Karaoke Forums

Remind me to stop drinking any sort of beverage while sitting in front of my PC and reading all of this.

Then I apologize for my statement.

But that is just it, MOST of the kj's around here don't have ANY motivation to get special songs for their singers. I know one kj with a loaded drive, he says he hasn't bought a new song in over 5 years now and has NEVER bought a special request on purpose - only if it happened to come on the drive (or when he was disc based - on a disc he was getting). I go out of my way to find special songs for our singers, but if every kj is going to have instant access to those same songs, that is going to hurt as my selection I took to hand build over 20 years is going to mean squat. I may as well done the library swaps with every kj that wanted to, I would have never considered it because I didn't WANT them to have what I took the time to get.

This isn't a common song? I get this one sung on occasion.

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IPods??? Shoot!!! I still don't know how to use an MP3 Player.... And I bought one of those for my God Daughter 14 years ago (for her Sweet 16).

Ah, but you have a nice collection of music that is out of production that won't be on the cloud service. And I think it will be a very long time before something like this will include all manufacturers' offerings, so I'll bet you will still be able to stay ahead of the pack on music.

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KNOW THYSELF

Let's put it this way, for an established host with tons of music, it would not be economical or beneficial. This would be for someone starting out with nothing.

As I said before, we have over 27,000 title with over 18,000 non-repeats. We could stop buying music today and show no ill effect.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

[="Bazza"]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. [/quote]

here is the part of your argument i don't understand.......
after 5 years in business you will have paid $12,000 to borrow some tracks if they stay on the cloud (licenses never expire), but that is a bit more than what i have spent in 5 years, and my songs will not disappear because of licensing, or anything but my own stupidity. and in 5 years my book will have the songs it had 5 years ago plus more and yours will have lost who knows how many songs because someone else decided they didn't want you to have it anymore. so you will be paying much more than the rest of us, have someone else determine month to month which songs you will be allowed to keep, and get to tell your singers "sorry, i dont have that song anymore", all for the low price of $2,400 a year in perpetuity which is more than i think any of us spend on music for one rig as it stands.

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

Even at $99 a month, which I think is insane, this thing is a rip off. Who wants everyone to have the same songs. That is one thing I always liked about karaoke. I like going to different shows to see what different hosts have, and finding new things to sing, even though I carry my own set of discs that has what I like to sing. I like to find songs I don't have. If everyone has everything, where is the fun in discovery?

As for Chris's iTune rant, I am not one who likes millions of songs. I like what I like, and am very focused on what I buy. I don't care if the latest CeeLo Green song is in some cloud, I will never want to listen to it. I don't carry my iPod around to hear millions of songs. I carry it around with what I am in the mood for. If I want to hear Dave Matthews, Grateful Dead, and Gov't Mule that is what I fill my iPod with. I see no reason for me to spend $10 a month for a subscription that I don't need. I can't play cloud music in my truck, where I can used my iPod. I can't use cloud music when I mow the lawn, or while I work, or any other place where my computer isn't. I CAN use my iPod everywhere!! I buy an album off iTunes when I want to. I don't buy one every month. My music is fully backed up on disc and hard drive.

I DO carry a $4.99 Spotify sub for when I run my buddy's show. As far as a Karaoke Cloud subscription, if the prices they are projecting stick, NO thanks. I would rather carry songs that people want to sing than to pay $99 a month to carry 30,000 songs that may never get sung. I, too, do not like the idea that whenever a license gets dropped songs may just go away. You people are just too willing to give control to the mfrs instead of controlling your own material.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

It is very clear that the very idea of karaoke as a business is very lacking in the area of regulation or legality, on production OR user end. The Cloud idea may be more about the manus getting a bigger piece of pie, but it also leans itself toward a level of regulation that the industry has never had. This lack of regulation has had its benefits AND drawbacks, particularly for the production side. One thing that can be anticipated that as manufacturers push for more "legal transparancy", they need to keep in mind that it is a double-edged sword. Case and point: How can tracks once supposedly deemed without proper permission (i.e. SC8125) suddenly become permissable (i.e. tracks in Gem Series)?

I believe this is the FIRST thing i've ever strongly agreed with you!!!!!! The selection should be unique to the kj, this shows what kind of taste they like and what kind of clientelle they draw. I don't want every show to be able to have the same selection at the click of a mouse. I like to purcahse songs my singers want and go out of my way to try to find them, if they become available on an all inclusive cloud system, my hard work is down the toilet because now every tom, dick & harry will also have access to those songs and the ones I spent time looking for mean dick!

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Because you are assuming above that I would pay $200 a month, which I would not. All my arguments were based on a REASONABLE price, such as $19.99 a month in which case, run the numbers again. Please remember that in less than 10 years your discs are going to be worthless relics like 8-tracks & cassettes so realistically we should should working the numbers based on 10 years, not "forever". My mistake.

For the 5th time, the price is too high. It's not about the service or the concept, which I like.

It's about the price (which is as currently rumored, WAY too high).



Well those are two very different subjects. "Even $99 a month" is too high. Totally agree. Ripoff price, not ripoff concept.

Are you pissed about the PRICE? Or pissed about leveling the music PLAYING FIELD?

If the price was $19.99 would it still be a ripoff?

This is not worth it at any price for us. We own what we have and can play it at any time we want. This is a hobby/business for us. Could it be a business only? Yes with no problems. That is IF we wanted to stay in one spot.

We own our "house", it is an RV. We move when we want and where we want to. Right now we are in the SoCal area. Next year when this contract is done we may be over by DC, who knows. Some places we go there is no internet nor cell and sometimes thats a good thing for some peace and quiet. Yes we moved our discs to hard drive and the discs are in storage (except for the new ones which are with us for now). We also have both aquired Kindles. But the books we buy on it our ours and they won't go away. We don't do ipod's, we put our music also on hard drive and then transferred them to the cell phones so that we could use them as our mp3 player. Besides for me the music I like to listen to you would be hard pressed to find on those things like itunes (Minstels of Mayhem, Pirates Royale amoung others) so I get their discs at faires and festivals.

Then this entire concept isn't targeted at you in the first place. It is intended for Karaoke professionals with an actual business. I am sure my Mom who likes to sing Karaoke in her living room, wouldn't be interested either.

But it would be targeted to us.
We do what ever we do in as professional manner as possible. And that includes karaoke whether it is inbetween the 2 RV's or on stage at the RV parks or in a bar/club or a private party. Just because we don't choose to make this full time (ie tying our nights to mostly bars again) doest not mean that we don't like to be able to do this professionaly when we do it.
And if you want to know where else money comes in so we don't have to relie on karaoke/dj, Thom is a robotic engineer. He also plays guitar, bass, several different kinds of drums and the kazoo.

Bazza, I think people are worried that they would have to join in order to access new releases in which case it would affect both part time and full time hosts.

Smooth - you claim to be a a guy that does research but you have no clue how any of the cloud stuff works.

That $10/mo gives me access to everything you mentioned *AND* anything else I get a wild hair to listen to.
That $10/mo allows me to download a local copy to my Zune player, Windows Phone, (both of which can be played in your truck just like your iPod and while you are mowing your lawn or at work just like your iPod).
That $10/mo allows me to play that music through *ANY* Internet connected PC in the world.
That $10/mo lets be use ANY of the Music ANY time I want, ANYwhere I want.
That $10/mo also give me access to Music Videos for the same price......something you have to pay extra for.
That $10/mo lets me back up the local copy to multiple players and PC's

The rest of what you say I agree with. I am also concerned about licensing. I also don't need the last 25 years of karaoke because I have it already. i pointed out in my blog post that track access/pricing as it stands now will not succeed.

-Chris

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-Chris

Any chance you can admit that your situation is very unique compared to the average KJ? You have a separate entry under the definition of "Mobile KJ".

-Chris

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-Chris

Ah, but "unique" is the key. First, we are dealing with people who chose to own their own business in order to do it their way or have more control over their own destiny. Second, we are dealing with people who do not work the traditional 9 to 5 shift but stay up most the night. Third, you are probably dealing with some creativity and performance type characters. So this is a focus group dedicated to being individuals and not part of a mass.

Add ot that we are Americans descended not too far in the past from people who risked alot to come here in the hopes of "owning" something rather than be a serf on the estate. And focussing on youth isn't a bad thing but when one is young it is all about not owning but having the flexibility to move all around or live out of a backpack. Renting doesn't tie you down. As one gets older, living at the whim of a landlord can get frustrating and people start dreaming about owning--and that is regardless of the technological era.

As Jerry12x told me, the cloud karaoke concept is basically a legal torrent with better control over it. And as Chris says cloud is not new--we all already use it. But karaoke hosts are individualists--they don't want to be in a cloud, they want to stick their heads above it. That is your "marketing" problem. They want to individualize their show, have as much control over it as possible and not depend on too many outside services. Cloud will have to be an opportunity for that and not forced as being the only way you will get music so get used to it. As I keep saying, most of us would be happy if the new tech was legal downloads.

We are not the only "mobile" KJ. There are several others out there. We just may be the only ones on here thou. Do I know how many? Nope. But I do know that we not only have the ability to KJ/DJ but also at a whim also do open mike when the patrons want it.

Chris, I don't NEED every kind of music because I don't listen to every type of music. Personally, I detest hip hop and country, for example. Even my Heavy Metal tastes are limited to a more progressive style. I do not like speed metal or death metal. I like most classic rock, and a lot of Classical. I don't pay more for music videos because I don't watch music videos. I am not into music videos. If I want to watch concerts I watch them on Youtube for free, or I buy concert DVDs. iTunes lets me do all that backing up, that you do, for free. I don't need to spend $10 a month to enjoy my music. I could use my phone if I wanted to for music, too. I can do that with my gigantic CD collection that I have ripped into my computer. See, I have been collecting CDs since 1991. I have draws full of them, and I have ripped most of them to my computer. So your subscription model is something that I do not need. That goes for the Karaoke Cloud, too. I am one that would rather have a legal download system, rather than access to everything for some un-Godly price.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE