Karaoke Forums

Before I computerized, I would pull the disc as soon as the slip was presented. Had a long table. Gave me time to check and confirm the song, etc. Two trays, one in, one out....all night long. Might be 20 discs out at a time. Once the song was playing, I slid the previous one in the rack. Not slow at all. People tease me about how fast I run a show, even when it's early and I'm working with 6 to 10 people. I'm just glad I don't have to do that anymore. Hoster is so much nicer.

The venues have PRS, and,as a computerised DJ/KJ, I have a ProDub license with Karaoke pickup. That makes me legal...though not many in the UK bother with this

Yes I agree, on all, except #4. Not all Pirates are bad KJs and/or run bad shows. My one competitor left in the area is a multi-rigger (5 systems) and has a 80K+ song selection. He has been in the business around 20 years and most of his employees run great shows.


Yeah, he is pond scum, but still has a really good show and a great following.

I run on disc and about 30% of my singers are unable to/refuse to use books. Looking up their songs takes no time at all for me (since I know what I own and within reason what disc it's on). The problem is their drunken stumbles to talk to me, often walking in front of the person singing and blocking the screen and their inability to know what they actually want to sing. e.g. "that one that was on that TV show that the other band done". The slip writers in my experience, have a greater respect for karaoke and keep the show flowing.

I miss the days where everyone expected singers to write out slips, I get compliments because we run a fast rotation. . . but it was faster when I didn't have to restart a song because (for example) the levels weren't correct as I was too busy trying to help a customer remember the "number 1 song that went da da de de da".

I have noticed that the computerized hosts without books do tend cause customers to only sing the same few songs. I also hate hosts without a book who claim to have nearly everything, lets face it they probably don't and I find it embarassing to stand next to them asking for songs they don't have.

KJ's who claim to have "everything" make me laugh. They claim that they don't need song books anymore because they have every karaoke song ever made. The problem is that they have so many songs that printing out song books has become cost prohibitive. I miss the days of perusing a song book and stumbling across a song title that I would have never thought of singing if I hadn't seen it in the song book while casually glancing through it. Now the KJ's expect the karaoke singer to have KJ Pro memorized. I go to one show where the song book has about 3,000 songs in it but the KJ has 100,000 on her hard drive. Nothing new in the song book for the last 3 or 4 years but she can play it for you if you know enough to ask her for it.

Space is a huge issue for those still on discs, but then my rig is quite large even if i went to computer I still clutter up my work area (I'd still have a back up CD player and CDG player anyway). My track codes are easy to use eg: 34 / 11, though I'd like to move onto a kiosk so that singers can find the disc brand (not that any of my singers know the difference )

The only way I'm slower is because of the 10sec silence before most tracks, but few singers can get to the stage in that time. I'm anti computer because the computer hosts in my area, use a lot of filler music rather than the fast paced non stop karaoke I prefer and on the few computer systems I have hosted with ALL have crashed.

I am looking to move to computer in the long run, (after all a good system won't crash and if it does a good host will have a back up plan) but the licensing law in the uk doesn't cover us. Until that day I'll be spinning the discs.

On a side note how does everyone cope with book size? Mine are about to burst at the seams and I'm only up to 6500 songs with no dupes.

I mentioned awhile back going to a show where the KJ told me, "We have like every Sound Choice song but one." I almost started cracking up, but in retrospect, it is much better for the KJ to say that than to say that they have 100,000 songs because then the KJ up the street might say he has 150,000 songs. So saying you have every song but one is pretty astute, but if someone then asks if you have Picture, and you say no, then...you do not look very good, no?

I like leafing through a well constructed songbook. There can be a lot of inspiration there.

I like leafing through a well constructed songbook. There can be a lot of inspiration there.

Not thats it worth going into too much depth on this topic, due to the fact it detracts from the OP. Yes you are legal according to the PRS/ MCPS, (and I would have no issue with the way you operate your show) but In my opinion, that piece of paper is pointless, a waste of £360 and the people selling it have no clue what it covers and a short investigation around the Produb licence leaves a lot of gaps (eg why would you pay the MCPS to copy Pop Hits monthy since it's licenced in America or what about SGB discs which may not have been licenced in the first place and what if i've already got permission to copy), all of which no-one can seem to answer.

My main issue (other than the fact that no-one, in that office at the end of the Produb phone number, has heard of Soundchoice), is that the license covers the individual not the computer. I was I'll last week and missed my first gig in 10 years, my partner grabbed PA and discs and covered the show. If we were computer based he couldn't have used it and would have had to use the discs anyway.