Karaoke Forums

I use 12 books spread around the venues I'm in and that seem to be plenty. All the books include a Song Title section and an Artist section. Depending on the crowd, I will only put out a few and leave the rest out on a table near the stage. My regulars will come and get one while I'm setting up (saves me time putting them out).

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

Oh yea, the books are printed double column and 12pt

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

Yeah Rumbolt I used to do the same thing as you. I would dutifully set most of them out before starting, and I usually had an early bird or two volunteer to help, which was always nice.

But after watching the room for awhile, I discovered that it was trashing my books! The non-singers would treat them with much less respect than the singers. The books that got wet were usually from a table that didn't want them there.

So now anyone that wants a book has to come up and get one. They are prominently displayed in front of the stage.

Now watch now that I've said that one will some back soaked tonight... I shouldn't open my mouth...

This is while I always carry a towel so I can wipe them down before I put them away. Even sometimes the books used by my regulars will get soaked.

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

I have 4 books 2 by artist, 2 by song. I think next time I print all the pages, I will go with 3 artist and 1 song. Mine are 12 font double column 2 per page in sheet protectors. I have anther 250 songs I've added this weekend that I will print out as "newly added" so I don't have to reprint everything.

Books left out are gonna get trashed. That's fine with me really as it forces me to update with new books once a year and that keeps them up to date. I just budget the $500/year to do that.

I have noticed a few things though:

- Put all your books out and they'll get trashed faster. Fewer books = more moving them around, less time in the hands of people who don't care about them and therefore less likelihood to be tossed to the side and abused. I used to put out all 10 but then I'd be down to 6 usable ones in 6 months. Now I leave out only 5 and they last the full year.
- The more pencils you put out the more get used. Seems like I always end up with 3 pencils left in the tray. I put out 20 pencils... 3 left. I put out 5 pencils... 3 left. I put out 5 pencils and loose fewer. A box now lasts me a year and not just 5 months.
- Song slips: Same as pencils. If you have 100 slips out people grab 10 and head to the table with pencils and a book. Put out 30 and folks grab them one at a time.

I have been tracking consumables because there has to be a "right" number to disburse each night. I think I have struck the right balance for my venue. Other places may have different needs. I also make a pass picking up pencils and unused slips when I pick up books.

Now granted they're not that expensive but why throw good money away when you don't have to?

We don't have that problem. About 15-30 min before the end we go around collecting books, slips and pencils.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Just got finished making 12 books, 6 by ARTIST, 6 by TITLE. Single column, font size 12. Complete with pouch containing pens, slips, and business cards. They came out great. Getting ready for OPENING NIGHT on February 28th. I'll probably put out at least 8, maybe 10 throughout the bar, and dining area, as they are seperate rooms. Printed out 1 set of each, then took them to Officemax, and had 12 copies made. Saves on toner, and paper. I'm thinking about putting the flashlights that Karen suggested, but as she stated, still havent figured out how to fasten them to the book, so the don't "walk off". All pages are in page protectors, IMO that is a MUST.

Rosario

I quit using OfficeMax and the like, did the math and it's cheaper for me to print right from home on my own printer. Sure i go through ink but still comes out better for me. I dunno 'bout the flashlight thing, is the venue that dark?

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

I'm just starting out, Openig Night February 28th (Mardi Gras In Wisconsin), and the venue is a bar and restaurant. The owner was also talking about putting in a mirror ball, etc. So I'm just trying to think ahead, pro-active rather than re-active,and I remembered Karen's post about the flashlights, so I'm giving it some thought. I figure it can't hurt. I'll also include business cards in with the song request slips.

Rosario

The only way to counter the need for a flashlight in a dark place is to make your book more 'readable' by using a larger font. The other thing you can do is find a central place where you can place a book or two and put a lamp of some sort on it - not a big decorative thing, just something that will throw enough light on the pages. I have seen lately at my show people coming up to a table that has a book or two on it, instead of taking books to their tables - usually because their table doesn't have room for a book on it (excessive glasses, etc.). Good lamps are available at a place like your local Goodwill for a couple of bucks. I also offer a basket full of new 'readers' (reading glasses) for people who may have forgotten theirs or don't like to admit that they need to own such an animal yet All of these things you can do to make reading your book easier will be appreciated by your customers. I am still trying to figure out a way to attach those little credit card sized flashlights onto my books - but since I'm probably going to change book styles, I'll probably put that on hold and work on other avenues.