Karaoke Forums

Ripman, my statement was in no way contradicting yours. On the contrary, I was agreeing with you.

Yes, dark clouds in reference to Karaoke Cloud online subscription service for $99/$199 a mo. Dark clouds when the day comes they will have monopoly of new song releases. Dark clouds when I have no choice but to switch to their own hosting software, PCDJ just to get new songs. The service is good for starting kj’s, not so for vet kj’s.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

As long as there are good songs being written, there will be people that will want to karaoke them.

not necessarily a requirement, we made it through grunge and most of the way through emo

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

Come on, Chris. That would be a wonderful thing. .

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I knew exactly what you meant!

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Hey now! Grunge is STILL popular here.

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

I haven't had that one sung in over a month since I started tracking songs.

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

Grunge started there.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I agree it is potentially good financially for a new KJ. Is that the only factor?

You mean factors? For new kj’s, beneficial as far as song library is concerned. For the others (& new kj’s too):
1. Expensive.
2. Wi-fi instability - your show will be dependent on internet connection. They claim its open 24/7, but servers still suffer down time & outages all the time. When that happens & you’re in the middle of a show, you’re sh*t out of luck.
3. You don’t own what you paid for.
4. You’re obligated to use their hosting software.
5. Security & privacy – your song library data stored on third party server(s), including your personal & financial info. Can you say “hacker”?
6. Financial health tied up to multiple karaoke manus, if one or two not doing better, recouping the cost will be passed on to you, thus more monthly fees to pay.
7. Support in the middle of the show - sending an email requesting for trouble shoot: “response within 12 to 48 hours” is not an acceptable way to run a show. Calling their 800 number? Good luck on that one.

I’m sure other posters will pipe-in more of their concerns.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Not the point, I was commenting on the 'as long as there is good songs being written' that Pardigm responded to. There was lots of good grunge that came out of the 90's.

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

I thought that you select the music you want, and it stores it in "The Cloud." And, the way I understand it, you don't need an internet or WI-FI connection to access the songs once you've selected everything. You only have to log into your account once a month to re-validate your subscription, and keep everything there (in the Cloud). Just like my KindleFire.... I needed to have an internet connection to buy an e-book, but now that I paid for it, it stored it in the Cloud, and I don't need an internet connection to read it. And, it remembers what page I was on (for the next time that I turn my KF on and select that book (from the Carousel)).

The "cloud" by definition means it's in stored somewhere on the internet. If you don't have a connection or the server goes down, how do you get your music stored there for the show?

Brian, it sounds like you think I'm defending the cloud paradigm. I'm not necessarily. I was simply drawing a contrast between the cost of that cloud and the cost of physical disks if you were starting from scratch. In that case it would be cheaper to go cloud for a NEW KJ and their startup costs. My point is that simple cost of the library may not be the ONLY or even the most important factor.

When discussing this I am giving them the benefit of the doubt that this technology actually works reliably.

Does anyone here actually use this offering?

From the way it was explained from the Cloud people, you can download the songs to your computer - they are on some kind of detection so when the subscription ends - the songs will no longer play until you renew - thus being no need to be connected to internet to play.

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

That makes more sense than cloud storage.

Has anyone actually spoken to a human being there? After a couple unanswered messages sent to their "idiot form" I finally got a human to respond with a real email address by threatening to write a blog entry about them and since they weren't answering my questions I might have to make up some of the facts.....because folks want to know! Viola.....I got a real response!

I found it highly frustrating that I couldn't even get answers to my questions even when it was still in pre-release beta. I got the invite, but they wouldn't tell you anything unless you signed this multi-page release that essentially promised them your first born and said all kinds of stuff that makes the libertarian in me shudder. However, they would never tell anyone anything about it unless they signed the waiver.

I didn't sign it.

Anyway, that response email is still sitting in my email, waiting for me to respond back. I haven't had time to do it. My main questions were related to the technical requirements/effects/implications. How did it work and all that. Does anyone here have any questions they want an answer to since I have a warm body on the line?

KAA - I don’t think that at all. We’re on the same page. I definitely agree with you in that we know it’s beneficial for starting kj’s but that only applies as far as song library. The cons I mentioned above were just my concerns. I cannot speak for others but I would definitely be open to this new technology if & when they iron out the kinks that would be more acceptable to vet kjs, financially, productivity & worry-free connectivity.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Some of the brands mentioned have been, um... mis-described. Zoom is fine, as are SBI, Sunfly, and several others. Sybersound/Party-Tyme is still alive and kicking, despite the OP's statement.

My rates still average over $200 per night ( closer to $250), and pirates have yet to have even the slightest effect on my business- though Sound Choce has done some damage in regard to new venues.

What MAY be happening is part of the standard karaoke cycle that has been going on since the beginning:

Good hosts put on good shows, which bring in lots of singers.

Secondary hosts decide to start shows in hopes of grabbing singers who are tired of long rotations- but karaoke still popular.

Now, out from the woodwork come the tertiary, crappy, KJ wannabes. Their shows suck, decreasing the popularity of karaoke for awhile.

The crappy KJs die out, the secondaries are thinned considerably, and the good hosts just keep on keeping on.

New singers come to the good shows that have stuck it out, and it starts all over again....

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

I guess, but my point being that there is two less of the BEST manufacturers, and that will put a damper on getting new songs. Plus, I think it's safe to say that everyone is a bit wary of the cloud idea.

I bought the ZMP Eagles and Don Henley disks when they came out. They are still a few of the best sounding disks I own! Plus, they had some songs that nobody else has!