Karaoke Forums

You are so very welcome!!! I do have a list of marriage proposals...I'll put you on the list as soon as Rich dies you will be number 47....

I think there must be an association out there for anything you can think of...Heck...There are probably ones we can't even think of....Or ones we don't want to think of....

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Will sing or fish for food!!I'm not quite right!!

 LMAO I am so tired of the negative dont do this and this is the only way to do it and we dont want regulation (then get invoved in politics. im not running for office and dont intend to regulate or tell you how to run a show)

I am asking for ideas how to organize and fight those who are taking away your rights and regulating you down to poverty and I will keep this thread alive and bump it until I get one positive suggestion on how to improve our situation.

 Ninety %of the people dont know whats going on. Nine precent know but dont care.. The remaining one percent are the ones making it happen...

Now does anybody want to sit down and discuss this like an adult? Is there anybody here that belongs to a profession that holds business meetings on a regular basis that solves problems? I really dont think there is anybody here with an attention span more than 30 seconds or can read and comprehend a post of more than 30 words..

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Isis I have to agree, nice post.

I have to be the bah hum bug though. Do you think it betters
the quality of service by having those cerificates? and does it
assure equal and better pay for doing those jobs?

Just a thought.  :D sorry Karyoker, does this mean you are
divorcing me?  :bawling:

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Honey Im home....Wat time is it?....Are the kids up?....

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By being a member of an association you gain several things:  If the association is one that has a good reputation then the reputation is then reflected on you.  You also gain knowledge from other members that you may not already have. Networking, so to speak.  

This site here is much like an association, we share much knowledge between us.  I am sure that you coulds list a ton of things that you have learned just from being here and speaking with other people in the business.  i.e.  you wouldn't go to an association that is for dog grroming to get information about karaoke.

Certification are another thing.  Certifications are good just to set a baseline of the basic information that needs to be known to do a particular job.  Many assocs offer certification programs (as do companies like Microsoft and oracle).  I DJ/KJ certification would merely be a testing tool to ensure you could run the equipment.  Unfortunately there is not a test that you can use or administer to ensure that the person would be good with a crowd or that they even have a personality.

If someone wants to develop a certification for DJ/KJ.  I would start with the very basics.  I'll use me for example.  I can run a show and I do a very good job at it.  But I really don't know anything about the equipment.  

I would suggest that their be several levels of certification.  Say level one is the very basics:
What is a monitor?
What is a CDG?
How do you adjust the volume?
What is a seque and how do you apply it?
How do you apply effects?
How do you load a CDG?
How do you turn the system on?
The simple stuff.  This would do a couple of things for the industry.
1.  It would show people that you can do your job
2.  When you go to hire people you know that you will not have to show them the basics.  They should already know the basics because they have been tested and have a certification.
3.  You would be able to charge more.
4.  When you hire someone you can then just show them the nuances of YOUR system.

And the levels would go up from there.  Certifications are voluntary, but always a good idea.  It adds credability and value.  

Just because someone walks in and acts like they can run a system doesn't mean that they can.  I'm sure there are many here that can testify to having hired that one person who said they knew everything about it and then when left alone they messed it all up because they really didn't have a clue.

And that's all I have to say about that.  I am starting to sound smart or something and it is bothering me.....

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Will sing or fish for food!!I'm not quite right!!

I believe most by now realize that the problem is smaller bar owners in more rural and suburban areas are settling for "just entertainment" rather than concerning themselves with the caliber of the entertainer. Assuming (as we've stated) their revenue is down, likely having a great KJ wouldn't pull in business at this point commensurate to their payout for such an entertainer, they can't afford the "top guys". My guess would be that there are of course still locations where you must be a "good KJ" to get the gig.  I'm assuming areas in Vegas, NYC, certain tourist areas can tell the difference between the quality entertainer and the hack entertainer. Probably a bar in any populated city. I suppose if you are "the best" and willing to relocate, you can get a job at an upscale lounge, but realistically, are these places having enough karaoke to enable the KJ or DJ to cut it ?  or are these the places that are going to have the Live entertainer, piano bar, duo, jazz trio, band, etc ?  Today, 2006/2007 IS there money for 75% of the KJ's to be had ?

I've often wondered if the hiring of these inexperienced undercutters is more of a symptom than the actual problem.  Worth thinking about !   Most people know the difference between a great entertainer, and the cheaper hack.  If the problem is fewer care about the margin of difference, and are opting to pay less because they don't feel the experienced entertainer is a pull (do to other squeezes on the bar industry), the experienced worker is over-qualified.  You might be great, but there's just not a demand to pay out for you any longer.

Take a look around at MOST professional white collar type jobs out there.  You get out've college, get hired, work your way up the ladder, often reaching 6 digits a year for a large company.  Tough times come, and at 50 you become over qualified (a nice way of saying we are paying you too much as an executive, and we would rather save 50+% of your salary by hiring a younger kid) so you get (if lucky) a golden handshake, but often-times a forced early retirement..  Is it your fault for being qualified ?  Of course not,  They build you up, and than decide you must go so they can save money when times get tougher...

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

It all boils down to this.  

If we had less under educated (as in more business knowledge, more qualified to use their equipment, better equipment) wannabes and more qualified KJs the competition would be more even.  The more level the playing field, the closer we all will be to charging the same amount of money for a gig.    

How do we bring up the underqualified KJs?   So they don't have to charge so much less to get a job in the first place.

Good points Kappy. They seem so obvious when they are mentioned.