Karaoke Forums

I'm actually not Kurt bashing. I am stating my reasons why I wouldn't go to this conference. They all have to see that Kurt is a BIG reason why many people wouldn't go.

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I am guilty of helping to side track the thread. So I feel a responsibility to help get it back. Those that want to go should go regardless of whether they care what Kurt has to say or not. It would be a great opportunity to spend some money at the tables or see a show during his presentation if you do not want to hear it.

bumped further up due to topic hijack.

Paradigm - All good and valid points. However, don't confuse being in business still with being profitable. We have no idea how profitable any of the karaoke companies are. They may be running in the red every month and continuing to run the business from previous profits. There is a cost to shutting down a business and sometimes it makes sense to limp along for a while even if things aren't working (a la Blockbuster).

I am a bit mystified though as to why Sound Choice has not started offering things in the same way other companies are. It has been suggested that other companies are simply bypassing many of the necessary licensing requirements and bring product to market in ways they really shouldn't be. I don't know if that is true or not, but I do know that Sound Choice will not be able to rely on the GEM series for much longer. They have to produce new content soon or be completely over taken by everyone else.

-Chris

_________________
-Chris

It's about time SOMEONE said it!!! I think in large part, the UK brands already have. Especially Zoom. They now only are putting out much of the newer stuff, their quality has SURPASSED SC, hands down.

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Also waiting for Ryan's answer to my question: for the benefit of those who cannot attend, any plans for streaming the seminars live over the net (similar to karaoke cloud summit last june in nashville)?

_________________
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!

you are right, but if SC was the big one, the leader, and they could not afford to do it, how could the smaller companies afford to still be doing it? i do not believe they are limping along in the red as every week most of us are buying music from them but not from SC.


yeah, every time Kurt was asked about speed of new songs or downloads he answered that way. As if SC was the only one paying licensing and calling his contemporaries pirates.

soon? many do not even remember the last time they bought an SC disc and those that do, were mostly used discs so SC got nothing anyway, but ask the last time someone bought a new Zoom, Sunfly, SBI, All Star, etc song.

as for Vegas....
i could go (Vegas is just an 8 hour drive away from here) but i don't see names i know holding the seminars so the cost reward benefit is kind of unknown.
Agree with Chris that i don't put much stock into the social media marketing of karaoke hosted by someone who quit karaoke.
Kurt will call everyone not certified a pirate and blame them for the current condition of SC, then promise big changes...again.
and just unknown names.
Sorry, just doesn't seem to be beneficial.

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

heck at this point, i would even consider paying the $30 if they were going to stream the seminars.

-James

It would seem that SoundChoice is closing itself out of its own market. Once all these settle ments are comeplete those KJ's will no longer be purchasing anything NEW from SC. Old music only sells for so long before the sales and revenue completely dry up from lack of NEW PRODUCT. Additionally, all the negative ill will that SC has generated in the marketplace is sure to drive even MORE potential customers away. So what will be left?
Certainely not a vibrant growing customer base for SC products. Would look like a pretty bleak sales/revenue future for SC to me.

_________________
"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 believe that approximately 90% of KJ's are using stolen or pirated music to run their shows, and yes, something needs to be done about it. However on a larger scale, the priority should be going after the file sharing web sites and the criminals selling the hard drives on eBay and Craigslist.

If they get the file sharing sites shut down, people will no longer be able to download all of the songs they want for free. And they nail the criminals selling the hard drives, nobody will be able to buy one anymore. That's how to go about reducing piracy.

_________________
Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

I don't know about the percentage of pirated material, but I agree with the emphasis being put on MIRC channels, pirate websites, file sharing networks and hard drive pirates.

On the other hand, I just bought a Chartbusters disc off E-Bay from a guy with great feedback.

The disc has a green tint and the label is nowhere close to evenly spaced around the center hole. If I hadn't been coming here and hearing the discussions I wouldn't have really been considering that someone would try to pass off a burn as original and probably wouldn't have looked at it as closely. I'm not out to be a pirate - I just want a good deal and got burned. Could be a lot of fundamentally honest KJs out there in the same position...

You need to report him to Chartbuster (now DigiTrax). The labels should not be paper. They are silk screened on the disc. You obviously got taken.

This type of thing is exactly what I'm talking about. The manufacturers need to clean up eBay, Craigslist and file sharing websites. Folks can't buy this stuff if it's not available anymore, hence reducing piracy tremendously.

_________________
Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

I sent them a forward to the link on Ebay. I consider it at least remotely possible the seller may have been duped as well. The disc did look used.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181264769572?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

if you payed thru paypal, then you can get your money back by filing a claim.

-James

Deleting and bumping further up (again), due to the continued HIJACK of this thread.

So, after a couple of bumps, as well as inquiries and comments from other posters, My guess regarding Ryan seems to be true. Not a single reply. The thread-starter was nothing but an ad, and Ryan wasn't serious about his question.

SO- my suggestion to event organizers: Find a promoter who is more highly skilled at his/her profession than Ryan What's-His-Name.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

They CAN'T go after the file sharing sites. They aren't interested in closing down the pirate sites because then their cash cow goes away. How can you sue KJs when they aren't pirating. Without a source for free music they would run out of pirates, eventually. Since new sales of GEMS will not continue in perpetuity, they will be doomed as a company. There are so many things that they could have done to curb the piracy, and they didn't. They WANTED this situation. They make more money suing people, in this market.

Meanwhile, I was vindicated tonight. I converted a SC purist. She had asked for Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher. I got the SBI version. She sang it, tonight, and told me the sound and the music were excellent. This is a person who sings AWESOME, and goes to all the shows in the area. She said that she will definitely be back. Made me very happy, and proved that I am good at what I do, and the music I use is up to par.

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

It's always nice to receive positive feedback from customers. Good for you!

I would just like to add to the above discussion, that reporting piracy doesn't work. I've used the email hotline on both SC's and Chartbuster's website to report pirates in the past and they're still out there today. In order to even put a dent in this, manufacturers would have to have a network of thousands of people in every county in every state so that if someone calls/emails a suspected pirate, someone is out there checking it out that day or at their next performance. This is the method that will work. Random select surprise visits in select states is not even putting a dent in eliminating piracy. This must be addressed on a larger scale as I described above to start making progress.

_________________
Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

In all fairness, Joe, he provided a link to the program and descriptions of the sessions. It isn't his fault that you won't open it.