Karaoke Forums

Aside from why they targeted the area to begin with, that area has an Entertainment/Karaoke newsletter that has featured articles on the issue by SwingKat and Chris A to name a few. So there could also be an increased awareness which when coupled with some visible enforcement persuaded more people to become certified.

The initial round of Seattle/Portland lawsuits took place just before I started hosting. I have to admit that prior to me thinking about hosting I had not heard much at all about the legalities. The local Northwest Karaoke and Entertainment Guide magazine published articles raising awareness. As noted, Kurt and I have written on the subject. There was a fair amount of talk at the time, but things have settled down a lot since then.

I would say that on the surface, there isn't a lot of discussion about the lawsuits, certification, or the legalities of karaoke in the area right now. It comes up now and then in conversations I have with new hosts I meet, but it isn't a focal point of conversations like it was just a year ago. I bring up certifications and the legal aspect only briefly when I am pitching to a venue.

Like I said before, Sound Choice flipped on the light and scattered some roaches. But there are plenty of roaches old and new that are still here. Sound Choice needs to keep the lights (and pressure) on to make any real difference.

-Chris

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-Chris

We weren't the first area...it started on the east coast.........North Carolina area near to where SC is located I believe.....It may have something to do with favorable conditions here.......cant really be sure of that.....but might have something to do with it.
I'm of the opinion it was through aggressive education(SC safe harbor packets) and publication(NWKG magazine articles and distro of the mags to Karaoke venues).

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Wasn't there a convention or something of the likes a couple years back in Portland as well with CB/PHM/SC explaining the process of the audits and effects of piracy. This could be partly why there are more in that area as well.

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

I should re-phrase--what I meant by "to begin with" was not that it was the first area hit but that I didn't know why they chose that area.

Been a couple of conventions....one in Salem then one in PDX when Kurt Slep came last time...on his swing up to Seattle.

We've had two sweeps so far....may be more in the offing also..I dont know.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I did mag deliveries all around the area...especially out in the hinterlands where I could find remote located venues........even dropped some in Northern Cali.......In Eureka, Crescent City, Cali and Brookings, Coos Bay extreme SW Oregon coast and Cali areas. Mags with the piracy story in them.

Also Longview, Kelso, Vancouver, and Camas, areas in SW Washington. Lots-O-piracy there too but havent heard anything about SW Wash sweeps.

Along with PDX Metro and surrounding suburbs, Salem, Springfield, Albany, Eugene, Corvallis and hinterland locations

So LOTS of venues got informed........near to 150 drop off points.

I conducted my own magazine drop off "SWEEP" so to speak.

And those were to only the places I was able to "Find". There are MANY more I missed.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I think I can speak to the "why" part.

The I-5 corridor is high tech from Vancouver, BC through Seattle, WA to Portland, OR. Lots of companies involved with computing technology and software. Lots of "smart" people who know how to use their computers and software too (53% of Seattle residents had college degrees in a 2012 survey - highest in the country at the time). Also, a growing population of young, tech savvy folks working those technical jobs who grew up a social media connected world where "sharing" didn't have much if any negative consequences.

I would also point out that we have several long time hard drive sellers that focus on selling drives in this area which means more KJ's buying loaded drives.

And.....several years back there was a very popular karaoke iRC channel that was OP'd primarily by some folks out of a rural WA state town. I know they got out and about in the north Seattle area for karaoke quite a bit and I am sure word of their iRC channel go out too.

In short, lots of technically competent people with access to cheap technology that have never been under any pressure to do the right thing.

-Chris

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-Chris

Mine varied. I took my $150 and bought lottery tickets. Won 200 bucks. Figured I'm ahead of the game by $50 REAL dollars.


I'll never pay for an audit, I've explained my stance before, haven't changed my mind one bit. You don't treat your customers like that. Don't pass your costs and problems on to your customers. It isn't our fault pirates are stealing from you. Give me a free audit, we are good. Find a way to recoup your losses without ME paying for it! You want to charge me to prove to you I haven't stolen from you, take me to court and you can pay the court costs! My company doesn't pass their non value added costs to the end users and neither should SC!

I haven't posted on this for a year or so, got it out of my system again. Ask me again in a year, till then, I'm done posting on it!

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

You just stated my case, and quite succinctly.

Sc claims that pirates stole from them- and I believe it! So go after those who stole from you, not your customers. You don't charge for audits of YOUR CUSTOMERS. If you find an irregularity in an audit, THEN add the charge to a settlement or suit. An audit costs money no matter what? Not your paid customers' problem- that cost was never mentioned or documented when the KJ went out and BOUGHT YOUR PRODUCT.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Simple this is the latest area in which SC has flexed it's legal muscle. Have a blessed day.

One question Chris has any agent from PR/DTE/CB been out to even check for Chartbuster certification since CB's collapse? Have they even resumed audits? Without an audit system in place how can a host become certified on CB material, if they wanted to? I feel that PR is sitting back and waiting to see how things develop with the SC legal process, before they jump in again. This new company is still trying to get Cloud off the ground, and doesn't want to stir up any negative backlash against their new product. If Cloud fails then they might rethink going the legal route, it would be the only road left to them at that point. Have a blessed day.

How would I know? How would anyone know? I believe the only people that can accurately answer that are the folks from DTE and/or PR, LLC. I don't think any of the investigators announce their presence. Anything posted by anyone else (including you) is only speculation.

-Chris

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-Chris

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I like everyone when I first meet them. If you don't like me that's not my problem it's YOURS!
A stranger is a friend you haven't met yet

With all due respect, when the discs were bought, there were warnings against copying them (for example, to a hard drive). The audit of the customer is made necessary by the customer's decision to go against that warning. Therefore, the customer pays.

They why is there only ONE company insisting on these audits? Or as some judges are now calling them: SHAKEDOWN LAWSUITS?

Do you really not understand the difference between an audit and a lawsuit?

-Chris

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-Chris

The audit and the law suit are two sides of the same coin. If you don't submit to their demand for the audit; you are then threatened with the law suit for non compliance to their demand for the audit.

Let's not try to bullsh*t each other. Their business plan is to force every one of their customers to at least pay them $150 to avoid being sued.

If you can't pass the audit, they basically say that they will allow you to use their product for a small charge of $5,000 to avoid the possibilty of losing your shirt in a court room. Their viability is based purely on people's fear of losing everything so they settle for buying a GEM Series.

If they can't pass the audit all that proves is they were pirates to begin with - they SHOULD have to pay.

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

SC never demanded an audit from me. They never even requested one. I asked them for the audit after weighing out my options and deciding there were positive financial benefits to having it done. No fear, to arm bending, no pressure.

As Lonnie said, anyone that can't pass an audit is pirating anyway. Anyone that isn't occasionally auditing their own inventory to replace lost/stolen discs isn't taking their business seriously. Especially if they are multi-rigging and have hosts that work for them.

So let's not bullsh*t each other. You don't know the difference between an audit and a lawsuit.

-Chris

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-Chris