Karaoke Forums

Some of the latest conversation has me thinking about what the real competition is for bar karaoke these days. I've seen a major upswing in people that would prefer to not do karaoke in bars. I get asked more and more often when I plan to do another karaoke party. They opt to come to those over going to the bar.
I've been trying to figure out why this is, then it dawned on me that we might be seeing a transition away from bar karaoke to this. More and more people are building home systems.

I've also thought about why.. Some of it has to do with picking the people you are around. Part of it has to do with it just being for fun and not feeling the need to compete or perform. It isn't due to rules. Maybe it's due to the lack there of?? I don't run the tight rotation at home as I would in a bar. Maybe it's being able to crash where you drink but I rarely have anyone who goes too far off the edge these days. Part of it might be that kids can participate but I rarely get anyone under 18 and that rarely happens.

Has the KJs noticed an upswing of home karaoke people in your clientele? If so has it affected your attendance or have they taken any others with them for at least a few nights a month? Overall thoughts???

People have always done karaoke at home but still come out to the bar. I have several singers that have karaoke systems at home and yet they come out to my shows week after week. You cannot compare the experience of karaoke in a public place to doing it at home. Nothing's gonna change.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

I have a fabulous home karaoke system and I still love going out to sing ... particularly to a new audience.

The more people practice at home, the more they want to come out to strut their stuff.

A home system is great way to learn and get better at singing. The only way to enjoy performing is in front of a crowd.

They have all the good music might as well have a party with it and drink cheap liquor and beer.

I don't think so much that it's home singers that is killing the karaoke tend. I think its just a matter of climate and economics.

Let's face it, pretty much everyone is in a cycle of 'belt-tightening' in today's economy. Things are just not what they used to be, and usually one of the first things to get cut is one's entertainment budget.

I don't think this is strictly an "either\or" topic. It isn't that people are either going to a bar to sing or they are having home parties. Sure people still go out, but are they going out less and staying in more? I just realized I haven't been out to bar karaoke for three months. Granted, I've been away at the lake for many of those weekends, but I see that many people I know are doing the same thing and they are not away for the weekends. I know these things run in cycles and people tend to move away from the bar thing as they life style changes. But karaoke people have a reason to go to a bar versus going to a bar looking for a reason.

very funny cue! "Wookin pa nub - in all da wong paces." EMurphy's Buckwheat Classic!

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Yes it is.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

As a singer--nah, definitely not the same. Even the places that do private room karaoke aren't the same as an actually good karaoke night in a public place.'

I mean, I don't go just to hear and sing with my friends. It's not the same without strangers.

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Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

Not the real competition... not in the least.

One word: Audience.

More on that one word: Performers need/seek an audience. Hosts facilitate.


Private/home karaoke is enjoyable and good for practice.

There's nothing like the feeling of having an actual crowd come along with you and engage with your performance.

The "star" experience makes it epic.

It's not impossible, but it is very improbable that you'll get that with home karaoke.

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Never the same show twice!

You have to admit that people have become more home centered than they used to be, a lot of it has to do with the age of the individual. Many older folks that used to go out at night don't simply because they don't drive after dark. In the summertime they stay out later in the winter they stay home. You have home entertainment centers, computers, many have complete bars and popcorn machines in their homes. As a society I would say we are getting more insular and not getting out as much. Some of this has to do with parents home schooling their kids, many of the basic social skills are not absorbed like they once were. Even as far as courting goes much of it is done through matching services now. I can see a day when most people won't leave the confines of their homes after work, they can even have their food delivered and can shop on line.

P.S. I forgot many people now work at home.

This is a pretty straightforward business problem. I own a restaurant and bar, and a heck of a lot more people have refrigerators, stoves, and ovens at home than have even passable karaoke systems. Other than our traveler guests, the great majority are choosing to spend some extra money not to eat and drink at home.

The businesslike approach is twofold:

1) Figure out every single thing that makes singing karaoke at your shows better than doing it at home, and try to exaggerate that. If people are motivated by being part of a great show in front of an audience, make sure your show is really good. Make sure they sound better than at home, and the lighting is better, and that your enthusiasm makes them feel special when they walk onto and off of the stage. We've all been to karaoke shows where every singer is made to feel like a star, and also to shows where every singer feels like the KJ was awoken from a grumpy nap. The former KJ has little to worry about from home karaoke.

2) Figure out every disadvantage of singing in a bar, compared to home, and minimize it. That means making sure no one heckles singers, controlling obnoxious people at your shows, etc. Some of this will require cooperation from the venue.

This can be contradictory. For instance, part of what makes singing at home fun is the sense that it's not a big production and you can try something without embarrassing yourself too much. Because I have a small venue with close seating, no dance floor, and no stage, I encourage the KJs to run the sound at a volume closer to a home system, to create intimacy (subject to the style of music, the crowd and the noise, obviously). That's more like strategy number 2, above. In a different venue, it might make more sense to play up the show a little more, with stagelights and big sound that people can't duplicate at home, which is more like strategy number one. In any event, find everything you can do to maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages to your guests.

The first order of any business is to decide who your customers are, why they're coming, how to keep those people happy, and how to get more of them. You might also talk to the venue owners and ask how you can cooperate with them to add to the experience. If you announce between rotations that guests can order trays of sliders, it adds one more layer to the guests' experience and also helps the venue pay you.

sorry, duplicate post

i don't know about anyone else, but I have found that I actually sing better at a live show han if I just sing for myself or around anyone else at home.

-James

goo goo

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.