Karaoke Forums

There's a FINE LINE (but one that can easily be straddled) between being GREEDY (sitting at home making zero dollars with bs professional pride) and BEING a SUCKER and not making demands on their "exposure" for uncompensated events!

A LOT of kjs here either work for free their first karaoke show at a NEW venue, or at a REDUCED RATE in order to secure future jobs..... THESE ARE THE SAME ONES that WON'T WORK for BETTER EXPOSURE for DEFINATELY MORE LUCRATIVE $$$$$$$$$ JOBS in the future!

Well I guess I'm lucky I don't live in an area that requires that then, because I wouldn't be in business today if that was the case. I won't work for free, period. As for starting out, my rate was lower when I started out, but I was also inexperienced. As my experience (and library) grew, my price went up accordingly. Not quite the same as agreeing to a lower rate expecting to get more gigs down the road.
My experience has been that it's extremely difficult to go up in price later, at the same venue, once you agree to a lower rate.

Okay, SORRY for the Rant.

I HAVE taken many charity events that were turned down or referred to by other companies because of time restraints or because their overheads were too large to handle doing things for free.

BUT most of these events turned into very good media exposure and i secured MANY types of compensated events as a result, and a snowball-effect ensued. This left me with little Advertising costs for years due to recommendations and referrals.

MAYBE this is because i was/am a DEEJAY first....karaoke host second. If you learn the value of real money making opportunities from experience and turn it into something much larger than itself and see the big picture (future $) then you will understand the value of it.

Go check out professional dj companies, mobile beat magazines, professionally written articles on this subject and get educated, instead of speaking of one or two of your failure-to-capitalize charity events.

By the way, many charities have extremely small budgets. Larger ones have better budgets but don't think it's operating costs regularly involve entertainment. Entertainment is usually DONATED out of compassion.

no offense, but maybe karaoke hosts in bars that haven't been exposed to private/corporate success don't understand "hidden goldmine" opportunities and don't know where to start in capitalizing on them.

P.S....I mean this out of L-O-V-E.....LOVE.

FIRST, I'd like to preface my comments by saying that this is just MY opinion on what is a CHARITABLE (contribution). As I said earlier, if I'm doing something for "CHARITY", I'm not EXPECTING anything in RETURN. I look at it this way, if I give a poor child a gift for Christmas, THAT is a CHARITABLE contribution, the ONLY compensation I get is the feeling that I did something good for someone else. If someone asked me to do a show to raise money to help a family that just got put out on the street, and needed to have money for rent because they were down on their luck, THAT would be a CHARITABLE contribution. ALL of the money is going to the CHARITY it is meant for. THAT'S why I WON'T contribute to the "SO CALLED" CHARITIES. For the very same reasons that are mentioned on this forum. EVERYBODY has to get paid, so NOTHING is left for the CHARITY that the event was held for to begin with. So, unless EVERYBODY is DONATING everything, to ME, it's NOT a CHARITY!!!

Srnitynow

I agree. DONATE out of compassion and Love and to help a good cause and make THEM money for their event.

BUT be smart enough to turn that DONATED event into other money-making opportunities for yourself in the future to further your own business goals.

PEOPLE FIRST...MONEY SECOND.

To me, a charity event is the same as a "trade out." There HAS to be some type of fair exchange of value before I consider it. This business has a "consumable" and that is TIME. Time is worth real money and once it's gone there's no putting it on the shelf and reselling it.

If a charity has sponsors, those sponsors can pay for the entertainment with dollars. If the charity wants to pay no dollars, then there should be some other form of exchange, maybe a sponsors contribution of dinner for 4 or some other incentive.

A few years ago, I agreed to a trade out from a local TV station for services in exchange for publicity during a HUGE annual televised all day event. I provided everything they requested and more.... they did nothing to uphold their portion of the agreement.

When it was all over and I called them on it, they offered to "write me a check the same as a private party"....

I refused it and filed suit against them for $3,5000.

The logic here was simple: the agreement was for a certain amount of publicity which equated (when added together) to approximately 105 SECONDS of exclusive exposure. The station was selling advertising time at a rate of $1,700.00 for a 30-second spot during the event and I was entitled to EITHER the exposure as agreed with no exchange of cash or in lieu of their default, the same money that I would have spent for the same exposure time during the event.

The station did not want a judge to rule against them and they settled.

A deal is a deal and a fair exchange is a fair exchange.... If a charity sponsor is donating a dinner for 4, there's nothing that prevents the organizers from using that contribution to pay for entertainment - the sponsor is still making a valid contribution and the organization is getting a fair exchange for the gift and still not having to expend cash and the KJ is at least getting some worthwhile exchange.

Basically all I do is for some charitable event or another. Most of the car shows I DJ for are for some benefit. Lions club or others. I get paid a modest fee for my work. Now I will add that I am involved with a collective of car clubs and car aftermarket groups where I do the gig for free. It's a once a year event and I am involved with meetings and preparation of the event. I know that all the people who are involved in this are not getting paid, though. I think the only one who gets paid is the insurance underwriter of the venue.

Charity event are a good idea ..maybe one or two but be really careful about this word get out and everyone going to expect a free gig from you..I only do one a year " RELAY FOR LIFE" any other have to pay or find someone else

My take on charity stems from when I worked on a major commercial website...

We had a press agency ask us if we would give some free advertising space. I asked if they were working for free on behalf of the charity. They said no. There's your answer.

I may choose to work DIRECTLY with a LOCAL charity, if I feel I want to. I will give up some of my time and use my equipment. But I see it as a chance to promote my services, and expect something in return, be it sponsorship rights or so on.

Nothing for nothing in this life.

If it is a charity event is it one that you personally support? And if so do you support it enough to give it your time?

We all care about different charities at different personal levels. You cant just lump them all together. If it is one that you really support the cause then of course you wil donate for the opportunity. If it is a charity that you feel less strongly about you should not feel forced unless it you calculate the other compensation in advertizing is worth it.

Your compensation for the event will probably be:
1. Feel good about a cause.
2. Contacts with people (and these may or may not be the kinds of people you want to know).
3. Exposure/Advertizing
4. A good meal. (sometimes)
5. An experience you can talk about.
6. Fun (maybe yes maybe no)

All these things are intangables and we will have to weigh them in our own personal situation.

I have done many free events that I feel good about and done some paid events that were not worth it in my experience. I regret some of the free events as well, but to each his own.

I probably would do such a big exposure event just to do something different and as a personal challenge to try and do somethng different and unusal well but then I have my own motivations.

In this case, I DO believe in the charity (All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg).

They asked me to work for 9 hours for free on New Year's day. I countered and offered to do 2-3 hours for free on behalf of the charity. They declined by counter offer, and said they needed someone for the full 9 hours.

I'm going to go to the event to check it out, so I'll let you know if they got a DJ. My bet is there will end up being a local radio station doing a remote and playing their radio station or something to that effect instead of an active DJ/MC.

I'll report back in a few weeks!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I did four consecutive years of the Relays, to include two for the first two years, for a total of six. I did these because I lost a Fiancé to cancer and I felt the need to do something about it. And for this reason I still support the relays.

However, they can be the most mentally and physically draining and demanding charity events one will ever do. Sometimes starting load-in at noon and leaving at 9AM the next morning tends to make you re-evaluate how strongly you feel about the cause. I know for me it was a bit lonely at 8AM when all others had left and I was the only one there still tearing down and loading up.

I skipped doing a relay last year. And While I missed it a bit, and felt a bit guilty for not contributing, I wasn't physically spent the next day.

I will most likely contribute again next spring in a different relay, but in a diminished capacity. No more all nighters.

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EveningStar Entertainment & Events
JR & Michele LaPorte
Peoria, AZ

I'm trying to get established in a new market, so for me doing charity gigs seems a very sensible way to get my name out there and maybe even get some free PR in the form of news articles, etc.

All true charities have a budget. They do not get everything 100% free...not by a long shot. I have done two charity events this year...neither asked me to work for free and both had a budget for entertainment.

Even the PTA at my daughters elementary school has a DJ budget for their school fund raising carnival/dance.