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Singers & Hosts Wisdom Post how to be a great karaoke singer or host.

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  #21  
Old May 19th, 2006, 12:40 PM
TKaraoke TKaraoke is offline
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Songbooks - The Necessary Evil!

I believe to keep customers happy the need to be able to find the songs they are looking for so they don't have to come up and say "Do you have XXXX". As Host I update my books with New Song Pages whenever I get new discs, I never try to go beyond 3 new pages or set of pages, depending on the number of new songs, then I combine all the NEw Song Updates into one New Section. I have the Original Book, and then the New Update section. Having a year or two of updates one month at a time is a nightmare, too hard to find songs. Also my main book is in White by Title, Yellow by Artist, New Update Combined Section Artist & Title another color, and a max of the 3 neww pages in different colors til combined. Everyone knows where to look for the newest songs and don't have to ask. My pet peeve is to go to someone's show and they have books by Artist and seperate books by Title, I don't want to runaround all night looking for the "other" book that I will evevntually probably want, and I sure don't want my customers doing that, that's why they go to other KJ's show. I love the Laptop "Songbook" idea, but that's a whole new ballgame.
My humble belief:
1-People want a LOT of songs to choose from, and easy to find in a book.
2-Better singers, that will attract customers who will come, spend money, and bring other listeners, want a GREAT sounding system
3-People want a fair rotation
4-People want KJ/DJ's to START ON TIME
5- 1,2,3,4, and BE NICE, don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.
I have 14,000 plus songs, went to double columns which I don't like, but the people do, and they have said so, because they like the smaller lighter books!
Just my 2 Cents
TK
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  #22  
Old May 19th, 2006, 02:07 PM
pelletmon pelletmon is offline
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So what your saying is your listing by title and song in the same book.14000 songs.That would be 28000 listings not counting new right? Wow,must be a big book.P.S.I've gotton my share of complants over different things over the years but having to scramble to find the "other book "has yet to be one of them.Thanks Billy.

Last edited by pelletmon; May 19th, 2006 at 02:12 PM.
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  #23  
Old May 19th, 2006, 02:20 PM
swany swany is offline
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If you put ten out and seven are used you'll still get someone coming up and saying "Can you find this song?"
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  #24  
Old May 19th, 2006, 02:44 PM
TKaraoke TKaraoke is offline
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Other Book

Pelltmon, I guess I look at myself and it seems that if I go with my wife and the books are seperate one by artist and one by title, we always seem to know the song or the artist and happen to have the wrong book. So I've double columned my book so as to cut the size down in half because they were WAYYYYYYYYY TOOOOOOOO big & heavy. I quess we all do what works for each of us, but it's good to hear all the ways everyone is doing things. I find the customers seem to like both in the same book, but it does cost more and takes more time updating. But what's the difference when we have all this time & $ invested anyway!
TK
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  #25  
Old May 19th, 2006, 07:04 PM
pelletmon pelletmon is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TKaraoke
Pelltmon, I guess I look at myself and it seems that if I go with my wife and the books are seperate one by artist and one by title, we always seem to know the song or the artist and happen to have the wrong book. So I've double columned my book so as to cut the size down in half because they were WAYYYYYYYYY TOOOOOOOO big & heavy. I quess we all do what works for each of us, but it's good to hear all the ways everyone is doing things. I find the customers seem to like both in the same book, but it does cost more and takes more time updating. But what's the difference when we have all this time & $ invested anyway!
TK
Interesting.I'll ask some of my regulars if the would like it better that way.Thanks.................anyone els?
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  #26  
Old May 24th, 2006, 07:45 PM
spud9000 spud9000 is offline
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I use Three hole punch paper for the books and then get the three hole punch covers at the office depot. Then put the books together with plastic zip ties tighten them up with a pair of side cutters, then cut off excess the large end of the tie will hide in the hole. This presses all the pages together tight I have not had a book come apart in over 5 years. Also be sure to print the books with waterproof ink, the covers I have have lasted for over five years. PS use two zip ties (usually 11" or bigger) on the book both go through center hole then out to outer hole
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  #27  
Old June 15th, 2006, 05:57 AM
Jerndeb Jerndeb is offline
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for the book that keeps getting bigger.... super glue the rings together.
just a drop.... then when you need to add more pages.... grab a wet bar towel...warm water works quicker... disolve the glue... add pages... then re-glue it.
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  #28  
Old June 15th, 2006, 08:16 AM
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bryant bryant is offline
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That sounds like the best idea I've heard all along, you're on a roll today, Jern!
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  #29  
Old June 15th, 2006, 08:36 AM
ddouglass ddouglass is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerndeb
for the book that keeps getting bigger.... super glue the rings together.
just a drop.... then when you need to add more pages.... grab a wet bar towel...warm water works quicker... disolve the glue... add pages... then re-glue it.
If water disolves the glue then what is all the beer and spilled drinks going to do to it?
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  #30  
Old June 15th, 2006, 09:04 AM
George George is offline
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Doesn't matter to me what others choose to do, but it seems easier to just buy the safety lock type binders.That's what they are made for. When in the lock position, they won't even pull open.

Last edited by George; June 15th, 2006 at 09:10 AM.
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  #31  
Old June 15th, 2006, 01:06 PM
pelletmon pelletmon is offline
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Super glue on metel ? I don't see how it would hold up for long.
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  #32  
Old June 16th, 2006, 01:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by George
...it seems easier to just buy the safety lock type binders.That's what they are made for. When in the lock position, they won't even pull open.
MAKES COMPLETE SENSE TO ME!

As George said, that's what the 3-ring manufacturers designed it for... exactly to solve the problem you have of books coming open.
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  #33  
Old June 16th, 2006, 02:11 PM
bobcox- with the Lord bobcox- with the Lord is offline
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I use the heavy duty three ring binders and somebody always forces them open and then the ring is bent and will not line up again and the pages get caught in the rings.
on the books i have tack welded they just rip out the page they want???
i guess there is no easy way to do it. Bob
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  #34  
Old June 21st, 2006, 08:32 PM
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alanross alanross is offline
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As long as there are drunk people, there will be problems with the karaoke books. This is a universal rule. There are no easy answers and as we continue to grow our businesses, we have to deal with ever expanding songbooks.

When I research other Karaoke shows, I, too, hate having to seek out separate binders for the artist list and the song title lists. We have kept both lists in one book for the 12 years I've been running Karaoke shows, but this year was the most difficult.

About seven years ago, I switched to the two column per page format and people love it. We have been able to use 1.5" ring binders every year, but probably should have bought 2" binders this year.

Automated or computer generated songbooks are so frightening a concept I shudder to think of it. Drunks with drinks in their hands accessing a computer to find their song? They can't even keep from spilling their drinks on themselves, what will protect the computer?

Keeping your songbooks clean is the healthiest thing you can do. I wipe off the books after every single show. Each page is in a sheet protector, so even the pages can be wiped down when they use the book as a coaster (argh!). Pages stuck together at the end of the night usually indicate where there is wetness. After each show, fan the pages to find where there is stickiness. Wipe those pages with a wet napkin and dry with a dry paper napkin. Don't use a bar rag. Bar rags often leave residue and do not remove as much moisture as a dry paper towel or napkin. Once the pages and exterior of the book have been wiped down, shake the pages down so that none of them are bunched up around the rings of the binder. This prevents the covers from tearing as quickly and the books will last longer.

We have a set of books we use at one of our locations 7 nights a week. By talking good care of them, we can make them last all year without having to replace the binders. We occasionally find that a page or two has fallen out of either the top ring or the bottom ring, but when you shake the pages down and fan them out, you can easily see which page has fallen off a ring and quickly hook it back in.

We put out a completely new set of books every year and throughout the year, we make additions to the song books in a separate "Additional Song List" section. Every year, we integrate those songs into the main body of the book and start fresh again. We do this every May because just after Memorial Day, our summer season begins and we like to have fresh books for the tourists.

About six years ago, I got the deal of a lifetime from Staples. I called them asking for 1.5" binders with the clear plastic insert covers so I could slip our company logo on the front and contact information in the back. The telephone sales rep told me they had a large quantity for a penny a piece.

I was a little taken aback and asked her to repeat that. She again said she had the binders I wanted for a penny each. Dumbfounded, I asked her how many she had available at this price. She said they had about 1500 of them in a warehouse. She surmised that they were some sort of overstock they were trying to get rid of.

Still in shock, I again asked for confirmation, "You mean to say that if I wanted to order all 1500 of those binders, it would cost me $15.00!?!

"That's right." she replied.

Quickly doing the math on my calculator, I discovered that 1500 binders, which normally sell for about $7.00 each minimum, would be worth $10,500!

I told her to ship them to me immediately.

She then told me that since I was ordering the entire inventory in bulk, she would give me free shipping on the order! I paid $15 and change (for tax) and in a few days, the UPS truck rolled into my yard with a hundred and twenty someodd boxes of 1.5" binders! The UPS driver was not exactly happy about it. Three of us spent the next twenty minutes unloading her truck.

Once UPS left, I opened a box to check out the binders and they were exactly what I had ordered. What I discovered was that they were all factory rejects that had a slight flaw in their plastic covers. The skin into which you can slide your covers did not meet factory specifications. These skins are supposed to cover the entire heighth of the binders, but ours came to about 3/8" from the top of the binder. The laminated cover sheets I made for them stick out about an 1/8" from the top, but it's so minor a problem no one has ever mentioned it. Nonetheless, these binders have served us well for a fraction of their actual value.

Although I had to rent a storage unit to house this huge inventory, I have been using these binders for the past several years and really don't want to have to buy any others. When a binder gets ripped, torn, broken, fails to close, whatever, I simply discard it and pull out another to replace it. It's nice because I always have really clean, professional looking books to offer.

Even after all these years of casually discarding used binders and giving boxes of them away to friends and family, I still have over twenty boxes left, each with a dozen binders in them. You can see why I'm reluctant to graduate up to 2" binders.

But this year our books are really at their limit. I will not be able to use them again next year.

Next year I will face having to purchase 50 new binders, run 50 copies of our 300 page book, purchase enough sheet protectors for every double-sided page in the book, host a "book stuffing party" (as we do every year) to get the pages into the sheet protectors and hire a psychiatrist to handle my nervous breakdown. However, all of this is simply the cost of doing business.

After twelve years in Karaoke, I've seen many many people try to get into the business only to close up shop in a couple of years because they couldn't keep up with the cost of doing business. Too many people think that if they buy the equipment, buy a bunch of disks and get a few gigs, the money they make after paying off their initial investment will just be profit. HA!

Anyone who's done this for any time will tell you that Karaoke is not a path to financial freedom. To remain in this business you either have to have a great love for it or several bricks missing from your load. I think I have both.

Songbooks will always be an irritant, but then again, so are the drunks and the inconsiderate "when am I up next?" people. All of these are what we pay for the ability to host our own Karaoke shows. It's the cost of doing business.

- Alan
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  #35  
Old June 22nd, 2006, 02:20 AM
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Excellent testimony. Sue and I do the exact same thing as you do, right down to the Staples 11/2" binders.
Bryant and Sue
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  #36  
Old June 23rd, 2006, 01:42 PM
kedmison kedmison is offline
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gotrich mentioned putting his cover sheet in upside down so it doesn't get wet.

What if,....we were to put all our song sheets in from the bottom of the protector sheets? I have had folks spill beer or drinks on an open book and because usually it is spilled from the top down; the liquid will run inside the protector sheet. Has anyone tried using their sheets upside down and has this helped?

Kelly
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  #37  
Old June 23rd, 2006, 03:45 PM
bobcox- with the Lord bobcox- with the Lord is offline
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I know how you feel Alan.
we have one Jack### who would come up every 5 mins and bug us about when am i up and why does he have to wait so long. and that is when we have a rotion of 25 or 30 singers. but he thinks he is the best out there and people want to hear him over the others.
So everytime he comes up i told him i would drop him down two in the list. and i did.
he dosnt bother us anymore. Bob
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  #38  
Old August 21st, 2006, 02:11 AM
solidsound solidsound is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tommyjon
I have been fighting the book thing forever. As long as you deal with drunks and booze the books will eventually loose.

I am now getting the most miles out of my books that I ever have and here's what I do. I use a wilsonjones 1 and 1/2 inch 3 ring (flat on one side) locking binder that holds 400 sheets. I use avery clear premium heavyweight sheet protectors (3.3mils) that come in a 200 pak box from Costco... way cheaper than office supplies. I also add a little pouch for the pens and the karaoke slips. After I stuff the books I take a roll of black electrical tape and cut 3/4-1 inch strips. I then attach the tape to the metal rings where they interlock, then add a little superglue as I wrap the rest of the tape around the ring and usually add a little more glue. The trick is to keep your fingers moving constantly or the will definitely end up attached to your book. My fingers end up slick because of the drying superglue and yes it is a messy job, but when some drunk drops a heavy book on the floor, it doesn't come apart.

Oh yeah, for the final touch. I add four little clear rubber feet to each side of the binder and clear duct tape over the feet. This keeps the book up off the beer and drinks on the table and the tape keeps the drunks from peeling of the rubber feet. Finally I keep black duct with me to patch up the books, because eventually they start to fall apart.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it is expensive, but my books last a long time.

Oh yeah, with update songs you have to cut the tape off and redo it. To WDEWDAD7 from Great Falls, I'm from Billings. Keep on Karaokin'



I tried straws, it is very effective. Some straws size fit exactly on binder ring. I cut them enough to fit on the rounded ring and then i put tape on both ends. It's easy and not messy.

SolidSound
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  #39  
Old September 8th, 2006, 12:00 AM
Reda Lou Reda Lou is offline
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Reda Lou

I used to use the ring binders but the last time I made books I just didn't have time to go through that whole process. We had just bought a new cav's player and wanted to get the books out quickly. We stopped at an office place and had the books made with the ribbed binders and had a plastic cover put on the front. These books are a year and a half old and just now starting to look pretty bad. Now that I am looking at MPU I have decided to still go have it done in the office place because it was so much easier and the cost was worth my time. If you consider the cost of materials and the time you put into putting it together yourself it really isn't that much more.
We put our new additions in a separate little folder like the kids use for reports in school. Then when the yearly books are made we will incorporate those songs into the new book. (Yeah I know we went over our year).

By the way I love the light idea!!! What a way to add to your customers convinience.
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