When your market is flooded

In my area, karaoke was everywhere. Seems that in the last 6-8 months local shows are declining.

One show that I have had for 6 years decided not to renew their contract this year.

One regular show left now. Most of our following just does not seem to have the disposable income they did before.

Anyone else experiencing this?

That happens around here (NY) alot.

Karaoke is hot one season, and virtually non-existent for a few -- sort've a cycle around these parts.

My fav place, the floating bar down the street, was doing shows every week two years ago, but I haven't seen more than one or two since then. The manager told me the folks get burned out by it, so she will wait a couple seasons to market it again...

much like with bands a house band moves on as do some club jocks its a natural rotation. The longevity you have sustained in those long term contracts is a tribute to your quality of service. Even so there has to be a rotational move to freshen up regularity much like remodels. Good Luck Carolyn. IF you are looking for more KJ Hosting clients you might have to enter another town near by or a couple away.

A month ago just about every single bar and club in this area had karaoke. Now they are dropping like flies. Kind of strange. Karaoke has been very popular here for the past 11 years that I have lived here.

Now it seems as though everybody had it and now are canceling. Just kind of strange for an area that has done so well with it for so long.

i didn't need to read this!!!!!!!!!!!..damnit!!...kind of puts a damper on me moving to florida and go full time!!!...damnit--damnit!!!...are they still hiring at MCDONALDS??

Here in Sacramento, we came very close to having the "market flooded" in the recent storms.....LOL

But seriously, there is so much BAD karaoke out there.......my approach is to only use Sound Choice titles, and top of the line equipment. It won't get me any bar gigs, but I'm targeting the mobile customers who appreciate the best possible sound quality and true-to-the-original-artist song arrangements!

Matt slightly off thread topic here arent we? However if you had done more of these pub type Karaoke efforts you would likely know that though overall SC is my favorite for accuracy and timeliness on new songs. You will find many singers have their personal Favorites for certain songs and dont want anything but Sweet Georgia Brown or Music Maestro or Pioneer. Just because we like SC doesnt always satisfy all of your customers.
Sorry for the reroute carry on with thread topic thanks.

Matt slightly off thread topic here arent we? However if you had done more of these pub type Karaoke efforts you would likely know that though overall SC is my favorite for accuracy and timeliness on new songs. You will find many singers have their personal Favorites for certain songs and dont want anything but Sweet Georgia Brown or Music Maestro or Pioneer. Just because we like SC doesnt always satisfy all of your customers.
Sorry for the reroute carry on with thread topic thanks.

My point, JT....is that the market is FLOODED with low-quality Karaoke shows, their libraries are padded with cheap Karaoke CDG's like the ones you mentioned.

"many singers prefer SGB?" Thats news to me....but then these folks are too drunk to know better, I guess.

Just like some people prefer Maxwell House to Starbucks, right?

No I didnt say a majority Matt your twisting my post. I said some like other versions otherwise there would only be SC.
Im acclimated to Starbucks now but yrs ago I hated it yet drank Maxwell house daily go figure.

Give yourself a hook. Get into youtubing performances. It's not *THAT* hard if a H.S. dropout like me can do it.

If your shows are truly on the decline Carolyn, then just do it at your most stable, reliable customer. Build a rep doing it. It will happen.

Well right now the county we live in was recently rated the top in the nation for foreclosures. I have spoken to quite a few people that have lost their jobs recently or are going to.

After the housing market here capped and started to spiral downward, the construction in this area stopped. There is much more to it than just the karaoke show.

It is not just my shows though, I have spoken to several other KJ's here experiencing the same thing.

The up swing is I do live in a destination wedding area that market is doing really well for me.

I'm in Florida too, in the St Petersburg/Clearwater area and I wish there were a lot more places offering Karaoke. There are about one million people in the small, densely populated county that I live in and there are lots of bars and restaurants, but not that many places are doing Karaoke.

I aim to change that. I've started to put some feelers out and the response has been "Oh, we tried Karaoke a while back and it didn't go over well here". I know it's a numbers game and if I talk to enough bars and restaurants I'll find a couple that are willing to give it a shot or they have been thinking about doing it but didn't have someone to host.

With the right person running it and some promotion I think it can go over well at most places if it's consistent-the same day or days each week, the same good host, a good selection of songs, a good sound system, etc. and people will come IMO.

We have a large place near me called Mugs 'N Jugs(har har) that has the best chicken wings in this area, it's also a bar. It's a large place with a big stage. They have Karaoke 7 nights a week and the place is usually packed. I've noticed that if a bar or restaurant doesn't have much of a commitment to the Karaoke, then it's less likely to be successful there. I can see a bar or restaurant having it one or two nights a week and doing very well. I don't think too many places can do 7 nights a week like Mugs 'N Jugs, but their food is so good that people will come there with or without the Karaoke.

Carolyn,

I think it has to do directly with the economy. Instead of going out for a night of fun, drinking and Karaoke.......people/karaoke customers sit home and drink......

And in your area a tremendous amount of construction has been going on, recognizing Florida as one of the area's that people like to retire in.....guess what? These very same people now, can not sell their homes, up north so they sit, and so do the homes in your area...unsold

One development I know that's huge, in your area, and I don't know what their current projections are for growth, but they have to be down, from original expectations................"The Villages".....

And think about it from a demographic standpoint, 2008 would the first year for the Baby boomer's to start retiring, they turn 62 if they were born in 1946.....

It will come back, but you may have to re-focus your area of marketing to corporates and your Weddings, in the interim, which could be 3-4 years before you see a complete turnaround.

The Mortgage industry is in big trouble, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg!

Now let's go to Mabilebeat08 and have a good time, Relax..have fun..!!

Guy's I have the solution....

Just show your potential clients this dramatization.

http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=1380

Carolyn,

The problem around here is that the BARS are dropping like flies due to the smoking ban, leaving less venues in which to work. We are also experiencing a "KJ" weeding process, which is causing a smaller concentration of shows. Those that are still running are actually experiencing a major upswing- all part of the karaoke cycle...

Up and Down is the natural swing of Karaoke. Some places give up on it if sales dwindle off. I have been at the same bars for 3 years now and it's about riding out the change in crowds. It's not even that the bars slow down anymore its people get tired of hanging out at the same place all the time and they go somewhere different.

A good host will continually change crowds keeping new people coming in as well as maintaining regulars.

I myself work at 3 different bars 1 is on a Major Highway ( always packed no matter what). The other is the lagest 21 to 25 bar in the area, packed 95% of the time,. The 3rd is owned by the same guy as the 2nd place, we gget a bit off cross traffic and do well for the size of the bar.

Our area floods from time to time. All the wannabes sink in a few months and it's back to normal.

My crowd is 21 to 30 with almost no country and little oldies. I'm different than many on the places around. It would take alot to take my crowd away.

All my bars are on a 2 year contract now to avoid rate increase. Good for both of us.

That's a bit about my area being flooded. If you want more shows sometimes you can be afraid to go into a place and tell them the KJ they have sucks and you'd do a better job.

In my area it's more than just karaoke, we play games, have contest, play bingo, and trivia. Anything that can be thought of to keep things fresh I will try. I will admit karaoke is so busy lately I don't have time for the extras, I do a handfull of giveaways but not as much in the past.

Other crative things to to is create a trivia night and host trivia instead of karaoke. I did this for about 6 months it went well. Now, DJ Enigma that post here runs a Guitar Hero Night at that bar on that night. I mentioned it to the owner he like the idea and we sent Brian in to start it off. I know he has done it 2 weeks and it may take a few weeks to get going but they eventually want to run a tournament.

There are amny creative things that can be done to spruce up karaoke or take the place of it when things are slow.

I have done all kinds of classic video games nights while karaoke is in progress.


Think out of the box Karaoke doesn't have to totally be karaoke. Sell them something different.

Carolyn,

I really feel for you, not being too far from where you're at and having family & friends on the coast, I know what's it's like living there. Brevard's economy is down, (talking to all sorts of people when I was over for the holidays), and I don't even want to think about what is going to happen when they retire the shuttle fleet.

I agree with everybody that said it comes in cycles, down cycle weeds out the weaker shows, up cycle every bar has a show.

There were 3 other shows in my area on Sat. night, now there is only 1 other show, but he does part karaoke & part dance music. I must be doing something right, (been at my Sat night bar for 4 years), the past month I have been getting a lot of new faces and the show has been packed, I wish we had more seating in this little bar.

I'm a realist, so don't take this the wrong way, it's gonna get worse over there before it's gonna get better, but it's gonna take quite a bit of time before it gets better.

So keep your chin up and I know you are a survivor, just do the best job that you can do.......:sqwink:


P.S. - When are we ever gonna do lunch?... lol.

Carolyn...being right up the road from you, we are seeing the same thing...attendance is down a bit, but my head is still above water...there are only so many singers to go around...and with the economy, the holidays etc...it is difficult to get people to part with their money I suppose, as well as DUI enforcement in certain areas keeping people who like to drink out of the area.

With so many shows, it leads again to the discussion of piracy....I know we have a lot of shows in our area taking singers, and I am wondering if all the shows using illegal libraries werent in the mix, would the pool of singers be spread a little more thickly? Just thinkin... It does not keep me awake right now, but if I started losing work to other shows not playing fairly, my tune would change.

The market I've moved into is crowded with well-established hosts. I tried to establish myself with a catalog that was larger, more diverse and updated more often than most I've seen here, and I started drawing a nice following. But the market here, since it is crowded, won't pay what I feel I need to maintain my karaoke catalog and work the 6-8 hours a night bar owners demand here (with load-in and load-out). The new smoking ban and DUI crackdowns have hit their bottom line, too, so they're looking for either cheaper forms of entertainment or bigger draws (like regional or even national bands).

So, on paper, at least, I've folded my company. I'll see what the market is like in 2-3 years and start up again if it's viable. I've had some inquiries about "loaning" or selling my library out, but that ain't happening. If someone wants my library, I come as part of the package. :D

The market I've moved into is crowded with well-established hosts. I tried to establish myself with a catalog that was larger, more diverse and updated more often than most I've seen here, and I started drawing a nice following. But the market here, since it is crowded, won't pay what I feel I need to maintain my karaoke catalog and work the 6-8 hours a night bar owners demand here (with load-in and load-out). The new smoking ban and DUI crackdowns have hit their bottom line, too, so they're looking for either cheaper forms of entertainment or bigger draws (like regional or even national bands).

So, on paper, at least, I've folded my company. I'll see what the market is like in 2-3 years and start up again if it's viable. I've had some inquiries about "loaning" or selling my library out, but that ain't happening. If someone wants my library, I come as part of the package. :D


Sorry to here that Kayleigh. I truly believe that your market will do the thin-then upswing soon, and catching that upswing is the best time to establish yourself...

I'm sorry to hear that too Kayliegh.

Thanks, Lito and Harry, hopefully your areas won't be as effected as ours has been. Some major companies have been pulling out of this area as well. This area depends on major government contracts as well we are the Space Coast. Quite a few of employees of some major corporations here are sweating it because their contracts are coming up for renewal soon.

Harry, I am sure that piracy does play a hand in it.

Lito, when is the next time you are coming this way? Lunch is on me.