Karaoke Forums

I don't have a tip jar, I have a large green Irish hat with a big yellow buckle. The tips are the way the patrons show their approval of the job you are doing. Sometimes the tips can add up to at least 10 to 15% of my total karaoke income for a year. Yes I do keep track of such things. That comes to a good sum. I try and treat my patrons as an extended family and have been rewarded by their support all these years. You can not effect the order of the rotation by tips is well understood by all. That is the advantage of having long standing gigs people know what to expect. Have a blessed day.

I don't criticize a KJ for having a "TIP Jar" at his/her/their show; however, I do hold the highest contempt for them when they are BLATANT about it.

I am from New York City, and I first got into the Karaoke scene around 1995. Until I started traveling around to other States, and looked for Karaoke Shows while vacationing, I was totally unaware of the existence of a "TIP Jar." It seems that at most of the local shows I went to in NYC, the KJ did not use or display a "TIP Jar." There were a few exceptions to this, and those were the KJs who were very BLATANT about it. At one show, the KJ never said a word, but some of her Regulars would get up and take the TIP Jar, and make the "Rounds" by holding it in front of everyone's face. They would do this 2 or 3 times in the night (during a 4 hour show). Another KJ couple that I was acquainted with would constantly point to their "TIP Jar" as the Singer would be getting off the stage. One time, this KJ started to do a fake cough/throat clearing as I was walking off of the stage, and nodding his head towards the "TIP Jar." I looked at him with disgust in my eyes, and then responded, "So???" I then said to him, "I never saw you give a TIP at Rocky's show when you sang," and then walked off. Another KJ used to take her "TIP Jar" at about half-time during the show, and she used to sing the "Dollar Wine" song while dancing in front of everyone with her "TIP Jar." Then, of course, there were the other (few) KJs who used a "TIP Jar" in my area, where if you didn't leave a TIP after singing, your next song slip got conveniently lost or shuffled further down in the waiting list.

I've had to stop patrons from doing those things on my behalf. I can't remember the details but I remember one night someone was actually guilt tripping the patrons and driving them away. I had to grab the tip jar and hide it from her.

There are some places that operate the same way they do with their servers--they pay a minimum wage and expect the host to make it up in tips. Maybe some of that extreme behavior came from one of those type situations.

The only place I can really recall almost working on a pay-to-sing kind of tip jar was Winnie's in Chinatown. It's actually the bar where I cut my teeth on karaoke, so to speak, so I confused a lot of hosts out here when I'd hand them money each time I put a slip in.

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Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

I've never been to Winnie's, but I have heard of them. They are operating on a Pay-to-Sing basis... $1/per song, and there is no rhyme or reason to how their rotation works. They queue up the song, call your name, and you have to run for the Mic. There are other places that charge you to sing as well. Iggie's charges $2 per song. Lucky Chang's (a Drag Queen night club) charges between $10 - $25 per song (based on how many people are getting up to the stage at the same time). What's even funnier is, these are the places that got mentioned (over the years) in NY Magazine's "Best of NY" editions.


There are also a few KJs that operate in Manhattan who also charge you $1 or $2 to sing. They don't play other people's discs or flash drives. They're probably working off of another KJ's equipment and library, and not getting paid enough to run the show, or are just getting paid the commission they make on the Singers who participate. I don't go to those places.

I remain oddly fond of that place, even though half of their laserdiscs don't work correctly, and it's not the hosting environment I've become accustomed to. I've just never had an unenjoyable night there.

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Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

MAYBE THE GUY WHO MOPS UP AFTER THE SHOW SHOULD PUT OUT A TIP JAR AS WELL!

iF YOU DIDN'T UNDERCUT THE PREVIOUS KJ; YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO BEG FOR TIPS

Shhh, I have the night off and I'm sleeping!

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

There is nothing wrong with accepting a tip if a patron feels that you desrve one. What I find very tacky is when the TIP JAR is out there front and center to make sure that everyone sees it. This is way more than telling your patrons that you accept tips. This is tantamount to telling your patrons that you EXPECT to get tipped and it is your attempt to make people feel uncomfortable if they don't give you one. That is what is LAME.

When a bartender serves you a drink, he doesn't plop down his tip jar right in front of you and bang it a few times on thebar. You are free to tip or not to tip. I usually tip at the end of the night. If the service is slow or the bartender walks past me when I'm standing there holding money in my hand, it could impact what I leave as a tip. I used to leave a five dollar bill on the bar as a tip when I bought my first drink, thinking that the bartender would provide optimum service during the night. After that didn't work out the way that I wanted it to a few times, I changed my tipping habits. Treat me fairly and you will get a nice tip at the end of the night.

Oh yeah I don't ever go into the kitchen and tip the cook; and he's not making even a quarter of what a KJ is getting paid. Imagine that. Someone making 40 to 50 dollars per hour expects to get tipped too for doing what they are being paidvery well, to do already.

If a person is deserving of a tip; people will tip them even if there is no yip jar on the table

Just to point out--what a KJ is paid is not what they make as compared to the cook. The cook isn't buying the food, paying for the license, etc. It may seem like a nice bit of money for 4 or 5 hours work but a good deal of it goes to taxes, licenses, upgrading/repairing equipment, buying new music, printing books, printing flyers/brochures if necessary. It shrinks pretty quickly. There is also a lot of time put in outside of the show as far as song research, updating the books, thinking up promotions, etc. I'm not whining. Just pointing out that there is a difference between a wage job and being paid a fee as a business. We've all done both and there are pros and cons to each. But don't confuse the fee paid for a show with a straight wage. And I have heard of people sending a tip back to the cook when they are happy with their food.

Lizard said it best. There are many things an karaoke host has to drop coin on. Would you be-grudge a musician who performs once a week at the bar and freak out because he has a tip jar?
As I stated before, tip jars are a central part of the music scene. It's very rare that I don't see a tip jar out at most venues where solo acts, duets, bands etc perform. It is expected by most and if you don't want to leave a tip then don't.
Just because you don't want to look at a tip jar and feel guilty for not leaving a tip doesn't mean they will just disappear. it's a main source of income for some entertainers and they need that money.
If they do a lousy job, or someone like you who doesnt believe in tipping entertainers then by all means ignore it. Seems rather odd but to each his own.

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

Exactly what I was thinking!

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

If someone is singing and you like their singing, then by all means, tip them. A KJ is not singing for their supper and they are not really entertaining the crowd. They are facilitaters for others to entertain the crowd. It's been said by many that a karaoke show is about the customer's singing experience and it is not about the host trying to showcase his or her singing ability. A karaoke host gets paid to bring in the equipment and push the buttons properly for the venues's clientelle. Doing those things does not require the patrons to tip. I never feel guilty for not tipping a KJ because they display a tip jar, and I have contributed to the hat passing to get the KJ to stay an extra hour. Putting out the tip jar, in my opinion, is an attept to make me feel guilty but it doesn't work on me. I tip when I WANT TO TIP.

I was at a show just last night where the rotation was well over 25 singers and yet, the KJ still sang in every rotation...all 3 of them. . He'd be more likely to be tipped if he would have taken himself out of the rotation so more customers could have sung.

Now as to tipping the cook or chef: I'm sure it happens but I would think that it is the exception more than it is the norm. No. Not that Norm. Let me ask you this? Did the cook or chef come out of the kitchen and place a tip jar on the customer's table and head back into the kitchen, or did the patron who tipped him do it of his own volition? My guess would be the latter. I think you will get tips if you do your job well. I don't think that you need to prod people into giving you a tip.

If you're out on the street playing your guitar and singing and you have your guitar open on the ground and someone asks you to play a particular song; then that is a situation where you are sort of obligated to tip the performer. Same thing with a DJ if you request a song and he or she plays it for you. However, a KJs job is to take requests from everyone in the rotation. Now if you ask your KJ to go out and pick up a particular song that you want to sing, then I think you should leave a little something for the KJ for going above and beyond; whether there is a tip jar being displayed or not. I just think that the tip jar is tacky. It is like tapping every singer on the shoulder before he leaves the stage and giving the old fake throat clearing (AHEM) and pointing to the tip jar as you do it. It's almost like saying to the person, "if you don't want your next song slip to get "misplaced" you better drop some cash in the bucket". It's no different to me than the server who asks if you want any change before they even look into the "wallet" to see how much you put in there to pay your bill. One night my tab was about $55 and I paid with a $100 bill. The server asked me if I wanted change. Normally I would have left a $10 tip but because of that ridiculous question, I only left a $5 tip. Are the servers that lazy that they can't just bring you your change and let you decide what you want to give them? Does a server really expect a $45 tip on a $55 tab?

Let's face it. People who put out a tip jar are trying to plant a subliminal message that you SHOULD tip them. I tip the guy who cuts my hair $5 every time I get my hair cut. That's a 33% tip. If he put out a tip jar, I'd give him $2.

This is the Gospel, according to Bruce.....and this concludes our Easter service....go in peace, and have a Happy Easter everyone.......

Hate to break it to you Bruce, but the KJ has to be an entertainer, also. It may not mean singing but it means presenting a show in a way that keeps people's attention and keeps them involved. And it isn't just about the singers although they are the main part. The longest running shows that I know of involved very entertaining hosts that the singers bitched about all the time. But it was a good combination--kept the whiners out so the rotation was small enough to let people sing once every hour or hour and a half and it packed the place with non-singers who appreciated the entertainment. Can't argue with success.

Different strokes for different folks and different type shows work in different type situations. But it is a hard job and not just button pushing. I didn't realize how hard it is until I got fired from a show of 3 years (you'd like this, Bruce--I wouldn't take a singer who was already singing off the stage to put up the owner's nephew). After seeing the venue go through a few hosts and get nowhere I realized all of the work that the hosts and the bar staff had put in to bring people in, keep them there and make it a friendly community where people felt valued. I realized I had worked hard to think up theme nights and keep a birthday log and think up things ahead of the show to keep it moving and still be able to change course if it turned out to be a different crowd or just not the right night for it. Not that I'm not still figuring that out but it is definitely not just announcing and mixing singers.

Telling it like it is. Llizard just ‘painted the big picture’ for us to see. Thanks! It’s always the nice paycheck until we start adding the extraordinary expenses associated with our job.

But if this thing is worth doing, then it is worth doing well; otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it (what?) The fun, friends, social life - week after week. I wouldn’t exchange it for anything else. (oblivious) And what else is there?

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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!

Disclaimer: This ain't my tip jar.

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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!

Hey Bruce, I'm glad you think so highly of us folks in the karaoke business. It's obviously way more involved than pushing buttons in order to run a successful karaoke show. This tip jar thing has got you seeing red. It's so obvious that you don't host karaoke. If you did, you wouldn't be degrading us and calling us "button pushers".
Ask any successful host here and they will tell you that even the basics of karaoke hosting involve so much more than typing someone's name in and pushing play. Your lack of respect for the industry as a whole speaks volumes.
Hell. these venues might as well get monkeys hosting karaoke and pay them in bananas. I'm sure that would make you happy. Here's hoping WE NEVER MEET:)

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

If this is all that happens at the shows you attend, I can understand your frustration with tipping.

You need to seek out a real Karaoke Show instead of patronizing the "name callers".

Bruce, some of what you say makes sense..other things you seem un-informed on.

I know whenever i go out on my off days AS A SINGER, to another kjs show, the tip jar REMINDS ME that maybe instead of just partying and leaving, that the KJ worked hard to keep everything moving along well and made me sound halfway decent, and that they too have business expenses...

As a HOST, i have no problem putting out a tip jar, but it's off to the side and has "gratuity if you had fun" written on it.

I think most people DON'T MIND being reminded by utilizing a tip jar to "take care of those who take care of you", as long as it's not too blatant, as Cue pointed out. Then it kinda becomes desperate.