Karaoke Forums

Morning All,

"In My Opinion"

I noticed that sound choice has removed the link to pcdj from their site and now has a banner ad for The Karaoke Channel. This change seems to have coincided with mine and other mentioning of the pcdj/venuevj karaoke downloads. "I'm just saying"!!

The Karaoke Channel has still not confirmed one way or another if their products (read mp3+g files) sold through venuevj are allowed for use in a professional sense. I suspect that they make a few $ from venuevj selling to KJs and don't want to ruin that revenue stream.

I find it interesting that the big Sound Choice worldwide downloads alluded to in other threads / foums turned out to be nothing more than a link to the already existing The Karaoke Channel.

Some would have it that some manufacturers can license their songs to be downloaded overseas but that you can use those same downloads here as they don't have the license to download here. Well I'll purchase my songs over a VPN so they are downloaded to a UK address (perhaps to my UK 'sister company') and then legally imported here. The only danger at this point is that I could be on the hook for import taxes for each song (that'll get the government involved!) Could I afford to drop another 10-15 cents per song in import taxes... I think so - Even if I had to pay right now for all the songs I have downloaded so far that would still only be around $25....I write you a check! (Make that a 'cheque' in pounds, shillings and pence!)

Now can some non-US manu make a copy of Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight since the SC and Priddis discs are looong out of print!

"Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong"

Jonn

This will probably be locked or booted to a different channel, but SO far as I know there is noting ILLEGAL about purchasing LEGAL (non stolen) music from another country over the internet.

Now of course it is very easy to setup a site to sell songs and if you do not have permission to sell those songs from the person who made them it is illegal. That is the same with any media.

By US laws, to make Karaoke one has to negotiate a contract with the songwriter usually for a set number of copies, and an up front fee. Of course that does not work well for downloads, as the number of downloads is unknown in advance.

By UK laws one only has to pay a set fee to the artist per copy sold, so it is far easier to sell downloads.

By trade laws US can purchase UK downloads, and UK can purchase US downloads (so long as the product is being legally sold in the source country).

Once we own a copy that can be used commercially in a bar or other venue in the USA. So long as we are paying ASCAP/BMI.


Soundchoice is not allowing downloads of their songs. This is because they only negotiated limited numbers of their songs when they made the tracks. They used all their allowable "copies" to make CDs, and that is why some of the CDs are now hard to find and valuable. This is because Soundchoice cant make more of them (legally in the US).

This is the same reason Soundchoice stopped selling custom disks, they ran out of "copies" of many of their tracks. Re-negotiating with the song writers for additional rights would be a major effort as they would have to track down thousands of different artists, and get each of them to sign contracts, some of which may be trivial (dollar wise) and not even worth the lawyer time to a major artist.

Suppose Soundchoice wanted to make 1000 more copies of a song by Michael Jackson, just finding the person who CAN sign the paper to make it legal might be a task, and they probably would not find it worth their time for a likely fee in the range of $200-$300 to read through the contract.

I believe that is correct. It's may be OK to PURCHASE them. The sticking point is that it IS illegal for a U.S. based host to USE them in a show..

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

My understanding is for a show so long as you legally own a copy, AND you pay BMI/ASCAP you should be legal to use it in a public for profit show.

I may be wrong but I cant understand how they could enforce or police two different classes of ownership of essentially the same item.

It is LEGAL to use UK made karoke here (Sunfly, Zoom Etc) in a show if you bought the disks.

Sunfly/Zoom are selling legal copies as downloads. ALthough to be sure some of the downloads may not be legal, because the download site is not paying for the right to sell the songs.

So it should be legal to use them in a show.

Now that does not mean that all overseas music is legal, only some just like here in the US. But Zoom, SF and a few others are apparently obeying UK laws.

Post on .... don't worry

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