I love Karaoke Right now all I have is my little store bought karaoke machine that I take to my family and friends house and party with almost every weekend. I have created professional looking songbooks a few listed by song title and a few listed by artist and even put out the little slips for them to fill out. I really enjoy doing these party's then I started to think Why not go big and try to start my own KJ business. Why not make a living doing something that I love to do. Isn't that what everyone would like to do? The only thing is I know nothing about the whole professional set up and what equipment to buy. I want to learn everything there is to know about professional karaoke. My husband told me to make a business plan which I had started however I am just stumped on what to get. any advice would be so greatly appreciated. I already have about 1000 songs in cd+g form and plan to add too that. I have about $4000.00 to start to go toward what I need. I have checked out some software like compuhost I want to do it digitally with a laptop. How do I shop for the perfect laptop that has everything that I need to run the Karaoke business. What exactly do I need and who do I order it from or how do I get it built. Then what else would I need to go along with it to complete my package as far as equalizer, speakers, mics, and so on. what brands should I stay away from and what is good. I know this is a lot of information that I am asking for but I want to do it right and need the best guidance that I can possibly get. so if there is anyone out there that would like to take me under their wing and guide me in the right direction I would be forever grateful.
Thank You
Vikki
I want to start a digital kj business Please help
Business set up.
There are many aspects about this business to consider.
Wow, unfortunately, that is a very broad question, but here are some things to consider.
First and foremost is equipment. This is a critical area as once you've invested in it, you're likely not going to have the luxury of later deciding you don't like it and just changing it on a whim. So plan ahead. I know Bigdog and a few others will echo me here when I say, don't go for cheap, get quality equipment early.
You'll need PA speakers, look at JBL or Mackie for some reasonably priced but quality models. I highly recommend at least a pair of 2-way speakers with a horn and 15" woofer. This is a good way to start, once you start making money, you can add a sub-woofer or two down the road.
Next you need a mixer and a power amplifier. You can go two routes on this. You could purchase an active mixer which has the amplifier built in or you can separately purchase a mixing console and amp. I recommend going seperate here as that way if one fails you only have to replace that piece or if you need to upgrade the amp later, you don't need to replace both. QSC and Crown make some of the best amps and have affordable lines for mobile DJ/KJ use. For a mixing console, look at Yamaha, Mackie and Allen-Heath for quality but affordability.
You'll need microphones. Everyone wants wireless but quality wireless mics are quite expensive. A single Shure PGX runs about $500. You could go wired in the short term and upgrade to wireless later. A Shure SM58 (the most popular vocal mic in the world) can be had for about $90.
As far as a laptop, you'll want one that supports dual displays, most do these days but check to make sure. Try to get one with an S-Video or RCA out so you can connect it to the external display (the one the singers use) without the need for a converter. It will almost assuredly come with Windows Vista, so make sure your get enough memory, no less than 1GB, I'd recommend 2GB if you can swing it. Hard disk space is also important since you'll have a lot of music files, so I recommend a large (200GB or larger) external USB drive.
Don't forget to save money in your budget for cables and stands. You'll need speaker cables, mic cables, speaker stands, a TV stand, racks to install your equipment in, etc. In the short term you can probably go without a vocal monitor (speaker for singers to hear themselves) but I'd recommend adding one as soon as possible once you're making some money.
As far as brands to stay away from, please consider price as an indicator. While there are some brands that do charge a premium just for the name, this is one of those areas where you get what you pay for. If you buy a $30 Nady microphone, it will sound like it cost that much. Personally, I'd recommend staying away from Nady, Peavey or Gemini among many others. If the price seems like it's the lowest of all manufacturers, there is a reason for that and your clients will hear it.
You'll also want more songs as quickly as you can get them. I recommend making part of your business plan to set aside a certain amount from each gig that you'll reinvest into music and equipment.
OK so that takes care of the easy stuff, the bare minimum equipment. Now some other things you need to consider. How saturated is your area with Karaoke hosts? Do you know bar owners that could help you get a start? Do you have a vehicle to transport your equipment to each gig? How many gigs a week can you perform? Are you capable of running some pretty sophisticated Pro-Audio equipment? If not do you know someone that can teach you? You'll need business liability and equipment insurance. There are very few companies that will insure mobile DJ/KJ's so be sure you check this out. Do you have the personality to be a KJ? You have to be outgoing, shyness doesn't work in this job. You'll be standing in clubs full of strangers that you not only have to talk to but have to actively entertain. Do you lose your cool easily? Do bad singers drive you crazy? If either, do not do this job. Can you deal with drunk people effectively while remaining professional. A very tough thing to do but very necessary skill in this job.
Like I said the equipment is the easy part, it's all the decisions that have to be weighed before you ever start thinking about buying equipment that are the hard part. I'm not trying to scare you off but I am trying to save you from investing a great deal of money only to discover that this really isn't something you enjoy. The job changes quite a bit when you go from a friend or family member who has a Karaoke player to someone who the club expects to be a paid professional. There's a whole new set of expectations and they aren't nearly as forgiving.
If after all this you're ready to pull the trigger, great!! I wish you the best of luck. Please continue to use this board as a resource as you make decisions along the way and don't let the stronger personalities here deter you from asking all the questions you have, even if they seem dumb.
First and foremost is equipment. This is a critical area as once you've invested in it, you're likely not going to have the luxury of later deciding you don't like it and just changing it on a whim. So plan ahead. I know Bigdog and a few others will echo me here when I say, don't go for cheap, get quality equipment early.
You'll need PA speakers, look at JBL or Mackie for some reasonably priced but quality models. I highly recommend at least a pair of 2-way speakers with a horn and 15" woofer. This is a good way to start, once you start making money, you can add a sub-woofer or two down the road.
Next you need a mixer and a power amplifier. You can go two routes on this. You could purchase an active mixer which has the amplifier built in or you can separately purchase a mixing console and amp. I recommend going seperate here as that way if one fails you only have to replace that piece or if you need to upgrade the amp later, you don't need to replace both. QSC and Crown make some of the best amps and have affordable lines for mobile DJ/KJ use. For a mixing console, look at Yamaha, Mackie and Allen-Heath for quality but affordability.
You'll need microphones. Everyone wants wireless but quality wireless mics are quite expensive. A single Shure PGX runs about $500. You could go wired in the short term and upgrade to wireless later. A Shure SM58 (the most popular vocal mic in the world) can be had for about $90.
As far as a laptop, you'll want one that supports dual displays, most do these days but check to make sure. Try to get one with an S-Video or RCA out so you can connect it to the external display (the one the singers use) without the need for a converter. It will almost assuredly come with Windows Vista, so make sure your get enough memory, no less than 1GB, I'd recommend 2GB if you can swing it. Hard disk space is also important since you'll have a lot of music files, so I recommend a large (200GB or larger) external USB drive.
Don't forget to save money in your budget for cables and stands. You'll need speaker cables, mic cables, speaker stands, a TV stand, racks to install your equipment in, etc. In the short term you can probably go without a vocal monitor (speaker for singers to hear themselves) but I'd recommend adding one as soon as possible once you're making some money.
As far as brands to stay away from, please consider price as an indicator. While there are some brands that do charge a premium just for the name, this is one of those areas where you get what you pay for. If you buy a $30 Nady microphone, it will sound like it cost that much. Personally, I'd recommend staying away from Nady, Peavey or Gemini among many others. If the price seems like it's the lowest of all manufacturers, there is a reason for that and your clients will hear it.
You'll also want more songs as quickly as you can get them. I recommend making part of your business plan to set aside a certain amount from each gig that you'll reinvest into music and equipment.
OK so that takes care of the easy stuff, the bare minimum equipment. Now some other things you need to consider. How saturated is your area with Karaoke hosts? Do you know bar owners that could help you get a start? Do you have a vehicle to transport your equipment to each gig? How many gigs a week can you perform? Are you capable of running some pretty sophisticated Pro-Audio equipment? If not do you know someone that can teach you? You'll need business liability and equipment insurance. There are very few companies that will insure mobile DJ/KJ's so be sure you check this out. Do you have the personality to be a KJ? You have to be outgoing, shyness doesn't work in this job. You'll be standing in clubs full of strangers that you not only have to talk to but have to actively entertain. Do you lose your cool easily? Do bad singers drive you crazy? If either, do not do this job. Can you deal with drunk people effectively while remaining professional. A very tough thing to do but very necessary skill in this job.
Like I said the equipment is the easy part, it's all the decisions that have to be weighed before you ever start thinking about buying equipment that are the hard part. I'm not trying to scare you off but I am trying to save you from investing a great deal of money only to discover that this really isn't something you enjoy. The job changes quite a bit when you go from a friend or family member who has a Karaoke player to someone who the club expects to be a paid professional. There's a whole new set of expectations and they aren't nearly as forgiving.
If after all this you're ready to pull the trigger, great!! I wish you the best of luck. Please continue to use this board as a resource as you make decisions along the way and don't let the stronger personalities here deter you from asking all the questions you have, even if they seem dumb.
While I agree with much of what Let it Rip said above, I happen to stumble onto a gem of a wireless microphone that I love, the Samson Stage 5 Handheld microphone. It really is good. It's big Brother the Stage 55 is probably better as it looks to be dual diversity. I run two of them, one in my main setup and another in my second sound system. I want to get another one fairly soon, maybe once I get my tax refund (If I ever get my w-2 from my last regular job) 
