Karaoke Forums

ok... I FINALLY Got all set up with the right programs and the right microphone and I'm ready to sing!!!!! (it only took a few WEEKS!) The only problem is, I don't have any mp3 tracks!!! ! The only free karaoke tracks out there seem to be midis and .kar files which really suck. If anyone out there knows of any free karaoke mp3 sites that you'd like to share it would be greatly appreciated! I'm new at this whole thing so I don't wanna jump in and start payin' for everything if I don't like it!! know what I mean???

I will never advocate the stealing of karaoke tracks from the manufacturers.

Let me make a suggestion.

You might want to try listening to the song samples at many of the advertisers... they can legally display 20 second segments of the audio samples of the individual tracks.

And another thing to consider is Streaming karaoke!! You pay a minimal fee to be a member, and you can try the songs complete with graphics online!!

Another thing is to go to karaoke and start taking notes... when you go to a venue and see a track you like, write it down.

Sound choice is just about the best! Same with pop hits monthly!

The sites also have some CUSTOM discs. You can literally buy the individual songs you want.

Have fun!

thanks! very helpfull as always!!!!

Just a question on this, and please, don't start a big thing here!

What if people, like Crystal, need some help? Say she has a wish list of 5 or 10 songs, is it such a big issue to give her a kick-start in life by giving her a couple of songs? She'll just use it at home for recording some subs I guess?

Please don't come with all the ethical/moral and legal blah blah, I am asking if we could help a gal out like her to start of?

Allstar (and others),

I understand your point of view but the main drawback I see is that when someone gets it for nothing they have a hard time paying for it in the future. It's just human nature.

Do we tell her to go on IRC and download to her hearts content? Do we tell her to investigate a newsfeed and download to her heart's content? How about that juicy FTP site that has all those tracks? How about many of the other ways to get tracks for free that are in violation of USC Title 17? (That's the federal statute dealing with copyright).

To be honest, I'd recommend going to the local Wal-Mart/Fred Meyer/Target/etc and picking up a CDG from 5 star, karaoke bay, singing machine or one of the other mass merchant manufacturers, rip it to mp3+cdg using mp3+g toolz and sing away. Of course, this will require a CD-Rom drive capable of reading the CD+G subcodes - which not all CD-Roms are capable of doing. IOW, you might need to get a new CD-Rom.

Another option is to download the tracks directly from the web - there are a couple companies out there that offer tracks for anywhere from $2-$5 per track.

One other option if you just want to 'try out' karaoke is to use an X-Box. It has a karaoke setup - songs are $2 on the web site and it works well for home use. Limited to 250 songs, requires a pc to load the songs, - these and other limitations don't make it real practical for use in a show but for home where you're with friends and just want to belt out a couple tunes it works pretty well. Yes, you'll drop just under $200 for the machine, software and a couple tracks but for the occasional use that doesn't want to use CDG's it works pretty well. BTW, it comes with a small selection of songs on the disc w/ the software.

And no, I won't go into the legal or ethical implications of the sharing of a 'couple' tracks since it's been covered ad naseum.

I know how she can try out karaoke tracks for next to nothing...

GO TO A KARAOKE SHOW!

Most of them have karaoke tracks there, and will let you try them out for no charge. Just the cost of a couple cocktails to get your singing nerve ready!

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

Mike, you didn't read the question, my friend,


Home recording!!!!!!!!!

oh my!! I'm sorry to start all this... I wasn't even thinking. Of course it's illegal to download mp3's for free.... It didn't even cross my mind that people make money off Karaoke too!! sorry! I guess that's why it's so difficult to find! *blonde moment*

thanks anyways everyone...

BTW... this XBOX thing. I've looked into it. Thought about getting it because my husband already has the console. But Here's another question. It says that you can transfer songs from my PC to my XBOX, but can I transfer songs FROM my XBOX back to my PC? AND can I actually RECORD myself onto a disk with the XBOX, cuz I'm pretty sure I can't. If anyone knows an easy and LEGAL way of doing that, please let me know!! thanks all!!!

Hey All star--didn't see anything about recording in the original post, just thought she was looking to sing some karaoke and not wanting to pay for it.

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

It's really not that hard to find... if you know where to look.

The files transfered to the Xbox are .krk files that are bought on their 'special' web site - which won't play on the PC (at least not that I know of). If you have a modified X-Box you can send WMA*+CDG files to the X-box which it will play with the standard karaoke software. When you record it's stored on the X-Box as a wma file. The standard file transfer utility won't let you copy that file back to the pc but again - if it's modified you can get the file without using that software.

Legal? Yes. Easy? Not real easy. If you're technically inclined you can do it and once you've done it a couple times it's pretty easy. I read up on the process and the research being persued on an X-Box forum (but can't remember which one it was). I learned more in 30 minutes of reading that thread than I had learned about karaoke on the X-Box in weeks of research.

*WMA is the Microsoft answer to MP3. It's a compressed audio format that can be played back on PC's and many of the new MP3 style players.

You guys have forgotten one thing. Crystal lives in Canada, where downloading laws are different. She may download for personal use only as ruled by the courts as of this time. She cannot sell any tracks etc as it would violate the current law. Now in a few months or years this may change but as of now it is ok.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Yes, but my providing them is a violation of USC 17. Perhaps she can download them legally according to Canadian Law (I don't know about to say definitely yes or no), but I can't give them to her without violating the laws here.

She was asking about free MP3 sites. I'm sure she realized after a bunch of replies she can't get them from Americans. Where to get them in Canada, I don't know as I personally do not download.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

she mentioned mp3, but in the next sentence, and in the topic in general, she's asking about where to get karaoke tracks.

On line

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You can be strange but not a stranger