Karaoke Forums

got the word last night that my one and only gig is not going to do karaoke anymore!  i bring 'em in like crazy, usually 15-20 person rotation which is great for a little 25,000 person town!   they drink and tip good.  still the bar says it's not making any money.  i'm a little bummed, even though my saturdays will now be free to hit the lake.  good news is there's a bar opening right next door that has already called on me to do their karaoke when they open.  
*sigh*  guess this is the ugly part of the business........

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All work and no play make Homer something something

We got the word last night that our one and only show wants to "try a week without karaoke" to see if hes making $ . Ya know sometimes ya bend over backwards for these people by negotiating way down off your original and much deserved price for a job, to flyers, word of mouth  and advertising on the web thru our website and myspace, and the guy wont put one 7 letter word (karaoke) up on the marquie (sp) or mention it in his radio commercials or on his menu flyers or in the local newspaper all of which hes used to advertise his resturaunt side of the business yet on Fri and Sat nights 99% of the people came (and stayed) because of karaoke. We are not in the advertising business ya know ! I KNOW and he does too that hes making $ on karaoke nights, but ! whatever !
 We just told him fine whatever you want to do, but we also told him if you want to bring new and more people in on karaoke nights you also have to help yourself by advertising at least a little. Were just tired we really have tried our best here. It's so frustrating. So... if he doesnt call oh well, off to find another gig!! Which is hard around here with all of the undercutters that got all of their music free off the internet, while we are legal , with all legal karaoke and dj discs. Crazy !!
 Im sorry about your situation, but believe me I know how you feel is what Im trying to say . Good Luck finding more work !! Kelley

Oh now that sucks... karaoke is a good way to bring people in, both to sing and to listen. When I was too scared to sing I used to go listen to people too. I hope you find a new gig soon.  :hug:

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Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure. (I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.)

Steve, no! No no no no no! You have to get the gig next door since we have not been down there yet to get you run out of town on a rail for bringing the crazy people from DFW in to town!

And Kelly...ouch! I don't think I am going to be in Florida again anytime soon (which is fine...I worked a 36-hour day while I was there on business), but I hate to see a good karaoke show bite the dust.

We lost one Fri-Sat show in this area but gained a new Thursday night show (Steve...you remember JT? He got the gig). Karaoke is hot and heavy up here ( I count nearly 30 shows within about 15 miles of my house), but it still hurts to see a show go bye-bye.

I'm thinking about y'all.

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

I am very sorry to hear that Steve. I know with your attitude you will come out on top.

So sorry to hear about both of your shows...  

Yes, a 15-20 person rotation in a town that size is great!  Hopefully when those people no longer frequent the bar for a few weeks in a row he'll be calling the karaoke hot-line!  

It is so hard when a bar "take a week off from karaoke".  We just had one not have a show for the 4th and have already heard from one regular karaoke singer there.  The singers don't like it when they show up and expect to sing and find no show... it makes them leery the next time or they go to a competing show!  Hopefully they will recognize people coming in and turning around when no karaoke is available to them.

I wish you both luck in either finding another gig or being called back.

Susie

P.S.

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Karaoke with Full House Entertainment

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Thanks, still have the fingers crossed !! I'll keep yall posted !!

Crazy bar owners- So you are supposed to wait around until he decides to keep
you or not? Unbelievable.
I would be hot on the rode looking for a new venue. Wouldn't it be great when he calls you up to say he wants you back to tell him you couldn't wait around with no income and had to find another place to hold your shows. Or at least have another venue in your pocket to renegotiate your price.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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stupid bar owners!!

steve, if ya'll want to move up here we'd be glad to have ya!!

kelly, i wouldn't wait around for a week.  that's bunk.  

however, you are both in a position to negotiate for better "deals".  with a new gig a selling point is you are bringing in a ready made crowd.  with the old one, you can say, hmmm, my price just went up because of your assinine decision (not out loud doncha know).  

good luck to both of you.  i'm sure you will have great success!!

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[scroll]we're men, manly men, we're men in tights[/scroll]

I concur

HI guys thanks for your comments, just wanted you to know that we did tell the bar owner that if we got another gig in this week that we were taking it and not "holding" his spot so ... just waiting on someone (anyone) to make a decision here. But I know the"perfect" gig is out there just waiting for us. Just gotta keep on keepin' on !!
 Thanks for all the advise                    

                                                 Kelley

mucho appreciatory, y'all.  to be honest it may be nice to have saturday nights off for awhile!

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All work and no play make Homer something something

Sorry to hear this Steve.  It's rough to lose a job.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Sorry to hear you lost the gig but sounds like good things are coming soon.

Generally if you have 15-20 singer rotation and most folks are drinking and then figure that there are half again that many folks that are with the singers are drinking as well. You should be paying for your existence.

I had a new gig back a few years ago that was claiming that he was going in the hole or just breaking even on karaoke nights. I was charging $150 a night and usually it takes about $350 in bar and food sales to pay for my services. The waitress reported on most nights $800-$1000 in sales for 4 hours and only to the karaoke room. The owner was telling me our best night was $450. I believe the waitress as she said that her tips were running $100 to $150 per night.

I made a decision to dump this guy after 90 days due to his dishonesty. Business ethics are extremely important to me. Once they cross the ethics barrier with me they do not get a second chance.

This guy was really shocked when I told him I was leaving and the bottom line reasons for my decision to move on. Even after telling him, he tried to convince me to give it another 60 days.

I drive by his establishment frequently on Fridays and Saturdays on the way home from a gig ....he has 1 maybe 2 cars in the parking lot. When karaoke was going we filled up his parking lot and the adjacent businesses as well.

The moral to this story is just cause the bar owner says he's not making money don't believe everything he or she says. If you are bringing in 15-20 drink buying, food eating, tippers every show...you are making this guy money.

I hope you have the phone numbers or emails of those folks so you can tell them where you will be playing next. They will follow you.  :wave:

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

You need to tell the bar owners that karaoke people don't wait around to see what's going to happen.   Once you lose a karaoke crowd, they're gone.  They will find another place to sing real quick.   The next door gig is the best thing that can happen.   You build the competitions crowd, while the stupid bar owner watches all of his potential money walk next door.     Gotta love stupidity.   If egg head ever wants you back, up the price.  :yes:   You could tell him, it's the price you pay for being stupid.     How can nobody, bring in more money than 20 singers and friends?      :no:  :O

I have been down this road way too many times in 14 years.   You'll get use to it.   Still makes me wonder everytime it happens.   How can someone so stupid make money inspite of themselves?    If the bar owner was the employee, they would be the first ones fired everytime.  :yes:  :hi5:

Funny you should mention good business ethics Flipper, while out with a friend that has been coming to our shows at this particular place, he let us know that the bar owner hired a band to take our place Sat. night. I mean I was floored. After all of the complaining about not making any $ doesnt he know we are wayy less per hour or per night than a band? There is also a kick a** band playing about a block away Also there was barely enough space in this place for a karaoke set up much less a band and all of their equipment, and dont forget usually with a band people most of the time want to dance he has no stage, or dance floor, we literally had to move tables for about 10 minutes before every show  to finagle (sp) our way in there.
  But anyways my point being he didnt say he was going to try other entertainment in there this weekend, just that he wanted to see if we were bringing in customers. How is he going to get a true answer to that when he brings other entertainment in ? I hope maybe someone has a view point that Im missing, because right about now, Im to the point of not even "wanting" to go back there. BTW as of 12 am Fri he isnt advertising the band on his marquee either but if he does tomorrow thats IT I wont step another foot in that place to eat OR work !!    :angry:

One weekend won't prove anything. The first couple of weeks any good Band or KJ that has any following at all can make a good showing. Where the tires hit the road is a month or two down the road when the "new" wears off the place and they experience the drinks, service, atmoshpere etc. and get tired of the place and go eslewhere is a good time to judge the difference.

Nothing wrong with them trying some other form of entertainment, but be honest about it. He is not going to have any concrete results that will tell him if he is making a wise choice for anything other than that week.

I would tell him that he should try it for a month to get a good test. In the meantime you will be selecting another location. If he get's back to you before you are hooked up with another gig then you will consider returning.

When he wants you back you now have the upper hand in the negotiation process. Ask for more money and stick to your guns! If he accepts chances are he will never pull this crap again. If hes paying you $150 ask for $200 minimum and a food or beverage allwance.....I'm serious!!  :O

If he does not accept you move on either way you come out with your head held up high and it's important that you keep your attitude in check. Go out with you pulling the strings not him.

Remember when one door closes another one is bound to open. I find that the new one is always better

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

I would do that if I were in the same postition and if I thought of it.

In my area the exact opposite is happening. The bars are getting dismayed with the bands. They charge too much, for a very limited variety of music. Face it, no band can compete with the variety of music that the average KJ carries in his/her files.
Bands lack the flexibility that most audiences are looking for nowadays. Now sure a local band can take you from AC/DC to ZZTop, but can they take you from AC/DC to the B52's, to the Cars, to the Eagles, Frank Sinatra, Bette Midler, Gretchen Wilson...you get the picture. Folks want variety. Now granted a lot of your live bands may have a following, but you're usually playing to a genre specific crowd, unlike what we can offer.
Sure a live band may have a better Saturday night crowd(sometimes), but how many fights have broken out at a Karaoke show vs. live band shows? What I've found around here with the smaller bars, is that they go by the thinking of, 'how much money can I make tonight' vs. 'how can I get a steady regular crowd into the bar'. They never stop to think that when they're not making money that maybe it's the BAR itself that's losing business, not the entertainment they bring in. We've all seen it, crappy service, high drink prices, nasty arse toilets, out of control rednecks. I think this has much more impact on the place rather than using the excuse, 'well maybe we need to do something different'. Yeah how about cleaning up that dump you call a bar, and throw the garbage out while you're at it. And when I say garbage, I don't mean the empty cans. I mean the trash that frequents the place.

Funny story: Over the holiday weekend, I played at two different Marinas. While playing at the second Marina, I met a guy who owns another one close by. When I ask him, how could he find time to be from work on one of the busiest weekends of the season, his reply, 'The band cancelled on me'......wow, imagine that. So what did I do? I gave him my card and left him an open invitation, that the next time a band cancelled, to give me a call first thing, and if I'm available, I'll do the gig.
In my mind I thinking, woohoo, when this guy calls, I'll be able to name my price, cos I know what he's been paying these bands, and he's in a bind. So I will definitely use this to my advantage.

Now I come from a live band background and I know first hand what a pain bands can be. This is part of the reason I got into Karaoke, I could still sing and didn't have to be late an hour while the drummer had to go to the music store to get sticks.

I have no doubt that you folks will pull through this. I wish you all the best. And like it was said before, I am also a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens.

James
Maninblack

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I serve no man and am loyal to only one God.

Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

I am sooo liking this place !! Im glad you all are here to encourage me. What good advise !! I never thought about only one weekend not being enough time to prove anything I guess I just couldnt get my mind past the anger to even think about it like that . And I guess my problem is the door that closes always hits me in the a**!!  LOL  But I gotta learn to just rub the pain away and move on, huh?!  Thanks bunches !!   Kelley