Karaoke Forums

My friend is starting a karaoke business that is 99% MP3+G using the Compuhost program (I'm his technical support and IT support and partner). He has acquired a hard drive from the previous owner of the business filled with MP3+G files that were party converted from CD+G and partly downloaded. Does anyone know how he would go about getting legal rights to use these songs? Are there any legal issues right now with using them currently? I have been scouring the internet looking for answers and haven't found any yet...please help. Thank you!

Bottom line.... If you don't own the original discs that the tracks came from, or you don't have receipts from the (legitimate/legal) sites for each and every song that was downloaded (to prove that they were acquired legally), you are now the proud owner of an illegal HD.

You can start looking/reading through the many topics in this section, where we have been talking about Piracy and Illegal HDs for over 3 years now.

Can't find a delete button.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Not to mention that if you have any Sound Choice or Chartbuster on that drive, you could be MASSIVELY screwed. They are the bullies of the playground. Outside of them, right now, the other brands aren't enforcing their trademarks.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

can you say "screwed, I knew you could".

yeap, wouldn't even attempt to run without owning the orginal disc's or having proof of purchase for the downloaded music.

like stated previously, and you can read in these forums, if your playing a sound choice song and displaying their sound choice logo on a public video screen and don't own the original disc then your committing trademark infringement.

basically your profiting from using their karaoke music. and they want their cut.
same with chartbusters which is now piracy recovery llc.

they've been hitting it hard with lawsuits in florida arizona new york tennesse washington state oregon (mainly the I5 corridore) areas.


if I were you i'd get my money back from him selling you pirated material or threaten to take him to small claims court to recover your money you put out for the pirated music.

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It's all good!

ummm another point to add...if anyone bothers to read the TOS from the download sites (we will just pretend to see they are NOT legal here in the USA) they do state they are not transferable...so any downloads even in Timbuktu would not be legal if transferred/sold....just another thing to add to the pot.

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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

Without original discs or download receipts, his only legal option is to erase the hard drive and buy new songs. He was essentially duped into buying stolen property.

It would be no different from a shoe store buying a truckload of knock-off Nikes and asking how to make them legal for sale. You can't.

I did just think of something...for any Stellar/PopHits Monthly ect (prior to 2007) product he could but the CAP program.

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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

True. It is essentially an amnesty program.

According to Tom from PHM, it is a settlement.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

It doesn't matter whether it's a settlement or not. It's amnesty for possessing any of those PHM tracks dated 2007 and prior. And, as stated before regarding any other Manu tracks, you been screwed (knowingly or not).

Slight correction.

The CAP covers MOST of the pre-2007 production- but not all, Per Tom.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."