Karaoke Forums

Who says that EVERYONE out there knows what's going on regarding SC (and CB and Stellar) vs the Pirates?

For the most part, the people that know what's going on (for the past year or so), are the people who come to this forum (K-Scene) and others that are similar to it. Other than that, unless you are shouting it from the rooftops, or an establishment has actually received a notice from SC, It is my opinion that there are still quite a few people in the dark about this.

As far as KJs go, I can only speak about what I know, and what I know is that most of the KJs in my area (New York City) do not know anything about what's been happening. For those who are still purchasing new music, yes, they know that SC has stopped producing new discs, but that's about all they know. These KJs don't know about forums like this one, so they haven't read about all the things that have been going on. There are a small handful of KJs who I know personally, who do know what's been happening, and 2 of them had received papers from SC last year (telling them that they must get audited, or purchase the GEM series, or be sued). 1 of them has been named in one of SC's recent lawsuits (in NY), and when I asked him about it, he tried to act dumb, and denied that he was mentioned in that lawsuit. When I gave him the URL to the Lawsuit, he tried to tell me that the KJ they were suing was someone in Wisconsin... Yeah! Right! I believe that (since this was a NY Lawsuit)!!! Most of these KJs don't advertise anywhere (other than FaceBook or e-mails), so they are off the grid (as far as SC finding them). Even the Bars don't advertise (which has nothing to do with SC's current actions). Yes, there were quite a few KJs named (back in JULY) in SC's lawsuit in NY, but there are many KJs in my area that weren't named (and didn't even know that other KJs were/are being sued). Some of them I know to be operating legally (at least I've known them for years, and I believe they are), and there are many there that are Pirates (some have been around for years, and some are newbies).

As for the Singers, most of them could care less. All they want to do is go out and sing and have a good time. They don't know Pirates from the Legit KJs. Telling them that this KJ has 100K plus tracks is meaningless to them, because they know that they will only sing 3 to 6 songs in the entire evening. It's also meaningless to a small portion of them, because like me, they bring their own discs with them. Also, most of these people have never heard of K-Scene or any other ONLINE Karaoke forum. In their spare time, most of them are busy FB-ing each other, or doing other things of more importance to them.

Then there's the newbies out there that want to start KJ-ing themselves, and have started to make several purchases (hardware and software). As for the people who are out there buying fully loaded Hard Drives (with illegally obtained tracks), there are some that know they are buying something that is illegal, and there are many others who just think they are getting a really great deal. "Head in the Sand," you say??? WHY??? Again, as I said before, unless you are shouting it from the rooftops, most of the people outside of these forums are totally oblivious to what's been happening. It's not like it's on the news regularly (or even (maybe) once a month).

I'm not trying to justify anything here... I'm just tired of a few of you who have stated this in some of your posts. So, what makes you say that "EVERYONE should know by now!"???

OK... I'm done with my little rant.

As for the hard drives with multiple tens of thousands of tracks for a few hundred dollars is pretty easy, since most downloads are about a buck each and even at 50 cents each the hard drives are way underpriced. It would be like buying a $50,000 brand new car for a grand. People may be dumb at times but they are not that dumb.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Maybe, maybe not. You could POSSIBLY get that $50K car at an Automobile Auction for $1K... They do auction off cars that were seized by the Police at these auctions... OK, it is highly unlikely that will happen, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities.

Great thread cue....

Thanks for the rant which hits the nail on the head IMO....

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

you're right, and as far as the singers, not only do they not know....they couldn't possibly care less. if someone has their song, singers don't give a $h!t if they stole it from some little old lady, they just want to sing their song. that has been the biggest hurdle in all of this. not as much the lack of knowledge (which is a huge problem i agree) but the lack of caring by anyone but the small group of us on KS.

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

being told they had to do the audit or risk getting sued and then being told they have to pay for the audit is extortion and coercion!!!

plus all the extras you have to have to do the audit. i called and you have to have a high speed internet connection and a high resolution web cam so they can see the disc's, purchase an exacto knife to put cut marks on your disc from the center outward on the disc. ( I personally know that plastic is like glass, if you scar it deep enough it will break, and i'm not going to knowingly damage my disc's )

web cam 50-100
exacto knife 5-10
high speed internet 50
sc audit 175 for 3 hrs (i think they said it would be an additional 25hr after the first 3 hrs.)

here is the definition of coercion:
The intimidation of a victim to compel the individual to do some act against his or her will by the use of psychological pressure, physical force, or threats.

here is the definition of extortion:
The practice of obtaining something, esp. money, through force or threats.

so threating you to do the audit or get sued is "coercion & extortion" for money to me!

i see counter law suits for legit sc, cb, & phm users that get sued!

so much for loyalty over the years of purchasing their disc's.

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It's all good!

Then don't media-shift their product if you don't want to make the investment.

Case closed.

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

I can assure you that the kj's,singers and venues in my little piece of the world know what is going on.. I made it my public service to distribute material, post info on my songbooks for singers and notify every kj I can find. If they choose to not listen they deserve what they get. Once just a few venues are hit with judgments, a few kj's have systems seized by collections (and maybe cars in the parking lot....then everyone will care (BTW it is legal in Florida for collections to do this) I also look forward to non-homesteaded properties to be seized too. Granted it may be a year or more to see the results but I will jump for joy

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

i thought it was $125.00?
did you just get a "quote" from SC recently with this price?

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

It was 125.00 for mine this week and they did not charge for the second system which is GEM + 25 sc disks

for one thing i've been doing computer based karaoke since 2006 before the thought of media shifting was invented.... and the only one i had to deal with was ascap & bmi and they didn't care that i was running off a computer. and now because of piracy i have to prove i'm legit?

don't seem right to me.

i will let them name me in a lawsuit then we'll go from there. i own all my disc's and they can prove me guilty!!!

I WILL NOT BE BULLIED IN TO PAYING SOME BULLS&*t FEE.

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It's all good!

Computer karaoke/media shifting has been around for longer than that - at the very least '02 is when MTU had Hoster released.

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

I started shifting my discs in 2004.

Became SC & CB Certified in 2011.



Where are your shows wiz?

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

WOS you are always on the prowl aren't you?

"Where are your shows wiz?"

How much free stuff do you recieve for every lead? I would think that KJ's that own their music, but aren't certified, would actually end up being a loosing financial endeavor, rather than a money maker. The 1:1 named, but uncertified, KJ will have a filing fee, a process fee, an audit fee, a possibly attorney's fees (but we believe that is contingent). If that same 1:1 named, but uncertified, KJ refuses an audit, and wants to go to court, then the mfg's dollars spent vs potential dollars gained gets even worst, especially when you consider the fact that no one has gone to court yet.

So why do constantly ask the same annoying question "Where are your shows" ? Are there that many stupid people in your neck of the woods?

OK folks... Let's take the Audit and court arguments elsewhere. This topic thread wasn't opened up for that. It was opened up because of people who have insisted that everyone should be aware of all that's been happening by now, and that simply is not the case.



OK kjathena. I'll give you that much (that people in YOUR area are aware of what's happening). But, just because that's true in your area, doesn't make it so in other areas. As I had previously stated, that's not the case in my area. Regardless of the fact that SC has a pending Lawsuit in NYC for multiple KJs and Venues, there are still many more that are totally unaware of this, and word has not spread.

I do this to discredit cowards who hide behind these forums anonymously and continue to criticize without accountability.



(Sorry cue but I had to respond. Back on topic now)

I had notified every venue that hosted karaoke in my area over a year ago as well as talked about it with all my singers. Many singers didn't want to hear it & still don't. I need to do another mailing of info to venues. But I agree, not everyone is aware of the piracy issue.

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

Hey! WE are in his neck of the woods--maybe more like the armpit or worse but we get the fall out from some of his campaigning. Sometimes we even get blamed for it. But it just seems like good protection to be above board. Would it be a terrible thing for him to show up at our show and see all of our discs there on the table? Seems smart to let anyone that could be checking out shows know that we are legit. Shows that hide can't advertise and we want people at our show, even if it is Wall, as long as he buys something.

On the topic, he has sent info way out our way and no venue with karaoke can claim to be taken by surprise. Many are still operating under the Wild West mentality and still think they can make their own rules or we are too far out there for anyone to bother with. But they have been informed. There is also an awareness with the singers as songbooks have been pared down suddenly and we are always being asked if we have songs other than what we show in our books, as if that has become the norm. Other singers have informed me that SC used to be good but now everyone is switching to Sunfly which seems to be a code for something, also. A leader of one singing clique was friends with someone named in Virginia so word is out in our area.

It seems the process for filing suits has been to try to get the word out in advance and send info letters to any venues advertising karaoke. Wonder if that happened in Cue's area and they just hit the round file? But I agree that the word is not out everywhere. We have had to inform a few new hosts we knew that are only about 100 miles from our zone and they hadn't heard anything about it until then. They had just taken over a show from someone who retired and they actually shut down using the library until they made sure they had a disc for every song on the books. We tell people to join the forum to stay informed. To Deal
The Woods
The Wood
Auditing

No matter whether or not you are legal on your taxes, no one wants an IRS audit.

We should not threaten on this board. It is not conducive to intelligent discussion.

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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 agree that threats and intimidation will kill the forum. But it just seems weird to worry about people finding your show. We are in the business of having people find our show.

It isn't that -- it's the chilling effect on conversation. For instance, there have been cases of people posting personal information. Implying that you might research and do that has a chilling effect on the discussion, and it is not the type of thing this forum should tolerate.

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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.