Karaoke Forums

I see lots of post on what's legal as far as copying CDG's and all sorts of other legal issues.  I have a slighly diffrent angle. I used to work for a major karaoke retailer. While there I saw lots of illegal activities. The biggest was illegaly copying CDG's as well as SCDG's, and selling them as new. He would copy the box and everything. This retailer ( I will not mention names ) copied Super CDGS, 70% of his international CDG's, had backdoor deals to buy Music Maestro disc right from thier  duplicator avoiding having to pay Music Maestro's higher fees, and selling fake BMB speakers.

The wierd thing is nobody seems to care.  Is this the norm in the karaoke business?
Where do you guys shop for your disk/ equuipment?

I still love karaoke, but am concerned that I will end up with crap when I buy stuff.

Just an FYI:

Nutech SCDG Vol 1&2 are copied if they have karaoke mispelled on lower part of disk.

BMB speaker logo are on a plate on the grill not painted on. They also do not mount on spaeker stands upside down.

I know it may not bother some if they are buying fake items, but trust me when I say...SCDGS will crack at the center if they are copies,  and your speakers have a shelf life less than a gallon of milk.

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If you don't love what you're doing for a living, then you're making a killing. (YOURS)

Yes, I am concerned with buying fake items.  I don't suspect I've had any issues thus far, other than a set of VCD's I picked up early on from eBay.  I still have the 15 disc set which were pressed (not CDR's) but the printing on them was marginal at best.  I haven't been able to find any information about who manufactured the discs so I still use them.

Everything else seems to be on the up and up that I've bought.  I have a number of others that I'll be buying soon, but misspelling on the discs and unusual differences in the product (like mounting upside down) typically point to a fake product.

Watch for what you're buying and stick to reputable distributors.  I've bought from some distributors on eBay (they are now listed here as an advertiser) and some local stores and have had very few problems with quality.

Stick with the sponsors here, and other reputable dealers and you'll have very few if any problems.

Well if it's a store front, don't you think you have a responsibilty to inform the authorities, ie the police or the local prosecutor?

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You can be strange but not a stranger

no kidding! That's outright BOOTLEGGING... and there are several laws that come into play there. The least of which is the fact that you have knowledge of the act, and CAN be prosecutable yourself if you don't inform the authorities immediately!

Actually I was trying to reply in another thread and after i signed in I replied in this one.. And still on coffee not enuff yet tho In reply to this thread you usually get what you pay for and if everybody would quit stirring the milk, the cream would rise to the top... The ones with the good honest products will still be selling next year and the imitations (if I bought any)will be in the landfills with my hard drives...

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I for one care, and I'd like to know why they are so I never buy from them.  If I'm paying for Sound Choice I want to know I'm getting Sound Choice and that the company and artists are getting compensated - regardless of what I may feel about the $26.95 per disc price (that's another story)

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Despite the internet rumor, Karaoke is not Japanese for "drunk buffoon with microphone."  However, "rotation," is Japanese for wait your damn turn!

$26.95 per disc?  I'm paying $22.95 per, where do you buy from?

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He may not have bought any SC disc since they lowered their prices on their spotlights, m'man!

Either that or he is still buying through the locals who have to pay for their new Mustang GT convertables.

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

My last SC purchase was through a local, it was an immediate need on a Saturday.  I have not bought SC via the net in several months and was not aware of a price reduction to $22.95 - heck of a lot more reasonable than the $32.95 if memory serves me correctly of two years ago.  But that gets off the topic of the OP - I'd still like to know who the pirates are.

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Despite the internet rumor, Karaoke is not Japanese for "drunk buffoon with microphone."  However, "rotation," is Japanese for wait your damn turn!

I do know that the US Marshalls office was investigating it.  I was fired from that position after refusing to go along with thier scams. I took this job thinking it would be a  lot of fun . I had spent the last 10 years in retail management.  I figured I could help this person. After all there are not enough good karaoke stores out there. After opening  this persons store and realizing what he was up to. ....... I told him I could not sell this stuff because I could end up in jail. 2 weeks later I come back from my days off and I was let go. He tried accusing me of not running the store right and missing money....it was a list of things. I was stunned...pregnant wife at home , daughter of 2 years and now I'm unemployed and accussed of things. It was a nightmare. I talked to police told them what was going on. They really didn't seem to care.  Others have though! Cavs, Music Maestro...they all cared.

I will not violate the rules of this site so I will not name names.  I know that person will get caught sooner or later. At least I'm back at work. Not where I'd like to be but maybe some day I will open my own karaoke shop.

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If you don't love what you're doing for a living, then you're making a killing. (YOURS)