Karaoke Forums

Was curious as to what people's experiences have been with karaoke for the under 21 crowd. The Farmer's Market and County Fair seem to be packed with young singers but I figured if there was profit in it as a regular business then more people would be doing it.

I wondered about a "family hour" at a restaurant/bar before they quit serving and turned it into adults only. But while a kid singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" once can be adorable, having several get up for several rounds can drive the adult singers out of the builidng. My partner has had experience with that sort of thing at two places and he said that it was not profitable for the restaurant and they got in very few kid singers, anyway. It might do better if promoted properly but I see a potential awkwardness in trying to transition between two different types of crowds.

Another possiblilty is a pizza parlor that is going to rent additional space and turn it into a youth entertainment center. Again, not the type of profit a bar would see in serving alcohol but maybe it would fly. Or maybe karaoke would conflict with the video game sounds.

The one place my partner knew of just for young people charged a $5 singing fee in addition to selling poporn, chips and soft drinks. But they eventually closed down because things got too wild and the kids trashed the place.

I guess another possiblility would be a once a month thing at a youth club.

Any comments or suggestions? I guess when I see a teenybopper allowed to sneak in a song and she sings her heart out and does as good if not better than the adults, it seems there ought to be a place for kids to do that.

the problem with not 21 karaoke.

Most venues that make it serve alcohol.

I used to have a family event karaoke, and it was great... but the problem was, the families didn't want to spend any money. AND they got in the habit of dropping their kids off with a couple bucks in their hands IF that.

By the time we got a lot of that straightened out, the owners said it was too much trouble.

I have done, and still do, quite a bit of youth karaoke. I volunteer one Saturday a month at the state park nearby, and I do an alcohol-free New Years show that is lots of kids, and I do the occasional church gig. In our area, you had better have your Hannah Montana and High School Musical songs, along with plenty of Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

My favorite show, one which has been running for almost three years now, is a Sunday 7pm start. (I'll be leaving for there shortly.) Alcohol is served, but there is a significant restaurant component as they have good food. We leave by 9:30 and then it can get a little drunk.

But I tend to agree with Matt, the way karaoke is funded these days there is little money in it. The best way to find it is at festivals, shopping malls, and shows which might employ the host. I have seen some libraries sponsoring it, too. But those types of gigs will not be all that common.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I do birthday parties for $100- $300. I have no problems with the teens.. In fact some of my playlists are some they generated..

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There are restaurants and other venues (skating rinks, donut shops) in So FL where children are in attendance during Karaoke. The kids can't get enough of it and the parents love to see their kids on stage.

There is absolutely no economic reason why venues must serve alcohol to offer karaoke shows and kids can add to the economic viability of a show! And there are venues that serve alcohol where kids are permitted with their parents.

Now, as Matt, suggested, you can't have people dropping off the kids. Many years ago, a place I've gigged at permitted the "local" kids of regular customers to walk in on their own and "overwhelm" the rotation, while slurping coke all evening! That didn't sit well with the paying customers that had come to enjoy an evening of karaoke along with their dinner!

Also, consider that when my daughter was younger, we'd look for places on Sunday evenings that offered karaoke so we both could sing while enjoying our dinner!

There are restaurants and other venues (skating rinks, donut shops) in So FL where children are in attendance during Karaoke. The kids can't get enough of it and the parents love to see their kids on stage.

There is absolutely no economic reason why venues must serve alcohol to offer karaoke shows and kids can add to the economic viability of a show! And there are venues that serve alcohol where kids are permitted with their parents.

Now, as Matt, suggested, you can't have people dropping off the kids. Many years ago, a place I've gigged at permitted the "local" kids of regular customers to walk in on their own and "overwhelm" the rotation, while slurping coke all evening! That didn't sit well with the paying customers that had come to enjoy an evening of karaoke along with their dinner!

Also, consider that when my daughter was younger, we'd look for places on Sunday evenings that offered karaoke so we both could sing while we enjoyed our dinner

In fact, over here, the markup on Coca-cola and so on is much higher than that on beers and spirits.

We did kids/family karaoke for about a year at one place, worked great. The rules were simple, no one without parents/gaurdians over the age 18 could be in the building & each table had to spend a minimum $5 per hour. Most of the time it would be families buying dinners for the night, some of the over 18 kids would come in & get the minimum, but they were pretty good otherwise. Absolutely no profanity songs were allowed - which my regular club helped out quite a bit knowing which ones were no no's.
Unfortunately the club owner was having an affair & the divorce turned ugly, he ended up losing the club.

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When I was 17 and in the Naval reserve in Victoris, BC, they had a club restricted to teens 13-18 (drinking age was 19) and it did a booming business. They sold pop and other non-alcholic drinks chips, candy bars, etc. They had a DJ, pool tables just like a real bar. I thought it was fantastic but surprisingly I haven't seen such a place anywhere else. Does anyone know of any such venues in your area. Would you do a show at such a place.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

we've had a couple of under 21 bars, even a under 19 venue or two. Problem is, people want to hang out and NOT spend money. When you try to make people know about the expenses and why you insist that so much money must be spent, customers get very offended that the economics are thrown in their face.

I said it in my earlier post... alcohol venues don't normally have a problem with no money spent the way NON alcohol places do.

I've done kids shows on and off since '97. They usually last about a year before they become a drop-off and hang-out for the troublemakers. Some places will work hard to keep it - call it "family night" and have dinner specials like spaghetti, etc., where the whole family comes in. Otherwise it is very difficult to make it pay, and I'm not putting up with those brats for anything less than what I charge for a full adult show. Sometimes the bratitude is hard to deal with.

I have people singing in Shorty's that I did their birthday as a teen. Now they are old enough to drink. You can say what you want, these people are your future customers.
They show me the utmost respect I am in a rural area..
I will say it again and again. Let My Children Sing!!!!

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"..these people are your future customers"

That couldn't be more of a true statement. Some of the most fun I've had has been with the 'younger crowd', like 17 and younger. They really, really get into it...but it's all in fun, which is what I love. I had a few birthday's in the house last weekend. There was a whole group of older people, several from my church even...which was a big suprise. They didn't stay past about 10, but that is just great..it gets a little more vulgar/bar like after 11 or so. Anyway, I had the pleasure of have one of the birthday girls and one of her friends sing a song together, they were over 90. What made this great is that I had a 9 yr old, a 13 yr old, a 16 yr old and of course all of the normal 20-40 yr olds singers after that and for the rest of the night. Talk about a big "range" of ages, it was pretty cool to be a part of. It's enjoying that I can play to the masses, instead of just one little group of people...MrD

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

I look at it as seeding for the future as well. (Though with American Idol giving a big assist, I don't think the current generation needs that much....)

My wife Jeannie and daughter Laura just did our annual Halloween costume contest, haunted hay ride, and karaoke gig at the local state park. It is always a great crowd there. I hear my Hannah Montana and HS Musical disks once again got a heavy workout....my daughter did a great job running MTU Hoster in front of the saddle barn's PA system. We may actually just use their PA in the future -- I love having my Lexicon, DriveRack, Yorkvilles etc. out there but it probably just isn't necessary for that crowd. I had them bring one good vocal mic and the laptop, and that is all it really took.

The kids just have a blast. And at the park, whole families get involved. It is so neat, I do it for free on a volunteer basis.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I LOVE Haunted Hayrides! Man, that kinda stuff just doesn't happen very much anymore!!

Thanks for the input. It is something I have always wondered about trying and it seems like it could work. It will just be a huge undertaking to go through the song book and decide which songs stay or go.

Welcome to rural Indiana! We are quite a bit behind the times in many ways, and I can't say that I mind that much....

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.