Hello all
It is my understanding that when one buys a CDG one has been licensed to publicly perform all the songs thereon, otherwise what is the point? Does one just admire the disc as a work of art? I think not. The vast majority of CDG sales are to professionals for the specific purpose of public performance.
Regarding copies; software companies always advise backing up their product in order to use the copy and safely store the original. However, I don’t think that the CDG producing companies like our backing up their products. They would prefer that if the disc has been damaged beyond repair we should purchase another copy. I can see their point. However, there are many discs (I have quite a few in my own collection) which cannot be replaced; either the production company is out of business, or the disc is no longer in print, or whatever. So blow them, I back up every disc I buy. I have never had the slightest problem having my discs accepted by any KJ. If I ever did I would leave immediately and never patronise that KJ again. Karaoke is very popular, and one can always find another venue.
The reasons I started bringing my own discs to shows are these:-
1. I don’t see very well and I got fed up hurting my eyes reading the small print of the books in badly lit venues. I had to take a magnifying glass, and this caused quite a bit of friendly teasing, I can tell you!
2. After ploughing through these often massive tomes I would find only a few songs I wanted to sing, usually the same ones as at the previous show.
3. Even when I found a song the graphics would sometimes be too small. Sunfly were the main offenders but they have cleaned up their act now, thank goodness. Also the sweep was unsatisfactory in many cases, not presenting the lyrics in time so that cues were often missed if one was unfamiliar with the words. Another annoyance was if the lyrics were incorrect, usually silly mistakes, almost as if someone (whose first language is not English) was taking dictation from the record and either mis-hearing or not understanding, you know, the “it is are not raining here also” syndrome.
All these frustrations were eliminated when I bought KHP and MicroStudio (I also bought Keyrite and Vogone). I could re-do the song so that the sweep was acceptable and make compilation discs of all the songs Ron and I wanted to sing. I was now able to purchase backing tracks to make new songs which I could not find on a CDG with sufficient other songs to make the purchase worthwhile, or were simply not available. Then I discovered Soundprobe. This is a marvellous wave editing program, which means that now I can change the arrangement to suit myself, change the key (I have an unusual vocal range) set the lyrics how I want them and compile the finished results on a few discs. I am now a very happy bunny, because singing is our main entertainment. Thank you MTU, thank you very much.
You carry on taking your own discs and KJs please continue allowing your patrons to use their own discs, assuming as one has to that they have come by them legally. It can only enhance your show by adding variety and patron satisfaction. It also means that you will not be asked to purchase the disc on which this particular song is included, therefore it is cheaper for you.
Good luck and best wishes
