Karaoke Forums

This is what I am seeing as well here. Even though we are not a tourist area, our summers find people out camping, vacationing, or just generally doing things outdoors with the families or friends. Bars and clubs usually slow down drastically during the warmer months. However, this year has been especially quiet for the show I still host. Even the bartenders are worried that when cooler weather comes back, that the customers won't. This last winter was about equal to what we would have gotten for a customer count in a normal summer. That's what I am seeing for almost the entire state. Bar business is just plainly down.

Here my "Karaoke Is Alive And Well" story. It's a fairly long post, but I hope you won't find it boring.

For 20-ish years, I hosted a successful karaoke show at a service club (The Canadian Belgian Dutch Club) in Wallaceburg, a small town in south-west Ontario, Canada. Even during the heights of the Covid pandemic, our shows were well-attended (when the health authorities allowed). Certainly, over all those years, we had the odd "down" night, but they were few and far between. We would average 30 to 35 singers each Thursday evening.

Two years ago, I decided to relocate to the land of my birth - Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, and purchased a home in the small town of New Waterford, population just over 6,000. I contacted the local Royal Canadian Legion branch and proposed a couple of Tuesday evening karaoke shows at no cost to the Legion, just to "test the waters". We chose Tuesday so as not to compete with the TWO! other karaoke evenings (Thursdays & Saturdays) in our little town. I'll admit that I wasn't very optimistic, but was pleasantly surprised when several singers and assorted guests showed up.

It's been two years now, and our Tuesday evenings are not only surviving, they're thriving. In fact, all three karaoke shows in our little town are doing very well. I've become friends with the Thursday/Saturday host, and she and I have become associates... not competitors. We help each other from time-to-time and always attend each other's shows.

Just a quick note about numbers. Our local Legion Branch is tiny compared with most venues. We can normally seat 50-ish people and still leave room for dancing. There are times however, when we've had to drag out extra tables, but that's only happened on a half-dozen occasions.. On a normal evening we can expect 20 or so singers, but some shows are quite a bit better... Last night we had a better-than-average show with 27 singers, and about the same number of listeners/dancers.

So, to all those nay-sayers, and "karaoke-is-dying" folks, I'd be only too happy to disprove that opinion, at least from my perspective. Karaoke is alive & well here on Cape Breton Island... Your mileage may vary.

By the way, our Island has been voted as one of the top-ten vacation destinations in the world for it's awesome beauty, it's world-class golf courses, and of course it's friendly people. I truly believe everyone should drive The Cabot Trail (Google it) at least once in their lifetime if at all possible. Forget Hawaii, or Europe, or even Disney World... come visit us. You won't regret it.

(Sorry, we don't have igloos or polar bears. Its been 80-plus degrees here for the past week, and the sandy salt-water beaches, of which we have many are calling me. Gotta go for a swim now. Have a terrific day folks.)

_________________
Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

The Cabot Trail is now on my bucket list!!!

Sounds Like A Nice Place To Visit.
Karaoke here in Los Angeles is thriving.
KJSammy just started another gig last Wednesday.
He Had a nice turn out..
Los Angeles County and Orange County Have millions of available singers.
Most local KJs post on the evil Facebook on times and such.
This seems to work, and it's still free.

Warning! I'm about to boast again:

The Cabot Trail is but one of the many incredible features of my beautiful Island, and you really don't need that much time to travel the route... You can do the Trail in as little as a day.

Other "must sees" include The incredible "Fortress of Louisburg", and the "Glace Bay Miner's Museum's" underground guided tour followed by a great down-east meal in the Miner's restaurant, and then a concert with "Men Of The Deeps" in the museum's auditorium. How about "The Red Shoe Pub", home of the "Rankin Family" in the beautiful village of Mabou. Google these things, and so much more. You'll see what I mean...

Every fall, Cape Breton Island celebrates "Celtic Colours".. where there's literally a band/party/dance on almost every corner. And if you decide to visit, let me know. I'll be happy to take your souvenir picture under the "Big Fiddle" in Sydney before heading out to one of the many karaoke venues.

_________________
Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

Hey Earl Exactly 25 years ago to the week I was in Sydney for Biz for about 10ish days... Very Beautiful country. Played Golf a couple times. At Seaview and Lingan. I had to dig through my old scorecards to figure out where I played!! Stayed at the Waterfront or a hotel around it. Remembered that on Sundays the whole town shut down.. Only things open were gas stations and movie theaters if I remember right!! The Mall stores were closed and there was a flea market/hand crafts throughout the inside of the mall! Good memories!!

Post-Covid business has been great for me. (Greater Seattle Metro area)
I have consistently turned away more business than I can accept.

I am currently servicing 17 venues with 30 karaoke programs and 5 trivia programs every week.
I still have a 1/2 dozen venues I have serviced for 10+ years. Several more that are 5+ years.
I still have people on my crew that have worked with me for 10+ years.

While I will admit to having been one of the egos mentioned, this is my first post in more than 7 years. I left long before this place crumbled, but the signs were already there.

The ongoing demise of this forum is multi-faceted. But I put the primary blame on the shoulders of those running it. (Owners, Admins, some Mods)
There are /subbreddits with more active daily users than this place even has members and they keep the peace pretty well.

I stopped coming here because of what I believed to be bias by some mods in favor or against specific individuals.
I also stopped seeing any value. I learned what I needed to learn and attempts to pass along knowledge were met with disdain and a lack of respect for experience and expertise.
Other platforms are managed better, provide more value, and are just more fun to be engaged with.

I also left because I recognized my role in the disruption that was taking place. I figured I would go away to let things simmer down and see what, if any improvements might take place. I stayed away because nothing improved.

KS has one foot in the grave, but could possibly be saved by putting some folks in charge that promote and properly maintain the forum.

Example - It's not a good sign when I go to login to KS and my browser warns me about it being an unsecure site.

Finally, the overall state of karaoke may seem to be suffering, but I would argue it's because of the same complacency that laid waste to KaraokeScene. COVID was a kick in the (@$%&#!) for everyone.
Those of us that have worked hard, maintained focus, and dedicated ourselves to our craft are prospering. So are the venues. And the patrons are reaping the benefits of having some great places to go sing.

-Chris

Well said Chris. While I still hope this place can stage a come-back, it doesn't look promising. I'll keep popping in from time to time, and perhaps others like you might consider doing so as well. Perhaps if we make a conscious effort to "contribute", others might join in. It certainly can't hurt to try. Come to think of it, I have a question regarding contests, that might be worthy of a separate thread.

Cheers from Beautiful Cape Breton Island.

_________________
Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]