Karaoke Forums

Last night I was approached by the owner of one of the bars I work at. He told me that if I didn't do something to get more people through the door he would have to make some changes. I have been at this bar for over 2 years and we've never advertised. It's all been word of mouth. Now he wants me to do "something" to bring in more people or he's going to fire me.

I've only been hosting a couple years. My other shows are successful but I can't get many people to come to this bar. Mostly it's because he doesn't offer any drink specials and there is a bar down the street that hosts karaoke on the same night and they offer drink specials. While that show is not as good as my show, they are getting a lot more people because they are offering drink specials. I suggested this to the owner of the bar and he said.... "Why offer drink specials to people who are coming in anyway?" Now he realizes they are not coming in and he's trying to hold me accountable.

Any suggestions or ideas? I'm new at this and I'm willing to listen.

I can offer a temp solution, but really, nothings going to help much without more support from the owner.

For a few weeks, we ran a one night Karaoke contest. The way we did it, the owner put up $50 for the winner. We just chose a few non singers in the audience to be judges. We didn't charge the singers, but we required at least 5 singers to be in the contest to start. We really enjoyed it. Was alot more fun than a structured, long running contest. And we had a surprising amount of contestants that weren't serious singers.  Just an idea...

Do you work this bar one night a week? Which night? You may even suggest doing the show on a different night.

I think it really sucks when an owner wants to put all the blame at your door, when there are things they can do to help the situation.

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I do it other nights. I have shows Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Thursday and Sunday shows are in the same bar.

I've offered the Karaoke contest idea before and he offers $50 in food at his restaurant. The food is good, but people want more than that. $50 in cash is a much better prize but I can't get him to give away money.... only "store credit". Credit that no one is really interested in.

Hmmm, well the bar owner isn't very smart.  You are being held responsible for a lack of business. Have you ask him how much more business he will lose if the decides to stop the show.
Owners like that always want to put the cart before the horse. He can't see that if he does lower his prices for the night, that he may just make up in volume what he fears he will be losing. As has been discussed on the boards before, he's looking for an excuse for what may be a potentially failing business. If he cuts out his entertainment, he won't lower the prices for any event, he cuts cost everyway he can and it still doesn't work, then what will he do? His competition will still be there regardless, but if he doesn't take responsiblity to promote and enhance his business, then he will only have himself to blame if it fails.
I've had to have this talk with other bar owners before, and it comes down to a basic:
'I can't help you if you aren't willing this help yourself'

I understand that business is business, but as it goes with any business, you have to spend money to make money. What if you only had one 15' speaker on a stand with one book of songs to choose from, how many gigs would you get, same principal.

Not really sure what to tell you. Good luck, I hope it works out.
Hopefully others with many more years of experience will also post with some suggestions.

James
Maninblack
Karaoke Host

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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.

time for you to look elsewhere and do so quickly becos it would be most gratifying to tell him you are giving him the a r s e rather than the other way around. He doesnt sound like he will be any great loss

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Before everyone else does it, may I go ahead and say that a contest is not always a good idea. Good contests alienate the regulars and anger more people than they please. In my town, there are even a handful of professional singers that manage to enter all of the karaoke contests around town, and inevitably one of them wins each one, giving the regular karaoke crowd pretty much NO chance of winning and upsetting them all. Then, of course, you'll lose more people in the long run than you gain for that one single night.

As a KJ, I don't particularly think it is your job to get people in the door. That is the main function of the bar manager at most places. Your job is to KEEP THEM THERE as long as possible and get them to COME BACK once they have walked through that door.

So, all the burden is NOT on you, though it is certainly not all on the bar owner either!! I had this same problem at the last bar I worked at, but the problem there was that the bar just kinda sucked. If that is the case of your bar - crappy bar, no drink specials, mismanagement, etc. - I would suggest you start looking for a new, better gig. If the bar sucks, it doesn't matter how good the karaoke is, most people won't show up!!

If, however, the bar DOES have potential and you think you can help it reach that potential, then I suggest you offer to meet your bar owner halfway...

#1: Do you have business cards? Some of my best regulars were people I met on my off days that I asked to come see my show and gave cards to. My cards have my name, the address of my bar, and the karaoke hours on them. 1000 cards cost me $28 and have been 100% responcible for at least about 80-100 people being exposed to my bar/show for the first time, about 25% of which are still regulars or at least stop in from time to time!!

#2: Does your bar have a marquee? At the least, your karaoke night should be advetised on the marquee. Most karaokiers seem to be kinda window shoppers when it comes to finding karaoke bars - they will stop on a whim at the first place they find advertising karaoke on the marquee. If your bar does not have a marquee, what about getting a neon karaoke light to put in the window during your shows? There is a company on eBay that sells a neon karaoke light for this very purpose for about $80. May be worth your $$$ if you want to keep the job. Even if it brings in 2 extra people a week, it is then your job to make those 2 people regulars or semi-regulars and exponentially grow the crowd!!

#3: There are usually multiple publications and Web sites that advertise live music and weekly karaoke shows for free. Check around your town and do a google search to see if you can hook that up for your show.

In dealing with ANYONE, it is very important that if you are going to ask for something or attempt to fix a problem (like you want to do with your owner and like he wants to do) then you have to be able to offer a suitable SOLUTION or COMPROMISE. In this case, your bar owner is not giving you that respect, but that doesn't mean you have to do the same back to him.

Tell him you want to talk about what you both can do in order to fix the problem. Offer up what you are going to do on your end (like my suggestions above) and ask if he can do a trial run of running a drink special during your karaoke, like maybe $1.00 off pitchers or $0.50 off domestics or even make a vat of watered down shots or jello shots for each show and sell the shots for $1.00 each, which he could easily make additional $$ or at least break even on. You'd be surprised how many more people will show up for $5.00 pitcher karoake night as opposed to just karaoke night where the pitchers are regular priced for $5.50. It is the signage around the bar and the sense that they are getting some sort of deal that brings em in!!

Then, again one more time, if your bar just sucks and you don't see it having the potential to improve, just get out before you get blamed for it!! Otherwise, be a proactive part of the solution!!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Thanks for all the tips, y'all. Please, keep 'em coming. I'm learning a lot. I like a lot of the ideas being offered. I appreciate the help.

For what it's worth.

I don't have experience in your capacity as a karaoke host but I do as someone who used to GM at small restaurants. Comparing what you've said above to what I've read online here, it sounds like the bar owner might be getting ready toss you for his own lack of marketing ability.

I don't mean to put blame on anyone but business owners panick at times when they should keep a level head to keep their businesses afloat. They grasp at straws and are willing to take chances to cut spending when they need to invest in a good plan. When you see a lot of work going down the tubes you might make bad decisions. To regain control some people will try to place blame because it gives them a certain amount of control over a situation that they feel is out of their control.

I would look for replacement gigs for those two nights just in case.

Good luck to you karaokeguy.

A bar that don't advertise itself isn't a very good place to work at.  Especially when they put the blame on others.  Tell him C YA!

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Mystery song night.  It doesn't cost anyone anything, unless someone actually sings the song.

Pick really obscure songs.  Seal them in an envelope and place the date on the envelope.  The song is revealed 30 mins prior to stopping the singing.  If anyone sings the song they get (name your prize her).  If not, then oh well, they can try again next week.  Our bar would put on the marquee 300.00 mystery song or he would just put up cash prizes.  Then you don't even have to have judges and all that stuff, you just save the song slips.

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

Name you prize....HER!

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[shadow=deepskyblue]I'm impressed, I've never met such a small mind inside such a big head before.[/shadow]

He needs to advertise.

Your job is to play karaoke and make every do their own thing.

If a guy doesn't tell people he's got the best hamburgers in town, who's gonna know, other than his regulars??!!

A little word of advice my new friend: 7 night a week places STILL advertise their karaoke! Not just small ads, either! Big honkin' ones! Week after WEEK!

Thanks, Chuck2. It's good to get perspective from a former bar manager. Those are the thoughts I was having but I didn't know if they were justified. I really appreciate it.

, yeah I wish!  They put in a couple of 1/8 page ads in a couple of the weekly local papers that deal with entertainment.  BUT at least they advertise weekly.  Yahoo search tacoma karaoke & we should be in the top 10.

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

HA HA HA!!! The typo gets me again!!!LOL...I guess if it is one of those strip bar karaoke places that could work.

On my previous post it is a bit deceptive, but it worked for that bar owner.  Everyone one wanted to sing the myster song.....  And for a while he had only one song in there...Mississippi Squirell revival...The only person that sings that song in that place is my husband and he was refusing to sing it for a while cause he was tired of it.....Just our luck!!!

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

i'm on the other side of the fence on this one.  i've always felt that it is my job to keep people inthe bar i also feel it's my duty to get people in the bar as well.  that being said, if a place right down the street is doling out drink specials, it is pretty tought to get folks in.  my suggestion is to sit down with the owner/manager sometime when you're not working and he's not working, like during the day when he first gets there go in a talk with him about a drink special or two.  you can tie it in to something that is going on at the time.  maybe there's a football game on TV and everytime there's a touchdown, a certain beer is on special.  another idea is to have the local beer girls come in some night.  it could draw some new folks that have never been there to see your show.  then you can WOW them and get them to come back.  that won't even cost the bar guy any cash!  another idea is to tell him to kiss your a$$, but then that probably won't work.

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All work and no play make Homer something something

The statement that your regulars go elsewhere is enough to me to C Ya Each venue you do shloud be increasing youe customer base. From experience I know that in a place where you are not doing that you are spinning your wheels The biggest asset you will acquire is singers that follow you wherever you go That way in your position right now it is a bargaining tool.. And thats what I woiuld tell him you cant even get your customers in there Its up to him to adapt you have fullfilled your part of the bargain...

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Singers will not necessarily follow you from venue to venue, not because of your show but for a variety of reasons.  Some could be work and other schedules, disposible income, they may have a variety of interests, location, or the venue or the people that frequent that particular venue or the prices.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I did a club once that bar did not want any advertising regarding karaoke even out.  I had made a nice vinyl banner made - at my expense, and he refused to allow it on the building.  He had a street sign with changeable letters, again, did not want anything put out - I even offered to change it.  I had an ad for MY business regarding the shows I played & he asked to be pulled out of that ad.  He finally explained his reason after a couple of months, apparantly ASCAP came in and started threatening him, saying they would have his license revoked & would need to pay thousands in fines unless they paid the yearly fees & catch up for the time they have been having entertainment.
I told him basically then he don't need entertainment - C YA!  He hasn't had any since.

Then I did another show that expected me to do ALL the advertising, but again, they were prohibited by the covenent to be able to have any kind of outside street signs or banners on the buildings so unless I wanted to shell out for print ads, I was stuck.  They were added to my ad in the local karaoke paper & all the search sites, which helped, but then another company came in, said they could do it cheaper PLUS advertise everything.  Well they went with them, the other company did the show for $75 cheaper than what I charged, ONLY advertising they did was an in house flier that read karaoke Monday nights with so & so!  They lost all but 2 of the regulars & didn't gain anymore.  I went in there a couple of times & there was 5 people sitting in the entire bar nursing beers both times, I had at least 20-25 all spending on Jagerbombs & other high price drinks.  They lasted 1 month & tried to get me back, unfortunatly they couldn't affor my new price  :no:

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Agreed 100% That is why if you have been in one venue for 2 years and not a chance of picking up some it is time for a change..

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