Karaoke Forums

Now I don't want this to go straight to his head  LOL, but Bigdog (and a few others) were right when they said that especially long karaoke contests can cause problems for a bar.  Last July and August my favorite place had a six week or so karaoke contest for money prizes ($750 grand prize).  Everybody seemed to be excited while it was going on, attendance was great. There was some infighting going on, but in general the attitude seemed good overall.  But after the night of the final event, attendance fell off sharply for the regular karaoke nights and a few singers stopped showing up completely.  Was this just a coincidence, can't say for sure one way or the other -- but something sure happened!

I've seen it happen and read about it here too.

I think you hit the nail on the head, Odie.

I abhor contests. By the time I am drunk enough to enter one I am way too drunk to sing.

And I do NOT like getting drunk.

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

A few others said it first.....
http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic. ... 11&start=0

BD was just being a sheepeole

The only way I see a karaoke contest working (ie: not peeing off people) is if it NEVER ENDS.  That way people will always be singing to try to win some $$$$.

Good point. But it would lose people like me who get so scared they cannot sing in a contest environment. (Which is a totally SUCKY personatliy trait, by the way. I am working on it....)

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

It's better than being "Sheepdip."



Yes you are right again....not

I have never said a contest will kill your business before...???????

Well, let me tell ya, CONTESTS may bring some people out that never go to Karaoke, which might mean an increase in attendance and sales for a short period of time, but in the long run, they WILL hurt a business, in one way or another.

Contets create EXACTLY what is happening in the SS.  ILL FEELINGS between the singers, hostility between the "fans' of each contestant, and inevitably .... ONE happy person and waaaaaaaaay too many very unhappy people.  Ask anyone who's ever entered a contest and not won, for a reason other than they obviously goofed.  If they did a great job and didn't win  ~~~ SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE JUDGING or the design of the contest, or the bar it was held in .... yada yada yada .....
 
We run a KARAOKE show and we will never run a contest that pits our singers against one another.  If we did, I GAURANTEE .... we'd have significantly fewer followers ~~ because the kinds of ill feelings that develop ARE transfered to the people running the contest, the people they competed against, and ultimately to the establishment that hosted the event.

Contests and Karaoke do NOT shake hands well ... for those KJ's running weekly shows.

At least not in OUR experience!  

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[shadow=tomato]If you want your significant other to pay attention to EVERY word you say::
  TALK IN YOUR SLEEP   [/shadow]  

mawnin CC honey  :hug:  :wave:

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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."

  Mornin' gorgeous!!!  How ya doing today??  Its 3 degrees here... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr~~~

oops.... this is off topic.  We need to start an I SEE YOU thread .... so we can shout out hellos each day!! Whatcha think?

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[shadow=tomato]If you want your significant other to pay attention to EVERY word you say::
  TALK IN YOUR SLEEP   [/shadow]  

Contests are definitely hazardous to my health.  As soon as I enter one, my stomach turns to mush, my throat tightens up, I'm just a mess.  However, if it's just karaoke with no competition, I'm fine! It's the stupidest thing!  LOL

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I competed in several contests before becoming a KJ and got my fill of it. Did 1 contest as a KJ in one of the first bar gigs that I had...and I was determined to run a totally fair contest so folks would not be slighted....boy was I in for an education There is no such thing in the contestants eyes.  It was great for business on 3 consecutive weekends that it was held, the place was packed and people came from everywhere to sing and there was some great talent but after the event was over it took 2 months to get many of the regulars to get over the hurt feelings that they did not even place in the top 3 in their own bar. Oh the flack that I rec'd  :O  LMAO

It's been 8 years since that happened and I will never EVER do that again

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

I concur about the downside of contests.  Never entered one; never will.  I try to avoid venues when there is a contest going on.   I know one guy locally who used to do backup singing on many well know recordings.  Great voice!  Admits that he rarely goes to Karaoke, but used to "make a living" off of the contests!  And why shouldn't he?  But what does that do for karaoke?  And, I too, have seen attendance die off in places right after a contest.

hehe there are some places that have first song you do, you get a free beer .


ahhh the good ol' days.

then there are places that have all the singers names put in a cup and at the end of the night do a draw for $20 . keeps the attendance up.

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I'm in my own little world,but it's ok they know me here.

http://www.myspace.com/faile_x2

I hate contests ! No matter how fair you try to be, people still get their feelings hurt , and accuse either the KJ or the establishment of a "rigged" outcome.

I have done everything from votes by applause to actually bringing in professional musicians/singers to act as judges. It's always the same. And yes. While it may bring in some additional revenue for a while, it's very short lived. Not to mention you still end up losing singers because of many a bruised ego.

Check my signature- I MEAN it!  

            1)  Any newbies who may become regs will be intimidated by the talent and won't sing.


            2)  Regular singers who don't want to enter will get ticked due to the lack of air time and look elswhere for a place to sing.


            3)  Any customer gain will disappear after the contest as the singers return to their home venues.


            4)  If the judging is by applause, the singer with the most friends wins.  Impartial judges?  If they are anywhere near local, they will know at least some of the singers. Karaoke is a community unto itself.  Even if not, no one will BELIEVE they're impartial.  Result:  Hurt feelings and a loss of even more customers who think they got jobbed. Why do they leave?  Because they blame ME.  Which also means they won't come to my OTHER venues.

            5)   I get to deal with the egos, hurt feelings, the bickering,- for what? Pay's the same.

                            I've seen 4 shows completely shut down due to contests.  If my venue owner wants a contest, he's gotta hire some one else. No exeptions.

I avoid 'em like the plague!  I'd rather just sing for fun with no pressure.  Plus, if it's a contest that goes on for several weeks, there's no point in my entering 'cuz I'm not able to be there every week.  I did sit thru' one contest once (I wasn't in it), and it seemed to take a looooooooonnnnnnng time!  Meanwhile, I was itchin' to get up there and do more singing (but not in the contest, thank you)!

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I love being a mom!

I've only attended one contest - the prize was for five hundred dollars - Every professional singer witin a hundred miles showed up.  There was no way an average or even a way above average singer had a chance.

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Singing just for you

Does St Louis have some good karaoke places?
We bring the motorhome up to St Louis during the summer and would love to find some places to sing.
Thanks!!

Think of karaoke contests in this way:

Karaoke is designed to be a FUN, RECREATIONAL version of a much more competitive industry.

It is a mirror image of the intent of rec league soccer for little kids. It is meant to be FUN and RECREATIONAL. Sure, there are kids that are good and will soon be playing at higher levels designed to be more competitive, but at the recreational level most of the players are pretty darn bad at soccer and will never make it to the competitive levels.

Now, what would you accomplish at the RECREATIONAL level of soccer for little kids by trying to host a SKILLS competition? In fact, just to make it worse, we'll go ahead and invite all of the kids from the COMPETITIVE division to come compete in the REC skills competition.

All you are going to get is embarrassment. Kids that were good in the REC division are going to lose badly to kids from the competitive division in the REC SKILLS COMPETITION and have their feelings hurt, and all of the parents are going to cry foul for having such a competition in the first place. So you've alienated all of those players, and they might not sign up to play in this league ever again.

Even worse, most of the kids that stink in the REC division are not even going to show up, since most of their parents are well aware that there is no point. So there you've alienated your bread and butter customers that make up most of the league, and they certainly are not going to sign up again next year if you don't do away with the skills competition.

So who benefits at all? Well, it is the kids from the competitive league who were allowed to compete in the REC skills competition. And guess what? They most certainly are not going to be signing up for REC soccer next season, because they play at a higher level in an entirely different league!!

So who's left to fill your REC soccer league? Only those with really thick skin or those who are REALLY, FREAKISHLY addicted to soccer (even though they may kinda stink at it!), and don't know of any other leagues to play in!!

I think you get the point, and this is EXACTLY what happens when you host a karaoke contest!! Why in the world would you want to take an event that is designed to be a fun, low pressure, passive event and hold a competition that promotes the exact OPPOSITE values?

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I will IM you later about this!  Thanks for asking.

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I love being a mom!