Wonderful article Mick! And welcome to Texas!
I have been watching the DFW area's karaoke growth since the early 1990's. You hit the nail on the head in pricing.
Sadly, DFW has gotten into a rut. Bar owners have a different view of entertainment. They see it as a way to avoid paying for advertisement or promotion.
The hire a karaoke company, disc jockey company, band, or solo entertainer based soley on how many people they can bring into the establishment on a regular basis. Totally loosing track of quality and do not hold any loyality if one week the body count is low. It is always the entertainment's fault. Not that they have done nothing to promot their own location.
It is so bad right now, that many owners look for karaoke as a way to save an establishment. The location will have very little regulars to build from and they will not post any andvertisements in newspapers, magazines, or even put a banner outside. If know one knows they are there, how will they find it? Is there a hidden radar out I am not aware of?
Right now a karaoke host is lucky to get $50.00 an hour for their weekly show in DFW. And sadly, with all the new companies poping up during this economic hard time, the KJs are all hungry for work and have become lowballers. Ethics are flying out the window in every direction. Especially in Tarrant County here in Texas, but also Dallas & Collin Counties. Even strongly ethical companies have had to really protect themselves as venues feel the waves of an early slow season this year.
For others reading this, my name is Susan Werth and I am the editor of The Karaoke PitStop Internet Magazine covering DFW here in Texas. I met Mick Larkin last week & visited his show on Monday evening. He has an impressive show, system, song library, and a uniguely decorative setup. I was very impressed. Since then we have been getting to know each other and I am becoming even more impressed with his ethics and business sense.
DFW is lucky to have Mick land and I look forward to watching him help set the bar a little higher in relationships between establishment owner and entertainers.
Also reading the strands, I noticed mention of the new CAV system. There are a few companies adopting the CAV here. The package as a whole makes it hard not to take a strong look for new comers to this industry. The provide a large amount of songs for new libraries.
So far, the draw backs I am hearing here include: the inability to add it with those still using laser players, the quality of the songs includes are lesser than what they already had, the need to reload when a singer needs to start over or an error happens.
Some of the positive points include: doubling their song library in one swoop, the custome set up decreased the amount of equiptment carried nightly, and the service warranty looked sweet (note: so far it is so new I have not heard anyone needing service on the system)
I personally have only sang on the CAV system once at one show.
As for using a PC at the shows, we are seeing it more often now in DFW. For some it has made their job a lot easier and they have added slideshow advertisments or messages between singers. Some have even used it to add music videos instead of just the music to the screens around. Some choose to remain computer free or limited. I guess it depends on how dependent you are on computers and how savy to the skills you have become. Either way, it has become a tool and helps to keep each show unique. From pencil & eraser to complete computer signup & play, each show has something different to offer.
So, with all that said, welcome all & hope to see you around the Karaoke PitStop as you find the time. In the meantime, sing something for me!
Susan Werth
Karaoke PitStop Internet Magazine