My karaoke night is worth at least $300 a night, compared with the other area KJs.   My price is in line with most of the competition, but i have rasied my price to prove that i am a better quality investment for the bar.   I produce results.  Other KJs can't.   That's what makes me worth more.

A bar owner will not tell me what he wants to pay, unless it's what i want to receive.

Psychologically...anything free has less value than something with a price tag.

Ever hear the saying about freeeadvice?  It's usually worth nothing.   That's why it's free.

F. Lee Baily was the first lawyer to charge $1,000,000

He named his price.  If you wanted him to be your lawyer then you paid $1,000,000.  You didn't tell him you only wanted to pay $1,000.

That was the worth he put on his service.  He felt he was that good.  His name attachted to the case was worth that much.

My name attached to your bar is worth what i say it is.  Not what you think you want to say it is.   I'm not stupid.  I see the amount of people and drinks flowing.   Are bars in my area suffering?  The economy is hurting each and every one of them.  The crowds are getting smaller.   Will it last?   For a while but it's not going to be permanent.  They will come back as the econmoy gets stronger.   Some bars may not whether the storm.   Like the one that just replaced me.  But he wants to save a buck with a worthless KJ.   He will save money but the cost will be backruptcy in the long run.   Kitchen upgrades and menu changes can not take away the competition from th new mall and there are actually 2 new bars opening in the hood.  So competition will get more demanding on him.  A bad KJ is the last thing he needs.  LMAO

Fred, how long have you been playing at your friend's bar?

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Only 4 months now as KJ, 1 day a week.

But I was a regular there as a singer for about 3 years before becoming the KJ.

Sure I am "new" to being a KJ but that is why I read these posts, I am trying to learn.

I may burn out on it someday, but if anything I enjoy it now more than when I first started. Plenty of paid KJs also burn out on being KJ.

F Lee Bailey got famous for defending people who had practically no money but were in famous cases (like the Boston Strangler, and the guy accused of the Mai Lai Massacure in Vietnam). Neither were rich people and they paid in NON Monitary ways (fame for F Lee Baily).

Only when he was famous did he start to charge high fees to the rich like Patty Hearst and OJ Simpson.

Takeing those "Free" cases really paid off for F Lee Baily in his later fame. No way he would have gotten his 1,000,000 fee later in life if he had not spent years working for Free (but really for fame).

He is now disbarred for misconduct, so his fee and worth as a lawyer is now 0. Money is not everything (non monitary penalty).

Thanks for bringing up that example.
(were you trying to sink your own arguement  LOL )

He was worth his fee, if you wanted him.

I can not help it if he got in to troulbe.  But it had nothing to do with his fee.

He got his fee from defending the man accused of being the Boston strangler. The accuesed was a petty burglar before he was arrested.

How much can a "caught" petty burglar pay his lawyer????

Hint: Damm close to zero. Certainly not a million dollars.

The guy was broke. (Reason to become a petty burglar)

It was a pro-bono (free) defense of the man by Baily that helped get Baily famous.

Your example is a man who got famous for doing free work. Sure later he was able to charge insane fees. BUT he did a lot of free work that paid off later in other ways. It was Baileys FREE defense in this and a few other cases that got him famous.

About the most non-worthless example of something "free" that someone could come up with.

If you want me to build a crowd at your bar, you will pay the fee.

I can give you lots of names of KJs that can kill a crowd.  Cheaper.

its obvious you haven't worked in a swamped environment.

HOUSE Kjs make maybe $50 a NIGHT, REGARDLESS of their talent. That's why I branched off. And I was lucky towards the end to GET $125... usually it was $100!

Duh!!! I wonder why? Oh, Lets see Does that town have masses of bands and dj's and kj's who play for free so the bar owner can rake in the profits?

If Walmart only pays minimum wage, it is because there are so many people willing to accept that for pay.

Dr. Fred, You truly Know what You are worth......... Now I agree.!!!!!!

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I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !

THe regular class warfare BS.

There are also a lot of bars, and some charge as little as $1 for a domestic beer. Few charge more than $1.50 for a domestic beer. Most bars do not "rake in" the profits. The market is saturated, the target demographic is college students who cant afford to pay a lot to go drink.

The bars provide a service to their target group at a reasonable price. The entertainment all does it willingly and for the most part gladly at the market price. The local cost of living is low. Many (almost half) of the patrons at the bar I work also have jobs as DJs or play in bands other nights of the week. If the bar charged more to pay the entertainment, many of the people doing the entertainment could not afford to go to the bar on their off days.

Walmart and places like them help the poor overall. Sure they pay a few employees low wages. Most of those employees cant get jobs elsewhere. Minimum wage is better than nothing.  Walmart also provides low cost product that helps all of the other poor get by. If all stores like walmart paid a high wage, then most of the poor could not afford to buy things like they do now.

It is Understandable why the Town is a Poverty town, They probably work for free, because all the other Dj's and band members in that localle play for free or as a hobby.

I also Understand the Poor Bars arent making a dime off of selling Beer to their Patrons....

Lets see a case of beer Wholesale say $10.00 for 24 sell 24 beers gross $24.00. 300% profit less the overhead, in your case none for entertainment. Juke box Probably brings in a few hundred a week. Video Poker brings in a few Thousand a week if It has it. Pool table at least a couple a hundred in a college town.... Poor Bar Owner, I really feel for him..

You are far enough from Me I could care less.....

I am just expresing My Personal opinion on this B.S.

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I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !

Is this the same creative math that allows 75+ singers on a karaoke night?

A case of beer wholesale for $10? That is funny.

more than that, it's an example of how little EElvis knows about local ordinances and taxes...

Gone are the days when you could profit off a dollar draw. YES it's possible to sell a bottle of Aneheiser beer for a buck. No problem there. Retail alone on a case can get you that. And in truly competitive (or depressed) markets, stuff like that is an insane reality.

I guess it depends what is your "Locale". Of cource I don't.  Here cheap beer is about $10.00 a case wholesale, and they sell it in a bar for $2.50 - 3.25 a beer. Premium Beer is of course much more, and it depends on wht is Premium in your area. Pabst may be premium is some markets, and a cheap beer in others. I worked as a route salesman fo a non-premium beer dist. in the 70's I know a little. What site specific prices are..... Dont Know. dont care. But to say a bars don't make money is rediculous. If they stay open 4 months and arent making, They better quit. The college students here party more than they study, So I think they must have some money to spend. But Im Talking here....

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I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !