Best Monthly Series for staying current

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by Rockrz

What if you only have two SC disks and you aren't planning on getting any more?

Will they still make you pay $4000 for the audit?

Does that cover air fare, hotel and car rental to get to their place... or do they come to you?

Just curious about the details of the audit.

The audit costs $225 I believe and no if you only had 2 discs, they will most likely work with you for a few bucks. And it's usually done by Skype or they'll send someone out to verify.

[Rockrz]

OK, I may offend someone... but, that's not too bad to assure that they won't be on your back in the future.

What about the other manufacturers? How do you get permission from them to go digital?

[RIKKI TIKKI]

Rockrz,

At this time Sound Choice is the only manufacturer that is Suing the KJ or Venue over Illegal or Unauthorized Media Shifts of their Original Media (CDG's) to a hardrive. Chartbuster has also been indicating that they are "watching" the SC results of their Business Model of Litigation to expose the Piracy or Trade Mark Infringement of their product. As Lonman states, as long as you can prove 1:1 disk to hardrive ratio, and the venue has paid their PRO ( BMI, ASCAP, ) Fees, then you should be safe from prosecution... but without the Audit from SC authorizing the media-shift to computer, you could still be investigated (during show) and named in a lawsuit... then during discovery at the trial, an audit MUST be performed, and the cost to the KJ is much higher...

The forum section at Karaoke Scene Magazine has a lot of information that we won't re-hash here, but if you're interested, go sign up to the forum at karaokescene.com and read to your hearts content...

[Rockrz]

then you should be safe from prosecution...

I think a smart business person would be troubled by this "should be" stuff and would seek a more concrete solution such as paying to authorize your shift so it doesn't cost you alot more in the future if they bust you.

That'd be the legally safe thing to do since it is what it is...

[RIKKI TIKKI]

That's the current argument among KJ's... Do I get an audit, prior to getting sued, thus paying one manufacturer for the permission to download or upload their cdg's or digital mp3g's... or wait to be investigated, get sued, and prove 1:1 compliance. Not use SC product at all. Be Original Disk KJ Using SC cdg's as they were originally intended to be used... Choice is yours, but very small percentages of KJ's are paying for Audit, until they get sued, and then even the worst pirates ( loaded Hardrives purchased without having discs ) can Purchase SC's Gem Series and become legit, or allowed to carry on and compete with you for your gigs.

SC is not going after the main problem, ie. the hardrive sellers on E-bay or Craig's list, because that would put a kink in their current business model, of suing anybody that is using a computer to play SC content, where their Logo is copied (Shown on monitor) and then can be sued, and made to pay for their transgressions by purchasing a Court Ordered Audit for $500 and/or the Gem Series for $8000, which can then be shifted to your computer... Nice Business Model Right? Also they haven't produced any new music in 3 years, so it is all of their older product, that they were able to legally license, and produce in a limited quantity... so they are a stagnant Manufacturer at best... who are using litigation to sell or force compliance to previous customers, pirates, infringers, etc. and liquidate old product...

I just disagree with their method of Litigation to recover lost income caused by the pirating of their Intellectual Property... Where the main problem (hardrive sellers) is not their 1st priority... IMHO

[Lonman]

I was one to pay for the audit. I have over 700 SC discs that get used and requested 7 nights a week. It was a wise move IMO. If you only have 2 SC discs and don't plan on getting anymore, contact them and see what it would cost, otherwise i'd just leave those two discs out of the equation & use the other manus. From what I understand, most kj's have got written ok's from most of the manus to shift their product.

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by RIKKI TIKKI

Choice is yours, but very small percentages of KJ's are paying for Audit, until they get sued, and then even the worst pirates ( loaded Hardrives purchased without having discs ) can Purchase SC's Gem Series and become legit, or allowed to carry on and compete with you for your gigs.

The ones up here had to buy the GEM, but from what I am understanding from customers that used to frequent their shows, they had to get rid of everything else on their hard drives so that's ALL they have is the GEM. One singer told me on kj went from over 150K songs to 5000!

[RIKKI TIKKI]

Originally Posted by Lonman

The ones up here had to buy the GEM, but from what I am understanding from customers that used to frequent their shows, they had to get rid of everything else on their hard drives so that's ALL they have is the GEM. One singer told me on kj went from over 150K songs to 5000!

I've read that also... just don't know how much the post litigation process would uncover a pirate that is still using a loaded hardrive, once they are protected by the Certification from Sound Choice allowing them to shift content from the Gem? But I agree that is what SC should be doing in order to put a little fear in the Pirates, as well as squash a few of the loaded hardrive sellers on the internet...