Karaoke Forums

I applaud digitrax because it appears they have created limitless energy! Just hook those keyboards up to a generator and we'll have an endless supply of his dead horse beating from now until the end of time from people.

Jeesh this has to end, this is getting stupid.

Since you run an automated show and have no real interaction with your singers, I can see where you would love this. But for most of us, who do care about our singers, we are against it.

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

that's a little harsh. you barely know him. i myself have never met Toqer, but i have seen his shows from the webfeed. it is really evident that he loves karaoke, and that he cares. He has sacrified a great deal to do what he believes in. i know that he used to go to all the major players of the time with his own money and try to get them involved in the digital age.. no one would listen to him, and most of those companies are now the same as the dodo. I may not agree with a bribing system but that's no reason to insult him with no basis.

-james

I fail to see anything insulting about my comment.

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

Ah ha! Semantics! Let's examine what he said! In the very least Alan, you're being intellectually dishonest, snark and sarcasm are insults.



For the Kangaroo court I submit the following two bolded statements.

Statement 1: no real interaction

"Not Real" in itself is the same as saying, "Doesn't exist" or "invalid" I ask the jury, "Who gets to decide what is real or invalid?" I can submit link after link, from national newspaper after national newspaper that what I did was very real. In fact, I can submit links to statements made on facebook by my regular singers that they considered what I did to be bonafide karaoke in every sense, that followed a stricter code than any fallible human.

"No Interaction" implies that I didn't interact with my singers on any level in Mr. Alan's mind. My previous statement about interactions on facebook dismiss's Mr. Alan's claim. These facebook interactions are just the tip of the iceberg. I spent night after night talking with them, improving the system. Again, various newspaper articles from national, not local papers refute Mr. Alan's claim.

Statement 2: most of us, who do care about our singers

Is sarcasm at best. Mr. Alan is making the statement that anyone who does not agree with him, must not care about their singers. (Please correct me here Mr. Alan, but again, please try and be intellectually honest) What is caring?

Caring is dedicating a good portion of your time nurturing the growth of something. Despite people over the years disagreeing with my normally abrasive and sometimes combative attitude here on the forums, the years spent being a KJ and a keyboard warrior here completely invalidate what Mr. Alan is implying.

I disagree with you Mr. Alan, but it does not mean I do not care.

Closing argument: A prayer for relief to the moderators.

I spent 12 years of my life dedicated to karaoke. Software, the venue, the website, the streaming video, trying to progress the technology beyond what it is today. I sat at the table during the formation of the KIAA (which sadly wasn't interested in progressing anything on the technology side) I got shut down at every turn. This is the first decent thing I've seen out of the tech side of karaoke in a long time. Beyond that, it has the manufacturers blessings. Therefore, I've given it my blessings, as my team has decided we were just too early, and not in the right place at the right time.

I don't think everyone has to agree, but giving a single individual a voice whom's devolved discussion into under the breath sarcasm and insults isn't healthy. Looking at it from the perspective of, "What's good for the community" this entire thread has become a prejudice cancer of sorts. Nobody here has tried karaoq, therefore to pass judgement without trying is the very essence of prejudice.

Moderators, I've flagged Mr. Alan's quoted comment. 1. I'd ask that this entire thread be closed, 2. Mr Alan is given a stern talking to, and 3. we move on in the spirit of "Let's see what happens".

Thank you for your consideration.

Dear Karaoke Industry,

We are rapidly approaching sea change in every area of our lives. I started doing karaoke in 1987 importing machine #1 from Pioneer, I grew my business to 15 rigs generating 57 weekly gigs. We ran Laser Entertainment Group until 1992 when I sold off the systems to my KJs, 4 of which are still going strong. At that time I was on Laser Disc at $125.00 a disc for 19 songs ($6.58 a song). My catalog was made obsolete when DK came to town with the CD+G discs at $37.00 a disc. Talk about sea change. Competition increased and Karaoke was booming!

In 1999 I founded and launched PCDJ and in 2001 we launched a PC-KJ plug-in to accommodate MP3+G files. PC-KJ became a very good seller and we cause a big sea-change for the industry. More KJs joined the ranks at the birth of the digital age!

KaraoQ will be a big sea change for this industry of ours. New KJs will be born, Karaoke Hosts who adopt will increase revenue and expansion. This is the entertainment business, and we will help facilitate more of both.

Please tune into the Summit, take the Free Trial and see if it works for your expansion and helps increase your revenue.

Musically Yours,
Joseph c Vangieri

Just curious which brand laserdisc were you using that only had 19 songs? When we were buying laserdiscs in 88-94, they were $125-150 (depending on the year and vendor) with 28 songs (14 per side) on Pioneer discs.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Oooow.... that's gonna leave a mark. Lonman is correct....
DING! Round two.....

That's not what I'm doing at all. You have proudly stated on this forum, how you run an automated show. In fact, I believe you said that you don't even have to be in the room for it to run itself. So, I am basing my comments on what YOU have stated in the past.

Secondly, regarding interaction. I'm referring interacting with singers while running your show. Whether from coming up to you to turn in a song request or when they come up to sing. Or just walking around the room. If you're not in the room with them, you're not interacting with them.

So, I'm sorry if I'm confused but I'm basing my comments on you stating that your system runs itself without you even having to bee in the room.

So, I stand by my remarks in my post. I was not insulting you. But if you want to misconstrue what I said, whatever.

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If you go to page 3 of this thread you'll find at least 12 members of this community who also feel just as strongly about this as I do. Sometimes technology isn't always a good things. Especially when the singers' feelings are involved.

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

There was no misconstrue Alan, and I'm not going to go back in the thread. I've already established that you are on a one man mission of prejudice (given you haven't even tried karaoq yet)

Neither I nor my shows or my past is up for discussion or debate, to wit, you're railroading the discussion off the topic you started by doing so.

I've got a few non-Pioneer brands that are one-sided and have half the number of songs. I recently inherited some weird brands. I just don't know why a company called "Big (@$%&#!)" wouldn't catch on......

Alan--one thing that I understood about Toqer's shows was even though the karaoke could run itself, he was still there overseeing and doubling as a bouncer. So he did have interaction with the crowd--just in other ways than being a standard karaoke host.

Excuse me--I just checked and it was "FAT (male rooster)" Records. Looks like KS doesn't allow the word for male rooster, too....

We will never use a bribery based rotation system.

A one man mission?? I hardly think so. That would mean that I would be the only opposed of this while every one else is for it.

Yet, if you go back and read all of the comments from the members of this community (especially page 3 in which you will find quotes of what members had to say regarding this), you will find that I am not alone. Most of us, share the same feelings. Again go back and read some of the negative comments from others.

So to say that this is a one man mission is preposterous.

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

No I realize that, I bought many off brands as well, they all came with anywhere from 8-14 songs per side (even the one sided discs), i've never run across one that had 19 tracks which is why I asked which brand.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Thank you kjflorida. Neither will I. Neither will most of us. I'm glad I'm not alone.

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

My mistake, you are correct, Pioneer had 28 songs a disc. I looked it up dealer price and it was $125 and or $4.50 a song. Sorry for the mis-info, but the point I was trying to make was a sea change occurred when CD+Gs came out. I then bought the DK library (My Sea Change) and continued to grow my KJ service.

When sea change occurs we adapt or overcome. That is the nature of business. Hopefully our investigations into tools and technology for the industry will help our industry grow.

Musically Yours,
Joseph Vangieri

Alan, much like I wouldn't allow the over 150 accounts online or onboarding our platform ACROSS THE UNITED STATES to make blanket statements like "We are using karaoQ and the 360 product suite. Anyone who doesn't is clueless. Almost everyone will use it. Those who don't will be behind the curve and the times in 2 years." Why? My statement I just wrote is potentially just as viable as yours - however you continue to make blanket statements that address your comments and the LESS THAN a dozen who are actively participating in the conversation, with seemingly half of those as adamant as you are.

It's as if to troll forums for Vegans and tell them how you will never be vegetarian, just because you can. We get it. We do. We don't aim to gain 100% market penetration. And quite frankly, you continue to make statements that aren't indicative of the whole, and certainly not even these forums.

Just because our company did not poll you since July 2014 doesn't mean we didn't survey, we didn't interview full-time karaoke bars, venues, mobile DJ/KJ firms, part-time KJs, new-school, old-school, loyal patrons, karaoke regulars, one-timers, etc. Quite frankly, we did. There is nothing we MUST provide in order to validate this other than our business model. Our model is representative of what the platform offers today and will continue to offer as we expand the offerings and features.

No matter what anyone says, and egos aside for a minute please, it's all about the USERS. The Users in this case are patrons and performers. Any our sampling is more expansive than the few people you talked to at your hosted karaoke night where you presumably (based on your earlier phrasing) asked them questions in a close-ended format to elicit the results you sought.

We surveyed HUNDREDS of performers and patrons, across the very scope that I just mentioned.

We surveyed well over a hundred KJs and venues (full-time, part-time, not currently offering karaoke) to understand what drives their value. You know what the absolute common denominator that we get from all of them?

- Keep people in the venue longer, spending more money (drinks,tips,etc.) , and being entertained in such a way that they not only return, but they invite others that become just as loyal and repeat the process.

Now that being said, other than the warm and fuzzy feeling that you believe you illicit in your nights as THE karaoke host that makes all the magic happen -- the reason the venue makes ANY money, the reason EVERY patron comes to the venue -- to experience you as THE HOST - how do you QUANTIFY that common-threaded statement above that all venues had in common when they talk about what is their value driver?

We offer captive audience channels. Captive marketing. PUSH notifications. Analytics. Consumer Insight. Trackable/Quantifiable Data. NEW Revenue streams (yes, +BUMPS ARE new revenue streams for the most part, and instead of relying on a cash tip jar (how full is it right now, by the way?), and maybe a card reader), we offer the services to allow people to quickly and efficiently PAY for services rendered with ease (a service millions of people and companies PAY for today).

Not only that, but we offer those services to the VENUE as well, which last time I checked, you are dependent of for getting paid such a handsome bounty that you "would never accept bribes." Maybe the venue(s) where you host karaoke are so happy like pigs in mud that they will never entertain or need to entertain the idea of karaoQ in their nights of karaoke. Guess what? That's OK! That's NOT the majority - it's simply not. The traffic to our site, the media exposure. The sign-ups. The accounts live already. The users active every week on our platform. The 10-12 KJs that continue to sign-up every week, accounting for anywhere from 10-50 venues every week all say otherwise.

You are NOT the majority. Don't speak as such. Let's keep things fair and level. Feel free to go post a piece of cardboard about your own bump (not: bribe) system, and track all that (email address, demographics, conversion rates, frequency of visits, dwell time of the patron, etc.) on a spreadsheet, while you run your karaoke show, tell people how to sign-up, tell people where they are in line, queue up the next performer, call out that name of the person who already left -- and if at the end of the day you can do all those things, and make MORE money than what you could in our platform, even after we take a fee (hint: we ONLY make money when the DJ/Venue makes money THOUGH our SaaS), then I will stand corrected.

Until then, we will continue to Build. Learn. Refine. Adapt. Grow. Innovate. Upgrade. Disrupt. Survey. Listen. Adjust. Repeat.

I don't ask that you be a part of the karaoQ360 platform - but I do ask that you either have an open-mind about the other things the platform offer for the value and cost, or don't - but don't speak for "everyone".

The Summit is covering MUCH more than karaoQ360 as a sales/marketing pitch - but it is the greater part of a whole - and with music industry / major label executives covering everything from ways they are engaging with karaoQ to revitalize the karaoke experience, drive new content, contests, promotions, and interaction -- you can choose to be an Uber driver or a Yellow Cab driver. You, my friend, are in the driver's seat for your own night of karaoke where you are THE host.

- Michael Amburgey
Proud to be CEO / Co-Founder of karaoQ

I'll wait and see what happens. Chances are if it's going to be revolutionary in karaoke, others will make the same thing available for better and cheaper (small flat monthly charge vs 25%). I remember when phone app songbook services first appeared app suppliers were charging $40-50 bucks per month. Now you can get really good ones for under 20 per month. One even 20 (might be 10) per year. If it becomes the norm I'll buy into it then. But then I still prefer book and slips over phone apps and kiosks even though I still offer the phone apps - which really don't get used all that much vs print books.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

There is already a wide precedence of 30% (a la iTunes) and has become the common rev share model. We are less than iTunes. And many other platforms that interact with music. We welcome competition. It means there is not only validity in our business model but more opportunities to continue to expand the market as a whole and grow the pie for the industry beyond what it once was. We hold copyrights, trademarks, name marks, and patent pending with the US Copyright and Trademark office. All that to say, we did this because we believe their will be more competition in this space that goes well beyond a digital tip jar or mobile songbook.

KaraoQ v2 will be launched by Nightclub and Bar in March 2016. And the exclusive partnerships we are working on will continue to add value to the platform. While that could alter how we price or package things, we're confident the involvement of the music industry and other industry channel partners are going to strengthen the value of the KaraoQ platform and ultimately upgrade the experience of any night of karaoke to new heights.

Not marketing hype. Simply stating what we are working on and the impact we believe we are making and will make.

Uh... excuse me....

Why isn't a SINGLE ONE of the "over 150 accounts" represented here?

Not one....

No testimonial...

No nothing....

The only ones screaming and yelling that everyone needs to buy are the 3 or so that are selling it.

Time to invent a few customers because I want to question them... and ask them how it works, what kinds of crowds they have, without the sales staff getting in the way or speaking for them. Pony up boys... or shut up.

Oh, and one other thing: These customers must be "verifiable." If they aren't and the sellers are hiding anything for any reason then it really must not be worth a poop.

BTW Joe V: Your second "sea of change" (or "tsunami from hell") was when you lost 25% of your library. Might explain why your "avant garde company" doesn't give receipts... and YOU and DG and Micheal A. have ignored that subject every single time it is brought up and asked. So why is it so hard to get a straight answer out of any of you?

It appears as though you are all hiding something... or lying about something somewhere... or maybe ..... both.