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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 3:18 am 
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OK, here's the situation...

Started a new gig at a pretty popular bar in the area. Replacing someone who is supposedly retiring. First night, I had 15 singers in which 10 of them were followers. IMO, 15 singers is very good for a first night. Here's the problem:

They want me to break it up with DJ music. It seems that the previous guy would do some dance music every 45 minutes regardless of the amount of singers, something I don't believe in doing. I heard that a table of non singers complained because they were bored with the karaoke and wanted music and left.

To make them happy, I did play 2 dance songs and got a look from some of my singers like " What are you doing"? "Were here to sing"! One of them got pissed and left.

Now, I have always believed that mixing karaoke with DJ music (unless you only have 3 or 4 singers) is a formula for disaster. It's not how I run my shows. I would leave too, if I went to a place to sing and the KJ played music also.

I am going to talk to the owner because I don't think I'll be going back. I spent a lot of years building up a following and reputation I'm not going to alienate my singers and have it ruined.

So, what is your opinion?

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 7:08 am 
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I personally run my shows with the rule that if I am playing the original artist and not a Karaoke song, that means I am not doing my job of getting people to sing because at that point I don't have anyone in the rotation, including me. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with a hybrid karaoke/DJ show if it's advertised as such. If I see just the words karaoke night and the host plays even a three song DJ set while I know that he has Karaoke song requests up there, namely mine, I am one who will walk out of a show because I feel like they committed false advertisement by not using the words Karaoke/DJ night in the signs posted around the bar. Karaoke night means to me just that: karaoke only. So I can totally understand the reaction of some of the crowd. I run my shows with my singers as the priority. I have a friend who advertises his show as both and that is probably one of the only reasons that I actually stay for his show, the fact that I know ahead of time that somewhere in the night he is going to be taking a DJ break. He always wants until the end of a rotation, several rotations into the night and it's never more than 2 to 3 songs. He will sometimes not do it if he has too many singers to get through. One show that I had, I had to advertise as Karaoke/DJ because the owner wanted me to play non Karaoke songs in between rotations if I have less than a certain amount of singers in the rotation. I told him that I am happy to ablidge but your sign has to be changed to Karaoke/DJ night so that the customers aren't confused and once I have above that amount of singers, It will become straight Karaoke and I won't be going back to DJ music because my singers always come first.

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:00 am 
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DannyG2006 wrote:
One show that I had, I had to advertise as Karaoke/DJ because the owner wanted me to play non Karaoke songs in between rotations if I have less than a certain amount of singers in the rotation.

How many singers would you need in your rotation before you stop with the DJ music?

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:18 am 
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I stop the DJ music two or three singers after I pull myself out of the rotation. I pull myself out of the rotation if I have at least 8 singers with more than 2 songs in the rotation. I am not being paid to sing, but I am being paid to play music. If the show is advertised as Karaoke night then I just run with the pulling out of rotation rule. Doesn't mean that I don't sing with a timid singer that asks me to help out or someone who wants to sing a duet and can't find a partner.

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:09 am 
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I don't have any problems with hybrid shows, just advertise as such - a simple "karaoke & dj music" is all that's required, however most kj's refuse to throw in that blurb and say it's just karaoke. Not fun going to a karaoke advertised show to have dj music half the night - nor do those looking for just karaoke ever go back to those shows. You don't go to a DJ show and expect to sing, why would you go to a 'karaoke' show and expect to hear DJ music?

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:36 pm 
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8) Here is something I have tried in the past and seems to satisfy both singers and dancers. I put both singers and dancers on the board, with the understanding everyone has a block of time. Your name your block of time if you want to sing go ahead, you want to have a dance number fine. That way you are indeed playing to the crowd and letting the patrons determine the entertainment for their time block. Funny when I did it this way no one complained. One time I had the belly dancers in from the local Greek Cafe and I played their disc, and they danced, nobody complained.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 7:38 pm 
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The Lone Ranger wrote:
8) Here is something I have tried in the past and seems to satisfy both singers and dancers. I put both singers and dancers on the board, with the understanding everyone has a block of time. Your name your block of time if you want to sing go ahead, you want to have a dance number fine. That way you are indeed playing to the crowd and letting the patrons determine the entertainment for their time block. Funny when I did it this way no one complained. One time I had the belly dancers in from the local Greek Cafe and I played their disc, and they danced, nobody complained.

That would be great if you had an equal amount of singers and dancers. But if you had 3 tables that wanted dance music and only 1 table that wanted to sing, you would be playing more dance music than karaoke.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 4:03 am 
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Alan B wrote:
That would be great if you had an equal amount of singers and dancers. But if you had 3 tables that wanted dance music and only 1 table that wanted to sing, you would be playing more dance music than karaoke.



8) If the night is supposed to be karaoke and you have more dancers than singers, something else is going on there. The karaoke is not being promoted properly. The reason the block of time works I think is because on the surface it appears above board and fair. You are not letting one form of entertainment dominate. I believe you said the old host retired, did he always have a packed house using his method?


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 10:00 pm 
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I see nothing wrong with playing a few dance songs during my shows. Especially if we are in ballad hell mode. A change is sometimes needed and a welcome change for most if not all patrons. Even if I have 40 singers in rotation I will still play a few dance songs and the response has always been positive.

My job as a host is to provide a fun, energetic night of singing and dancing. Yeah, it's karaoke night but that doesn't mean I can't throw up a few upbeat dance songs to get the energy up and people moving. Having the mindset of only karaoke or only dj music does not work for me nor my regulars. They are used to me playing faster songs when needed and I will continue to do so.

If someone told me that it was supposed to only be karaoke night and they were getting upset because I played a few dance songs thru-out the evening I would think they were joking. Life is too short to worry about things of this nature. My aim is to please the masses and so far so good. There are other "hardcore" karaoke-only venues in the area if that is what they need, and to be honest, if this is their demeanor then I'd rather they go elsewhere.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:08 pm 
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Ok. Let's say that you have absolutely no room for a few dance tunes because you get a full night's worth of Karaoke song requests, do you mean that because you feel a need to change the mood of the night that you would take upon yourself to deny a singer or two their chance to sing by throwing in a few dance/upbeat songs. Sorry but that's just plain selfish of you. Even my friend, who advertises a hybrid show will forgot the DJ part if he has enough Karaoke songs for the night. He like myself puts his singers first. Even if he has a bunch of ballads in a row, if he doesn't feel like he has the time to add DJ music into the flow due to the amount of karaoke requests, he will stay with the Karaoke. Hasn't affected his show in any way at all. He still gets a good crowd and makes his venue money.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 2:51 am 
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As stated in previous posts, I run each show pretty much the same but will make a few adjustments if needed. Call it selfish, etc. I don't really care. My success speaks for itself. My regulars keep coming back and I've been at the same venues for years.

Again, my job is to keep everyone entertained and having a good time. 5 to 10 minutes of dance music within a 4 hour show has had no ill effect on my shows. If anything, it does just the opposite. People are up dancing and smiling ear to ear and listening to a song that probably won't be sung. That's called doing my job.

I don't run a militant Karaoke show. Each venue is different and so are the patrons. What's great at one will not work at the other. I can tell when I need to interject and add some energy. It's what sets me apart from the "CATTLE CALLERS" who just call a name and hit play. This is a people business and relating to all patrons is my goal.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 6:53 am 
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I have no problem with a few DJ tunes if I have advertised a hybrid show, I usually end up changing my advertising after the first week or two because I always start out Karaoke only. Granted by the third or fourth week, I have to go back to karaoke only because I end up with enough singers to fill the night. But I will never interrupt the rotation to change the pace. My singers always come first. If the non singers don't want to hear the singers then they can go elsewhere where a real DJ is playing. I don't go into a club with a DJ and complain that I am not allowed to sing. Non singers don't have the right to complain on a Karaoke night in my opinion. One can dance at a Karaoke show as well as a DJ night.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 10:21 am 
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The old adage rang true: “You can’t please everyone”.

Yes, I do play video dance music i.e., Blurred Lines, 24k Magic, Cupid Shuffle, etc. One dance music for every round, first and last round excluded. They can beg me to play another and my answer would be to wait the next round. It’s got to be a hi-level dance number that will get them out of their seats and onto the dancefloor, otherwise it’s a no go.

Let me just say: No one knows what’s best for your show besides you. 8)

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 2:02 pm 
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I've never needed to play dance music during any of our gigs... We always have several dancers and enough danceable karaoke throughout the night that I can't recall ever being asked to play a non-karaoke dance song... We often have a full dance floor, and that makes the singers feel very special.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 11:23 pm 
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While I do see it as my job to entertain the crowd, it is my job to entertain them with karaoke. Because (in my case) that and that alone is what I hire myself out to do. That is all I advertise myself as doing. If I really don't have enough singers in the bar (which is rare and only at the start of some nights) then I will sing the most entertaining songs I think the crowd will like, and do my best to rouse interest, because my whole goal is to entertain by using karaoke. I'll run a 3 person rotation, even with myself as one of those 3, until it sparks, which fortunately it always does or I wouldn't keep my gigs. Stopping that to play dance music is like admitting defeat.

I'm not saying hybrid shows can't work, and in some venues they do, and obviously they are fulfilling for the hosts that like to do them. That's just not the kind of show I'd frequent myself as a customer, and not the kind of show I'd ever want to run.


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 11:42 pm 
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DannyG2006 wrote:
Ok. Let's say that you have absolutely no room for a few dance tunes because you get a full night's worth of Karaoke song requests, do you mean that because you feel a need to change the mood of the night that you would take upon yourself to deny a singer or two their chance to sing by throwing in a few dance/upbeat songs...
Well said!

I think of it this way too: not only are there 3 less turns to sing at the end of the show if 3 dance songs were inserted over the course of the night, but the 3 people who then get denied those turns at the end were the 3 that waited until latest. It's adding insult to injury.

That happened to me as a customer more often than I care to remember. I never went back to any of those shows. A singer may understand not singing because there are other singers to get up. But not singing because karaoke stopped multiple times for something else, for me that's just a deal breaker.


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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2018 3:39 am 
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i went to a bar with some friends, a DJ was playing.
we wanted to sing, DJ said no way
said it was dance night, not karaoke night.
that's why i don't.

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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2018 6:37 am 
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Elementary Penguin wrote:
DannyG2006 wrote:
Ok. Let's say that you have absolutely no room for a few dance tunes because you get a full night's worth of Karaoke song requests, do you mean that because you feel a need to change the mood of the night that you would take upon yourself to deny a singer or two their chance to sing by throwing in a few dance/upbeat songs...
Well said!

I think of it this way too: not only are there 3 less turns to sing at the end of the show if 3 dance songs were inserted over the course of the night, but the 3 people who then get denied those turns at the end were the 3 that waited until latest. It's adding insult to injury.

That happened to me as a customer more often than I care to remember. I never went back to any of those shows. A singer may understand not singing because there are other singers to get up. But not singing because karaoke stopped multiple times for something else, for me that's just a deal breaker.

I run my shows the same way that I personally want to see shows run. I have no problem with hybrid shows as long as the singers have priority. if they don't, I usually don't go back even if the host might be a close personal friend of mine. I will tell them later exactly why I left. When I set up for a hybrid show,which is rare, I put Karaoke first to indicate what has my priority. I will never put the DJ first because I will never take that kind of show no matter what they want to pay me.

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PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2018 10:54 am 
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Every show is ran the how the host sees fit. If I go to sing karaoke and the host plays a dance song request or two (like I do) throughout the course of the evening I don't have a problem with it.

I struggle with the idea that some of you would get upset under this scenario. It's music entertainment and nothing more. Everyone will sing at my shows at least once if not more. I see no problem when an audience member requests a dance song that I know nobody at this venue would sing. They are paying customers as well and will stay the whole night.

Maybe it's because I'm in Florida. It's laid back down here and full of retired folks who just want to have fun. If I honestly seen where it hindered my show or I lost customers, perhaps I would change my tune.

This rule of karaoke and nothing else is silly to me and I simply don't get it.

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PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2018 12:03 pm 
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I have always ran karaoke shows only. If I were to start the night with only 3 or 4 singers, than I would make the exception and play some dance music after each rotation. Once I get 7 or more singers, it's karaoke only. With that said...

I can understand that nobody wants to listen to depressing ballads. There's nothing worse than bring a show down than ballad hell. Although I try to encourage everyone to sing upbeat songs, I will never tell someone what they can or can't sing. If everyone would sing entertaining upbeat songs, there would be no need for dance music.

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