Karaoke Forums

I am starting my own KJ business in the suburbs or Chicago. I am looking to solicit local bars to start an run a karaoke night. But, I am not sure how much is the appropriate amount to charge? Also, I've heard offering to work for tips, but I've never seen a karaoke night worked on tips, would I just put out a tip jar and make announcements that when you come up to sing, a tip would be appreciated? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

I think before you can get any intelligent replies we'd need to know what experience you have, what you're using in your system, quantity and quality of your discs, what is the going rate in your area, etc.  The more we know about you and any experience you have would be of great benefit.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

No experience, other than as a vocalist. I've attend many karaoke nights, so I have a very good idea of what works, what doesn't. All my discs are SoundChoice, approximately 2000 titles. My equipment is brand new and I have wireless mics. If I knew what the going rate was in my area, then I wouldn't have posted this.

You gotta do the legwork on your end, there's not a lot we can do for you here.  Get out there and talk to working KJ's whose shows you attend.  Find out what kind of money they are making, then compare your show to theirs.  Is your show bigger or smaller?  Is your equipment better or worse?  Is your selection bigger or smaller?  (Although with just 2000 songs I'd bank on the latter) What things can you do that the other KJ's aren't?  

Then, set your prices accordingly.  

You'll want to be VERY careful about setting your price way low just to get your foot in the door.  You may win a few gigs this way, but in the end getting a raise when/if your show takes off will be difficult.

One way that I was able to land some regular shows (weeknight shows, the weekends sell themselves) was to talk to the management and guaranteeing them that having my show in their venue would not LOSE them money.  I had them determine the average ring for that particular night of the week.  Once that number was established, we agreed that if my show did not meet that number I'd work for free.  However, if that number was exceeded, I'd take a percentage of the over.  (I'd ask for 60%, but would often settle for 50%, explaining that I was putting my self at considerable financial risk and ought to be rewarded when that risk paid off.)  Before long, assuming you have a quality show and people will come, the venues realize that they are better off to simply pay my going rate rather than the percentage and voila! I'm in.

Just a couple words of advice though.  Work ethically.  Don't try to steal shows from other operators by undercutting their shows.  Karaoke customers are fiercely loyal to their regular KJ, and once the word gets out that you are a lowballing $hitbird, your business is short for that venue.

There is plenty of karaoke to go around, and if you can establish a friendly rapport with the other KJ's in your area, it will work out for you better in the long run.  They will be more than willing to help you get on your feet with advice and suggestions once they are comfortable in knowing you aren't going to try and steal their shows from them--after all, they worked hard to land the gigs they have too!  It's that spirit that makes forums like this such a valuable resource.

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

Equipment being brand new could be moot point.  If it's a brand new "all in one" Vocopro unit, it isn't worth the components that's in it.  Or do you have a brand new "pro" quality system with mixer, digital effects, power, etc....System could be a big factor in what you may charge.
We can't help you with the "going rate" in your area, this is something you would need to find out for yourself pretty much.  
Like Tim was saying, experience is a big factor.  Being new, you aren't going to have much of a following to bring to the bargaining table - i'm sure you'll be able to bring some friends in, but will they be loyal week after week & spread the word to boot helping to bring people in?  
2,000 songs isn't really alot these days - not trying to knock your selection by any means mind you - it isn't always quantity, but the quality of the selection that counts, make sure it's all music that is popular in your area, then you can add music to fill in the holes at a later time if you want a thicker looking book - try not to list duplicates (but that is just my opinion).  Is there a good solid "standard core" of music that will get sung at any show?  Do you have "current" music that's hot right now (not always a neccesity but starting out would recommend).

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

Just to clarify on the equipment, I have a brand new "pro" quality system with mixer, digital effects, power, etc.  Also, I thought SoundChoice was THE best karaoke backing tracks out there? I know they are what I prefer to sing to. I have both the foundation series and all the bricks. No duplicates that way too. What other brands should I invest in? I have no plans to undermine anyone. I like to sleep at night. But I didn't think other KJ's would talk to me because they would be afraid that's what I'd do.

Also, if you'd like to hear me sing, (in case my vocal talents will dictate part of my rate as a KJ) you can visit my website, www.bridgettegrace.com for demos.

My first gig was done on a $40 Memorex boom box CDG player, my laptop, and an amp/speakers/mics provided by the venue.

I upgraded to the Fender PD-250 a short time later, and I buy music regularly.  To do an effective show you need quality books that are easy to read, good sound and personality.  If you can find a place looking to hire someone to run their equipment I'd say 'do it' to get the experience.  Keep adding onto the library.  I went from nothing to approx. 5000 tracks in 6 months.  While quality is important, sheer numbers are useful as well.  I bought based on bang for the buck.  Sweet Georgia Brown 1-66, discs from local department stores (mostly Karaoke Bay - a few others), Sound Choice's Foundation, Foundation 2, and a number of other discs.   I'd consider the DK Millenium, Chartbuster Essential Series and a number of others to get your bases covered completely.  I'd look at getting the last year or two of either pop hits or top hits monthly.

Once I was at about 4500 songs I have requests for songs I didn't have, but they were few and far between.  I made it a point to go out and look for the song later if requested and I went to other venues to see what they had and what was sung so I new what to buy.

As for pricing, I'd talk with places that have done karaoke in the past or doing it currently.  Remember to price yourself at the same rate as a comparable company.  If they have 50,000 tracks, a 10 year track record with regulars, and more then pricing the same doesn't make sense.

The going rate for an expierienced, professional KJ here in the Tampa Bay area is $125-175 on average.  I'd say the majority of those who just "get the job done" are raking in the lower end of that, while the best of the best demand the upper end or more.


For my first gig, I negotiated with my bar owner to do my first 4 shows for $100, which would then be upped to $125 if he wanted to keep me.  After about 6 months at $125, I heard about an opening at a bigger, better bar (it helps to make friends with other local KJs for fill ins or openings!!) and did the same thing, only this time I gave him a 4 week trial at $125 and then went up to $175. I now make $175 plus a $25 bar tab each night, mostly due to the fact that I not only do the job, but keep the place rockin with my stage show and ALWAYS put about 10-15% of my earnings back into bigger, better equipment and discs.

I think my route is a pretty standard road map for starting out!! Hope it helps....

OH, and let's not forget to mention those who are using very SUBPAR equipment, have no presonality, have outdated music, and undercut everyone else. Around here, it is usually retirees that can afford to charge $50-75 for a karaoke "show."

Fortunately, the karaoke scene is strong enough here that these bargin rigs only get the bottom rung of the bars, so most of the pros wouldn't want to be there anyway!!

But point being, those cheapies are the ones that you need to make sure you are FAR superior to, or else your bar owner may try to lowball you down into their asking price!!

My personal opinion would forget about working for tips unless you want to just gain experiance, which miight not be a bad idea.  You won't need a BIG library or expensive equipment to get a gig...But you will need a decent selection of quality cdg's (sound choice good start) and a good sounding system to KEEP a gig.
Many of the experienced KJ's here (including myself ) started with LESS and build as you get $$$ and experiance.   When soliciting for GIGS start a little HIGHER as most bar owners and Managers will negotiate you down --Don't be afraid to ask them what they are willing to pay - Amount to be paid depends on many factors
How big is the bar or club? Weekdays vs Weekends? Have they had a BAD experiance with karaoke in the past ?    In my area (NJ) I would say the average pay for a small to medium sized venue is
WEEKDAY -$75 - $150 (HIGH )
Friday & Saturday Nights - $125-$250

Good luck and welcome !

Thanks so much for the helpful tips. I feel like I have somewhere to start now. It's nice to know there are so many people out there that are willing to be so helpful!

Something I don't think anyone has mentioned is work for another host for a while to get your legs.  Watching from the crowd and jumping right in with no experience could be disasterous.  Almost like I bought a plane, did some flight ground training so now I'm going to fly people all over the place.  So you may want to think about it a little more.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Very good points. I was in the process of building my system and disks, had all the basic needs equipment wise, and was just wanting to take it slow and learn my equipment and other stuff before I started KJ, when the KJ at one of the places I frequent asked if I could fill in for him one night when something came up.  I agreed, because it was at a small bar where I knew most of the regulars, so thought it wouldn't be so bad.. Well, quite a few new folks where out that night, I discovered that even though I knew HOW to adjust my system, I seemed to lose my 'ear' for getting the right singing-music mix (much harder than you think when you're just singing) but my biggest problem was getting a fun atmosphere going. I have a new appreciation for a KJs stage presence. It does make a difference..

Anyway, you really do need to make friends with local KJs. They are usually quite helpful, plus they and you will always need a "day off" and could use a back-up KJ so they don't lose their gig or clientell (spelling) because they missed a night....

Just my 2 cents

Something else you may need to consider:  

Your lack of experience may be the biggest problem.  You can have all the best equipment and a huge selection, but if you don't know how to mix you'll probably bomb.  Many karaoke singers think that all you need to do is buy the stuff and turn it on and it will sound good. (I was one of those people)  Unfortunatly that's not the case.  I don't know if you have any experience in mixing music but if you don't  you may want to talk to some of your local KJ's who seem to have a good mix and get some pointers. The technical forum on this site is full of experienced people who are extremely helpful if you have any specific questions.  I also bought a book called HOME RECORDING FOR DUMMIES which has a lot of useful info.  I'm sure there are a lot of other good resources out there.

I do speak from experience.  I was a frequent karaoke singer for many years. Then I was asked by one of the KJ's to run one of his shows.  He basically showed me how to turn on the machine and adjust the mic's and that was it.  As you can probably guess I got a lot of complaints and had no idea how to correct it.  

Just a suggestion to maybe save you a lot of frustration.

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Too soon old......too late smart.

I worked for a fella for almost 7 years before i got the courage to start out on my own. its a little nerve wracking and after 4 wks of being back at it and doing my own stuff, im soooooo nervous! i dont have the same songs, only thing that is saving my arse is my loyal people and the fact that for some reason ive had about 20 different people telling me what a difference the sound is and how much better it is. odd. imho. its basically the same set up just upgraded a hair, i guess technology is a major factor.
i just found a ton of backstage, superbest...i TOO like soundchoice over any other brand, but some of these really DO sound great enough, if i wouldnt sing off it, i wouldnt expect anyone else to..

and a question - as far as how well YOU sing - goes for getting you a gig...i dont see the issue in that at all. i RARELY sing at MY shows. if i do sing, its either after the show been going on for 5 hrs or a duet with someone...and sometimes put THOSE off til later, if asked to do one, depending on how many singers i got, i might hook em up with someone else to sing WITH em. and i been told "you should be on american idol" !!