Karaoke Forums

Much has been made of the so called fact that SC and CB/DTE, are 80% of the karaoke material currently used now in the industry. I'm just wondering if they are all that important to run a show? Just having these labels does not insure a host's success or failure, also the experience and skill level of the host is important. Just how much is the brand worth, and how does it stack up against the ability of the host?

I'd say 40% of the show's quality is in the music.

Another 30% in the host's ability to interact with the crowd, move things along, and run a fair rotation...and have an entertaining friendly demeanor. And not sing too much.

The other 30% is the quality of the sound of the equipment and mics.

So..for me the LABEL and quality sound win overall...i mean, who wants to have crappy sound and music. The host can be quiet and still run a very successful show. Most kjs talk too much and waste time in my many years of experience. They need to get to the point of greeting & thanking a singer, then move on to the next singer to maximize everyones time. Every once in awhile shout out the bartender or servers' names and/or specials, then move on.
Annoying when a kj makes the show about himself/herself, sings too much, talks too much on the mics, makes unfunny jokes, and wastes time because they like the sound of their own voice, have a big insecurities and need to control things.

Let The People SING!!! ..go into your audience and talk...stay off the mics more often!

It depends on what you're competing against.

I am not most entertaining host that you can find, but I am an EXTREMELY driven host. I have a great selection of music (50k+ all on disc, zero DL's), I am very efficient, and I joyfully play customer CD's. Last May I got out of hosting for various reasons (new owners was the BIGGY). Since then I have been approached by dozens of people to at least do a show once a month somewhere, anywhere. Why....because I have high quality equipment that has never broken down, have never been late to start at the advertised time, pay very close attention to the overall mix (vocal/music), run a far rotation, and I have a knack for getting people on the stage promptly. Oh, and I use books and slips.

Do I have SC and CB, you betcha. Do I feel that has made me successful, I honestly don't know, because I have always had a large library of top manus. I do believe that if some extremely hungry Bullmastiff ate all of my cd's, and I had to purchase lesser quality cd's, I would still have a dedicated folowing.

I agree with John. I do think it is a large part of the success - but hosting skills (people interaction, rotation ability, etc) , quality of sound (full sounding or no bass/tinny/ear piercing loud), and the club itself (atmosphere, staff, prices) are also going to play large parts in their own way as well.
Do I think you have to have those labels to be successful - probably not, people claim they don't need them and are just as successful as anyone else. Do you have to have those (or 'quality') labels to attract good to better singers - I believe you do! I have been to shows that run with SGB/Nu-Tech and the 'not so' quality type versions for their entire selection, the clientelle they tend to get in there are the stereo typical drunk karaoke screamer/slurrers. While hosts with the better quality selections gain the better singers more often that often spend more than those just drinking pitchers of beer between a group of 5 - and no don't attribute better singers to divas.

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

Do I NEED SC to run a good show? No.

Do I USE SC because they have the best versions of the core classics? Yes.

Do people NOTICE good versions v/s bad versions? Yes.

Does any of the above MATTER if you are a "name caller" with no personality? Nope.

I just love your little stick man shouting and waving his bottle around. Have a nice day.

First and foremost, the answer-it's the host. When I went to CD+G from lasers ( from cassettes) All I had was 66 SGB, 12 SuperCore, and some Music Maestro. Became successful and highly profitable within a year with this stuff.

As far as you "percentage"- it's regional and age defined. In my area SC is, and always has been nothing, though CB has always been the go-to for Country.

Newer hosts received great marketing/brainwashing from SC, but the most experienced hosts have always ( again, in my area), been DK, Legends, and other mfr. oriented.

If there WERE going to be any brand based damage, I would incur a LOT more from blowing off DK than SC. While CB, is still considered the Country brand, Country has faded a lot in my area.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Now you are going to get the your market is an anomaly response from the SC side Joe. Seems that there are quite a few exceptions to the rule out here. The people that live in SC bubble don't want to hear anything, that doesn't conform to their view of the karaoke world out here. Chris keeps telling me I need to go out and check everyone else out and see what they are doing. If I was just starting out and looking for guidance I might. If my show was failing I might rethink my business model. Neither of these situations apply to me at this point in my karaoke hosting career. I'm working on my exit plan, and I don't want to control the locale karaoke scene. It's funny that by being in my comfort zone, it makes some other hosts uncomfortable. You are right when you say SC has done a great job in brainwashing many hosts, into believing that they cannot exist without their label. I to get more requests for DK than any other label. I hate to pop the cheerleaders balloon but no one yet has requested SC specifically, if a stranger did I would think he is a SC investigator. I would have to tell him I don't carry that label. This 80% number SC/CB/DT comes from our old friend James and is of course their internal poll. Which I'm sure is not biased or tainted, Ha Ha Ha!

Anti-SC crusaders love to paint Sound Choice fans as using SC songs out of rookie necessity, some false claim that people request them or that they "cant live without them". These are all untrue.

I don't "promote" SC songs or believe that they alone draw people in. I don't use them because others do, or because of some SC corporate brainwashing. I don't use them thinking I MUST use them, or fail. This is all silly reasoning.

I use the songs because, in my opinion, they are excellent versions of the core classics and I want the best versions at my show. That's all. It's really very simple.

Could my show prosper without SC? Of course. My show could also prosper with Voco-Pro microphones, but I want better. Very rarely someone will request a brand at my shows. 99% of the time they ask ME to pick "the best version". If I have it, that is going to be Sound Choice.

These silly characterizations are nothing but feeble attempts at mockery.

Thank You. But he's not shouting...or even waving. He is a man who likes his beer.

I love your image as well. Devoid of substance and non-existent!

Have a GREAT day!

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Regards
Brian

Wrong The company I work with had their Christmas party last week and had some karaoke going, so I kind of felt comfortable seeing the SC logo on the screen, I knew we would have some good quality tracks... so I decided I would sing "Strangers In The Night", man, that SC version must have been the worst I ever heard!! I really missed my Zoom version SC did produced some very good tracks but they also produced some very bad ones too... they do NOT have the best versions on the core classics

Of course they did, NO manu got everything 100%, but the 'hit' ratio is much higher than the 'miss' ratio of the majority of any other brand.
It's always been stated SC has never been the best at the standards and broadway which is where Pocket Songs did a quite better job.

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

We're on the same page Lon, except Bazza seem to think that SC got the 100% score

Thanks for confirming what I have known for quite a while, the brand is not important to 99% of the patrons, what is more important that you have the song they want to sing. Is it mockery to state facts, the truth will set you free. Most people don't feel the need to flaunt their substance. It is only after we a non-existentent that the impression we leave on the world is apparent. Since you seem to be a lively person I just imagine your stick man moving, naturally it is a still cartoon lacking motion. Have a nice day.

IMO no, you do not NEED to have these brands to be successful, nor top notch sound system or be the best host...I've seen it in many combinations and be "successful". But that word has many definitions! Ive been to an all SC show with crappy sound, and a terrible terrible host. The place was packed, but packed with hill rats and rude people drinking watered down beer. BUT, they all seemed happy.

Ive been to a show that has decent sound (not great), a guy that runs it pretty well but his music is all nutech, SGB etc. Packed house most weekends and everyone seems happy.

Then there is the show with great sound, a personable host and all 3 manu's you described plus DK, legends, Dangerous etc. Everyone seemed happy.

A different caliber of people at each location primarily and each venue was different. I personally prefer the 3rd scenario as it was a clean place, hassle free people song books that did not stick together because they took care of every thing they had etc.
Who is right? You decide

I don't know about that 99% figure. I would push that number down to at least 75% (probably even lower than that). Lonnie has said that many people come to his show with their own discs. At just about every show I have gone to in NYC, I have always seen at least 1 person in the crowd (not counting myself here), who has brought his/her own discs with him/her. I've traveled to 18 different States for Karaoke, and I have seen the same thing. Just last year, I went to a local show (in a small Dive Bar) that is located in Hollywood, Florida, and I saw more than half of the customers handing the KJ their own discs to sing from. That would imply that not only is the song important to them, but, more than likely, the brand that they bought it on was important to them as well (I will concede and give this part of it a 50-50 ratio).

Never did I say anything of the sort, but you knew that and went for the low road anyway. Bravo. You may claim the vacant "spin crown".

Are there some dogs in the SC library? Of course. Are they consistently excellent? Without a doubt. They never would have become as ubiquitous as they are if they were not.



You are welcome, but I take it a step further than the average KJ. You say the most important thing is to have the song they want to sing. I say the most important thing is having the BEST VERSION of the song they want to sing.

I want quality. No, I want the BEST quality. I want the best version of my songs. For the majority of the core (<-- micky!), that brand just happens to be SC. I have never stated otherwise. Call me a cheerleader for wanting the best if you must.

1) HUH??????? Can't have dogs and be "consistently excellent".
They did some very good stuff, and some awful stuff ( Any Elvis comes to mind).

2) While not "ubiquitous" by any stretch of the imagination, except in certain areas with certain hosts, they certainly did become popular. However, that was due to some great marketing- for which I give them credit- not because they were so much better ( and in some cases not better at all).

Bazza, keep in mind that while I think their ethics ( which are non-existent) suck, I have never generally knocked the product itself. Just saying, and repeating myself: The product is good, not God.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

It's the labels. I would be the worst karaoke host ever if I had no music.....

-Chris

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-Chris