Karaoke Forums

Joe posted this in another thread -




That karaoke listing site isn't even remotely up to date. Many of the Seattle area locations are no longer around or days have changed.

Only one of my 8 venues is listed and that listing shows the name of the bar from 2 years ago (with incorrect karaoke day info).

The reason i broke this out is because sites like this are notorious for displaying inaccurate, outdated information. I have toyed around with the idea of creating a karaoke listing site myself, but i am not interested in competing against other sites run by people I know (including this site).

So here is a suggestion for sites that list karaoke venues -

When a listing is entered and then verified, list it for 30 days. At 25 days, send an email reminder that the karaoke information must be verified to continue the listing or it will be deleted (or archived but not displayed). Provide a link to verify with a CAPTCHA to help ensure it is a human verifying (not perfect, but works).

Why?

because there are so many of these sites, I don't even try to list on all of them. WAY too much effort to track down each site I have placed information on and update if hours or days or hosts change.

I have a spreadsheet the ones I do list on, and i still don't get them all updated with regularity. i know i am an extreme example of a large number of shows and venues, but even for a single op, it is overwhelming (as it was for me when i was single op).

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-Chris

Yeah I just looked in the Tacoma area, several of those aren't even doing karaoke anymore.

What need to happen on any kind of those listing sites is they remain up for say 30-45 days (or whatever set time). Whoever posted the show info has to register with a valid email. About 10-15 days before the set amount of days, the site sends an auto email to the original poster of the listing to confirm the listing for an extended time period and update if need be (of the same set time period) or it will automatically drop off and they would need to relist when that happens.
This would also help people remember to update their show listings on a regular basis. I know I often forget to go through all the extra sites I advertise on to update listings or may not remember usernames or passwords for that matter after a long period of time.

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

I agree 100%. It's just a shame that most of those sites don't do what you suggest. Almost every site that I know of that lists places to go for Karaoke, has Karaoke listings that are out-dated. I can vouch for how much work is involved in keeping up an active and up-to-date list of places to go for Karaoke. I used to post one regularly in the Old JOLT Forum (just for places to go in the New York City area and parts of Long Island). I did this from information which I had compiled from other sites that listed places to go, and I added to it whenever I heard about other shows. I used to update that list every 2 months (by calling and verifying every single listing). Not only did I list the usual information (Address, Phone #, Day of the Week and Hours), but I also included other information such as:
Whether or not food was served,
Parking availability,
Prices (Average, Moderate, Expensive, Over-Priced) --- It's nice to know in advance if you're going to be spending $10 for a mixed drink as vs $7, and if you got a "Buy-Back,"
Whether or not the KJ played your personal discs (only based on my attending the show),
The name of the KJ (or his/her company).


I am one to always call and verify before going out to a place that I have not been to before... especially when it is in another state (where I might be planning to go for a vacation, or pay a surprise visit to a KJ in a neighboring state). When calling, sometimes the hardest thing to do is verify that a place is still hosting Karaoke (because 1 hand doesn't wash the other, and the Bartenders don't keep track of what's going on if it isn't during their shift), so several phone calls are required.

This is why it just makes sense to have facebook groups for local listings. KJs just post their upcoming shows and that way nothing is ever outdated. It's the perfect resource for singers and it doesn't reply on any one entity keeping track of what shows are still going and which aren't.

Facebook is cumbersome as well.

If posting to a group you aren't an administrator of, there is no way to PIN a listing to the top so it is visible. This means daily, weekly updates to ensure your information doesn't get buried. Facebook doesn't have a search feature that I am aware of for finding individual posts.

Maybe I will do a site.

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-Chris

The listings are a free service, so no reason to have an expectation that they would be kept up to date.



Are you going to maintain a sparkling clean database of karaoke venues.....for free?

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C Mc
KJ, FL

But if done as I suggested, no one would need to monitor. I'm fairly certain it could be done automated.

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

It seems like it would be a logistical nightmare, and tough to fill if only accepting above-the-board hosts (non-pirate material) and locations (proper licensing paid).

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Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

Maybe just a conspicuous note that you have to renew the listing yearly, and an auto-e-mail that goes out a year after the listing with a link that auto renews? If no, the listing disappears? That would keep it somewhat tidy.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Clubs can sometimes come & go within a months time, the time frame should be a month or two month max basis. A year could still produce a bunch of outdated/no longer there shows.

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

Maybe I should have said MORE up to date than similar sites.

Unfortunately most seem to have skipped over the most important part: I also said that the listings also contain phone numbers so one CONFIRM THE SHOW AHEAD OF TIME. Also, if one finds the number inactive, one knows that the listing is dated.

One other thing, and this goes for ANY of these free sites. Most provide contact info so users can supply update info. I make use of this, but don't know how many others do. If you find an incorrect listing and don't tell them, it won't be updated. These free sites depend on our input.

Either way, I have found the site quite helpful. Something else: I registered and listed myself on the business site- also free. I can tell you that I have gotten more leads and actual work from this site than a whole bunch of others combined. Apparently there are a LOT of active users.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."