Karaoke Forums

He'd have to call it something else... maybe "Jewel Set"... otherwise he'll be sued by SC for copyright infringement on their name.

How about "Tarnished Set"

Bruce, why should I post one of my homemade songs that are just for me? A Powerkaraoke made song is very similar looking to the standard kinds. I don't hand out my songs to other people, so I'm afraid you will need to try Powerkaraoke yourself.

Also, Earthling: good info. thanks much.

If you don't mind me asking: Are you saying that bars with karaoke are paying a fee to 3 organizations? I wonder how much to each? Also, has there ever been a 3rd party audit of these Ascap places to ensure that the artist is truly being paid?

I liked what someone else wrote about how the karaoke songs are slow in getting older songs to market.
Hence, why I use Powerkaraoke. Amazon instrumental Songs that makers would have never produced. I refuse to sing standard karaoke disks. Crummy sound and the words give no clue to pitch or pauses. Poor job by the makers. And they have the nerve to bother people who try to do a better job making a private disk.
I realize that you all say that i shouldn't worry. but the many hosts worry. hence they don't play my songs for fear of fines etc. This whole karaoke business will decline unless someone cleans this up. You cana only sing Sweet Caroline so many times!

I am age 66. My songs were written in 1940-50's. I guess there are no time limits on a song? EG maybe a band re-produced the songs only 4 years ago etc etc.

So I guess TIME does not become a factor for legally singing a homemade karaoke song not for sale.

Ascap wrote back to my request about using a homemade not for sale karaoke disk.
They punted. So much for asking about those legal issues for me the host and bar.
Just no real answer provided. But Ascap apparently doesn't mind fining someone at anytime.
Smells to me. How much really goes back to each artist? Hopefully external auditors are used.

"Thank you for your email. ASCAP only issues public performance licensing. You will need to contact the music publishers regarding your request. Publisher information for works in the ASCAP repertory is available at our website. Click on the ACE Repertory GO button, then click on Search the Database. Publisher
contact information will be displayed for works in the ASCAP repertory. For works not in our repertory, please check BMI http://www.bmi.com/search/, and SESAC http://www.sesac.com/repertory/repertory_main.asp. For other assistance with locating publishers you can also try the Music Publishers Association at http://www.mpa.org.

@ gpierce9: you need to take a deep breath and count to ten. You are not going to be burned, hung, crucified, or stoned for making your own karaoke song. Nor will you be persecuted, ridiculed or sued. There are so many much bigger things going on that would way outweigh your "infringement". I would not lose sleep over it and enjoy your new creation. You have beat this to death.

thanks Mr. M. I will take your advice. thanks

Honestly, that is the only answer ASCAP can provide you. They are not qualified to provide the answer to your question. That would fall directly with the publishers. Ask them if you want an official answer as you seem to want. Even then, I am sure there will be qualifiers. I would dare say that NO ONE will give you a rock solid answer. The reason why is because the copyright laws are so convoluted and screwed up. And they want them that way on purpose is my only way to see it.

One thing you can pretty much bank on and it's in the post just above. Even if they found it (in the context you've provided) they are not going to care enough to do much (if anything) about it.

You are so VERY welcome and I am glad you took no offense to my comment.

All U fellows were great and helpful. thanks. Heck, Maybe I'll make a new song, "Old Man River" to go with my grey hair.

Bars with ANY kind of music entertainment, be it live bands, dj, karaoke, tv, radio, etc - have to pay all three organizations to be in compliance. It's based on how many nights and capacity of the bar. Our bar pays approx $1200 per year to BMI alone. I would imagine it's about the same to the other 2, so around $300 a month, which breaks down to about $1 per day for coverage for all 3 entities for the year.


There are plenty of great tracks out that are very obscure to karaoke. I cannot remember the last time I heard Sweet Caroline for that matter. But the only hosts that typically worry about playing someones stuff are usually playing in clubs that aren't paying their fees. Or they just flat out will not. I know hosts on this very board that flat out refuse to play discs or files. Not because of legal issues mind you, but because they do not want to! 1 kj here believes it is 'rude' to bring something in, if you can imagine that. He claims it's like buying something at Walmart & bringing it back to K-Mart in a Walmart bag (which I never understood).
So the the ones that won't play them don't necessarily fear any legal issues, they just won't!

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ASCAP only fines those that are not paying their fees - ie the clubs. Since an individual, kj, dj cannot get performance licensing, there is no worries on our end - unless the club is not paying.


Right! This would be the permission needed to create the tracks and lyrics reproduction/sync rights. If you can find actual original discs or albums, usually they have written in fine print who the actual publisher of that particular track would be, then you contact them if you wanted to try to acquire proper licensing.

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[quote="gpierce9"]Bruce, why should I post one of my homemade songs that are just for me? A Powerkaraoke made song is very similar looking to the standard kinds. I don't hand out my songs to other people, so I'm afraid you will need to try Powerkaraoke yourself.
quote]

I was only interested in the quality of which you speak. I have already made quite a few karaoke tracks using both Karaoke Bulder Studio and Power Karaoke Builder. I thought I might have been able to pick up a tip or two from you by seeing the way you make your karaoke tracks. I might have also been able to give you some advice to make your tracks look a little bit better? Many people here post their singing efforts on the Singers Showcase to get an outside opinion on their performances. I was not trying to get a song from you to get you in some sort of trouble. If you don't know, Power Karaoke also has a program called Sound Toolz 2 where you can cut out a section of a karaoke file and and send it to someone so they would NOT have the entire song. If you thought that your karaoke tracks were so much better than what the regular karaoke Manufacturers make, I would think that you would want to prove it. If they were really good, I'd be the first one to tell you so. If they were really bad quality; I'd offer some advice as to how to make them better.

I guess I'll just have to give you the benefit of the doubt.

GPierce....why dont you post one of your original/hybrid tunes up here on Singers Showcase....at least we'd get to HEAR what one sounded like. I've been doing that for years on SS. For music tracs I use either Karaoke tracs that are so obscure that no one would recognize them, instrumentals off blues cd's or cuts from guitar practice learning cd's with my own original lyric and vocal arrangement compositions. I've recorded and compiled about 3 cd's worth of these. I even sent a cd of these put together of a specific Blues Lable to the lable's owner(friend of mine) and he told me to get a band together and he'd record me. One song I posted here I got a request from a guy in Texas wanting to copy and use it for thier swing dance club....but I told him no as I didnt own copyright for the music. I tried once to make complete karaoke songs like you.....but found the process too difficult and tedious so gave up on it. Plus I would have to wonder about KJ's willingness to play homemade at shows given the present climate. So, hey post a couple of your originals up here and lets here em'!!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Plus GPierce....what do you use for backing music? Were these recordings made from your own band you were in and did you compose the original music for these?

Myself, well I'm 55 and have KJ'd for about 10 years. I'm not a musician and niether read, speak nor write music language, but do have a knack for composing musical lyrics/rhymes in the Blues, Jazz and Swing genres. I've been in two small bands, one a 3-piece traditional harmonica blues band (played 3 live shows at a coffee house) and a classic rock garage band that couldn't find a bass player and never made it out of the garage. And what I've come to experience is that real musicians and karaoke backgrounds don't seem to mix too well. So composing and recording or recording karaoke songs is nothing more than a hobby for me. As for trying to get my own band and performing for real.......well there's really not much demand for a fat middle aged white guy lead blues singer!! So it's Karaoke for me!!

.......Maybe if I knew how to play blues harp!!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Wow. U fellows are very interesting. BTW, I used to play a blues/regular harmonica in college. Sort of. Just
goofing with a guitar player on the campus lawn. Fun times.

I will think about that offer to send 1 song for review. Mine are plain. Nothing fancy. Simple looking.
Just for me. real plain looking. I like to use audacity export for get the 320 Kbs, and sometimes trim the end of an instrumental songs since the songs was never made as a karaoke song. I like 1950's Broadway tunes which sometimes have elaborate endings that are too long for karaoke. so i trim the ending with audacity.

I don't take songs with the main singer and try to eliminate the vocal with audacity. Never works anyway.
I like songs with harps, big band, violins. Not your usual karaoke song.

I have bought one disk from a fellow who makes his own with a synthisier (sp).
then i made a karaoke disk with the lyrics.

If I ever make Broadway or those Music TV shows, I'll pay the piper if they want me to register !!

I haven't sung in 9 months. due to health and somewhat of a chicken still.
hence, why i like to refine my songs with ques. I keep forgetting the audience is in la-la land from drinking and could care less that a 66 year old fellow is singing "Moonlight Serenade" or "Younger than Springtime".
They should put up the screen net when I sing them.

Lonman - wow, that is some info about the fees paid by clubs. I hope the artist really get the money direct.
Opened my eyes.

You should give Aegisub a try. It doesn't produce CDG (or maybe it does and I don't know), but CDG is old and it's time lyric swipes got an update anyways.

http://www.aegisub.org/

Check out some of the stuff others have made.







Neato, an entire playlist of aegisub karaoke effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfHZAXg ... 5D10C33E12

This has become the standard on the pacific rim. It'd be nice if karaoke manu's here/europe would follow suit.

"I cannot remember the last time I heard Sweet Caroline for that matter."

Lon, you're lucky, we get it at least twice a week here.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

We don't get the 'stereotypical' karaoke songs on a regular basis - sure they get sung here & there, but it's usually by newbies to the club. We get lots of rock & pop from the 70's to today and lots of newer country.

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