karaoke piracy
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oneofakind
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:49 am
- Location: Illinois
karaoke piracy
I have been a KJ for almost 2 years. I live in a rural area and there aren't many opportunity for gigs. I have been working the same Friday night gig ever seance I started. I worked in this other club on a Wens. night ans was there for 5 weeks until I got a call on a Tuesday to tell me I would no longer be needed on Wednesday. I later found out that I was a replaced with another KJ. I have a good reason to believe that the guy undercut me, and was told that he is using copied disk on his jobs. I need some advice. I don't know what to do , turn the guy in to KAPPA or what. I hate to get that kind of a reputation but this guy has cost me thousand's of dollars in lost income and I paid for and or have the original disk or receipt for 98% of the stuff I have on my laptop. The only other stuff I have on there is for regulars that bring there own disk and there songs I do not have in my book. I need some advice. Please can any one help me!
Welcome to the real world of cut-throat karaoke. 
Not to be mean, but get use to it. It happens all around the country, everyday.
You can't stop it. They only thing you can do is to be better than them.
If it means upgrading your equipment and your song selection. Honing your mixing skills.
I hate to say this, but your 98% legal library is just as illegal as his.
2% illegal, is still illegal. It's like being a little bit pregnant....If you report him, you may put yourself under the microscope. If they are in the neighborhood looking at his stuff, they just might check yours. THEN WHAT?
I hear about my crappy competition everyday. I have many loaded hard drive competitors in the hood.
I can take their jobs and get paid more than them.
I can tell who they are. They are the ones that want to become KJs as cheap as possible.
It's funny, but they all know who's at the top of the heap. They all want to be me and have my jobs. My equipment is better than their crap. My system sounds better than their crap. I know how to work it better than they do.
Your answer is to be better than them.
What will it take for you to do that? How much money will it take to pass them with your quality?
Get better or get lost. Cream rises to the top. QUALITY WINS IN THE LONG RUN.
You can whine about them and sit at home losing money or you can take their jobs. It's all up to you. I just told you the ONLY way to do it. My area is saturated with crap KJs. None work more than I do. They want to. When the bar owner finds out you can draw a bigger crowd, he will learn about cheap KJs.
They get lots of jobs. Because they never seem to be able to keep them long. I have taken many crap KJs jobs. I just quit a job 2 months ago. They have had 3-4 KJs already.
If you think I don't know what I'm talking about, you're wrong. If you think I haven't done exactly what I'm telling you, you are wrong.
None of my competition can match me. They think they are. I know better. None of my competition scares me. I've followed lots of them.
Here is a little secret. Most KJs aren't your friends. They want your jobs.
You are probably right to assume he undercut your price. The hard economic times makes stupid bar owners even more stupid. Imagine that.
Make your show worth more. I get paid more than my competition. I can show you every crap karaoke show in town....they're not mine.
Not to be mean, but get use to it. It happens all around the country, everyday.
You can't stop it. They only thing you can do is to be better than them.
If it means upgrading your equipment and your song selection. Honing your mixing skills.
I hate to say this, but your 98% legal library is just as illegal as his.
2% illegal, is still illegal. It's like being a little bit pregnant....If you report him, you may put yourself under the microscope. If they are in the neighborhood looking at his stuff, they just might check yours. THEN WHAT?
I hear about my crappy competition everyday. I have many loaded hard drive competitors in the hood.
I can take their jobs and get paid more than them.
I can tell who they are. They are the ones that want to become KJs as cheap as possible.
It's funny, but they all know who's at the top of the heap. They all want to be me and have my jobs. My equipment is better than their crap. My system sounds better than their crap. I know how to work it better than they do.
Your answer is to be better than them.
What will it take for you to do that? How much money will it take to pass them with your quality?
Get better or get lost. Cream rises to the top. QUALITY WINS IN THE LONG RUN.
You can whine about them and sit at home losing money or you can take their jobs. It's all up to you. I just told you the ONLY way to do it. My area is saturated with crap KJs. None work more than I do. They want to. When the bar owner finds out you can draw a bigger crowd, he will learn about cheap KJs.
They get lots of jobs. Because they never seem to be able to keep them long. I have taken many crap KJs jobs. I just quit a job 2 months ago. They have had 3-4 KJs already.
If you think I don't know what I'm talking about, you're wrong. If you think I haven't done exactly what I'm telling you, you are wrong.
None of my competition can match me. They think they are. I know better. None of my competition scares me. I've followed lots of them.
Here is a little secret. Most KJs aren't your friends. They want your jobs.
You are probably right to assume he undercut your price. The hard economic times makes stupid bar owners even more stupid. Imagine that.
Make your show worth more. I get paid more than my competition. I can show you every crap karaoke show in town....they're not mine.
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spotlightjr
- Posts: 100
- Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:36 pm
- Location: southwest Florida
Dont know that ASCAP, etc. would even bother with this. We're small fries in their eyes And I think they would want something juicier. Heed Bigdog's advice and sharpen your skills. Update your sysytem. Get a website, put together a marketing strategy that shows what your all about. What separates you from the rest?
These crap kj's keep bringing the industry down and its our job to weather the storm until attrition takes its toll on these chumps and force them out of the business.
These crap kj's keep bringing the industry down and its our job to weather the storm until attrition takes its toll on these chumps and force them out of the business.
Clean up your own house then tell the owner of the bar just how much trouble HE could get in if the Karaoke Cops just happened to stop by and found out that the NEW GUY was running an illegal show.
I think that the day is not far off that if you report illegal shows to the manufactures of discs that they will take the action to stop it.
Sound Choice has already said that as long as you have a 1:1 ratio they will not come after you, and I have not seen it yet but it has been reported that on their new discs there is a screen at the end of each song stating
"It is a copyright infringement to put this music onto a hard drive with a $ 750 fine per song.
Sounds to me like they are gearing up to start checking KJ's out.
Lone Wolf
I think that the day is not far off that if you report illegal shows to the manufactures of discs that they will take the action to stop it.
Sound Choice has already said that as long as you have a 1:1 ratio they will not come after you, and I have not seen it yet but it has been reported that on their new discs there is a screen at the end of each song stating
"It is a copyright infringement to put this music onto a hard drive with a $ 750 fine per song.
Sounds to me like they are gearing up to start checking KJ's out.
Lone Wolf
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oneofakind
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:49 am
- Location: Illinois
It's time to examine your committment level. Do you want to be a successful KJ or not?
It's not all fun and games and party til you puke.
Having any successful business takes time and money. Do you think you are the only KJ with competition? I'm surrounded with about 150-200 in a 25 radius. 99% are crap. 80% probably illegal. I'm in competition with all of them. NONE of them scare me. Most of them do jobs, I would never want to do. They work in dives, cheap. I work in nice places and get paid more.
I made two major goals.
1. I made up my mind before I spent $1 that I was going to be the best KJ in the area. Not just another KJ. THE BEST.
2. I set a goal to make 'X' $$$$ per month.
Both became a reality with 1-2- years.
I have seen dozens of KJs come and go. Can't hack it. No drive. More work than they thought. More money than they wanted to spend.
You have two choices....
1. Cut your price and settle for less. They win.
2. Invest more money and become the best. You win.
Why is your name..One-of-a-Kind? Be it.
It's not all fun and games and party til you puke.
Having any successful business takes time and money. Do you think you are the only KJ with competition? I'm surrounded with about 150-200 in a 25 radius. 99% are crap. 80% probably illegal. I'm in competition with all of them. NONE of them scare me. Most of them do jobs, I would never want to do. They work in dives, cheap. I work in nice places and get paid more.
I made two major goals.
1. I made up my mind before I spent $1 that I was going to be the best KJ in the area. Not just another KJ. THE BEST.
2. I set a goal to make 'X' $$$$ per month.
Both became a reality with 1-2- years.
I have seen dozens of KJs come and go. Can't hack it. No drive. More work than they thought. More money than they wanted to spend.
You have two choices....
1. Cut your price and settle for less. They win.
2. Invest more money and become the best. You win.
Why is your name..One-of-a-Kind? Be it.
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oneofakind
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:49 am
- Location: Illinois
I have spent and spent and spent. I am doing a one night a week gig and one night a month in 2 different places and no matter if I spent more money it would not justify or it would be like throwing good money away. I am to the point to where all my stuff is paid for and I have about 12,000 songs including all the E series Chartbuster, all Foundations & Bricks for SoundChoice, Sweet Georgia Brown, Karaoke Hits , all Super Core plus other disk and songs I paid for and down loaded.
What my selling point is I try and keep current requested songs if folks request them, plus I have 25 years as a musician, I play 5 different instruments and know how to run sound and mix a little better than the average KJ out there. But people espically bar owners don't know the difference between a good mix and a lousy one, nor do they care, in fact it seems the kjs who sound like crap are the ones getting all the jobs.
Im just plain tired of not being able to turn a honest profit when I provide an honest service.
What my selling point is I try and keep current requested songs if folks request them, plus I have 25 years as a musician, I play 5 different instruments and know how to run sound and mix a little better than the average KJ out there. But people espically bar owners don't know the difference between a good mix and a lousy one, nor do they care, in fact it seems the kjs who sound like crap are the ones getting all the jobs.
Im just plain tired of not being able to turn a honest profit when I provide an honest service.
I have lost jobs to cheap KJs. I don't get jobs because of cheap KJs.
The business ended up falling off because they killed the crowd.
My shows are successful and probably more so than the crap competition I'm surrounded with.
There are KJ jobs I'll never get because of who I don't know and the crap KJs do know. And vice versa.
99.9% of the bar owners I have ever encountered are idiots that don't know how to run a bar to make all the money they could.
Some bar owners want the seats filled and they could care less about the quality of the people in them. Some bar owners only cater to under 30 crowds. Some bars are nothing but dives.
I don't want to work in these places. I have a quality job I drive 32 miles one way to do. It just turned into 2 nights. You may have to enlarge your target area. The new second night will be in direct competition to a under 30 bar with an long established crap karaoke show right next door. I'm not worried....yet.
I will only work non smoking jobs from now on, so I have to search more to find "quality" non smoking bars that I am willing to work in. I'm not doing dives just to say I have a job. My reputation is important to me.
I know my abilities and the second night should build nicely. I don't care what they do next door. I know I'm attracting a better quality crowd.
Bar owners that are clueless are the norm. Crap KJs are everywhere. There are bar owners that want what you have to offer, you just have to find them.
My edited song book is of great interest to bar owners. Once they understand the implications of the destructive nature of an unedited crowd.
I have to educate them. Show them the difference.
If a bar owner wants to maintain a quality reputation they understand.
I get many jobs from my singers spreading the word to bar owners. On occasion I go out prospecting specific areas. I am constantly surprised to see how many bar owners have never heard of "me".... after 16 years of this. I work more than my competition. Always have.
There are many stupid bar owners that will keep a crap KJ much too long. They know the crowd isn't there and they don't know it's because of the crap KJ. They keep hoping people will show up.
You sound much like myself. You have only been KJing 2 years. I know many crap KJs that do manage to work steady. Most work a different job every month. Meaning they get a job and lose it and move on. Sooner or later the crap KJs fade away. Keep looking for the bar owners that want quality.
I don't get jobs because of cheap KJs. The business ended up falling off because they killed the crowd.
My shows are successful and probably more so than the crap competition I'm surrounded with.
There are KJ jobs I'll never get because of who I don't know and the crap KJs do know. And vice versa.
99.9% of the bar owners I have ever encountered are idiots that don't know how to run a bar to make all the money they could.
Some bar owners want the seats filled and they could care less about the quality of the people in them. Some bar owners only cater to under 30 crowds. Some bars are nothing but dives.
I don't want to work in these places. I have a quality job I drive 32 miles one way to do. It just turned into 2 nights. You may have to enlarge your target area. The new second night will be in direct competition to a under 30 bar with an long established crap karaoke show right next door. I'm not worried....yet.
I will only work non smoking jobs from now on, so I have to search more to find "quality" non smoking bars that I am willing to work in. I'm not doing dives just to say I have a job. My reputation is important to me.
I know my abilities and the second night should build nicely. I don't care what they do next door. I know I'm attracting a better quality crowd.
Bar owners that are clueless are the norm. Crap KJs are everywhere. There are bar owners that want what you have to offer, you just have to find them.
My edited song book is of great interest to bar owners. Once they understand the implications of the destructive nature of an unedited crowd.
I have to educate them. Show them the difference.
If a bar owner wants to maintain a quality reputation they understand.
I get many jobs from my singers spreading the word to bar owners. On occasion I go out prospecting specific areas. I am constantly surprised to see how many bar owners have never heard of "me"....
after 16 years of this. I work more than my competition. Always have.There are many stupid bar owners that will keep a crap KJ much too long. They know the crowd isn't there and they don't know it's because of the crap KJ. They keep hoping people will show up.
You sound much like myself. You have only been KJing 2 years. I know many crap KJs that do manage to work steady. Most work a different job every month. Meaning they get a job and lose it and move on. Sooner or later the crap KJs fade away. Keep looking for the bar owners that want quality.
