Karaoke Forums

So I have been toying around with making karaoke my full time job. I have done a bunch of math and cost analysis and I beleive I could actually pull it off. The down side is that it would not be cheap to do it.

Startups costs as of 12/10/2011 (pricing does not reflect discounts or other special pricing):
Chartbuster 12000 pack - $3499
Sound Choice Gem Series - $3500
Pop Hits Monthly 2009-2011 Pack - $859

Equipment (Sound and Lighting) $10,000 give or take (I will not skimp on this part and would be inclined to spend even more)

Making Startup costs about $18,000 per venue to walk in with a complete system and a great selection of music. And this doesn't even include the monthly updates required to stay current.

Ideally I would like to do 5 of these rigs at 5 permanent locations that do a minimum of 4 nights a week. So now it becomes a $100,000 investment if I wanted to just jump in with both feet.

Has anyone else done anything like this?

-Chris

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-Chris

First off.... Hello!
I believe your start up costs are kinda high, actually. You do not have to buy everything new. I have bought many cdg's, speakers, subs, mixing boards, microphones, etc. used and have saved tens of thousands of dollars.
Craig's list and E-BAY should be places you visit often, not to mention DJchat.com, and others that have "for sale" forums where you can purchase quality used equipment on the cheap to get yourself up and running.
I would also start "mobile" with just one or two rigs before you go out there all gangbusters with 4 or 5 complete rigs. I have roughly 45,000 legal karaoke tracks split between 2 rigs and feel it is more than adequate as far as selection goes.
With the economy the way it is, you have to be a little more frugal. Karaoke gigs dont pay that much and it would take quite a while to see any return on your investment should you choose to buy all new equipment, music, etc.
It also sounds as if you will need an assistant or host who can help doing gigs with you.
When I started this years ago, the wife and I were running 6 or 7 nights a week and got quickly burnt out. It's hard to stay energized and keep the show upbeat when you are hosting almost every night. Having a competent kj or two will reap dividends down the road.
Good luck and I hope to be singing at one of your shows in the future:)

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

I suppose I should have included that my game plan is to have other KJ's running all but maybe 1 venue. So I would want 4-6 total KJ's so I have folks to pick up nights that people want off. Ultimately I would want to just manage all the hosts, take my cut, and sit back and watch the money pour in (hahahahahahahahahahah.....yeah....right).

I know I can save money by picking up used equipment but I ant to standardize my rigs so that they are interchangable. Makes it easy to support them and easy to repair when things go bad. I would design them to be as portable as possible, but the goal is to find established bars looking for long term karaoke entertainment so the equipment stays on site.

I have been steadily picking up used disc collections for a while now. While it is the cheapest way to go, it is by no means the most time efficient. Having to catalog and sort them all to maintain 1-1 across multiple system is nightmarish. My time is valuable so coughing up the extra dough to go straight through the manufacturers and be instantly certified is very appealing to me.

-Chris

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-Chris

if you want to make this your full time business there is nothing to say that you can't start right away with one system and build on that as you make money.


Sure it takes longer, but with the way the economy is, its the safer approach.

just my two cents

-james

to coin a phrase.......don't quit your day job......

that is how i was looking at doing things. i also have been trying to build a second exactly like my first, and same library. i want someone to go to a Paradigm show and have the same mics, speakers, library, and rotation run the same way weather it is my show or someone running for me. not i have their song at one show but not the other. kinda a McDonalds type thing, i know what the frys taste like at McDonalds weather its here or in Cleveland. I do agree though with starting mobile with one, maybe two rigs at most to get your name out and reputation built. getting enough nights to support 6 hosts and 4 rigs relies a lot on your reputation. i know i have some big dreams, i don't want them to go to Robert Emmets for karaoke, i want them to go to Paradigm Karaoke at Robert Emmets. i dont go to Cricket Pavilion to see Aerosmith, I go see Areosmith who just happens to be playing at Cricker Pavilion. a different way of looking a things.

sorry bout the tangent, cant'......stop.......brain.......

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

The GEM & Chartbuster sets are going to have massive duplication between the two sets. Money thrown away IMO. I'd probably opt for the GEM series, PHM sets, & CB HDMP and just unlock the songs that I need - of course i'd have to settle for Compuhost as my player.
This has been my only job since 94.

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

@Lon - I know there will be duplicates and I am willing to accept that. I suppose long term I will dig deeper into the libraries to see how much there really is before commiting to grabbing both full libraries.

@Everybody - I am dreaming big because I believe in "Go Big or Go Home". I also have to match an existing income and lifestyle. It is one thing to have started 10-15 years ago and build your way up. It is another to already be 15 years into a job, change careers completely and want to live the same way.

Think of it this way......

How many $150/night karaoke shows do you have to do to gross $25,000 a year? Answer: 166

I have to make WAY more than that to quit my day job.

-Chris

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-Chris

Most DJs who make it their only job rely on weddings to provide a good part of their revenue. You can get $1000-1500 for them, from what I hear. 2 of those on a summer weekend goes some ways toward giving you a big enough gross.

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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.

1000 to 1500 maybe with a real talent, awesome system, and a fantastic light show, living in an area where the cost of living is high. With the economy around here, DJs are hurting, getting maybe 500 to 800.....worse if you have too many family & friends....
Even one a week at 1000 is 52,000/yr......and I don't think that will be the case. Adding a couple of shows during the week would help, but with pirates, cut-throat kjs & owners looking to spend near nothing for entertainment, coupled with new technology making it possible for people to take pictures & provide music for their own weddings, I'd still have to say....don't quit your day job.......it's still ok to dream
In the early 70's, I had a "small part" in a porno flick.....that ended my career & my dream.....

I do want to add in weddings, parties, corp events, etc. with 12-18 of those per year getting factored into my plan.

I live near Seattle, WA. - high cost of living, relatively high level of expendable income and holes in the market after the Sound Choice driveby. Also lots of big business for corp events.

All of this is great feedback folks. That is why I joined the forums. I wanted to connect with folks that have been doing this a while. Thank you all for the input!

-Chris

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-Chris

You may have the area to do an Oscar Wilde and "Start at the top and sit on it," but in our area we have a host on every corner and each host only seems to have one night each because there is already somebody at all of the other spots. But we are in a remote, economically depressed area.

Like I said, I have had a day job with the same company for 15 years. Karaoke is personal passion of mine and something I can see making a full time living from someday. I am fortunate that I have the means to take it slow or jump right in. I suppose I am also fortunate to live where I live and have the opportunity to make a go of it the way I would like to. I don't think I would even consider doing karaoke full time unless I lived near a major metropolitan area.

-Chris

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-Chris

hey if worst comes to worst you could always host for the microsoft parties, if they have those..

I have read these forums for many many years, but have never posted. Hello all,
I have been blessed enough to have been able to make a living from this since I started out part-time in 1985-95, FULL TIME since 1995 to the present. I have run shows 6 nights a week for the last 16 years, Sundays off now. I know that running full time can be done. It is not for everyone and it is not even close to easy, I go through burn-out every 6 months . I am proof it can be done tho. I have 4 big things that keep me going: my wife, and my 2 children and my mortgage. If it was not for them, I never would have continued with this as long as I have. I do love it and the ppl. You need to have sincere motivation and big money is not enough, just sayin. I am fortunate that my shows bring $250 per night and not the going rate of $150. I work for 1 owner that owns 7 different clubs... I am very fortunate. and not the norm in this business. Find your niche and go for it, but know what you are going in for. there is a lot of knowledge in these forums, listen closely. My humble 2cents
Rick

Yes.

Good luck.

Well Rick, being in the NBA for all those years, you surely must have saved up some seed money..... & ABA.....or was it Hockey?

Just don't make the mistake that money will muscle you into the marketplace.

SoundChoice wasn't running off high dollar legit KJ's, so walking up to the club owner with the John Wayne swagger and a $300 a night asking price will likely get you nothing but a seat at the bar and a hearty laugh at your expense.

I don't care if you have a $50,000 sound system, $2,000 mics, a pyrotechnic show, juggling unicycle riding panda bears, and a genuine one legged midget contortionist in the center ring singing Walking On Sunshine whilst shooting ping pong balls out of her honeypot.

The market is what it is. Bar gigs will only pay X amount, and nationally, karaoke is on a downward trend in popularity.

My advice would be if you've got that kind of jack burning a hole in your pocket, to find an existing company already in the market and buy them out.

Most guys in the biz full time are hunkering down and riding out the lean time.. not blowing their war chest on expansion.

@theCheese - I actually have considered partnering up with an existing, well established hoster in the area. I am meeting with them this week just to talk about the lay of the land and what we can do together.

-Chris

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-Chris

Great visual Cheese, I can just see him walking up to the owner saying....ok Pilgrim, let's say you pay me 300 bucks a night, for let's say 3 nights a week of some hard rockin' karaoke....sabe'