Karaoke Forums

I am just getting started in Karaoke and have a question about where it is headed. Went out the other night for some karaoke time, and had a great time. But I noticed that the KJ was using a computer instead of a "traditional" karaoke player with CDG discs. Is this the direction that KJ's and DJ's are going??? I was just wondering if I would be wasting my time and money on buying all kinds of discs, players, etc.... only to have to change or want to change in the near future. Or are there always going to be CDG discs and players??? Any words of wisdom on this subject?

Buzz,
Being an KJ, and an Indie label recording artist I'm going to attempt to answer this fairly... As much as I love karaoke.. It is.. There is some contraversy on it among manufacturers, labels & Artists, and KJ's due to Copyrights, music licensing, and royaltities and Piracy issues, right now Priddis Music (a karaoke track manufacturer) has taken a "Fair Use" stance on thier products and If i interpret thier policy right.. and PLEASE CHRISTIAN NELSON E-mail or call me and correct me if I'm wrong!! you CAN make a back up copy of any Priddis track or put it in your pc for such use to protect your investment. I really Don't know about any if you can with any other company.. but Soundchoice says "NO".


You just can't record it and sell it, Without paying a licensing fee.

Which to me makes common sense... I wish ALL the companies did that.

But as of this week in all my units... My whole Priddis library has the masters with the unit with a complete set of backups in the PC.. no CD or DVD back-up's.

And my "Personal" copies not my "Commercial" are all in cdg's by Priddis.. any burned copies of Priddis media I have made have a master to go with them, and they are covered under the "fair use" act.
so there ya go.

And remember.. 1 set of master (original) media per system.
That way nobody seems to cry.

Good luck and please do your homework.

Thank you Brian. You are correct. We want our customers to use their
music. That includes what you wrote about. We want you to put our music
on your PC and use it at your shows. We want you to be able to have
competitions and cut the music the way you want. We want you to be able
to protect your investment as well. And you're right when you say, "...just
don't make copies and sell it". We don't want people offering illegal
downloads of our music and we don't want people illegally selling it.

Thank you for having the integrity in your business. I wish you success
in what you do. And a thank you goes out for spreading the word about
Priddis.

Note: We do offer replacement of damaged discs. To take advantage of
this, we need two things: Call first to receive authorization for the
damaged or scratched discs. Return the damaged or scratched disc postage
paid. I would recommend using UPS (Traceable #). We'll send you out a
replacement. We'll cover the shipping back to you.

Also, There are a few companies/organizations that offer insurance for
your discs, trailers, and equipment: National Association of Mobile
Entertainers (N.A.M.E. - www.djkj.com) or Global Mobile
(www.globalmobile.com)

Best Regards.
Christian Nelson
Creative Director, Priddis Music

Christian,
Thanks for replying to that, I'm real enthusiastic the Industry is speaking up! It's a real breath of fresh air to see great networking like this and like I said earlier... "I wish all the manufacturers would be this cool about things."

Thanks again,
Brian Douglas
Sprocket Audio Southwest
Albuquerque, NM/Tucson AZ

Brian and Christian, thanks to both of you. Although I have a lot of other mfgs products, I also have a fair amount of Priddis cdg's and have to say its extremely refreshing to finally see someone come out and discuss and promote the "fair usage" concept. If everyone else did that same thing, I personally think it would greatly contribute to controlling and reducing the piracy and copywrite problems.

Just a general observation: I'd much rather work with a mfg/distributor that's willing to work with me and has a fair usage stance than one who just wants to take my money then tell me what I can and can't do even after I've paid for the product and now own it. That having been said, don't take me wrong, I'm not talking about making multiple copies or using on multiple systems etc., I'm simply talking about being able to protect my investment and/or use it from a hard drive if I so desire.

Ron,
You and I are from the same city, and have discussed this issue at length.. I'm very pleased to get a response fron Mr. Christian Nelson
from Priddis Music, and have also sent a copy of this response to our local dealer here in Albuquerque. I think this only one small victory in the battle of the war to get Industry "Parity" on "Fair Use" Issues. Will we get it from the other 22 companies? I can see the other major 3 top in karaoke media sales market share saying NO but it would be a pleasent suprise if they gave us a resounding YES like Priddis did?

I Would like to also hear from others from this board on this.

Well, see that's why it'd be nice to have that association we've been talking about. There's strength in numbers, and if we had that voice, all we'd need to do is talk 1 of those top 3 Brian mentioned into seeing that way and the others would follow, if for no other reason than just to keep their market share of the sales. I don't mean to make this sound threatening, but I'll spend my money with a company that sees things in a fair and equitable manner.

Ron,
I agree with you there. You know my local system does not contain the whole Priddis Library or even 3/4 of it. But it will now!

Maunfacturer support of the KJ's and the return of it to the Manufacturer is definately what I call "Payment in kind"

I think the relationship that Priddis has begun to strive for is one that is unique, and one that will be a successful one that till change the way the Karaoke Media Manufacturing industry views both "home" and Professional Consumers.

"Knowlege is a necessity"

Brian Douglas
Sprocket Audio Southwest

I agree Brian and Ron.

It IS so refreshing. And from another forum, the Pres of Priddis said they are looking into creating a core set, similar to the Foundation or Charbuster Essentials set.

I'm in the process of creating a second library, and I'll tell ya, I WILL definately go this route if they want to do it. Yes, I like the other manufacturers, but I am ALL about company loyalty. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE the main manufacturers!! I'm very faithful to them. HOWEVER, having someone that yes likes you for purchasing their product, but then dictating what you can and can not do with it just doesn't make any sense to me.

I have NO problems with a manufacturer checking up on you to see if your legal if you use copies or convert to mp3+g or wmv+g. That is simply the cost of doing business. I'd answer ten questions a day for a while to put up with that. BUT I will not sit there and be accused of being a pirate simply because I'm extending the life of my own PURCHASED product.

I mean, when you shell out $35 a disc, you want to KEEP it safe and sound, correct? If copies allow you to do that, WHAT is the big problem???

I'm NOT talking about distribuiting it, or making MULTIPLE copies, or running a second, ILLEGAL library, nor even using the original library somewhere else... but keeping it safely archived.

Priddis has thrown their voice in with the people who are legit users of the technology... and I for one am proud of them. I will RESPOND by being a major purchaser of their material!

Matt

I've just joined your forum.....to add my 2 cents in...
we are karaoke manufacturers....and also host karaoke shows (6000 watt centre floor mixed etc)....we run our show with computerised karaoke...but always keep the original discs and a karaoke player with us....1. because it would be illegal for us to sell the discs, and keep playing the songs via the computer..and 2. if something happens to your computer (and it has...) then you can carry on with the player and discs....

good luck with your choices !

_________________
Leanne Willis

LeeAnn,

Under the "Fair Use" policy that Priddis has taken and many of us KJ's also have taken.. The Idea is like yours.. but maybe a little different some of us do. "to keep 1 set of Master media with each system and 1 copy of the master in either the system or (1) One Permissable burned copy in the system to be used professionally to protect the investment of the media "as long as the factory masters are present with the system" during a show. NOT multiple copies of 1 set of media.. that is piracy.. and illegial copyright usage and very unfair usage of the media... and as far as recording goes a license fee would still be charged.

the flexability of the manufacturers would only add thier market share.. not hurt it.. atleast from the "reputable KJ's"

now I can tell a Pressing plant's version of a Karaoke CD/DVD in a second and a burned one.. there is a hologram in the inside ring of the disc.. that has the manufacturer's code on it and disc & on it.. on the readable side... atleast out of the 3 I quickly looked at Priddis had a couple variations.. as far as whetyher thier disc ID # were on the CDG's but in all cases thier name is on the inside readable side of the disc in the holograms. meanwhile, Top Tunes Has been real consistant on thier holograms. and ID's.. the fun pack stuff.. has the hologram that reads "TT-FP( ) KAR" the # of the cd goes in the bracket.. a pressing plant here in the US will not let you press a CDG unless you are holding a copyright certificate.. (unless you are pressing or burning them yourself)


and a large bulk plant burner like that costs big dollars.. they are not real inexpensive..

Just some food for thought...

hi brian

yes we have our masters at the show....not burnt copies....i wouldn't hesitate as a manufacturer allowing our discs to be put on to the kj computer...provided they have their original master.....insurance is soooo hard to obtain.....for discs....and so expensive if you do....that it's not a viable option.....

_________________
Leanne Willis

LeeAnn,
what I'm striving for.. because I know is that many operators can't afford PC based operations to do thier shows.. is the "Master + 1 method" as I perviously stated.. There is software out there that can do DVD & CDG media properly.. it's just gotta be done by "reputable KJ's" or the music may need to be done by "Expressed Permission" only from some manufactuers.. I dunno.. but I honestly Believe that Show media and PC failures cost KJ's & DJ's alike jobs.. and I honestly believe not having a back-up copy of a media available will cost some of the should a certain song not be playable at certain functions. Might cost a KJ or DJ his or her reputation.. or if it actually happened often enough.. his/her shows.

By the way.. I do have insurance on all 7 of my Karaoke and all 15 of the Live Pro Audio systems that I have an investment in. You are right.. It's not cheap.

fair enough brian.....I think that the law is pretty screwed on duplication....too over the top.....i know the law is to protect the producer from the "pirate maximus guys" that spit them out...selling pirated discs "willy nilly"...but it gets a bit ridiculous.....and yes there are problems with computer based karaoke..fortunately hubby is very conversant with computers....so it doesn't bother us much

it's new years eve here 10.17pm....we're off out to party.....all the best for 2004....I look forward to frequent talks with you over the next while you seem like a really down to earth kinda guy !...have fun!!

_________________
Leanne Willis

_________________
"Where You Are The Star!"

Maybe that is a question you need to pose to Christian at Priddis.. here is his e-mail.. chris@priddis.com

I think he might be able to send it to thier licensing department

So far In Canada to the best of my knowledge there is no exemption to the "fair use act" In canada, you can't make back up copies there of karaoke media. Just a back-up copy to "protect your investment" in the US. (and still Priddis is the only company to varify that stance)

Good Luck,

Brian Douglas
Sprocket Audio SouthWest
Albuquerque, NM/Tucson, AZ