Time to put my karaoke plan in action.

[DJMN]

So tonight I do this wedding, and luckily enough the guests were ready to party and have fun. Makes my job easier...anyways....

As I was djing, this gal comes up to me, and asks if I have any cards. I said "You bet, hold on." So I give her the card, and as I am giving her a card, I ask her name. She tells me her name, then she tells me something that makes music in my ears.

She is the one who hires for a major karaoke contest which runs in this area, and she thought I do a fantastic job with crowds, based on what she saw tonight.

I am not saying I am guaranteed anything by no means, because I need to see it to believe it. Anyways...I tell her I only have about 5,000 songs, and in order to be competitive with her current guy, I would need to upgrade my library. She said "Please do that, you'd do a marvelous job."

I know my competitor has roughly 13,000 songs or so right now. So it wouldn't be all that hard to match him as far as libraries. Now that my wedding season is pretty much over, it's time to try this karaoke thing a lot more.

On my way home tonight, I was so happy, that I couldn't contain a loud shout from inside my vehicle. This opportunity could be something that helps my business grow dramatically as it would open more possibilities, not to mention the advertisement from this particular contest.

So...Monday morning, we get things all lined up, and we start getting this thing all ready to rock out.

If I sleep on this opportunity, I will completely miss it, and this would not be cool! :sqfrown:

I can't stand bragging...but it's amazing how someone can see a dj performance, and see my potential for doing karaoke. :sqwink::sqbiggrin: Feels pretty good if you ask me!

 

[Kirby Ball]

How much is going to cost to more than double your Karaoke library?

How long will it take to recoup your investment?

Do you have the liquid assets (cash) to cover this or are you going to go in debt to accomplish this?

 

[jokerswild]

Adam you do realize that to go from 5000 songs to 13000 is an 8000 song leap.... that's going to cost you quite a bit of money even if you bought low quality versions... even at an average cost of $1.99 per track you are looking at nearly $10,000.00 investment conservatively.

In a karaoke contest they are going to expect top brand music like Sound Choice and Chartbuster....

Are you prepared for this kind of expense?

Based on your other posts I don't think so. I couldn't even imagine being able to do it.... and I would only need about 5,000 songs to match that 13,000 song library... assumeing that number includes dupes. If that count excludes duplication dude you are way out of your league.

 

[Randy A]

I'm at a complete loss of thoughts here.............

 

[jclaydon]

I don't know if you would necessarily automatically HAVE to have 13,000 songs. What you would have to do, is find out EXACTLY what people in these kinds of contests are singing and focus heavily on that.

Even so, it would require a very large investment, unless you are lucky enough to find another host who is going out of business, or rent a collection from someone who is nearby you and willing to help.

One thing you can do tho if you are really serious about this is subscribe to either the chartbusters monthly subscription or the pop hits monthly. Pop hits is now available on MP3+g discs if you are computer based.

It's too bad I don't live close, I would be happy to lend you my collection to boost things. Is there anyone else in your area that might be willing to help you? If there is any other way I can help drop me a pm.

-James

 

[Harryoke]

Harry's rule of karaoke states that no matter how many songs you have, they will want the one you don't have.

Just keep buying the requests, and when you identify the obvious missing tracks, fill in with those, and dont get sucked in my numbers....you could buy all the back monthlys and add 15 thousand songs overnight but I would bet only about a thousand of those would ever get sung, LOL!! Slow growth is the way to go...while in infancy, dedicate a percentage of your earnings to disc purchases, OR if you have a new music fund jar, 100% of that...and of course, if customers drop a few bucks with a request, you can go the custom disc route... and let your singers finance the growth. BUT, it wont happen overnight. The more you work, the more you earn, the more songs you add...but it would be a shame to drop a load on a legal library upgrade then not get the job, or get laid off or disenchanted with the business, etc...

Catalog your songs, and make the list available on your website, sell yourself for the contest job based on your hosting skills and sound quality, and make it clear that the contestants can work off your list or bring their own music. Most competitors will probably have their own discs anyway, or be willing to get them.

 

[Scott Hanna]

I don't know if you would necessarily automatically HAVE to have 13,000 songs. What you would have to do, is find out EXACTLY what people in these kinds of contests are singing and focus heavily on that.

Even so, it would require a very large investment, unless you are lucky enough to find another host who is going out of business, or rent a collection from someone who is nearby you and willing to help.

One thing you can do tho if you are really serious about this is subscribe to either the chartbusters monthly subscription or the pop hits monthly. Pop hits is now available on MP3+g discs if you are computer based.

It's too bad I don't live close, I would be happy to lend you my collection to boost things. Is there anyone else in your area that might be willing to help you? If there is any other way I can help drop me a pm.

-James

Harry's rule of karaoke states that no matter how many songs you have, they will want the one you don't have.

Just keep buying the requests, and when you identify the obvious missing tracks, fill in with those, and dont get sucked in my numbers....you could buy all the back monthlys and add 15 thousand songs overnight but I would bet only about a thousand of those would ever get sung, LOL!! Slow growth is the way to go...while in infancy, dedicate a percentage of your earnings to disc purchases, OR if you have a new music fund jar, 100% of that...and of course, if customers drop a few bucks with a request, you can go the custom disc route... and let your singers finance the growth. BUT, it wont happen overnight. The more you work, the more you earn, the more songs you add...but it would be a shame to drop a load on a legal library upgrade then not get the job, or get laid off or disenchanted with the business, etc...

Catalog your songs, and make the list available on your website, sell yourself for the contest job based on your hosting skills and sound quality, and make it clear that the contestants can work off your list or bring their own music. Most competitors will probably have their own discs anyway, or be willing to get them.

Totally agreed. Great strategy in both posts. Do not sell yourself on the number of tracts you have, because someone can always have more. It's your ability to MC it properly that will get you the gig. Add more music as it is needed.

 

[DJMN]

Awesome tips everyone!

I love ya all!:sqeek:

 

[jclaydon]

Actually i just thought of something else as well. One set that I have looked at that has a fairly decent collection of well sung/current songs is the new July edition of Karaoke Kurrents and the quality is pretty decent as well.

Check it against your current list to make sure that it is still worth buying tho *too many repeats is a waste of money* but $50 for six discs is a pretty good deal.

-James

 

[JoeChartreuse]

, etc...

. Most competitors will probably have their own discs anyway, or be willing to get them.

Harry nailed that one. Serious contestants will almost always bring their own music. For now, let's see what this contest has to offer your business, then worry about investment...