Karaoke Forums

Joe, I have a LOT of experienced singers, that sound great, yet they do not know what the manus are.
What do you do when you have a slip submitted with no manu in it?????

do you 1) search for the singer and ask them which one they want, or 2)so you just fill it in??? I know you are using discs, and I know those drunks don't fill that slip out perfectly everytime!

If #1 how do you have that much time?? Or are you NOT calling them up until they fill in that blank!!

if #2 then you are doing just what I'm doing. I use to include manus in my book, I use to ask singers "which one" but experienced showed me that the singers trusted me to "Just put the best one in" or they knew what they wanted and would tell me when they submitted the song (or i only have ONE version so its that or nothing). It quickly become apparent that the manu codes were more a hinderance than a help.

K.I.S.S. In worked in elementry school, and it still works today.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

1) First, those who are regulars at my shows know to fill in the number, as that info is requested on the slip. Those who are too drunk, stupid, or illiterate or ask for "best version" are then subject to MY personal taste, as they have made it clear that they don't care. However, remember what I posted- in MY area MOST DO CARE.

2) it's funny you mention the time. I'm disc based, keep a written rotation, adjust sound on the fly, answer customer questions, solve even non-karaoke problems, meet and greet, etc...etc..., with a full rotation, and never seem to have a problem. A combination of multi-tasking skills and a few decades worth of experience probably has a lot to do with it....

What's funny is that the PC based folk- who claim it makes life SO much easier, can't seem to move their butts ( from my experience only) away from their screen to do other things. If they wear glasses, they look like Mr. Spock at his sensor array. They sit ( which I NEVER do at a show) and stare at their screens, but can't seem to get away to meet and greet or anything else. Amazing...

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

I've never listed manu codes or duplicates in my book. Most ppl that come to my shows don't care.

If I lose a singer because for no other reason than I don't have the codes in my book, then good riddance. What else are they gonna complain about? Can you say, karaoke snob?

I have ppl asking me what versions I have. My reply: What version do you want? DK? No prob. It's that quick. Otherwise, I use the version that *I* believe is the closest to the actual original song, NOT what 'karaoke' version I think is best. My book has almost 33,000 songs no dupes listed, on about 215 pages. I used to print 10 books, now I print 3. I encourage ppl to just tell me their name and what songs they want to sing. I enter them into the hoster program right there. I use a signup sheet as well, basically just to give them something to look at. Agree with the poster that said 'codes are obsolete'.

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DJ Don

This is what we have in front of our books. I tried to add the file but it wouldn't load up. Here's the contents. It's properly double columned in the books.

MANUFACTURERS

We at Karaoke With Laurie The Guy endeavor to get the best discs possible and the songs, you the singers, want. As there are many different manufacturers, the quality between the companies differ, some better than others. Our philosophy is that it is better to have an inferior version of a song than not to have it at all. We list our songs by manufacturer numbers which give you the choice of which version you prefer to sing. The first letter of the disc number will tell you who made it. This list is below. Those discs with no letters before it are made by one of the monthly companies (THM, Pop Hits, Country Hits, etc). These discs will have a letter within the numbers designating C for Country, H for Hip Hop, HP for Hot Picks, P for Pop, and R for Rock. Those with (Cdn) are Canadian companies producing Canadian music. Due to the size of our library not all versions are listed. Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance.

AG - American Gold NS - Nashville Sound
AH - All Hits NU - Nutech
AMS - Ameri-Sing P - Star Disc
AKS - American Karaoke Supply PCDG - Pioneer
BCI - BCI Eclipse PER - The Persuaders (Cdn)
BL - Legends Bassline PH - Performance Hits
BMB - BMB Karaoke PK - Pocket Songs
BS - Backstage PM - Priddis Music
C2C - Sea To Sea PT - Performance Tracks
CB - Chartbusters PX - Pro Trax
CKC - Country Karaoke Classics QH – Quik Hitz
CT - Cool Tracks RB - Rhythm & Blues
DG - Dangerous RC - Retro Classics
DIS - Disney RCA - Radio Company Of America
DK+ - Daiichi Kosho RIS - Rising Star
DM - Doctor Music RSX - Rebel Karaoke
FLO - Sunfly RSZ- Radio Starz
G - Singing Machine SAV - Nikkodo
GBS - Great Big Sea (Cdn) SC - Sound Choice
GD - Sunfly Gold SD - Star Disc
GM - Gamesman (Cdn) SDK - Singer’s Dream Karaoke
H - Hellavadisc SGB - Sweet Georgia Brown
HL - Hot Line SF - Sunfly
HSPK - Karaoke Party Pack SI - Sound Image
JTG - Pocket Songs SK - Sing King (Cdn)
K - Killer Karaoke SKG - Superstar
KA - Ultimate Karaoke SO - Standing Ovation
KAR - Karaokemaker (Cdn) SQ – SQ Karaoke
KC - Karaoke Classics STS - Stage Stars
KH - Karaoke Hits STTW - Sing To The World
KJT - Karaoke Tools SYB - Sybersound (Party Time)
KKCDG - Karaoke Kebec TEG - Tip Top
LG - Legends THM - Top Hits Monthly
MG - Mega Hits TT - Top Tunes
MH - Monster Hits UK - UK Karaoke
MKP - Karaoke Party Madacy US - Ultra Sonics
Entertainment XBW – Extreme
MM - Music Maestro ZM- Zoom Karaoke
NFLD - Newfoundland Karaoke (Cdn)
NM - North Country Suggested foods for diabetics
Karaoke machine rental

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You can be strange but not a stranger

My kiosk software shows everything you give it to show and includes the mfg numbers on a selection screen along with this graphic.

I take my own CDGs with me, and if a KJ can't play them, forget it. They won't have any of the music that I do on their pirated disk. Some of them can't even play a CDG as an audio CD, which makes me wonder what the heck they're using for hardware...a laptop with no CD drive?

At the show that I do regularly, I just hand my disks over and let the KJ pick my songs all night, his disks or mine. He's a professional DJ, and he knows the right song to pick at the moment, so let him do his job. Besides, it's kind of oddly exciting, picking up the mic and not knowing what you're going to be singing.

Sometimes I like to thumb through the book looking for ideas, especially when a really bad singer is performing. Keep the books out there, please.

Within the next month I will be redoing my books. I have one venue where I just have no place to put the kiosk. My books are going to show not only what I have unlocked but the songs that are locked on the KJ Media Hard Drive.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Why keep the books? You just stated you only sing the same songs off your own discs anyway and you won't even bother if the KJ can't play your discs.

I must have a pirated disk because I can't play cdg's and my hosting software does not play regular cd as well. NOT.
I try to get the songs my singers sing as soon as I can but sometimes if it's off an obscure disc, I can't get the song they are asking for. Especially if it's hard to get in the first place. Even if my software could play cd+g discs, my cd-rom does not read the subcode, one of the few disc drives that doesn't.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

most of the programs can't play a CDG directly off the disc, that does NOT make them pirates. would that mean that just because mine DOES play right off the disc that i must not be a pirate while DannyG and Chip ARE pirates? be careful with generalizations, you might offend a lot of people.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Don, I think you missed a couple of older posts.

1) It's not being a snob. Most singers are average in talent. Many practice at home, or have sung at other shows and have gotten used to, and comfortable with, a certain brand. It's not even a matter of it being "better"- just what they're used to. Nothing wrong with customer service. I DON'T say "good riddance" to a customer who wants a service that is missing- I ADD that service. Just my style. We're paid to work, and make customers happy, not make our own life easier by offering less.


2) As mentioned earlier, many KJs will out and out lie. Ask for one brand, they say sure, and sub another that the singer isn't used to. It happens a lot. I'm sure that you don't, but a customer who has been burned in this manner will be hard pressed to simply take the KJ's word. This is why I prefer to see the codes in the book.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Hey Joe, you're probably right. I didn't read the entire thread.

Regardless....

To me, it's snobby if someone wants to leave my show because... if for no other reason... I don't have manu codes in my book. Really? Bub bye. Based on my limited experience, I'm guessing that the number of books out there that don't have codes in them are far outnumbered by those that those that do. Again, I'll play the version they ask for, if I have it. If I don't have that version, I'll tell them.

And if a singer is going to judge every karaoke host based on one bad experience, well, I can't help that either.

I completely understand the argument for codes. I still don't agree with using them in the book.

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DJ Don

It just makes it easier. My main reason for wanting codes is that I have no desire to play four-bullet Russian Roulette with a Music Maestro or Star Disc track. If that is what is on offer, I'll pick another song.

Some songs just about any version is decent, so it doesn't matter that much. But there are a quite a few songs that only have one good version. So if you don't have that version, again, I'll pick another song.

The worst are the ones I think of as "Sax and Dotty pirates" -- not that I know they are, that's just how I think of them -- who have a bunch of files named all different, with no version in the file name. They have no idea what versions they have, and you have to play it to find out. I don't normally frequent those kinds of shows.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I love my software because it tells me what brand it is. Yeah I only have SC, CB and Big Machine Records but that's not the point and I list the manu codes in my book so my singers know as well.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Just wondering what it is about S&D that makes you think this?
I've never used the program, so I don't know.
Does it somehow change all the names of your files?

My library offers tracks from 67 different 'brands'. Some of them of course are from the same source (eg: NorthStar and StarDisc).

Once I began to use CompuHost, I omitted the song-number/mfr's ID from my songbooks. To consolidate, I eliminated duplicate listings as well.

Once I began to use the Remost Request Server/Kiosk, I opted to not display the mfr's code because it seemed to confuse people and delay the process too frequently.

People that care about which brand have, in my experience, the ability to let me know their preference. One thing is though, those people are able to see the 'brand' in their history, once the song has been performed. That has led to some asking for me to offer an alternate version for them to perform so they can make a choice for themselves. I don't mind. I find that interaction stimulating.

I print 6 books listed by artist. I do this 2 times a year. I use the kiosk exclusively for sign-up and encourage people to use their wireless devices after their intitial sign-up. The books will always be around simply for browsing and/or inspiration. I may switch to e-readers when the prices drop to levels like hand-held calculators did back in the day. The books cost about $23 apiece to print and bind. Some of them have walked over the years. I'm not handing someone a piece of equipment worth much more than that if I can help it.

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Never the same show twice!

No, I didn't say that. I said "his disks or mine", which implies that I do songs out of the book, if the KJ picks them for me. I also said that I like to thumb through the books.

As for the music that I bring with me, it is stuff that a person can't buy anywhere in the world, and most people have never heard any of it. I don't do the "same songs", I'm always producing a new one, and people get a chance to hear something they've never heard in the United States.

How much Rita Mitsouko does anyone have on their disk? I have Andy, Les Histoires d'A, Les Consonnes, Un Zéro, Marcia Beila, Ding Ding Dong, C'est Comme Ca, and La Taille du Bambou, and I'm working on the soundtrack for Nuit d'Ivresse. Do you have Nina's 99 Luftballons, or the German versions of Der Kommisar, or Major Tom (Völlig Losgelöst)? No one does, which is why I started producing my own disks, for me and my husband to sing. I like to do a variety, and keep the show interesting, but I'm not going to do a show that can't play my discs, or at least take an MP3+G from a memory stick, because I put too much work into my music just to go do a show and sing the songs out of the book. That's not why I do karaoke.

And something(s) they can't sing along to either I'll bet. So you are a "performer."


I'm sure it's beautiful on it's own.... but a little out of place in a sports bar. Perhaps the karaoke club at Lonman's bowling alley would appreciate it more or Wall Of Sound's show where "edgy" is the in thing.


Yes, I do have 99 Luftballoons in German. The Lufthansa flight attendants love to sing that one. I doubt that I would get much use out of the others.



Then I'd certainly like to know why you "do karaoke" because it appears that it's not to engage the audience to sing with you, but more to have them stare at you to enjoy your "performance." And I'm not knocking your style because you are certainly well within your right to sing whatever you want however, having said that, as a karaoke host I prefer those that are there to sing along with their friends rather than a room full of performers singing foreign language songs... no matter how well they are done.

OoooH!
I've been looking for that one for ages!
It was a MUCH bigger hit here than the English version. No one cared to hear that one.
Where can I find a non SC version? Any clue?

OK, point taken. There is always a possibility that a person is using legally licensed software that can't play disks, and has legal copies of all of his stuff on his hard disk, or uses a service. I do not consider such a person to be a pirate, but I do not consider him to be a professional either. Is that fair enough?