Karaoke Forums

Went to a karaoke show last night where the KJ did not have karaoke books.  Instead, you just went up to him, told him the song you wanted to sing, and if he had it he put your name in the computer.

I will still be on the CDG system for at least another year, but even when I do go with the laptop, I don't think I could ever eliminate the "karaoke book" like that.  To me, Singers want something to look at while they are waiting.  Not only that, but a lot of people like to browse through a book to find new material to try.  Doesn't seem like the "non-karaoke-book-KJ" will be liked much by the die-hards.

Anyone else have an opinion?

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---wallyd

I will always want a book. Computer terminals are fine. But I cant sit at my table and browse a terminal. And I really dont care to have to stand in a line to browse a terminal or have to get up and leave my  table to go browse a terminal. Gotta have books.

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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

If they don't have books, they don't have me or my money as a customer.  I like looking through the book because they may have something that other places don't & without a book, would never know it.

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

I look at the books as the first impression of the KJ.
How current are they?
As I get a few hundred new songs I will print them and place them into my book
in the new songs section. When I get around 500 + songs there I will reprint the book and place them into the main section of the book. Let's people see what we are getting. And we always print the date updated on the pages.

How clean they are and maintained they are.
I take the time to wipe them down every few weeks or when needed to remove the grime and whatever has gotten on it. If someone gets beer or whatever on it the covers they get replaced. If the binder is falling apart then we replace them.

Everything else can be great but if your books suck it tells me that you have no pride in your buisness.

We do keep our cost down on printing buy doin the printing ourself with a laser printer. Cost is around .02 per page

, I thought everyone would agree...  I'm the same way.  When I'm a singer, I like to browse.  As a KJ, I too take much pride in my books; updating the "New Additions" section as soon as I get new tunes.

I'm glad to see that some of the competition has become lazy and has no pride in their collection of Karaoke songs.  Singers will notice and go to the KJs that take care of them.  Bonus.

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---wallyd

The area that I'm in some of the places would be better off without books.

one place.
Last update - end of last iceage

next
books held together with duct tape
beer stains on pages
protector sheets torn and holes are fixed using duct tape

next
books are of every color in the rainbow and more.
tore up

next
books same as above
books are up to date
they handwrite every disk in unreadable hand writing

ect.  I can keep going and going like the energizer bunny. And they wonder why I use my own disks?

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I've been experimenting with a laptop that has the electronic version of my book... so far, the reaction is mixed...

I don't look for the immediate future on totally abandoning the book.

I went to a show like this as well.  The KJ took requests verbally and built their queue on their computer.  I didn't notice any complaints from the customers.  I agree that it's nice to have books to browse, but I can see a benefit from the KJ's standpoint in less maintenance.  I would probably have a couple of book regardless.  I would guess that managing the queue might also require a little more time than strictly slips.  To each their own...

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Sounds Great! Entertainment
Bartlett, Illinois

As a karaoke singer, I would find it rather annoying to go to some place that didn't have a book to browse.  For one, if I'm planning on singing that night I don't always have a song in mind before I get there.  Looking through a book will always give me ideas.  Secondly, how are you supposed to know what a KJ has and doesn't have if you can't visually see it?  Are you supposed to sit there all night, making mental notes of what you've heard someone sing?  I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in adding 'Folsom Prison Blues' or 'Friends in Low Places' to my singing repertoire just because I know they have it there.

Sometimes I like to thumb through the book while I'm waiting to sing so I can get some other ideas for songs to sing at another time.  Often I see songs I had completely forgotten about and I think "hey, that might be fun to try sometime".  Without the book, I would have never even thought about it.

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ditto that

damn you, Deb.... you stole every single point I wanted to make while reading this thread!

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ok.... i SO did not say "gosh darn you"

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Gosh darn it, I didn't say gosh darn you either  :lol:

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What about this I have been toying with the idea for a while now. I have a good friend in IT that can get me notebooks at a very reasonable price. I thought of having 10 notebooks to pass out like karoke books and running gatekeeper software so they they boot right to a datebase program. I would still probally make 2 books for the computer illerate people, but would save me a fortune in updates. That and I can get the computers for about $50 each cheaper than a binder, plastice and copies of my 32,000 songs.

As far a the no book at all that does not work.

At a regular karaoke show - gotta have books unless you put a laptop on every table.

I did bring in some karaoke equipment to a bar I was working in that was REAL slow to goof off with while I was waiting for customers.  I ended up letting a few people sing but I didn't have books.  But this wasn't a regular show, and something that sort of broke into a karaoke session with them singing while sitting at the bar.  It was nice and I was tipped well but I won't do a regular show without books!

I like having a book to look at no matter what, but I do understand in some places that's just begging to get a nice book torn up. The place I've been singing lately actually just makes paper books and replaces them every couple of weeks. (they don't have a really really huge library, but a lot of good songs and they keep the text readable but small so the books aren't that big.) That way if their book gets destroyed you've lost a stack of printer paper rather than having someone ripping the front off your nice binder or tearing up all those sheets, plus it's always up to date. And of course they get new cover art everytime which is cool.
 I also appreciate getting everything in order rather than a seperate "New Songs" section and it probably costs them $10 each time tops to redo it all.

You need a bullet proof lap top, man; and a havey duty chain and lock.


In a place thats new to me The book is important. But at the regular place that I go to, I hardly use the book.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

You must be JOKING about putting laptops on the tables for people to use.! How about BEER in the laptop. Or some one hacking into it an destroyiing the hardrive or dropping it on the floor. Or simply cant figure out how to use it. Then youd have to charge them all up every night. Or them simply WALKING OFF when you go and take a Pee break.

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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

I've got an old NOTEBOOK that I'm using... and it'll be at a station near my set up. Good for those that want to find a song or two...

I'll still have songbooks to hand out. Probably NEVER get away from that!

They way Matt describes would probably work well--have both to give the people a CHOICE! Some might like using a laptop. But most will still want books. Half the fun is digging through songbooks between singers.

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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