How would you go about Hiring a KJ to work for you???

[louieoke2]

All,
I would appreciate any advice on hiring a 2nd KJ to work for me. How much to pay, what to look for, etc. Thanks for any input in advance.

Regards,
Louieoke

[bobcox- with the Lord]

We have 4 systms and hire KJs for fill ins & for reg gigs. its very hard to find good help that you can trust with your eqip & disc. we have had some bad exper with help. check them out. have them sighn a lease for equipment and disc. record all ser #s complete inventory disc wires, mics ect, and a clause in cotract that they cant work within 25 miles of your base. when they leave your employ for 1yr . we supply everything. if we secure gig. we pay 125.00 per night. if they find gig we get 40%. Hope This Helps. Bob

[Corbin]

I hear your pain. I have owned my own karaoke company for 10 years, and find myself looking for the perfect karaoke host yet again. Through the years I have had about 30 hosts. We run 8 systems and 18-20 shows a week. I have had 5 excellent hosts. The bad thing is that they all move on... 3 of the 5 best hosts I've ever found were the three I found by putting an ad in the colledge paper. (University of Utah) I asked for Drama or Music majors. All were Drama magors. I've found a few by just having those who attend the show host... This works for a while, then all of the other regulars have a problem with it... But, I've found that if you have a regular patron from one show host for you at a different location, there is no problem. I am putting an ad together to run in the local entertainmnet paper. This works, but you have to sift through several people to find one and the one you choose may not stick around when they are told that it is not their private show, and may not sing all night to the audience.
The younger the better if you choose a male. I have found that in my market, women hosts are a better choice. Out of the five that I spoke of above, three were women. Good Luck.
Corbin

[louieoke2]

I have 1 guy working for me now, but it is at the same club I work at every Friday night. He does Wednesday nights for me, and all the equipment and cd's are locked up after the show in a locker that the club-owner let me install in the back of the club. He's a cook there and does an excellent job hosting and always shows up (or gives me notice so I can fill in for him)

However, I need someone mobile that can be trusted to handle the equipment with care and probably my main concern is that someone will copy all my cd's and take off to start their own show somewhere else? Have you guys ever encountered anything like this?

I know how it goes about people moving on too. I started out as a musician (okay, a drummer) who liked to go to "Karaoke Night" for fun, met the KJ there, filled in for him every once in a while, then decided to start my own show. He and I still chat on the phone every once in a while, and I really appreciated his help as I got started and we are still good friends. So, I guess there is something to having good help and sharing what you know with them, and passing on your trade and knowledge to them.

Hats off to you for keeping the trade alive. Hopefully I can do the same thing, without getting burned too bad.

[swany]

Look, around at your competition lots of good hosts out there with only one gig they are free on other nights. Got a list of several, that work for other people and they are good hosts, I try not to out and out steal them from my compeditors in my area, but use them for other things such as hosting a wedding I'm attending, that way I'll be there if they need help. They won't be drinking on the job either. I have one that I use for the younger set. She is only 22, so is still on key with the teens. If you have friends in the business, ask them if they have a short list of help you can use. Take care and have fun. Swany