The Karaoke Forum

Hi Guys - Shaun Thomson from Billy Goat Karaoke NSW Australia here.

I checked with Richard Wise from here, and he said it would be ok for me to ask karaoke show owners here if they would like to beta test out software I've created that sets up a karaoke song book for mobile phones.

An example of a live book is here:
http://www.songbookdb.com/songbookdb

The software is called SongbookDB Pal TM. Once installed on your computer, it...

a) uploads the song book set up files to a folder on your site called songbookdb

b) allows you to edit and personalise the appearance of your songbook (add your logo etc)

c) allows you to quickly update your song book database

- I'm making the software free to use.
- the default song book is ready to go after a 60 second installation
- it's fast and easy to use

You can find screenshots, plus contact info for beta testers here: www.songbookdb.com - or you can PM me here or email beta [at] songbookdb.com

Thanks for your time.

Shaun Thomson

(thanks Richard)

Hi Shaun.
Welcome to the forum.

Looks interesting but for a couple of quibbles.

1) I don't have a smartphone, so apps don't do it for me.
2) why the requirement for an externally hosted website with ftp access? I don't suppose that many people will have that either.

I do know a couple of KJ's who DO have smartphones but not ftp sites, so while I might have been happy to send details of the app to them, they wouldn't be able to make use of it.

Anyway, best of luck,

Sandy.

Gidday Sandy - hope you're not a wee bit too chilly up in Scotland.

OK...

1) sure, and I don't think we'll ever end up replacing karaoke books with a phone app. This is meant to be a little extra something for karaoke and DJ shows, and so far, from using it in my own show, the stats say people are beginning to use it. But of course, there will always be people that prefer not to use a smartphone.

2) excellent point. A central site where KJs can upload to and update their songbook is where I'm headed. It eliminates the need for your own hosting, and headaches such as me trying to cater for the HUGE amount of different ftp servers out there, not to mention catering for sites hosted on subdomain services such as Tripod.

In the meantime, I'm still making good use of the feedback from beta testers, as apart from connecting to your own ftp site or eventually mine, the feel of the program is the same.

Cheers

Shaun

Gidday guys

SongbookDb now has a central site where song books are hosted. In fact, the whole concept has been overhauled, and I am ready to go into phase three testing.

The program has gone through some rigorous bug testing since we last talked, plus some pretty useful features have been added (.csv file import now supported, disc ID and track numbers displayed, gig guide editor included).

GETTING STARTED - first up, the public use a 5 character code to connect to your book. Normally, song book owners are allocated a random code when they first register, but beta testers get to choose their own free personalised code (normally $49) - so if you can mail me your code choice, your show name and country, I can then forward you the registration page details. Your code can be any combination of capital letters and numbers (or all letters or all numbers).

Cheers!

Shaun Thomson
http://www.songbookdb.com
SongbookDB

It's been a long time since I've been here, but I'm definitely interested