Karaoke Forums

This week was unusually busy in my room too. Averaged 20-25 singer Mon-Thurs.

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Lonnie judging from the last couple of weeks it sure feels like the winter slump is over.

Now watch it tonight will be dead since I opened my mouth.

It gets MUCH WORSE than DIVA's!!

As what happens with large cash prizes is you attract RINGERS. I.E. PROFESSIONAL singers, entertainers, band leaders who sing professionally with thier own bands, shows, etc and go from contest to contest to contest chasing the large prizes.

Regular "KARAOKE" singers dont stand a chance. They get pushed out of the competitions and really have no honest chance of competing or succeeding.

And yes I have first hand observed this.

2 yrs ago at The Ambassador(same place Gryff met me and Flipper a few weeks ago)
in Portland, Ore. $1000 grand prize. Less for 2nd and 3rd.

Winner of this contest was this woman:
http://www.pcsa.us/music_guests/kita_montgomery.htm

The 2nd place person was a guy that had only the weekend before appeared on the TV show "LIVE AT THE APOLLO" at the Apollo Theatre in New York.

Third place person was a local Karaoke person who was very good, but couldnt come close to the other two. All the other contestants were Karaoke people of varying skill levels--as you would expect it it were STRICTLY Karaoke and not professional level competition.

To ME that level of performer changes it into something other than a "Karaoke" contest. It becomes something akin to a professional competition.

I cant speak to effect on the bar's revenue or unhappiness of regular custies and long term effect on the venue. So I will only say that it probably makes for a one-night bump in revenue and perhaps can alieneate some of the regulars. I know if it were my regular place I wouldnt be going on ANY of the competition nights.

But for ME, I WILL NEVER participate in a contest or host a singing contest. Too many people get rubbed the wrong way and its a NO-WIN for the KJ.

For ME Karaoke is something to go and have fun for an evening or have a party at.

Turning it into a competition removes the fun out of it and introduces a level of seriousness and discomfort., not to mention neverousness and fear of getting beat by someone else. Not my idea of a FUN NIGHT OUT.

If a venue wants to advertise it as Professional or Semi-pro singing competion with large $ prizes thats fine and well and legit. But a high $ KARAOKE contest that has bona-fide ringer professionals competing...NOPE not for me under ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.

And for those attempting to use it as a vehicle to create a music career as a singer....well, get yourself a band and do it the hard way and dedicate yourself to the time and work neccessary to become a bona-fide live performer or band vocalist.

I did it once for the first time last year and sang 3 shows at a coffee house in Beaverton, Ore(yes I have pics too and a mag write-up) up to 8 songs with a 3-piece blues band here in pdx(until band drama dissolved the band). Its a lot of work, patience, practice and not something you can just walk into and do off the top of your hat.

SO THERE!!!

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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

Kurt I understand what you're saying. Personally my philosophy is that karaoke is for fun and I made my mind up long ago that I would never be a part of a contest.

Especially when money is involved. Too many hurt feelings there.

I'm not out to set the world on fire anyway. If things slow down a little from this I'll be a happy camper. As KJ I like it when rotation never gets over a hour long. Those nights are much easier on the nerves and the bar still makes enough money to keep us going. But I've never had competition going straight after my group before so I don't know what to expect. I'll find out I guess.

And with that I've got to get to work.

Bill: I have a feeling you might experience a slight lull but the people from your room obviously love how you host....they may go gawk out of curiosity but I'm certain there's a level of loyalty that will draw them back. Best of luck with this.

On the other hand, my new gig that started 3 weeks ago with a call from the owner of a very small place right in my town is overflowing the room. We're anticipating warm weather and hopefully soon so we can move the show to the stage they have outside in their courtyard. I mentioned to him today that he needs to think about a flat screen that we can use out there - I'm not interested in buying a big flatscreen for one gig - but eventually may do just that for the times when there isn't a screen in the venue (hasn't happened yet).

I'm sure you'll weather this just fine. Let us know how it goes.

k

When I first started karaoke at my place, I did a "Sing to Win". Every time you sang, we put your name in a jar. We would draw a name every 30 minutes for a free well drink, beer, koozie or t-shirt(usualy t-shirts given to us by vendors). At midnight, we would draw for a $20.00 bar tab, not good that night, but another visit. You had to be present to win, and we did not re-draw if the person wasn't there. It turned out to work well for us.

We stopped doing it for awhile, but are going to start again in April. It may not bring customers in, but it helps to keep them there, and the cost to us is minimal.

WE are considering doing a "Kamakazee Karaoke" that will work the same way, but with a cash prize at the end of the night.

By the way, Peewee, where are you in Alabama? I live in LA....lower Alabama, but my place is in Mississippi.

I'm doing a new gig at a new bar(open 6 months) trying something I came up with to help sell the owner.It's a nice new bar in a small town-that can draw from the near local small towns with not much happening. We're doing a "Beer Bingo". When you come in,you get a bingo card,after each song a bingo # will be called, You win and you will get a free picture of beer,then it starts again with a new card. It will be a little extra work on the host and wait staff. But if it keeps a few tables hanging around because someone is close,it may be worth it. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Any thoughts? Think it might draw or help hold customers?

Dittos to Kurt.

I've been on both sides and have to say that while winning feels good, losing sucks ten times worse. So overall, if 20 people enter a contest, you wind up with one winner and 19 losers.

You're right about the singers who "come out of the woodwork", like termites. (Especially when money is involved.) There's nothing worse than being the best singer and lose out to someone who has more friends than you.

My enjoyment in Karaoke comes from going into a strange place where nobody knows who I am, get behind a mic, and walk off the stage getting pats on the back and an occasional beer. I've made more friends singing than anything else in life.
Karaoke is NOT about competition...

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"Anything worth doing, is worth OVERDOING"... - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

I've done bingo in the past & it will help hold customers, but the prizes have to be more than beer because there are good chances that people won't bingo very often. In real bingo with hundreds of people playing several hundreds of cards, a regular straight line bingo I have seen take up to 15 numbers if the balls picked don't line up right away. Yes it can be won in as little as 4 numbers (with free space) but this is rare.
Being you are calling after every song, you may have a winner a little quicker. I did a call every 15 minutes & sometimes never got a winner in a night. But our cash prize would also carry over to the next week to add to the pot.

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Shep, My gig is in Tarrant City, which is a little suburb north of Birmingham. I used to travel to Mobile every week on business. Made a few friends, but like the song said.....OOOOHHHH, THAT SMELL.....

No more paper mills in Mobile, no more smell.

The SMELLIEST karaoke place I've ever come across is LEWISTON, Idaho. Paper mills BELCHING chemical steam down in a LOW river valley. UGGH!!!!

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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

My advice…Don’t do a contest!

It will ultimately reflect negative on the bar and you as the KJ. There are so many things that can go wrong with a contest. Owners think it will bring people into the bar which for a couple of weeks may be the case. Once the contest is over they will be gone and moving on to the next contest or back to their regular stomping grounds.

Friends coming in together to compete creates problems and hurt feelings but worst yet you have new comers to the bar only for the contest that may out sing the current house regulars and star attraction.

Finding honest judges is another storey. There will always be issues with judging and a sense of unfairness.

You may actually lose customers after a contest rather than gain. Leave it to American Idol and the local radio stations to run a contests.

Just to flesh out my own situation a little more, I'm not really worried about this new karaoke venue running a contest close to my place. The room itself is the most popular DJ room on weekends and will remain in that format Fri-Sat. To my knowledge they're just going karaoke on Thursday with the DJ in charge.

My inside source tells me that top prize will be $500. I don't know if they're going to award prize money every night or what.

Before my current room I talked to the owner about the possibility of running karaoke on weeknights in there, and he turned me down because he didn't want to "degrade" his room with karaoke. I guess he's changed his mind.

If I have any concern it is that I might lose some of my best singers for a few weeks on Thursdays. But we'll get by.

The DJ, whom I've known for years, actually came into my room a few weeks ago and offered to trade my library, which I've spent three years and thousands of dollars putting together, for a couple of guitars.

And no I'm not making this up.

Good to hear things are going well for you Karen.

For BFFL, the world exists only as he see's it, so don't confuse him with ANY facts!

As Nlouch suggested, most of us experienced with contests believe that DIVAS are a problem and that they effect EVERY contest; it's solely a matter of how you define a problem and the degree to which you believe the circumstance causes one. Drunks have, for example, no problems; ask them! They fall down; get up - NO PROBLEM!

Ironically, last Monday, I went to a fellow members show for the first time. I met a regular there who happened to be sitting next to three girls, each of whom didn't spend a dime. Their lack of spending was quite obvious and the regular I met mentioned that when he had quit drinking a local KJ uninvited him from participating at his shows. So... someone beside me, as witnessed by another member of this forum, knows of a KJ who thinks freeloaders are a problem and takes matters into his own hands in that regard.

And without describing the circumstances of that show in detail, the conditions I encountered almost paralleled, exactly, the scenario I have been discussing for years, but was actually made worse by the fact that there is limited seating of about 50. So, if those three girls keep coming and not spending, they will be a problem to anyone who understands the consequence of what they are doing. Furthermore, the one employee in the room, a barmaid, is too busy and too oblivious to notice the problem should it persist with those three girls! And remember, a one-time non-spender is NOT a freeloader. Only when there is an ongoing pattern of behavior by the same individuals, does it become a problem

Of course, BFFL, who never kj'd, or owned any business is a self-proclaimed expert on all matters of running someone elses business. Which is so easy to do when you have not risk associated with your decision(s). And BFFL knows that DIVAS are not a problem at karaoke contests and that FREELOADERS are not a problem for karaoke shows! So, let's end all discussions in both regards!

Offer some great prizes..we always..always...give trophys.. it seems to go over great