Karaoke Forums

A separate thread is going that has spun into this area so I thought I would put this up as a separate topic?

Who are the leaders of the KJ industry as far as all of you are concerned? Leaders here, leaders on other social portions of the web, and leaders that people look up to that may not active on the social portions of the web???

Who?

Ryan

Well. part of that question is fairly easy to answer, the other quite difficult.

As far as mfrs. go:

For music ( no matter which is specifically a favorite-or not) it would be those who are actually in the business of karaoke music PRODUCTION, not that of professional litigation for profit. These might include:

Pocket Songs, SyberSound, All Star, Stellar, DT, etc., though reps from overseas companies such as Zoom and Capitol would certainly have current expertise and information to share as well. I would imagine the download hosts would like a Q&A from their favorite site owners as well.

Technical advice ( including some basic instruction seminars for newbies) and news of new developments from equipment mfrs. experts such as EV, FBT, Peavey, QSC, Yamaha, Alesis, and many others on sound, lighting, power, etc. would certainly be welcome. I'm also sure the PC hosts would learn from the reps of the companies that make their favorite software.

For sales and promotion I would go with either a rep from a well known advertising agency, or the head of that department from a nationally known service organization- not neccesarily karaoke connected.

I would most certainly include a business consultant from any major accounting firm. Why? Though extremely talented in their fields, many top KJs may not be as well versed in all of the ins and outs of running their businesses as they should be. Talented and with plenty of work, they still may not be optimizing their earning capability, and may well be financially hurting themselves.



Of course, all of the above is a gimme.

The question of industry leaders among the unique and independent individuals that make up the Karaoke Hosting community is a much more difficult one to answer. This is because Karaoke Hosts seem to be separatists by nature- there is no large organization from which there is a nationally recognized group of leaders.

Even the most successful and well known hosts are such pretty much within their own work area.

I would say that this forum actually includes some of the best. I guess an industry leader could be some of those that are hightly respected here- but again this would be subjective.

In other words, I have no answer in regard to Karaoke Hosts, and I really have no idea who would.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

The over seas song makers are definitely the leaders right now. Most of that is due to the difference in licensing. By getting and upholding such strict laws on copyright control, US publishers may be shooting themselves in the foot. A single license point for all types seems to be working very well overseas.
This may be a good side topic to cover at your show.

I disagree with Joe's exclusion of Sound Choice (he said it without saying it) as a leader in the industry. No one can dispute that they WERE a leader at one point. They are still in business despite having not produced any new content in about 5 years now. Many could argue that Stellar, while having produced content regular during that same time, hasn't produced much relevant content. What they have produced isn't getting used and so it isn't much different than having nothing to use from Sound Choice.

Regardless, Kurt and Sound Choice have a ton of experience about the world of karaoke, and if we can get Kurt to talk about something other than piracy, then he has a lot of history and information that could be offered.

As for the leaders in the industry, I do agree with Joe that will be harder to pin down. Of the US based KJ's, only a small fraction of them are here. Many have been around a long time though and have formed networks outside of Karaoke Scene that could be tapped. The Old Jolters Home Forum on Facebook is chock full of old school, long term KJ's that would be a great resource of KJ related information. There are many KJ's there that were a part of the Karaoke.com Jolt forums back in the day. I would recommend joining the forum and asking some questions there. Just be prepared for some equally strong opinions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/187394555091/

-Chris

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-Chris

Yea I was more looking for Kjs that you guys/ladies look up to that I should be talking to about being involved in Karaoke conferences and about articles in the magazine on the topic.

Ryan

I can only provide local references -

Lonnie (Lonman on these forums) has been running a show for 20+ years at the same venue in Tacoma.

The remainder I will PM to you so as to not violate any forum policies.

-Chris

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-Chris

I bought the Gem plus 55 CD's two years ago. It was a great investment. At my gigs SC is played well over 90% of the time for my English songs, and the sound quality is unmatched... It also helps having top notch equipment, special thanks to Lonnie, you never steered me wrong... Granted we dropped near 12,000 in software and equipment, but it's sweet being told were the best in the valley... Another note; the current music is trendy. I seem to get the songs they ask for and they burn out after a few months. My SC lives on...

I agree, not only are they the leaders, they make the best high quality sounding tracks!!

What Chris Said.

There are others who are influential but Lonnie probably has the highest profile.

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'A genius is one who can do anything except make a living'. Joey Adams.

I second what Chris said & second & third Marble. Known Lonnie since karaoke.com’s Jolt & SC’s Sound Board forums. Besides marble's description as influential & with the highest profile I would like to add ‘knowledgeable, relevant & credible’ to Lon’s resume’. Seriously!!

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

definitely at the top of the heap. you want to know something about the karaoke industry Lon is the first to ask.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Especially Zoom and SBI. Zoom is excellent for Pop stuff, and SBI is kicking serious A$$ on Country. The renditions are VERY close, and the sound quality is unmatched by anything coming out of the US. And there is SC, wallowing away. I have three shows that I do, and only ONE person has asked for a SC song. I told her my reasons for not supporting them, and she was fine with it. I have been giving her SBI songs, and she is perfectly happy, and comes in every week, even though there is another show right up the road from where I am, that is run by a guy with a Cloud subscription. I am proving that you can run a successful show without SC being a major player. My shows are growing every week, and I am making connections for other shows.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

BIG DITTO!!!!



Really Chris???????

SC, yes back in the day, was a leader. But calling them an industry leader when they produce nothing new??????

If you really want to make a difference in the karaoke industry, then talk to Joe from zoom. AWESOME guy to talk to, I have had a couple of conversations with him via email.


Until the publishers get their heads out of their butts and adapt a model closer to what the UK is doing *either by getting the copyright laws updated, or by gettting the publishers to agree to it* karaoke in north america will NEVER improve.

You want to fight piracy do EXACTLY what itunes did. Offer people what they want at a price they can afford.

I agree with Joe about getting some of the equipment companies involved. And altho I have never personally talked or met Lon, he has been an absolute WEALTH of advice and ideas on this board..

just my two cents,
for what its worth

-James

Chris, please keep in mind that I have not been quite so vehement as many others in regard to Kurt's exclusion.

However, you answered your own statement. They WERE quite successful, and I would add that in the beginning they seemed quite adept at marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, their karaoke production business failed some years ago. Unlike some who believe it was all because of piracy, it is my opinion that mismanagement was a much more dominant culprit, as evidenced by severall costly actions by that company.

That being the case, I would simply be more inclined to learn about that end from those who are currently successful. Not only because their strategies seem to be working, but because they are more up-to-date, as they are in proccess NOW.

That being said: As others have noted- and I would agree- it is my opinion that Kurt would be more inclined to speak of his current litigation agenda than karaoke production, and THAT would probably be a complete waste of time for a working Karaoke Host. Convention time could certainly be spent in a more productive manner learning from those actually involved in positively contributing to the karaoke industry.

Would Kurt's attendance have any weight at all in regard to my decision to attend? Absolutely not.

Would I spend a single moment of my valuable time listening to what I believe would be an "Agenda Spiel" that has absolutely no bearing on my business? Again, absolutely not.

Of course, this is just my personal choice, though others posting on this subject seem to feel the same way.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Can you still buy their music retail? Yes.
Do people still use their music at karaoke? Yes.
Are there still hosts that swear by Sound Choice over other brands? Yes.
Are people STILL stealing Sound Choice material 5 years after they last made a disc? Yes.

Do I stand by what I said? Yes.

-Chris

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-Chris

But those people who are stealing SC material (even 5 year old material), are the same people who are stealing EVERYTHING ELSE with it, just so they can say they have a library of 100K+... so that makes that question (the one I changed to RED) a moot point.

No they haven't made anything in 5 years.
DK hasn't made anything in almost 13 years, yet still highly desirable among kj's and preferred by many over other brands, yet we don't hear people saying they aren't an important part of the karaoke industry as far as selection. Obviously people still seek these sets out (and pay top dollar for the original 99) and supplement the rest of the years with other brands. Same with SC, they made music to 2009. At my shows, people prefer and do in fact ask for SC versions if possible. To say SC isn't viable anymore because they do not make music anymore is rediculous.

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

Yes, SC music is viable and very much desired. A leader in the industry.
On the other hand, SC the company as they now exist, is not viable. A dinosaur.

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Perhaps a simpler, and more accurate, way of putting it would be that SC might still be viable in THEIR industry, but maybe not in YOURS...