Karaoke Forums

Last Friday, I went to a place to see my friend Ken (the one I mentioned previously) and his band do a live karaoke show. While the song selection was limited to maybe 50 songs, it was fun.
While I was there, I was talking to another KJ I knew and told him about my first show. As we were talking, he starts inundating me with questions like, "How much did they pay you?" "Where was it?" "How many songs do you have?" I answered the last two but didn't feel he needed to know how much I got paid. Anyway, he then proceeds to make a pitch to "rent" me his selection of 30,000 songs for $25 to $50 a night plus he'll come and bring a bunch of his "friends" to come in and drum up business too. Then he quickly flips saying something about how he might be getting out of the business and maybe I can take over his gig.

This is what I concluded:

1. I have to question the legality of renting one's karaoke selection. All his stuff is digital which leads me to believe he got it from someone else. I know this since I one time asked him to play a karaoke track I had made myself (music and words) and burned to CD and he couldn't do it.
2. How can he bring all his friends when he doesn't even know where the city I'm playing at is?
3. I don't have 30,000 songs yet but feel comfortable with what I have thus far. I think the 80/20 rule that 80% of your audience sings 20% of your song selection almost always holds true anyway.
4. I definitely want to succeed but don't want false promotion to keep it going. For $50, I'll invite and buy drinks for my own friends, not his.
5. If he's looking to get out of it, why didn't he state that to begin with? I think it was his way of trying to further incentivize me on the song rental thing. "Rent my songs and I'll get you another gig" when he sensed I wasn't interested.

Anyone else ever run into these kind of shenanigans?

1) You are not legally allowed to "rent" the music, as I understand things.
2) Good point.
3) You are 100% right. It's not the size of your library, but rather if you cover the major bases at first.
4) Agreed, build your own following.
5) You are right.

Sorry, this dude sounds so full of crap. Talking about what you get paid, etc - too much info, too willing to "help you out" too soon.

86 him. If renting was legal, could he bring the discs?

Give him the $25 and then copy his library ..That'll teach him

If you rent a collection of 2000 original CDGs to comprise the music, I would say you are. If it is digital, I would say you are correct.

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

Sorry, I just assumed digital.

Only problem with digital is the inability to verify proper licensing. I have a guy I work with; he actually owns all the music and I own the equipment for the gig we split. We're looking to get him another gig but are careful to only have one show on any given night so as to avoid the licensing issues.

If he's got the source disks, i.e. his digital libray is 'legal', and doesn't run a show on the night he intends to 'rent' it to you, then I don't see you running afoul of the licensing issues either. Especially if you get a contract stating that you're renting the content from xxx and they are responsible for the proper licensing of the content. Better than copying it yourself and getting snagged with a broken deal. <shrug>