Karaoke Forums

I am just wondering from the KJ point of view, how many singers(counting a group as 1 singer) waiting to sing is too many. Take into account your normal rate of losses in terms of people who dont actually remain until their turn comes up.

For me I regulaly go into the 30 range, but once I get beyond 15 I usually tell people the rough wait time before they sing. I will take new singers until the close.

I will keep taking singers so long as there is some chance they will get a turn in the night.

I think once the rotation hits over 25, that is too long - however I will not stop taking requests until my showtime has enough songs to put me to the end of the night, usually about an hour-hour and half before closing depending on the night - once I call cut-off, I take no more slips from anyone (new or old) - however if someone has a song already up, they have the chance to change their last song if they'd like.
I typically will avg 20-25 on Fri-Sat nights - but have seen the number upward to 40 on occasion. My week nights avg 10-20 singers - depending on the night.

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I find that once I get past 21 or so singers I announce warnings that the rotation is longer than an hour...that way punters tend not to come up wondering where their song is. 25 I feel is probably the max I would be comfortable with. Any more than that and impatient singers tend to wander off to another bar

I announce a long rotation, too -- I can tell my rotation by time, so I can safely say -- I have an hour-and-a-half rotation, so kick back, have another drink, and enjoy the entertainment.

Making the announcement keeps people who are signed up from getting too crabby while they're waiting. People tend to tolerate a lot more when you keep them informed.

birdofsong

In my area, most shows have a rotation of about 4 - 12 singers, as soon as I hit 16 singers people will complain, people just aren't used to waiting more than an hour to sing (for most shows locally 45 minutes is an extreme wait).

A lot shows rely on passing trade and pre-existing patrons to the bar, so usually if you walk in, you will be singing in five minutes. People struggle to comprehend such a long wait when they aren't used to it, so I spend a lot of busy shows watching customers "tut", shrug shoulders and point to themselves in a "me me me" gesture if I'm not doing that I'm explaining to them why they cannot sing next. Lucklily for me I have a lot of regulars who understand and explain to the newbies why we all take turns and I won't skip rotation

A 13 singer rotation is just accetable, more so if people can see you calling up people quickly: a rotation which climbs, peaks at 16 and falls back is an easy night to handle (it rewards the early birds and night owls) but a constant 14+ from start to finish and people start stamping their feet.

For me as a KJ the rotation can never be too long. (Normally) I run a sing one bring one type of rotation. I accept 1 song slip at a time and duets count as someones turn etc. So my rotation doesn't stop and start but keeps evolving.
That being said.... I usually don't announce how long the wait is on busy nights but do CUT OFF so people don't sit around thinking they are going to sing. I try to be as honest as possible with LATE COMERS.

How longs is too long ???... Ask the SINGERS

I like to play a good bit of music so about 12 singers is the right number for me. 20 is just way too many. It starts dragging about 15 for me.

How I feel and what actually happens for me are two totally different things. All of my shows have rotations of 14 or more. A slow night is 14, but a busy night might be in the 30 range. Last week I had 50,,,WAY TOO LONG! In my opinion, I think 15-18 is perfect. As long as there is enough people watching the singers do their "thang". Anything under 12 I start to feel like a failure, even tho I know it's not my fault.

I like 15-20 -- keeps me on my toes, keeps the night moving at a quick pace. Lots of variety. Time flies when you're having fun and not listening to the same 6 singers over and over again.