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ultimatefighter
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 Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:18 pm |
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In my experience, the long term negatives outweigh the positives for hosting a competition. Like many others, I try to avoid them. In the past, I have ran some with really big prizes and my suggestion is - if nothing else, avoid large prizes. People get way too competitive.
As others said, with a contest, you start dealing with divas and larger egos. They think they should already have a recording contract and deserve to win. If you multiply this by 20, it's not going to end well. You end up making everyone mad but the winner(s).
You end up running off regulars and your casual singers during the contest and then when it ends, you have regulars from 19 other bars going back to their regular bar telling everyone how YOU are scum and YOU rigged the contest.
This includes contests where I had the contestants judge each other. I handed them sheets where they graded everyone but themselves and STILL blamed me.
Whether you include it in your score sheets or not, the audience's opinion will hurt you the KJ. If everyone goes crazy for a lousy singer and they don't win, you have an issue. If they are uninterested in a great singer, you have an issue. If you leave audience off, you are hoping the audience will agree with the judges. If you put it on the score sheet, it now becomes a popularity contest on who can bring the most friends.
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JoeChartreuse
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:19 pm |
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hiteck wrote: exweedfarmer wrote: The only good use I've seen for karaoke contests is to open a bar. It gets people in the front door. Other than that I think they're pure poison. Would it be good for starting karaoke at a bar/venue that hasn't been doing karaoke? Maybe for exposure of a new host, and new venue. However, if the host is already well known, not necessarily a great idea...it could hurt an already good rep.
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JoeChartreuse
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:25 pm |
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TroyVnd27 wrote: The latest note from one of my singers:
Ya know honestly though if you would have put it in that it was the "Muskegon" version of American Idol I wouldn't have been interested. You will find the majority of the time that people who like to do Karaoke many times do not want to be performers, they don't want to be a Garth Brooks, or Dierks Bentley lookalike, or shake their groove thing like Rihanna. For the most part they enjoy getting up in front of a bunch of people and singing. Some of them are very good, some of them not so good but it doesn't matter because they have a common tie that binds them, no one is above another. Now if you are going to have a Karaoke contest, have just that and award those that do a great job of singing, interpreting and conveying the meaning of the music to those who are around them listening. I won't be pursuing this any further by virtue of what you have explained to me thus far, I have no desire to parade myself around the stage trying to convince someone I am anyone other than "Who I am". I enjoy singing, I enjoy sharing my passion with the crowd in front of me, I have made people cry singing a song and looking at them, I have made them happy by virtue of sharing a memory of a time gone by
that a verse if a well sung tune brought them to remember. I have enjoyed being around you and sharing with all of those that have been at the Alibi the times we have come in, but I am sincerely disappointed at the same time. I wish you luck with all of your endeavours, but the way things are setup the best performer will most likely win your "competition", not the best singer, last time I checked that is what Karaoke is all about. My kind of singer....
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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"
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Lonman
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 1:59 am |
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Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 3:57 pm
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Sometimes the best performer/singer is what the contest is looking for - but it was also advertised as such. We did a statewide contest where the winner won $1000 & did a 5 song opening act for Diamond Rio at one of our state fairs. Our contestant not only won our finals but took it all the way & won the state finals. Our 6 finals judges consisted of 2 local (mainstream) radio personalities, local record studio producers, 2 local (karaoke friendly) musician from 2 popular bands & college vocal instructor. Every judge was involved in music in some respect and had never stepped into the bar before, not just some bar regulars that just liked so & so because they know them. It was a 10 week qualifying contest within our club alone - as it was with over 50 bars statewide. 20 finalists total - 10 of those are still regulars (at least a couple times a month) that were new to the bar during the contest.
I've also done contests where the judges were blindfolded (well ok turned away from the stage) & went solely on the singing aspect where stage presence was not a factor at all - audience response still not a factor.
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ripman8
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 8:39 am |
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TroyVnd27 wrote: The latest note from one of my singers:
Ya know honestly though if you would have put it in that it was the "Muskegon" version of American Idol I wouldn't have been interested. You will find the majority of the time that people who like to do Karaoke many times do not want to be performers, they don't want to be a Garth Brooks, or Dierks Bentley lookalike, or shake their groove thing like Rihanna. For the most part they enjoy getting up in front of a bunch of people and singing. Some of them are very good, some of them not so good but it doesn't matter because they have a common tie that binds them, no one is above another. Now if you are going to have a Karaoke contest, have just that and award those that do a great job of singing, interpreting and conveying the meaning of the music to those who are around them listening. I won't be pursuing this any further by virtue of what you have explained to me thus far, I have no desire to parade myself around the stage trying to convince someone I am anyone other than "Who I am". I enjoy singing, I enjoy sharing my passion with the crowd in front of me, I have made people cry singing a song and looking at them, I have made them happy by virtue of sharing a memory of a time gone by
that a verse if a well sung tune brought them to remember. I have enjoyed being around you and sharing with all of those that have been at the Alibi the times we have come in, but I am sincerely disappointed at the same time. I wish you luck with all of your endeavours, but the way things are setup the best performer will most likely win your "competition", not the best singer, last time I checked that is what Karaoke is all about. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Why be disappointed? Get over it? Just because she prefers to sit on her hands instead of being lively, she needs to realize singers come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. If she looks around, perhaps she can find a contest such as Lonnie described with the judges being blindfolded.
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theCheese
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 9:55 am |
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Contests are always a bad idea.
Karaoke is supposed to be fun.. and any time you put money on the line, things get real serious, real fast.
I mean, come on.. you got people coming uncorked because they get bumped one song, or because you don't have the All Hits version of King of the Road.. start dangling a carrot in front of them like a cash prize and that's like dumping gas on a tire fire.
Cash prizes bring out real professional singers.. people who don't generally sing for free at karaoke bars for fun.. i'm talking people who get paid to sing on a regular basis.
Your regular Slappy McSoundChoice who practices his Frank Sinatra chops on his personal system in his moms basement for his big Wednesday 'show' with you each week isn't going to stand a snowballs chance in hel!.
And it's not just singing. Seems like any kind of cash competition in a social situation brings out the sore looser in a lot of people.
Besides.. SERIOUS singers DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL.. and there's a reason there aren't a bunch of 'dry' bars around.. it's because the only people getting rich selling soda pop are Coca Cola and Pepsi.
Contests can put a lot of butts in the seats, but rarely does that translate to any significant financial gain or increased post contest traffic.. especially when you consider the amount of money spent on prizes, advertising, etc.
In fact, in many cases, it can have a negative impact.
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Lonman
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 10:33 am |
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theCheese wrote: Besides.. SERIOUS singers DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL.. and there's a reason there aren't a bunch of 'dry' bars around.. it's because the only people getting rich selling soda pop are Coca Cola and Pepsi. Yes & no. I have watched many 'good' singers not drink so much before their turn & then drink like a fish afterward. Plus all of the people they brought were drinking. And since part of the contest is tallying up the scores and announce later on, you keep them there as late as possible while they are waiting, they are often drinking. Quote: Contests can put a lot of butts in the seats, but rarely does that translate to any significant financial gain or increased post contest traffic.. especially when you consider the amount of money spent on prizes, advertising, etc. I have found the opposite, which is why most places that regularaly have them, continue to do so, because the financial gain is pretty substantial during the contests. Quote: In fact, in many cases, it can have a negative impact. Again, it's all the way it's ran. _________________ LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!
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JoeChartreuse
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 11:03 am |
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Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:12 pm
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I would add one thing for those who insist on doing contests, despite comments made here:
I you can convince a local radio station to provide the judges, you get at least SOME of the horse crap shifted away from you, as these are less likely to be perceived as biased ( whether true or not) than local folks, and you might even get some free ad time in the process....
I still wouldn't do it though...
Note to Cheese: I know your post contained some serious and helpful info, but it was also funny as hell to almost any host who has been there... THANKS!
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TroyVnd27
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:45 am |
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The contest is over! We had some issues with judging a long the way, but I brought in local business professionals to judge the finals (in exchange for advertising in the program and their ads on the big screens). The $500 winner was a unanimous decision, so nobody could complain. I made the mistake of awarding trophies to the top 8. It was a mistake because too many people were ticked off. I should have given trophies to only the top 3, OR I should have just given trophies to everyone. (I got 8 Karaoke trophies from Crown Awards for less than $50 and people loved them) Overall, I think it went very well. Some singers were a little pissy on their facebooks, as were some of the singers friends, but I think we got it right. Here is a YouTube somebody put up of the award presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMKEPhDs ... re=related
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ripman8
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 8:40 am |
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Slappy McSoundChoice
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Funny
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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]
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SingyThingy
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:37 pm |
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I admit, many years ago I was a contest vulture.I stopped when I began to get regular gigs, though, and definitely wouldn't enter a karaoke contest now.
Honestly, I doubt most who sing for a living would enter any but the grand-plus prize,high exposure competitions,because it makes no sense to gamble on a probable sum of money that's about equal to the guarenteed sum a gig brings anyway.It's not really worth it.I could see how some pub and barband singers might find it worthwhile, but this isn't really unfair in my opinion, because usually,though more comfortable onstage and skilled at working crowds, I've seen some inexperienced or strictly karaoke singers with better voices work hard to up their game and they totally smoked the confident pub and barband singers in competitions.
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Earl
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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:59 pm |
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This fall will be my sixth year of running/hosting our local Karaoke contest. Our top prize has grown to $1500 from $300 and the quality of competition has grown in pretty much the same fashion.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of running any contest is getting competent judges. Even when we have local radio personalities and well-known business people... the grumbling continues. But that's to be expected. A thick skin helps.
Overall though, when the whiners, grumblers, and general sore losers choose to stay away after the contest, it simply makes room for more singers at our regular Karaoke nights. Good riddence! Our biggest concern seems to be "too many singers".
So yeah... we'll keep on holding the contests as long as the sponsors are willing, and we keep putting warm bodies in the seats. After all, it's the "best free show" in town.
By the way, our judging criteria is 70% Vocal Ability; 20% Stage Presence; and 10% Song Choice.
We also sell balotts for the "People's Choice Awards", male & female, with the proceeds split between the winners and the local Salvation Army Christmas Fund. Last fall raised over $1200 for the S.A.
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[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]
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