Karaoke Forums

You are both right.

Putting your faith in SC to end piracy for you and improve your marketability is foolhardy. Your marketability is your responsiblity and the best way to compete with the pirates is to be better than the pirate and to make sure that venues know you are better than the pirate (and your "legit" competition too).

SC wasn't able to compete with the pirates so they embraced piracy by turning it into a source of revenue. For them, it's not a bad strategy, and for the pirates, it's not so bad either. Of course a pirate would like to get by with free music, but it's not a bad gamble to operate as long as possible before paying off the one or two that will make noise and then after payment declare you to be "legit".

If the pirates in your area pose genuine competition to you, they will of course, choose to stay in competition with you and protect their revenue by becoming "legit" with the manufacturers that make noise. Hence, no change. If on the other hand, the pirates in your area do not pose genuine competition to you, .....then they are of no consequence and never were.

The pirates are here to stay even if they stop pirating a label or two. Take a lesson from SC... If you can't beat them, join them (or make them your partner). I won't be joining them, so there is only one choice left as I see it.

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KNOW THYSELF

i have been having record times. my average went from 18-20 singers to in the last 3 months 30+ and in the last month, i have been running a constant 35-38 singers 4 nights in a row every week at the same venue. but sure enough, my bar owner has been trying to stiff me because there isn't enough money coming in. the fact that i have 35-38 of the 60 people in the bar showing up just to sing, then add in how many come with them, and requiring 6-8 taxi's per night as they are $hit face drunk does nothing. not only are there no pay RAISES, but a pay CUT is looking more likely. pirates in AZ have even less to fear than the ones by Athena, and as we all know bar owners talk. after the disaster with Red Onion, among others, i am lucky to have as job right now. someone remind me why i do this?

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Boy not us. The last week or two has been a struggle to keep a steady 15 singers. A couple of other bars that are usually slammin (packed parking lots) every night as well had 3 & 5 cars in their parking lots last night when I drove by on my way to work.

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

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Hopefully you aren't in danger of having to get another job!

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

This has traditionally been a struggle month for us. The cold and bad driving weather keep people in at first, they are saving for the holidays and there are holdiay/office parties/kid events competing. They have to get through the holidays and then get a bit of cabin fever before they come out regularly again.

We can almost predict slow times for the weekend after the 4th of July, some weeks in December and then some weeks in February. We even have one couple who comes from the next town who won't risk it between Thanksgiving and New Years due to the stepped up DUI patrols on the lonely stretch between towns (not to mention the fog combined with free ranging cattle).

Hopefully not. If that happened i'd hang it up! No clubs will pay anymore than $100 around here. Real day job would be in order. Haven't had one of those since - 94!

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

Then your club owner is screwing you and/or lying to you about the money they are taking in.

It is a good time to take it upon yourself to analyze who is and isn't spending money. Boot the ones that aren't spending because in the long run, they are NOT doing anything that will insure you will even have a job next week and the owner can't be mad because after all, he's not making money on them either.

our head count is up at all of our shows...all our bar owners know that we can give them the till amount within $20 before they run the tapes....let the pirates keep their heads in the sand and let the bar owners listen to them and do the same....it wont happen fast but we will be back to 15 shows a week at good pay before this ends....I cant wait for 10-12 venues to default or even show up in court and have to pay big...half the venues will stop providing karaoke and the other half will pay LEGAL hosts a living wage

I am not only a proud cheerleader but happy to be a local educator as well

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

Well said, while some will disagree and say you are kidding yourself. Keep the faith. It will take time and the manus do need our help since we are on "boots on the ground". Ignore the naysayers and do what you feel is the right thing to do. Keep the faith. And back in the day, people questioned the flying machine, go fugure.

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

The part you forget is that "way back when" those that made the flying machine were CREATING something, not DESTROYING something.

that is called evolution! Just like in this industry, there is an evolution and we yet don't know where all this will end up. Some of us hope for better time without pirates and theives. Others hope for nothing but the failure of any attempt to make things better. Right now, no one can say what will result but each side has their own opinion. I am right and you are wrong, no wait, you are right and I am wrong, no wait I am right you are wrong, no wait.............. see what i mean. Cheers!

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

i disagree that anyone is HOPES for a failure of anything to make things better, it is not wanting the efforts to fail, but believing they will fail. i do not want the pirates to get away with $hit, but i see the current methods of treating the issue to be failing. i wish it HAD worked, but i don't see it, this does not mean that i am cheering for a failure. Lord knows Chip and i have had many disagreements on here, but i see where his stance on some of it. looking purely at your last post, it sounds like if someone does not stand up and cheer for every move SC makes, then they WANT all efforts to fail and WANT the pirates to win. that, just isn't so.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

I never said that, what i do say is I support the manus at the very least trying to move forward in their attempt to fight piracy. You have to remember thay are acting alone and in territory unknown. Maybe, some of the manus tactics have not been embraced by everyone. Perhaps we can communicate directly with them and offer up other ideas they have not thought of, but for some to continually throw their efforts (know to us and some they have not shared with us) as a "witch hunt" and "blind ambitions" is counterproductive to the overall picture, kninda like the political landscape of the country, all critique but no real suggestions for a ultimate solution. Just my opinion.

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

Would these be the same manufacturers to whom I have paid thousands of dollars for their product and will now sue me unless I pay them a yearly fee? Apparently $39 per disc was not enough?

I believe you are under the mistaken impression that these manufacturers are out "to help you" when in fact it has nothing to do with you.

Wake up and smell the coffee because apparently you are still in dreamland.

If the actions of the former manufacturer are a crusade against piracy, I would expect those actions to look more like a crusade against piracy.

If the actions of the former manufacturer are not those of someone trying to make a regular income solely from lawsuit settlements any way they can get them, I would expect those actions to look less like someone trying to make a regular income solely from lawsuit settlements any way they can get them.

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KNOW THYSELF

I just got a copy of the actual court filing document listing the 31 initial KJ's and venues. The document is 23 pages long. It also lists the venues that the 31 KJ's perform at--so there are far more than 31 names/venues listed. Geographic locations include: Eugene, Stayton, Springfield, Dallas, Silverton, Salem, Tualatin, Beaverton, Sherwood, Gresham and Portland Metro. It also includes two KJ(separate karoake companies) implicated in sale and distribution of pre-loaded hardrives, etc. Also more than one multi-rigger. It looks like SC really did thier homework on this. And this apprently is only phase one.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

The term Piracy as it applies to the SC Lawsuits seems to be thrown around quite loosely. SC is only going after the piracy of its OWN SC BRAND TRADEMARKED PRODUCTS. The lawsuit is quite specific in this regard. So it may throw a wet blanket on piracy in general........but lets be clear that is not their SPECIFIC GOAL

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

actually....you did say that. this is the only part i was speaking of.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Why would you get sued if you used the discs you bought for $39 each? Will they sue you because of public performance?

I thought these lawsuits were for folks who use illegal file shared songs.

If there is a computer in the room, you will be sued. Period.