Karaoke Forums

I think the reason that I and so many other KJ's are against this is because...

Over the years, we've worked very hard at building a good reputation and a successful business. We strive to treat everyone fairly and not play favorites. We try to make karaoke fun for everyone, which is what it should be. We do whatever it takes to build up our customer base and keep them coming back.

KaraoQ threatens to take that away. We don't want to drive customers away. We don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. What we do want is to create a fun night out for everyone.

I know you said you like the folks at DigiTrax. I liked a lot of KJ's too, until I found out they were pirates. And then that changed my feelings about them.

I have nothing against the folks at DigiTrax. I just don't like the fact that they're supporting a product that can have a detrimental effect on the very people that have come out week after week to support us and our shows.

And for that reason, I will not support DigiTrax or KaraoQ.

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

You were!

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

I'm pretty sure nobody has to use it if they don't want to. You folks that are so dead set against something that you haven't even seen yet should be happy. If it's as bad as you project, singers should come running and screaming into your arms. i'm sure there were some people against electricity when it came out as well, maybe some of you. I like also that "KJs" with no shows are up in arms about it, what the heck do you have to lose? Good grief.

Thank you for the information. Like I said, I want to watch the summit and I want to see more. I will be happy to test KaraoQ without the tip and bump features. If what you are saying is true, those features aren't necessary to be able to prove worth and increase rates with venues so long as the rest of the features hold up.





It isn't. If you have watched any forums at all, hosts are struggling to find gigs and get the rate they want. I don't recall seeing anyone here or on any forum talk about their services causing a bidding war, so trying to turn the bribe thing back on how KJ's get paid for gigs falls completely flat.

Besides, the same rules apply. I am not going to abandon gig A just because potential gig B offered me more money. I am loyal to my venues AND the customers at those venues. It would take more than money for me to leave the gigs I have now because I have built relationships with many different parties. Those relationships turn into leads down the line that are way more valuable than some other gig trying to buy me out for an extra $25/night.

IMO, the KJ's that will dump a gig for another just because it pays more are exactly the same KJ's that will take bribes from customers for preferential treatment.

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-Chris

Completely agree. I don't necessarily go to work for the highest paying gig if i'm already working somewhere. I've been offered in the past to drop my current gig and go work at another place, they were willing to offer me $50 more per night for 5 nights a week (sun-thurs), but the management also had a history of f'ing everything she ever touched into the ground - and in this case I chose not to take the job and less than 6 months later, the place was closed because of the manager.

Yep this job isn't always about money in the respect of screwing people over to line your own pockets.

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Totally agree. It's not always about the money.

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

I don't think Sqwigee is talking about playing background/filler music. I think he is referring to too many singers choosing slow songs (or as some KJs refer to it: "Ballad Hell"), and having to juggle the rotation somewhat, so that more upbeat songs are performed (thus also upsetting several people for being skipped when they were supposed to be up next).

I even get people moaning when they THINK I am going to skip them, like if they don't see their in the list, yet, or if they read the scroll wrong.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

We currently use a star rating system, and we might need to look at that. A more fine-grained rating is more useful for contests, but a simple "like" system might work better in other cases and have less potential to result in a bad experience. I'll bring this up with the team in our daily meeting.


DG

It's a feedback system that the attendees can use as a form of applause, but see my remarks above.

Since you're returning value for money, it should be a simple point of commerce. Once again, if that's a problem, there's always the option of donating those proceeds to the venue owner's favorite charity.

We think the potential to make the venue more money through the system, in provable and charted ways, will far outweigh such concerns.


DG

DG, you seem to find that giving the bribe money to charity is a perfect solution to all sorts of objections. How much of your 25% do you plan to donate?

You could cobble together a set of procedures and materials and software that could perform some of the functions that KaraoQ provides, but certainly not all of them, and certainly not in a single integrated platform.

I agree. If you're using anything as a crutch, you're still going to hobble. There's no substitute for hard work and dedication.

Alan, you started this thread and challenged us to respond. If we've made valid points and invited you to entertain the possibility of a contrary position, then I would hope that was your intention from the very beginning - to allow us the opportunity to respond to your objections. If not, and you only wanted a place to bash us, then let us know, and we'll stop responding.


DG

This is a part of our insight into the way our crowds are changing. We'd like to provide you with a way to leverage that change to your advantage. It may not be a change that one particularly cares for, but it's happening nonetheless. We think it's better to be ahead of the curve than behind it.


DG

They are but a small part of the system, intended to maximize your earning potential. I think you're going to like what you see at the Summit.

It was the definition you provided - I just wanted to point out that it was overly broad and could apply to any service provided for in-kind consideration, including completely above-board transactions like bumps. No disrespect or wool-pulling intended.


DG

More crap. I'm amazed at how you don't have a problem treating KJ's like stupid children.

Your "insight" is nothing more than "your guess" and that's it.
"It's happening none the less" is absolutely NOT true... and saying it won't make it true, even though you'd like it to be.

Once again, you're not going to convince anyone here by insulting them.

Your market is newbies that don't know any better because they don't have the experience or hotels and tourist spots (like cruise ships) where there's no such thing as a "regular crowd" that won't put up with this junk.

This is NOT Japan.... even though you wish it were.

As I've already stated above, we don't have current plans to earmark our portion of the proceeds from that particular part of the platform for anything other than building our business, and paying our employees.

From a platform standpoint, we continue to support charities that concentrate on anti-bullying campaigns for kids. It's an issue that resonates with many of our principals, and we try to be good corporate citizens. I will refrain from providing details on my personal work with my favorite cause, as it is certain to be excoriated as a form of bragging.

The charity option is always open to those who feel that offering a service in exchange for money shouldn't go to support their business. It's not a panacea, but it certainly addresses any moral qualms one might have.

Why would anyone want to? And once again, you're insulting your own target market - smooth move. Remember that the most popular format for playback is mp3+g which was developed by..... wait for it..... wait for it...... a KJ. The first kiosks were developed by..... wait for it.... a KJ. So you can come down off your "we're smarter than you" high horse anytime.

Here we go again, but notice the double standard:
English Translation:
"Alan B, you're going to hobble if you use any crutch."
"You will have to use our new market-researched crutch to be successful, otherwise, you're still stupid and have no talent."

"Responding" doesn't mean "insulting."

You know what I find stupid is becoming dependent on some third party company to stream your song selection... because you just might lose 25% overnight. And THAT'S A REALITY that's already happened. I wonder if your customers got a 25% discount since the library they were paying to access to was diminished by that much? Did you take the 25% that they were still paying for and donate that to charity? Didn't think so.

Priceless! We will support charities that fight obnoxious behavior by selling a product that promotes obnoxious behavior!

just . . WOW.

My DigiTrax Friends:

It seems to me that you are already losing credibility and respect from many members of this community. Why? Because you are supporting a product that has the potential to, not only upset people, but hurt their feelings as well.

Personally, I would not want to tarnish my reputation by associating with anyone who would do this and thinks it's ok if people get hurt in the process...

Remember, if they go down, you're going down with them. Are you prepared for that? Are you willing to take that chance and risk your business on this product? A product in which, we did not ask for or need at all, although they would like us to believe that we do.

You may win over the bad KJ's. The ones who lack the self confidence in themselves to believe they can't do it without that magic been. Or even the pirates. But for the rest of us who rely on our experience and hosting skills, using this software will be of little or no help at all.

I have a website and a facebook page in which singers can interact with. I offer songbooks as well as a touch screen kiosk. In addition, customers can use their smart phones to search for and submit their song requests from anywhere in or outside of the establishment.

They can interact with my website, view my songbook, request songs, even print out song request slips if they would like. I try to provide them with all the tools they would need or want. And with all this, it doesn't cost me one penny. I don't have to pay 25% to someone for the privilege of offering all of this. And, it doesn't hurt anybody's feelings.

So my dear DigiTrax friends, it seems like you're a gambler. Ready to put it all on the line. Personally, I think you would have better odds by going down to Atlantic City.

Remember, the seasoned, experienced KJ will see right through this. He will not give up 25% of his hard earned money for something of no benefit to him. But maybe the newbies who are still wet behind the ears, believe everything that's thrown at them, and have no clue about what it's like to be a KJ, will.

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