Karaoke Forums

Sounds Good to Me!!! What do the rest of you think??

Is karaoke headed in this direction as well ??

What happens when the CD factory closes?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20028 ... =cnetRiver

Well the first thing that will happen is the disc based hosts will finally have to bite the bullet and drag themsevles into 2011.

Other than that, nothing much changes other than getting your karaoke delivered via a different method. You will see even more downloads available and more alternatives, such as the Chartbuster SD cards.

I say bring it on.

Yes, however the manufacturers are still fighting it tooth and nail. New technology scares them so rather than learn it, discover the advantages and embrace it, they choose to try and ignore it and latch on to 30 year old technology.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

What happens is that our physical discs are not worth squat.

Two years ago I almost gave up on karaoke due to burn out. I have around 1100 CDGs. When I checked on EBay for the going rate on 1100 CDGs at the time, it looked like they would sell somewhere in the neighborhood of $3-5 a disc, or $3300-5500.

I did this same excercise last month, and saw that most listings now have CDG discs going for $1-2 a disc.

THAT is one of the big effects of pirating. Why buy the cow when you can get the digital milk for (almost) free?

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C Mc
KJ, FL

There will still be CDs, at least for the next decade or so. I'm sure they will eventually go the way of vinyl, but even that had a phase out period of about 20 years (due to 8 Tracks and Cassette Tapes).

Not everyone is 100% set up yet for CD-free media. I don't know how many home stereos these days take SD Cards or hard drives, but I don't think its very many.

I'd like to see karaoke go to a much different format where only registered or licensed karaoke (or even DJs) are allowed to operate. I'd pay $100 or so a year to have ASCAP or BMI shaking down not just the bars, but the karaoke hosts as well to ensure compliance with anti-piracy laws.

Hell yes I would!

No.. but just about every home stereo has a way to connect an iPod or other MP3 player.

Even most newer car stereos have either a traditional stereo line in or an actual USB connection for pure digital transfer of the music from your MP3 player to the head unit.

In addition, most newer CD players are MP3 capable and can read MP3's directly from CD media.

At around 5mb a song, and a 650mb capacity on a standard CD, you can fit 130 songs on a single CD at a very decent sampling rate.. compared to a maximum of about 74 minutes of audio on a 'regular' CD.. or just under 15 songs (at 5 minutes a song)

CD's are dead as fried chicken, man.. and have been for awhile.

I would say that cd's are going to be gone in 5 years. Especially after one of the biggest manufacturing plants closes down.
I think more people are set up for non-cd media than you might think. ALMOST everyone owns a computer. MP3 players are cheap enough that just about anyone that wants one could purchase if they chose to. Most stereo systems have an aux input of some type to hook that computer or mp3 player up to. Even SD type card readers are pretty cheap so I can see full album releases on the SD card format or something similar, and with the additional space on a card, they can add so much more like lyrics, interactive stuff, games, whatever. Like the article said why would anyone continue to buy cd's when they can fit the equivalant of 2000 discs in their pocket on a single mp3 player.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Well, I don't think its a matter of playing the files, its a matter of purchasing the music. I know many people who are still very reluctant to use the internet for purchases, because of the obvious reasons. So having some sort of "media", whether it be disc, vinyl, cassette or whatever format it might become, a huge portion of the population would still choose to purchase their music from a store of sorts. Playing the music is easy to accommodate at almost any level of user experience.

I just did a short little search on percentages. Depending on what survey of course you look at, but here are the general statistics.

81% of American households own at least one computer
only about 50% of the population use internet for purchases.
Income level also influence how much is purchased.
....in other words, the higher the income, the more the internet purchases.
the 30-49 year old age group has more internet purchases the any other age group.
20% of the US population has NEVER sent an email.
as of 2005, only 11% of the US population own an Ipod or mp3 player of any sort.
82% of the US owns a cell phone. (most do not use the mp3 function)
nearly 100% owns at least one television.
over 95% have at least 1 way to play a CD disc.

Now, while those numbers are "ever-changing" of course, I doubt very much that the world or even the US will become totally "digital". As long as there is music being created by artists, there will be a need for a physical media of some sort for purchase by the consumer.

Did you know that 65.87% of all statistics are made up on the spot......
I am willing to bet the 2005 figure on mp3 player owners have substantially increased. My parents are a perfect example, 10 years ago, they didn't even know what an mp3 was, 5 years ago my Dad was downloading from iTunes, today they both own ipods with video (250gb storage), he now converts all his lp's & tapes to mp3, they had car stereos installed with aux inputs for their ipods, mom just bought an ipad touch and they both bought the windows smart phones.
My Grandparents I just recently found out also owns an ipod video and also uses the itunes service for their downloads, he's 85 in a couple weeks shes a little younger and has learned the computer as recently as 10 years ago when they bought & used the computer for the first time. He's now looking for a way to transfer his old 78 rpm records to mp3.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Thats really awesome to hear that your parents are stepping into the modern age. But I gotta tell you, they aren't typical. Most people fight change as much as they can. What I was attempting to convey is, that there will always be a place for a physical type of media, not just digital. And yes, those statistics are ever changing, and it was just me spending about 10 minutes was all doing a little research. Those figures could be way off for sure.

The generation that liked to fight change.. the WWII generation.. is dying off.

20 years ago, it was difficult to get people in their 50's and 60's to adopt new technology.. but today's crop of people in their 50's and 60's, the baby boomer generation, are all about adopting technology with open arms.

There are holdouts.. and there IS something to be said for being able to walk into a brick and mortar store and thumb through discs, but the demand for that is shrinking at a drastic rate.

The 21st century has not been kind to retail music stores. FYE closed over 280 stores in the last two years.. Virgin Megastores closed all 23 of their North American stores.. Tower Records folded in 2006 and closed all their retail stores, too.

Retail DVD sales and rentals have taken a hit as well. 'On Demand' services, Netflix streaming services, and of course, pirated downloading have taken a significant chunk out of the likes of chains like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery.. both who have closed large numbers of stores in recent years.

But if an album comes on an SD card, it is still a physical type of media - is it not? Still requires a player of some type - just like an lp, cd, cassette, 8-track, reel to reel all required a special player for each format of it's physical media - an SD type card is no different in that respect - it will just be an SD card player instead of CD player.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Exactly. Especially when you can go to an i-tunes and download the album from the comfort of your own home.

I have even seen a decline in used record/cd stores - at least around here. I am noticing thrift stores with increasing CD stock and at $.50-$2.99 per disc and they still have LOTS of discs, many that were big name artists and good album titles.

Most of the physical video rental places have closed around here as well. RedBox (video rental vending machines) I see being used quite a bit as well.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Thanks for all the input everyone

....Our local BlockBuster store manager said they will try to keep going even with many of the other Block Buster stores being shut down, but they say it is just a matter of time...and they too will close down as they cannot keep up with the likes of Red Box...and on demand...etc


....As far as Karaoke, It will be nice to finally see KJ's get the Green light on Computer hard drive based karaoke. It will make there investment much more mobile friendly, and they won't have to worry about "Disk oxidation,scratches"... etc that make the disk useless in many cases.

...I hate going to a karaoke show and about mid way through the song the graphic's gets all screwed up and ruins the one chance you got to get up and sing your favorite song!!

Then you finally get another chance after waiting two hours or longer only to have it happen again!!!

Maybe...Just maybe, Karaoke will actually benefit from this media change.

It is my hope anyway....

ahhhh but in December of 2007, thta 11% is up to 34% of Americans owning an MP3 player. Best portable player? Altec Lansing IMT 800!

I bet that 34% today is about 40% or higher! And if you count smart phones I'm sure that adds a few more!

Always gonna be some pigheaded people, I used to be that way, I wore bell bottoms til about 1983!

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Statistics don't lie... but liars use statistics!

Looking at those statistics, I would really question them ... and from 2005? In the last six years everything has changed radically. Jump drives hold hours and hours of music. I used to carry CDs when I dj'd. Not anymore, thank goodness. I don't drive anywhere to purchase something if I can buy it over the 'net. My parents, age 76 and 81, guy over the 'net because they don't want to drive either. I don't even buy postage stamps anymore. I pay everything over the 'net. I have an mp3 player that I put all my music on. I don't buy CDs anymore unless it will end up being a "collectible" one. The holdouts will have to quit holding out or be buying ancient technology for which there will be no spare parts or repair people.

Partly why I am converting all my laserdiscs to computer. No one will repair those old players anymore & they are getting harder & harder to find - even a decent used one anymore.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

The one thing I don't see folks taking into account is the licensing plight of the US karaoke manu's. They're pretty much forced to distribute on CD (hence why GEM series is on CD)