Karaoke Forums

The question is how bad is the freeloader problem at your venues.

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Not a problem never has been.

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They all buy me beers to get bumped up..

And then the women.. well, I won't go there..

Bartenders and host too busy to notice.

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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 am still new to this karaoke thing and find little time to count the spenders and non-spenders. If its blatant I tell the owner/manager. But to answer the question.... I dont think its a problem at any of the places I do weekly.... BTW... I'm in South Florida. Imagine that!!!!!!

Not a problem for me either as a KJ and I AM IN SOUTH FLORIDA

but there are a couple KJ's whose shows I avoid because their shows attract deadbeats!! And, sadly, those KJ's have a new show about every 2-3 months as they CONTINUOUSLY lose their existing shows...and MIND YOU, one of these KJ's longest continuously running show is less than 6 months old and that person is one of the "oldest" KJ's in the area!

Nothing, however, is a problem until it is a problem. And... if you don't recognize and attack a problem... it'll do it's harm before you have a chance to react.

And according to some, the KJ who keeps losing jobs is not at all responsible... it is management who is responsible for that KJ's never-ending turnover of venues. Meanwhile, it's the KJ who loses the show... not the venue.

Oh.. and from what I have been led to believe based upon many posts over the years is that no one is aware of any deadbeat problems by them or that any that might are solely the problem of mangement

So, I think it is already a given on the part of everyone that if there is a problem with deadbeat karaoke singes, it is relegated to Ft Lauderdale

So help me understand....WHY THE POLE?

The reason for the poll is simple. To gauge exactly how much of a problem freeloaders are, if any, in different areas/shows. No use going on about something if it's not a problem. If it is then figure the causes and come up with solutions.

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I'll a handful on any given night. SOme people just don't drink. They will drink soda - although I do not consider this freeloading if they are buying their sodas. The bar charges for all refills. It's usually a problem in the clubs that allow these people to sit & not spend.

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When a bar is going through a lot of kj's, I think it can be hard to tell if it's a chicken or egg type problem. Maybe the shows are not quality shows, maybe there are too many freeloaders, or maybe the bar doesn't want to keep a kj long enough to give them a raise, or perhaps they are always searching for the new low-price guy on the block. The real cause can be hard to ascertain. The one place I recall that went through several (like 5 or 6 kj's in just a couple years time), was kind of going out of business. I think this may have influenced there high turnover rate.

On the other side of the coin, there is a place a few miles from me that has a volunteer kj (they only make tips, which are pretty meager), and they've been through several volunteers! Most of the volunteers, I noticed, did not run good rotations, and tended to give themselves better sound than other singers......sometimes you get what you pay for. I'd wince to hear the kj sing something like Amazing Grace, and pump up the volume and then know that they were going to crank it down for the next singer.

I've been to shows where the host always has the volume turned up when he or she sings but it is always much lower for the customers. I was actually at a show like that just last night. Apparently, the people who rent the apartment above the bar have been complaining about the noise level on karaoke night so the KJ keeps it low for everyone but himself and his friends and family. I sang one song and left as did a few other people who felt like they were being forced to sing something very close to acapella. How does someone rent an apartment above a bar and not expect there to be noise?

Brucy Said:

Nah, I'm sure the KJ was only turning YOU down.... since you were so intimidating with your golden throat. And I'll bet the other patrons left because none of them wanted to follow your spectacular performance.

YOU are the victim Bruce, you and only you....

I have at least one singer whose voice is so strong I have to turn down her mike when she sings. But then again I have singers with so soft a voice I have to almost hit he feedback level for you to hear them and their mouths are about an inch away from the mike.

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DannyG2006 said:


Yep. Got 'em.... and for some reason they'll never learn what proper mic technique is... they'll keep the mic rubbing their lips while they scream as loud as they can.




Got them too. We call them the "Whisper-singers".... The second your turn up their mic, they start singing SOFTER!.... and keep doing that until you run out of headroom. They are intimidated by the sound of their own voice. I have one woman that comes in and has a very nice, smooth, soft, folk music type of voice... it's simply impossible to get any volume out of her. I keep urging her to; "give the microphone something to work with."

There you go again, Chippy. Your view is that the KJ is always right and the singer is always wrong. The KJ used to use 3 speakers and he is now down to just 2 speakers in an effort to lower the noise level. More than a couple people were complaining that you couldn't hear anything on the far side of the bar. The one speaker is set up on the floor under the KJ's table. I stood 4 feet from it and could barely hear anything coming out of it. I could hear more sound coming from the speaker in the opposite corner of the bar. It wasn't about him turning anyone else down. It was about the levels being low for EVERYONE ELSE but him and his group at the booth next to the KJ's stage area(his friends & Family)

YOU have assumed that I have a golden throat and that people are intimidated by my singing. I have never made such a statement but it is plain to see that you have a problem with people with "golden throats". Your posts drip with sarcasm and vitriol whenever you speak about "serious singers" with golden throats. You don't ever seem to have one positive thing to say about the singers that were just born with better than average voices. You seem to think that they show up at your shows just to ruin everyone else's good time with their serious singing ability.

Please do not go off topic; this thread is about freeloaders.

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Bruce Said:
Not at all. It's just that I find that many of the "Serious Singers" can also be firmly parked in the category of "FREELOADER."

Since they are so "serious" about their performance, they don't want to "lose their edge" by getting tipsy.... or 'clog' their throat with something like food...

They'd prefer just a little free ice water in a glass while they wait for their opportunity to do the club a "service by entertaining the crowd for free."

Just one more negative generalization from you, Chipper. Saturday night, I ordered a Pizza and 2 pitchers of beer on my tab that I shared with the other people sitting at my table and I was only there for about 2 hours. The people I was with decided to leave and go to a different karaoke bar with a KJ that they promised to visit so I went with them to this other bar where we hung out until closing. Between the two places, I spent close to $65. I almost always order food when I'm at karaoke and I never drink water or soda unless I'm feeling like I've had more alcohol than I should have had. You want to stereotype "serious singers" as FREELOADERS because you JUST DON"T LIKE SERIOUS SINGERS.....probably because they always catch you screwing up the rotation to suit your own wants and desires.

Bruce,

I really don't care about what you ordered last saturday night at your local karaoke club, or even how many clubs you went to, that's too much information for me.....

Dispense with the dramatic details and suffice it to say that you did not fit in the 'freeloader" category... That's great, wonderful, glad to hear it...

You are on the "singer" side of the fence and don't see all the freeloaders that KJ's do, you're out to catch the KJ messing up your precious "rotation."

Next time you go to a club, take a break and look around at who's been singing and what's sitting on their table.... is it a pile of dishes from dinner? A few empty beer pitchers? Or perhaps just a couple of empty soda glasses?

You need to look beyond the "singer's scope" and realize there's more going on in the club than just beer and songs....

You need to make up your mind, Chipper. First you say that karaoke is all about the "casual singer" having fun and now you're concerned about the economics of karaoke. I've seen just as many "casual singers" sip water all night as I've seen "serious singers" do the same. I've seen plenty of "serious singers" get plenty hammered when out on karaoke night.

For someone who thinks that karaoke is all about having a fun time, you really seem to dislike the people who enjoy going to karaoke bars to sing. You must have lost many gigs over the last 15 tears because the bars didn't make enough money to justify paying you for your services; and rather than take responsibility for your failed shows, you choose to blame it on the amount of FREELOADERS that you attract to your shows.....I'm having a hard time imagining that NFL stadium full of non spending fun type karaoke singers now.

Bruce FFL said

I've been trying to answer that question for the 10 years I had a pub !!

And lost count of the customers who've also said the same.

The annoying thing is that the council listens and supports THEM.

You couldn't make it up !

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