Karaoke Forums

So here in NJ we have our own share of pirates, AND Cheerleaders. Though I debate heatedly here regarding my own stance, most of the local hosts - cheerleader and non- are friendly competitors that help each other out and share information as well.

There is a pirate here that, according to my info, as been reported no less than 30 - that's THIRTY- times in the past year by cheerleaders. By this I mean reported to SC, KIAA, RIAA, CB, etc...She also happens to be someone I've known well for quite awhile. She has, after all that, NEVER EVEN BEEN CONTACTED by a karaoke company or their representative.

The funny part is that she really IS a pirate, and I have personal knowledge.

She has offered to sell me all of her discs. She claims something like 52,000 songs- yet owns less than 100 discs- most of which aren't even on her HD.

The reason for this is that she copied her previous employer's HD exactly, graphic glitches and all.

So, while SC is pulling names out of hats and old websites without investigation, here we have an absolute slam-dunk pirate that has been reported tens of times to everyone, and she couldn't get get contacted with a fistfull of fifties and a bottle of wine.

Now, to be fair, NJ is a state that is virulently anti- Restaint Of Trade, and SC ( or whoever) would have to make sure that they have all their ducks in a row, lest they be tossed out of court or slapped with a suit themselves. In other words- actually investigate.

Apparently, these agencies and companies rarely if ever actually look at the e-mails that THEY REQUEST to report KJs, but just keep yanking from the hat....

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

hell, my old employer with 15,000 tracks on 7 cavs units and 1 set of discs is still running. you know, the one running at the bar right across the street from where Kurt did my audit.

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

Makes you really wonder how committed they are to cleaning up the industry! If it is known that they will only go after offenders in some states and not others, wouldn't the pirates just move to the states, where they know they won't be dragged into court?

Well now, that seem reasonable to me.

SC is doing lawsuits in NC, so I'll just back up my things, sell the house, take the kids out of school, find another day job in another state, change all my insurance policies, my phone number, email, my bank accounts and I don't know what else. Just so I can do a karaoke show in another state. Maybe somewhere in the mid-west.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

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My first choice IS Sound Choice.

Well, let's see. They don't have a money tree growing in the backyard so they can't do everywhere at once.

I typed a rant earlier but lost my connection and what I wrote.

I'm getting really tired of hearing "It's not my problem", "I don't care", "It doesn't affect me", ""Nobody's doing anything", "Why's it taking so long", and I don't just mean in karaoke but in life. You all see and read about it all the time. No one coming forward about crimes they've witnessed. No one going to help others being killed and tortured by their sadistic governments, turning a blind eye to the pushers selling to kids. This is how ghettoes and poverty are made. By good people doing NOTHING. Yes, it isn't easy but whoever said life is supposed to be easy. So instead of doing nothing or supporting the bad guys (because afterall theyare just misunderstood), speak up. No, it will not change over night and the fight may be eternal (whether pirates, pushers, evil dicatators, or whatever) but shall we just hide our heads in the sand because, well heck, it's not affecting me. Well it may not be affecting you now, but it could and most likely will if you do nothing. Think about it.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Here hear Timberlea...well said

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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

Too cold in the Midwest for you Skid.... but I hear Florida's always hiring...

Maybe Athena could hire you as a host?

Get used to it. We live in a world of lazy, apathetic lemmings who are willing to trade their liberty for perceived comfort. That's how the pushers, evil dictators, politicians, and lawyers get their power. It's handed to them by those who are looking for the easy way.

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KNOW THYSELF

Patience is a virtue. Sometimes.

I'm naturally impatient but I rarely give up. Squeaky wheel will get the grease sooner or later.

Meantime, c'mon manus! Looks bad when a legit gets a letter and pirates who have been flagged over and over keep on makin' money of their $500 hard drive! Make it happen for cripes sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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

Now this is interesting...I can apply the analogies of both Timberlea and Earthling to the present situation, and being seen from the other side, it looks a little different to me...

Timberlea seems to be defining those who do nothing and allow the "evil" power to take over as those who do not succumb to the new Sound Choice ideology, however, from my perspective, we ARE speaking up for what we believe in, but every time we do, we are condemned for it, since it goes against the new perceived dictatorship.

Earthling, on the other hand, appears to be pointing fingers at those who "go with the flow" and acquiesce instead of standing up for what they believe in. From my perspective, it is the supporters of the Sound Choice ideology who have traded their liberty for perceived comfort.

It all looks different depending on what side of the fence you're standing. I suppose we can all just agree to disagree and move on. I think everyone's perspective on the situation is pretty well documented at this point.

Birdofsong

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Birdofsong

Why why why would anyone want to continue to deal with a company who is no longer creating products? - just move on, find another company who is producing karaoke tracks and buy from them. If you have Sound Choice discs use them, if you don't, pull the Sound Choice files you have off your hard drive and make another selection of vendors. There are still several companies creating and selling karaoke. Let Sound Choice continue their exit strategy.

my hero, i shall build a shrine now.

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

I agree that all Sound Choice is trying to do is salvage, whatever they can monies wise, as they make like desert nomads, and steal away into the night. I myself have not used Sound Choice products in my show for over 2 years and it hasn't effected my bottom line one bit. The reason they want hosts to come in and submit to audits is so they won't have the expense of running them down. That is why they file large mass suits, it is less expensive than filing each one individually. It is all about creating the illusion that they are getting tough with the pirates, when in reality their business model is to make pirates, there new customer base. Makes sense if only 5% of the hosts are legal, the larger potential market is the 95% illegal. It is sometimes depressing to think of the industry as a dying animal, and now only the scavengers are picking at the dead body.

There could be a reason they are not going after the $500.00 hard drive pirate. There isn't any money to be made off of them, and they will just pick up and go somewhere else. It's seems that the targets are concentrated in a few key areas, and is usually the larger going concerns, where they calculate the money is. This could prove dangerous course, however, if these larger organized venues and hosts decide to carry the case to a jury trial. The manus are not interested in the smaller operations, where getting money back would cost more, than they could get back. It's not a matter of principle, it's a matter of economics.

Timberlea, while I agree in general with the entire statement as posted by you, I don't know how it relates to, or negates, my original post at the beginning of the thread.

There were were over thirty reports made to several agencies. That means these people ARE doing something. Unfortunately, that something seems to be wasting their time...

It doesn't take a money tree to investigate, especially since receiving over 30 reports would pretty much tell me that whoever DOES investigate will probably get a sizeable return on what little money they do invest.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Thank you Ripman! This is EXACTLY the point I was trying to make...

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

exactly, pirates on a silver platter......do we gotta spoon feed as well?

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

It's not that. To me it's more proof that they aren't really investigating, even now. They just keep pulling names from websites, asking competitors to name each other to gain business, and sending letters. I think it's sleazy, but they like the business model, and being out of the production business means they don't have to worry about a customer base or their rep....

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

agreed Joe. but it would also be helpful if they followed up a bit on those reports as well.

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

So instead of being honest businessmen, now SC has come down to the level of the pirates. Sending out bag men to collect their extorted monies from all hosts, the last viable segment left of their once huge market. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Don't feed the beast.