Karaoke Forums

I just recently returned from a very long road trip to see the eclipse and fill in some of my bucket list states. While I and my family was driving 4500 miles cross country and back, my wife and I had the opportunity to go to a couple of different karaoke shows. Here is my take on how karaoke is "generally" perceived from "average" bar patron. Now we are talking just the people that go out to let loose, NOT the karaoke divas.

As a typical night of karaoke, the vast majority of the patrons are NOT singers, nor are they there to even participate. They are there simply to have a good time. Karaoke singers/participants are only a small percentage of total patrons, unless the venue is a dedicated karaoke bar. Then a much larger percentage of patrons are their for singing or supporting. As bar owners, their priority is to be profitable, whether it's a country bar, large night club, sports bar or even a karaoke spot. They offer services, activities and food/drinks to attract more people. Pretty simple huh? As long as the venues are managed well, then they have a good chance of being successful.

OK, now let's change the focus onto karaoke hosts. If we are hosting as a professional, our objectives are usually to offer quality sound with top quality equipment, a fair rotation and a friendly, fun atmosphere. How far we go and spend on our gear is a choice we make from a personal viewpoint. This is where the opinions will differ and where I think we are biased as hosts.

By putting together large libraries, expensive sound gear, lights, software, mics, etc. who are we trying to impress? Personally, I think that our egos are to thank. I think we are kidding ourselves in believing all that "stuff" really makes a difference in how our shows are viewed from the general bar patron or bar owner. All they truly care about is bodies in the bar, spending money and having a good time. While on my trip, I attended two separate small local bars and the karaoke shows they had that particular night. What I actually saw was actually pretty informative.

First show, in Arkansas: Small place that only held about 35-40 people max. The host was using lousy gear, horrible mics, played from Youtube, total lack of organized rotation, had to sing toward the wall with our backs to the crowd, and a total lack of fun personality from the host. Almost every single thing we as "professional" hosts would cringe at. Guess what,,, we had a total blast!! Why you say? I believe it was all because of the crowd itself. Were they there to support or particapate in karaoke? Not really, only 5 or 6 people sang. The rest just simply had fun visiting and drinking. They were very welcoming to us as visitors and made us feel like part of the group. From my standpoint as a singer, the crowd didn't care one little bit that the sound was terrible, and that they were looking at the back of our heads. They just simply had a good time.

Second show in Kansas: Club was a bit bigger, held maybe 50 people, and standing room only. They do karaoke several nights a week, with rotating hosts. The host was using decent sound, good mics and I am not sure what software. He was definitely not the greatest host I have seen tho. There was maybe 8 to 10 singers, it kind of was hard to tell because the rotation was so helter skelter, just a sign up sheet, and the host was all over the place on who sang next. Also, we had to use the screen on a table right next to the mixing board,, really awkward. But guess what, again we had fun, simply because of the crowd. Generally, they weren't there to participate, they were there to drink and visit. I believe the only reason that karaoke was there was to make noise.

That's my observation, karaoke is simply there to fill the silence. It really doesn't matter to the general patron (again, not diva) that we have the best sound, newest software, nicest mics and host the fairest of professionally ran shows. It all boils down to the crowd, and how much "fun" they are having, and how much they are spending so the venue is profitable. The average bar patron is usually there to drink a few, visit with friends, meet new people and typically have a night of distraction from daily life. Those are the people that spend money and make it possible for owners be successful. Singers who take their performances seriously (the divas) are usually, but not always though, the ones who don't spend much money, water drinkers, complain about being skipped,,, you know the type.

Now this is only an opinion, but as hosts who are we trying to impress? Who are we kidding? I think it's us, we believe by putting all this effort and money into our shows, that it will make us successful, when it all boils down to the crowd, how much fun they have and how much money they are spending. That's my take, yours will probably differ.

My Dear Mr. Scott...

I respectfully disagree with you. You cannot base your assessment from these two places that are not really known for karaoke. For example, the bar in Arkansas, was just that. They may have offered karaoke but as you said, people were not there for it. And I'm sure the same people would be there regardless of whether or not they had karaoke.

Now, with that said...

There are a lot of singers that love and take karaoke seriously. They know where all the good places are, they know who's hosting, and they know what the sound is like. And these are the people who are going to pack the better places. They are not going to the places with hosts that have no people skills and poor sound and equipment.

Providing a great experience for my customers has always been my #1 priority. When I first got into this I wanted to provide the kind of sound that I would expect if I was going to a karaoke bar to sing. And so, for me, sound quality has always been my top priority.

If you are doing karaoke professionally, you should be professional. Sound is your business! Yet, most hosts don't care, won't put the money into it, use inferior equipment or "toys". It's more like a hobby. Or for some, beer money.

Well, I wanted to set myself apart from the rest, raise the bar if you will. This has nothing to do with ego. It's about running a business and provide my customers with the best experience around. The kind I would want for myself.

I continuously get compliments on my shows all the time. I even get tips, and I don't even put out a tip jar. But these people tell me that I have the best sound around and have the most fun at my shows.

At my shows, I have regular singers who come out week after week because they know they're going to sound good and have a great experience. And, I also have non singers who come out also, because they enjoy the show and listening to others sing.

If the people from your Arkansas show, were to go to a real karaoke bar, where they are in the spotlight and not singing with their backs to the audience.... they would probably have a heart attack from shock. I'm sure they have no clue what a real, high quality professional karaoke show is like.

So, I would not base my assessment on a couple of Hicksville bars that offer substandard karaoke. Remember, all karaoke is NOT created equal. Like anything else, there's good and bad. You've just experience the bad.

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