KaraoKe Corner - Nwkaraokeguide.net

David Skurdahl performs as Elvis
Skagit County Fair
Continued from page 3
pull the events together. Without sponsorship,
some of the new events wouldn’t
have been made available. The free kids
zone, for example, was new to the fair
this year, and provided children with
fun, hands-on projects to do.
On the main stage there were
plenty of other entertainers throughout
the days, including the magic of
Brian Ledbetter, Roberto the magnificent,
a juggling funnyman act, the
Bikini Clad Barista band, Flo and the
fabulous Flotones, and many, many
more. The list goes on. There was
always something fun happening on
the main stage!
The Skagit County Fair always
has what you’d expect too, a fantastic
rodeo, animal exhibits, rides, booths
with fair garb for sale, games and of
course the food court. The $4 burgers
from the Lions Club were delicious,
the funnel cakes and elephant ears,
caramel apples and all the other fair
food were all tempting too.
If you’ve never been to the Skagit
County Fair, you really ought to
mark your calendars and keep your
eye on this publication next year for
fair dates, or go onto the fair website
for more information. This is one fair
that’s well worth the price for all the
entertainment value you receive, and
all of the endless fun!
Karaoke crackdown continues
Sound Choice
was founded
a l m o s t 2 5
years ago by
Kurt and Derek
Slep, two
brothers with
a v ision t o
nurture the development in America
of a participatory entertainment phenomenon
now known as “karaoke.”
During that time, Sound Choice
came to be recognized as the leading
producer of high-quality karaoke
backing music. The company invested
over $18 million dollars to re-record
and replicate the authentic sound of
popular music across different eras
and genres of music.
Sound Choice’s dedication to
producing music of the highest quality
and most authentic character led
its music to become the staple of most
every karaoke show in the country.
As karaoke grew in popularity, Sound
Choice became the brand that most
every karaoke fan wanted to sing and
that most every karaoke jockey (“KJ”)
wanted in his or her library.
KJs play karaoke songs using
compact discs written in a special encoded
format known as “CD+G” (“compact
disc plus graphics”), in which the
CD contains the music and the lyrics,
which will display on a screen. In
recent years, computer technology and
networking have made it possible for
CD+G discs to be decoded and “ripped”
(copied) to a user’s hard drive and easily
copied and distributed between
KJs. This technology has proven irresistible
to KJs, many of whom have
used this opportunity to trade these
digital copies to build libraries of tens
of thousands of karaoke songs without
paying for them. Instead of buying
licensed discs for their commercial
karaoke shows, many KJs instead
buy computer drives pre-loaded with
thousands of illegally copied songs,
copy one purchased disc to several different
computer based systems, copy
a singer’s personal discs if they use
them during a show, “swap” song files
among each other, or download them
from illegal file sharing sites.
These practices have become so
widespread that Sound Choice has been
nearly driven out of business. At its
peak, Sound Choice employed 75 individuals
and produced as many as five
new karaoke discs per month. Today,
Sound Choice employs fewer than ten
individuals and loses money on every
new karaoke disc it produces, since sales
are not high enough to cover recording
and licensing costs. For example,
the latest karaoke disc Sound Choice
produced has sold fewer than 750 copies
- yet the songs from that disc can be
found on as many as 30,000 karaoke
systems around the United States.
For KJs, karaoke is a commercial
enterprise. KJs who legitimately
acquired all of their music at great
cost are being forced by illicit competition
to produce shows for lower and
lower fees. Illegitimate competitors
offer libraries of tens of thousands of
songs, which would have cost $50,000
to $100,000 or more to acquire legitimately,
but produce shows for onethird
the rates a legitimate KJ can
offer. The result is significant financial
pressure on once legitimate KJs
to skirt or ignore the law and become
pirates, simply to stay in business.
Sound Choice has been forced to
undertake this litigation in order to
ensure that it survives and continues
to produce the high-quality karaoke
music its fans demand, and to level the
playing field for the legitimate KJs.
Letter from the Karaoke
Industry Alliance of America
The Karaoke Industry Alliance of
America is a non-profit trade organization
made up of karaoke record labels,
distributors, KJ/DJ hosts, venue owners
and karaoke enthusiasts.
The KIAA was formed by a group
of karaoke professionals looking to
find solutions to the many issues and
challenges that are facing the karaoke
industry today.
Our goal is to promote and advance
all aspects of karaoke be it as
an art form, a form of entertainment,
a recreational activity or even just as
a casual pastime.
In pursuit of our mission, our
primary goal is to foster a favorable
business climate that equally supports
and promotes the interests of
all its members.
July 14, 2009
Dear Establishment Owner:
Having been identified as an establishment
that features karaoke entertainment,
this letter aims to inform you
of certain risks and exposures to your
business when hiring KJ’s and/or karaoke
hosting companies that are known
infringers of intellectual property.
Many illegal karaoke operators
have misled bar and nightclub owners
such as you into thinking that they are
protected by their ASCAP/BMI agreements.
However “Performing Rights
See Karaoke Crackdown on page 13
5
September 2009 - www.nwkaraokeguide.net