Karaoke Forums

Oh please, it's a generous, FREE offer.

I once got a coupon for a free Pizza Hut pizza. Should I have made them pay me for my time to go pick it up?

Using Chris' comparison for health inspections of a restaurant, the owner doesn't get to charge them for their time. I know I didn't when we had our coffee shop.

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

You don't even have time to chase all the roaches & rats out........it's a surprise visit....on your time....

Joe - I know this will seem to be directed at you, but it isn't. I have seen other people mention this in the last year. It was just your post that placed the proverbial straw on the camel's back. It isn't personal.

I don't understand why some karaoke hosts don't comprehend the term "cost of doing business". My time is worth just as much as any of you, and I spend a LOT of time doing karaoke related things that I am not directly compensated for.

My online research time, driving time and gas to Guitar Center or other gear shop to check out or buy gear.......uncompensated.
My online research time, driving time, gas, and talk time with a pitch to bar owners.......uncompensated.
My time searching eBay and Craigslist for karaoke music.......uncompensated.
My time participating in karaoke and music related forums so I can stay in touch with the industry.......uncompensated.
My time and expense for designing and printing business cards, banners, flyers and other marketing.......uncompensated.
My time ripping and renaming files......uncompensated (I would be able to retire if I was paid for just this).

ALL of these things are necessary investments in the business of karaoke that have an element of risk associated with them. There is no guarantee that any of them will directly result in increased income. When they do, it is almost impossible to quantify and set a fee for so it can be replicated and associated with a gig or activity.

An argument could be made that ultimately all of the things above result in compensation------>*IF*<------they result in a new gig, or an existing gig gets more days or an increase in compensation per night.

------>*IF*<------

There is no guarantee.

The time it takes anyone to do an audit on JUST Sound Choice should take no more than 2-3 hours. Any one of the items I listed above consumes more time in a single month (and for some a single week or even day) than the time for an audit. Considering the audit is a one time affair, and all the others repeat over time, the audit is the most cost effective of any of the items.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.......some of us have been doing karaoke forever, have a name and don't have to market ourselves. Gigs just fall in our laps or we have been doing the same show for years. Some of us only buy small quantities of music and never peruse eBay or Craigslist. Some of us only replace gear when it breaks or we have spare gear sitting in our garage already. Some of us make a bajillion dollars per gig and only do karaoke because we want to. Some of us are ODB and don't rip and rename.

But....if you are reading this.....you are here. I know for a fact that most of us have spend untold hours reading and replying in the forums. MOST of us have done one or more of the things I listed above. MOST of us invest a lot of time in the karaoke business which receives no direct compensation.

That is the cost of doing business.....

For a karaoke host to demand payment for time dedicated to a ONE TIME, 2-3 hour audit......well......think about it.

-Chris

_________________
-Chris

Ah here we go again these things are done because YOU WANT TO not because YOU HAVE TO!

My day job requires a physical, guess what the company pays for it and not only that they pay me to go get one! It also requires me to make sure the company vehicle I drive is clean and maintained, guess what they pay me for the time I'm doing that too!

That being said if SC requires an audit they ought to pay you for your time.


Here's a thought for SC and all the others. Offer free audits, but if you don't pass you have to pay the $125.00 and clean up you mess. This is the way that NORMAL inspectors work things.

If you get a very bad score on a health inspection the close you down until you fix the problems, no problems no fees.

If you get audited by the IRS and the find something guess what, YOU PAY or GO TO JAIL, if they can't find anything no problem.

If the building inspector finds that you electrician wired something wrong you don't pass and have to fix the problem, if he don't find anything then no problem.

If you go to get your state car inspection and it don't pass, guess what it costs you to get it fixed so it can pass, if they don't find anything wrong you get your sticker and on your way you go.

_________________
I like everyone when I first meet them. If you don't like me that's not my problem it's YOURS!
A stranger is a friend you haven't met yet

For the record, I did not offer anyone, including smoothedge69, a "free" audit. I was merely pointing out that his objection isn't how much the audit costs, but whether it is done at all. He doesn't think it's legitimate, so he doesn't want even a free one.

I do find it amazing (actually I don't) that people will hear or read just the parts they want and don't hear or read the whole thing. This is especially so when they see a short video of a perceived abuse but the circumstances change dramatically when the whole thing is shown. Of course that is par for course in 30 sec news clips.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

No fees? Well, ok, but definitely a loss in business sales - costs money which you didn't have to lose if you would have kept a clean place to begin with. But sometimes fines can be imposed as well.

You don't necessarily go to jail, they often work out payment plans.

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

It's more that I think it is unnecessary, invasive, AND SC is NOT a government agency. I don't believe that SC should have that much power that they can just audit people's stuff. Timberlea, don't even bother with your Capitalistic one liners. To my way of thinking, SC is a vendor. The are karaoke peddlers. That is it. How many record companies come over to your house to make sure you are using their CD content according to their ideas of what is right?? How many bands come over to your house to audit you?? Imagine if every company that produces and sells music decided to audit their customers. There would be ni music business because people would get fed up really fast.

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Sounded like an offer to me.....you said you'd do it for the sake of some guy named Curiosity or Curios George....something like that...

Sony Records sure as hell wrote me a cease and desist and threatened with lawsuit letter back in the Napster days - around 99-2000. Napster and file sharing was still a new thing, nobody (users anyway) really thought anything of it. After that I started opening my eyes to what the problem was and quit downloading for free through those types of sites.

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

Smooth if you're using it in your house, no problem. You use it in public, problem. And if you didn't read it before, the government gave the copyright and trademark holders the right to investigate and sue. Part of that process is discovery where the Defendant has to produce. You may not like it but I didn't like the fact I had to pay my ex but I did. Suck it up Buttercup, it is the world you live in. Of course I suppose you could start a rebellion to take over and change things.

Lonnie, you're right. I guess some people expect 20 pt headlines when a producer launches a lawsuit.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

Only sound choice and Digitrax cares. Nobody else cares. None of the other karaoke companies are suing people for media-shifting. None of the other companies are auditing people and sending out inspectors to look at shows. Ever wonder why? Hmmm, maybe they realize the expense and the bad reputation aren't worth the effort. SC seems to have a terrible reputation. When you get bar owners saying they don't want the product used in their clubs, that is a bad reputation. If Digitrax starts chasing people THEY will end up with the same bad reputation. The problem will never go away, and chasing KJ, especially single rig KJs will not net them any profits.

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Smooth, we all know you'd like to do shows and not have to lay out money for music. That was in your first thread. Since then all you been doing is complain. For karaoke it may be only SC and Digitrax, but so what, it is their right, given by government to do so. Further as Lonnie said Sony and I have no doubt the other major labels (both music and video) not to mention Disney have whole departments seeking out and suing infringers. As for other producers you have no idea if any are or are not doing anything. You are full of assumptions thinking no one is going after pirates, infringers or whatever. Just because you haven't seen it on tv or the papers you think nothing is going on or no one is doing anything. As for you using my quote about illegal activities continuing even after many are caught, prosecuted, convicted and punished, you're right it does continue. Again so what. Are we as a society supposed to not do anything just because people continue with criminal and civil actions? So maybe we should suspend all law enforcement, because it doesn't work and people will continue to offend. Talk about naive.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

Well, at least you finally wrote more than one sentence. It was pointless, but you are getting better. Sony is not interested in KJs. There is no money to be had there. Maybe if you run a big entertainment company you would be a target. What would Sony get from a guy like me?? I run one show. I own one rig. I am making minimal money, right now. It's not like I am turning massive profit. I am still just getting going and getting my name out there. Sony would not be interested in me because it would cost much more to sue me than they could ever get from me. The record labels already went that route and got hammered for naming little kids and grandparents in lawsuits for downloading free songs. That effort went nowhere. They now are interested in people who are downloading massive amounts of music and selling it for profit. They aren't going to worry about some guy who uses Spotify at a gig to play some music between karaoke songs, for example.

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

The reference to Sony was your question
Well they didn't come to my house, but they definitely sent me a legal letter - found through my IP address and sent to my physical address. So yes, record companies do in fact do this.

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

Yeah, for downloading music. They didn't sue you out of existence. They sent you a letter. They worked through your ISP and sent you a letter to scare you into stopping. Big deal. Sony didn't name you in a suit, automatically like SC would do if they saw you running their stuff off a computer. I can respect what Sony did to get you to stop.

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Just because they aren't auditing yet doesnt mean they don't care about theft of their product.



Yet.



Meh. A half a dozen bars nationwide does not a trend make. The claims of SoundChoice being demonized are vastly overated.

Bazza, you are one of the BIGGEST SC cheerleaders around. WHY would I take ANYTHING you say seriously?? If you had your head any further up the butt of the Sleps you could be a hat!!

_________________
I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Excellent, adult post. Besides. Why let facts get in the way of your little tirade?

Just steal the music like you intended on day one and get it over with already.