Karaoke Forums

Thank you. That is what I have been saying.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I don't care if it was 5.00 a month. I don't want it!

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

$5.00? Well frankly you would be stupid not to for $5.00. And why not? What are you afraid of?

How much do YOU Alan spend on new music every month? Surely it's more then $5.00.

This brings us back to the GEM debate. "Ownership" means jack. What is importance is USE of those songs, not who owns them. I would rather have USE of 60,000 songs and all new releases for a low monthly fee forever, then spend MUCH more to buy them. The only benefit of "owning" a $20 piece of plastic is to make you feel better.

Access to 60,000 is great. Beneficial? Marginally. I have around 14,000...and in the last 12 months have used less than 2,000 (4 shows a week). My singers all know that if I don't have something, tell me. I'll get it. Once I have something, I know I have it. Don't have to worry about the song being yanked through control of the database outside my own.

I'd rather feel better than worse.

Ownership does allow a certain amount of organization. You know what you have and it's not here today, gone tomorrow. At least with your Gem you have a contract guaranteeing your use for a longer period of time as opposed to a month.

Just to carry the house analogy further, some do prefer to rent either for financial or flexibility issues. But some feel more secure owning because they get tired of getting settled in only to get a notice that they have to move for one reason or another. Ownership gives a sense of security over someone else owning it all and granting one use of it on their ever changng terms. Not owning everything can make sense in many ways but it also opens one to vulnerabilities so each case involves risk assessment. It may all be in one's head but it does contribute to how one feels.

And what's wrong with ownership??? I'm proud of my collection which took me 15 years to build (about 14,000 songs (12,000 if you remove the dupes)). In regard to how much I spend per month on new music (not necessarily meaning new current music), well, that varies. Sometimes I may add a disc or 2 (costing me about $15 -35), and there are some months where I don't buy anything at all (costing me $0). I have use of ALL of my songs at $0 per month. Because I am ODB, I have no need for this new Cloud Service. I don't care what you ("You" in the general sense) are saying about discs being a dead medium, and that the new technology will not be producing them any more... There will still be ways for me to obtain my music through the legitimate download sites (such as SBI, Tricerasoft, K-V, etc...), and I will still be able to convert that music to a disc medium. So for me, discs are NOT dead.

As far as 60,000 songs go, it doesn't sound any different than when I go to one of those Pirate shows, where they boast that they have 100,000 plus songs... and they still DON'T have what I WANT to sing. And, what's in a number anyway??? Like many KJs have said (on this Forum as well), "If I don't have it, I'm sure you can find something else to sing from my selections." I may not have ever said that to anyone when I've hosted a show, but I have said, "If it isn't listed in my book, then I don't have it." Nobody has ever argued that point with me, or said something like, "But Joe Shmoe down the block has it." They have either looked for another song to sing, or sat back down. Some have even asked me if I could get "that song" for them (for the next time they come to my show), and I usually make the effort to oblige them. I even offer to do this in my e-mails that announce when/where my next show will be. The bottom line is, you only have time for 60-75 songs to be performed at each of your shows (based on a 4-5 hour show).... that's less than 1% of your 60,000 songs available on the Cloud (or my 14,000 songs too).

If this truly becomes the only way to get new music, he won't be spending anything apparantly per month.

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

Good for you. But pride does not earn you money. If you are paying triple the price collecting discs to have a proud collection, that's your prerogative. Karaoke music to me is a tool that I need, not an emotional attachment to show to my friends on the shelf when I retire.



Discs that you paid tens of thousands of dollars for in order to now have that $0 monthly payment. I would rather pay the small fee forever and still pay less than you.



. Think you will still be buying blank CD's in 5-10 years? Tried to buy a blank floppy disc lately? Wishing and hoping that discs will never die, will not keep them alive.



Nothing. Except they will cost 1/10 of your plastic collection.



Yup. And for 1/10 the price. Enjoy your collection.

The only thing that would make me cringe is all kj's would have the same selection - as far as what is available on the Cloud. No uniqueness to that kj anymore.

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

It could be that some karaoke company will listen to what the hosts are saying they need/want and attempt to fill that niche. It's like people saying they need fuel efficient cars but being told no, you are going to buy what we want to sell you and that is the future and if you want a car that is the only type of car you will be able to buy --people will find someone to sell them a fuel efficient car.

It would certainly separate the men from the boys, wouldn't it. Then it falls back on the show, personality and performance.
I think of it this way. Bars have 99% of the same liquor behind the bar, yet some bartenders shine & other fail. It's not the tools, its the craftsmanship.

Of all the point/counter-point stances that I've seen here, that has to be the most ridiculous counter-point yet! The Cloud service that is being proposed is NOT AVAILABLE to you YET. So what are you doing right now??? When did you start building a collection of Karaoke music? How much have you accumulated? Are you telling me that you haven't spent any money on your collection to date? OR, are you telling me that you plan to start hosting your 1st show/s when this new Cloud service becomes available? If the latter, THEN your last statement makes some sort of sense. Otherwise, you (probably) have already spent thousands of dollars already... not to mention that you (by your choice) will then continue to pay for the Cloud service until the day you die (or get out of the Karaoke business... whichever comes first).

No - prices play a major factor regardless of bartender. When one bar is charging $4 Jagerbombs, while the other is charging $8 where do you think a Jagerbomb drinker is going to go.
We have smoking in our bar, but there are singers don't come in regularly simply because of the smoke (never was an issue befor ethe smoking ban took effect here), but they will still pop in occasionally because I have the few songs I specifically bought for them - but now if every kj is going to have access to those songs, there is no reason for those singers to come into the smokey bar, they'll just go to another kj. No amount of good showmanship, personality or performance is going to lure them in. The Cloud just lost me some singers - yes a very hypothetical sistuation, but one I feel can be very real.

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

More ridiculous than claiming Cloud technology is dictating how one runs a business? I think THAT takes the "ridiculous trophy". Hey, your discs still work. So why are you so upset about Cloud technology?



Of course I have already spent money, you know that. But I do not have 16,000 songs on CD+G plastic by any means. I am willing to bet that your total outlay of money for your decade of plastic purchases would still be less than mine + cloud fees for life. That is my point. More, for less.

In your case, Earthlings analogy applies. It doesn't make sense for you lease a corporate jet when you only fly twice a year.

I don't use iTunes, myself and never have. But my understanding of how iTunes works, is that you are not paying a monthly subscription anyway. You are paying for each track @ .99 cents a track or whatever it is. It is a different model than paying a subscription.

As a comparisoon (and provided what I stated about iTunes above is accurate), Smoothedge pays for every track he wants to listen to, and he gets to keep them. I use a Zune subscription which is $10/month and I can listen to anything I want (not just what I purchase) for that $10/mo. He has access to the 10's or 1000's of songs he paid for and I have access to millions of songs. He is paying .99 a track and probably WAY more than $10/mo to listen to the limited number of tracks he buys and owns. I pay $10/mo and listen to whatever i want to listen to, whenever I want to listen to it, whereever I want to listen to it.

Smooth pays 100's or even 1000's of dollars a year to OWN that stuff, and I pay $120. Period. No more. No Less. And I have access to millions of tracks any time I want to listen to them.

If ownership is important to you.....if being able to sell that iPod years from now with 10,000 songs on it for potentially $10,000 (hahahahahahahaha!)....if that has value to you....go ahead.

I prefer the flexibility of listening to whatever I want on a whim without any additional charge.

This of course DOES NOT work at the Pro KJ level, but we aren't even talking about that any longer......


btw....this comes from the iTunes terms of Service......don't lose your iPod!

"As an accommodation to you, subsequent to acquiring iTunes Auto-Delivery Content, purchased (i.e. not rented) movies iTunes Products and TV show iTunes Products (each, “iTunes Eligible Content”), you may download certain of such previously-purchased iTunes Eligible Content onto any Associated Device. Some iTunes Eligible Content that you previously purchased may not be available for subsequent download at any given time, and Apple shall have no liability to you in such event. As you may not be able to subsequently download certain previously-purchased iTunes Eligible Content, once you download an item of iTunes Eligible Content, it is your responsibility not to lose, destroy, or damage it, and you may want to back it up."

-Chris

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-Chris

If you're going to go point-counter-point with me, then use a quote that I made!!! I NEVER said anything about Cloud Technology dictating how one runs a business. I believe that statement was made by Alan.

Considering that all KJs have the same availability to all tracks in existence now if they are motivated to find and purchase them, I don't see that as much of a factor. Actually, I think of it as a plus. It will separate the boys from the men. I would rather return to a place where I've had a good time all night than go somewhere just because I'll have three minutes of fun singing a particular song that nobody else has.

SC8715-1 - Clapton, Eric - It's In The Way That You Use It

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KNOW THYSELF

THIS is a perfect explanation/analogy.

The whole argument reminds me of my time in the radio business when iPods came along. The fear, loathing and denial over a new technology shaking up the norm was thick in the air.

Settle down Francis.

I never said you said it, or attributed the quote to you, now did I?

What I said, was it wins the award for most ridiculous counter-point.