Karaoke Forums

Hi guys & ladies , What is your opinion on the minimum amount of music CDs & CD-G s that is a must have before doing paying gigs ? I totaly realize music is the biggest investment and is never ending as long as your in business . I would just like an idea of what mobil DJs start out with . thanks

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Michael Nardoni

It's not how many cd's you have. That makes no difference. It's the quality of songs. I started a show with about 1,600 carefully chosen songs & grew from there. Get a good solid "core" & work from there. Don't just buy a bunch of discs to say you have a bunch of discs. 1,600 well chosen songs will beat out 3,000+ crap versions anyday.

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

Yah--I gotta go with Lonnie on this one. I think we've all been to shows that think a big fat binder makes a good show (I've been guilty of this in the past) but sometimes less IS more. You really don't need 8 versions of Love Me Tender. Get a good version right off the bat and be done with it!

You gotta figure during the average show only 50-60 songs will get sung.

It's been my contention that I could pull 200 songs from my collection, burn them onto 15 discs and run my show from them (with a few exceptions, of course) because the same songs get sung over and over and over again. By the same token, there is always going to be one person at your show who will ask why you don't have a certain song. It never fails, whether you have 500 songs or 100,000 it will hapen.

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

a place just got shut down near me... well, the songbook was the factor why he couldn't keep people in the venue... but it would have shut down regardless... he was paying over $8,000 a month in RENT!

anyway, he had over 8,000 songs!! But they were all stuff off his personal discs. When I and several other people went in, we saw the size of the books and breathed a sign of relief, only to hold it in a moment later when we realized they were all garbage!! If you were a crooner, great, but when you have a library, it has to appeal to EVERYBODY!!!!

He had precious little that did.

He was doomed from the start!

Feel bad for him, but he was a fool!

It's already been said above - it's the selection and quality vs quantity. I also could pick out 200 songs and run a karaoke fine with just them as long as you know your crowd. But having said that, I'd say if you had a library that was 1600-1800 decent quality, you could get by initially. But you'd need to expand on that core starter group in order to get and stay current to keep the appeal.

I started out doing pizza shows with kj powerized tool kit. 10 cdg's!!!! That lasted about a week until I discovered Sound Choice. Now 8 years and 10,000 songs later I think I'm set. Yeah right.................. You can start small but that wont last long.

Thanks guys ! I like your story metal God , i've been hearing alot of good things about sound choice . Sound choice , appears like the best brand out there from the threads i've been reading .

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Michael Nardoni

As far as karaoke music, you generally get what you pay for. Sound Choice hit/miss ratio is far better than most of the brands but there are a few companies RAPIDLY gaining the quality at lower prices. As far as a core, the Sound Choice Foundations & Bricks are perfect.

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

I agree with Lonman 100%. The Sound Choice Foundations and Bricks will get you an excellent starting collection. Get them...you won't be sorry!

You might also do well to check out other local KJs to see how extensive their libraries are as well as the presentation and condition of their books. First impressions are important.

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Sounds Great! Entertainment
Bartlett, Illinois

A lot of it is relative also. That was a good comment about checking out the others in your area. If everyone else is operating on a 850 song library, you could look pretty good at 1500 or so. The comment about the condition of their books is a good one also. As you make your books, remember if you're playing in dimly lit bars, its hard to read small print. There's nothing worse than having to take the book to a light just to be able to read it. That's going to mean your books will be slightly more expensive due to the increased number of pages, but will be well worth the cost if they're easy to read.

For those who say size doesn't matter well they are not entirely correct. Quality is important, but many discs today are very good to decent in quality. There are many disc price points. You do need certain must haves, but library selection depends on the market you intend to serve. I wanted to cover a big market of NOT just night clubs. I do events outside as time allows. Buy for the market, age or demographic group you intend to cover.

I started out with what many years ago was a large library or 250 discs or about 4,500 songs. I carefully chose what people were singing at the karaoke we patronized at the time.

Karaoke is now an established industry and anyone wishing to get into this should understand that larger well established libraries are who you are competing for to get work. A library alone will guarantee nothing as the library is but a tool. Also a KJ should intimately know their library and have speed, as well as great people and business skills. It takes being able to wear many hats to be a success, and treat the customer well, know how to correctly operate the equipment sound mix and all.

At some point in the course of a year most discs get used. Some repeats are unavoidable so you can take them out of your book or know your library. There have been many times over the years that I was glad to have a duplication if a disc were to get scratched by grit in the binder, or I needed a specific brand preferred over something else. People who come out with me are serious about their singing. When people come in they want to sing their song, and if you have it they stay and many become loyal patrons. People come to me because they know I will 95 times out of 100 have their music.

Don't let people kid you. Although today since there are so many little companies with so many different kinds of discs people are buying their own personal discs. Even if I have it I have no problem dropping their disc in, as long as it is an original manufacturer disc. That is my policy.

STAR KARAOKE With KJ Host Debra Lewis

Huge books are cool, but not necessary. I like to go to a show that has a large book, but even in them large books, my song may not be there. You can't have everything & there is absolutely no reason to try unless you just want the bragging rights to say, "I have nearly every disc ever made but I list 30 versions of You're Still The One - Shania Twain too not to mention the massive duplicates on nearly every other song."
This in my opinon is a waste of space & if I went to a show with a book like that, unless the sound was SUPERB, I would more than likely turn around & walk out.



That would be great too, I still have discs in their original wrap from over 2 years ago that have never been played, so this statement in itself isn't entirely correct.

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

What I have stated is in fairness to newbies considering entering the karaoke market. I have stated what I did in starting out into business. There is more than one market for entrepreneureal KJ's to operate in. Customers are attracted on a regular basis because of the library and it's CONTENTS, along with the other things I mentioned as the library is a tool, an important one but still a tool.

Business goes on successfully unaffected by the opinion. It is not bragging to let a KJ or future KJ understand that they are going up against established and bigger competition. Deluding oneself about the business climate is futile. I have yet in going on 8 years to see ANYONE walk out because of an large, good song selection.

I often get the remarks from ONLINE KJ's who cry multiple versions of, well that is not prudent to have tons of dupliucates but they are unavoidable, and unless a KJ were to have their own problems of not being able to manage their library, some duplication is also not a problem. Sticking one's head in the sand or screaming "YOU MUST HAVE NOTHING BUT DUPLICATIONS," is childishness. NO PLACE did anyone say they had EVERY disc made. There was no call for snideness.

I am sorry your picks for your library have not been used, as I stated mine do see the light of day in the year. This is why I stress that a KJ should know his/her market and buy accordingly. The library and my patrons get my jobs for me.

On a more personal note: I have not had to stump for my work, so I don't think people are walking out.

I do not buy this, i'm sorry. People get bored of music - especially the newer stuff as it loses it's hold on the public. As many songs as you state you have, there is absolutely no way that the majority of your discs gets used in a years time. The majority of the singing public sing the same songs they are comfortable with & occasionally will branch off to a new song, then you have song that sing all the new songs while dropping older tunes.
I've been in this business for nearly 14 years now & have a good size selection, yes bought for the singing customers at my shows only, some personal songs of course but mostly for the customers. Customers come & go, this is unavoidable. Some of the songs you may have purchased for a customer in 1992 may NEVER see the light of day again. Half of my laser collection hardly gets used anymore. Customers & singers change on a regular basis. Our crowds shift around every couple years (this is pretty standard in this area). People either get bored with karaoke, meet mates & settle down, quit partying as much as they used to, die, whatever. People are turning 21 everyday so there is an endless supply of singers to come. Will they want the songs the older karaoke people wanted (& older I mean original junkies), maybe/maybe not & most likely alot of those discs are not going to be used anymore.

You do not need a large selection to get into this business & survive. You need a good solid, quality selection that you can grow on with your customers requests. I know of a show that runs about 3,000 songs - BY CHOICE (go figure) & is very successful to the point they are packed every night. College crowd only aged 21-28, has a basic core set & as far as new discs, buys all new stuff only & deletes anything over 5 years old to keep his library fresh but manageable. I don't believe in deleting songs (unless they are duplicates).

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

I too am speaking for experience and you are wrong on this one. But you are entitled to your opinion and it is just that, not fact. The fact is I play many different markets or groups of people parties and events, and my experience says otherwise for the business I do. If your market is the limited then yes your experience for YOUR library would be correct. You are operating form YOUR market's perspective. Mine is not so limited. Doors are wide open for that reason for different work, markets, events, and clubs. So technically from where you are coming from you that might be a correct assumption. If you want to be able to work a wide variety of demographics, events, etc., then a KJ would be wise to develop a good library to be able to compete If you have been lucky at this then that is good. In the real world see who does better, a 1,000 song library or a 8,000 song library given all other factors of sound, etc., are equal. Remember the tools are only part of the equation.

Ok!

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

Starkaraoke i used to go too the same bar every friday , and they had karaoke . I personaly am not a big karaoke singer , but i enjoy watching other people sing . And this what i noticed this bar attracted the same click of karaoke people every week , and this group sang the same songs every week to the point you want to say heyyy venture out and sing something new for god sake . So i lean on not agreeing with you 100% .

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Michael Nardoni

As I said know your market. In that instance I agree with YOU! Small library, no changes no growth, NO PROBLEM. I am not that kind of show. People come to me for the new songs as well as the selection. For that kind of show and venue if it ain't broke don't fix it, if they see a slump it might be time to re evaluate their show.

I am actively competeing for business. I try to keep the show virtal as competition is fierce and small shows abound. I knew I had to make my show and hiring me for various events outside the clubs attractive and get the songs needed to do that. It is not for all to do what I do unless you are aiming outside the clubs. It is important to have the right variety and a LARGE ENOUGH library to compete with established companies around you. Choices are inportant to meet the neeeds of the market you target to be customers.

Most shows I visit, including my own, have regulars that sing their same songs week after week. In a 4+ hour show, last I measured, about 60 something songs would get sung. I think I could probably guess more than half of them on most nights. There are exceptions for sure - new people drop by or a regular tries something different, but for the most part it's pretty predictable. I expand the selection regularly, it's a personal approach I've always had, and since I do a lot of mobile and fill-in work, and it pays for itself. New offerings sometimes also might entice a regular (especially if it was obtained as a request!). I know of some successful shows that never seem to do it - and if that works for them, who am I to say anything negative.

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Sounds Great! Entertainment
Bartlett, Illinois