1) Before you tell me that it is illegal, these really, truly are for my own personal "home" disks to use for practicing, so I don't have to lug my disks from shows and back again.

How do I copy a CDG disk? If I burn it using my computer, will I get only the audio portion of the disk, or will I get the graphics portion too? If not, how do I burn them to get the audio + graphics?

2) This question now pertains to copying ethics. The KJ that I frequent, and have for the past year, has become a pretty good friend of mine. I go to his show twice a week, and we are on a very friendly basis. Well, I went up tonight at his show to sing "Interstate Love Song" by Sound Choice. My disk. I mentioned to him that this was the first song I ever sung at his karaoke gig, and when I did, the song ended up skipping, the disk ruined. He said to me, "yeah, it's a shame too, because that's a great song. You should copy that for me so I can get it back in my book."

Now, let me first state that he has a very nice sized library (10,000+ songs) and not a one is a copy. He bought about half of them used, and the other half he has been building up in the past 2 years. He owns no copied karaoke disks.

Second, I own a ton of good songs that he does not, and he has never expressed interest in me copying them for him. He was only talking about the one Stone Temple Pilots song so he could get a working copy back in his book. He doesn’t want any more.

The question is, should I? Well, I’m pretty sure most of you are going to say “don’t do it.” What I’m really asking is what would you do?

Thanks.

PS: The two questions have NOTHING to do with each other. I ask about how to copy simply because I want a set of my disks to just stay at home where I can practice off them.

SC SPotlight 8140 Pop Hits - Vol. 7

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Originally posted by Dog:
Here is the $27 solution to question 2

SC SPotlight 8140 Pop Hits - Vol. 7

Round Here - Counting Crows
[b]Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
I'm The Only One - Melissa Etheridge
I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders
American Girl - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Bump N' Grind - R Kelly
The Way She Loves Me - Richard Marx
Picture Postcards From L. A. - Joshua Kadison
Hold My Hand - Hootie & The Blowfish
Always - Bon Jovi
The Sweetest Days - Vanessa L. Williams
On Bended Knee - Boyz II Men
Secret - Madonna
How Many Ways - Toni Braxton
100% Pure Love - Crystal Waters [/B]

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You can still get it for $22 at karaoke.com

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Originally posted by Paul_Klein:
Well, I wasn't so much asking should I or shouldn't I.....What I was really asking was how should I handle it. What should I say. As I said, were kinda friends, so I don't wanna sound rude or anything.

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Well you actually did ask

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The question is, should I?

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How would I handle it, I would politely say - NO & leave it at that. If you feel you need to explain why, then do - I wouldn't.

Now they are currently looking into a proprietary format... a dvd/cdg player that plays like a CAVS jukebox unit does. I never saw if it was really coming out, or if it was just a Research and Development item.

Checking SC's website, all I see is their all-in-one player
PCK-2000
Performer's Choice® DVD/CDG Karaoke Component

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Originally posted by ultimatefan:
A fellow kj in my area, just purchased a player that had every Sound Choice song already 'loaded' onto it. Am I correct to say that no such player is legally available. Not sure what type of player it actually is.

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Originally posted by Rockin_Rebecca:
I'm confused. What does a dealer license have to do with it?

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you need the originals to keep it from being "pirated" material.

The performing rights organizations are powerful enough to do something IF THEY REALLY WANT TO, as they are the ones responsible for calculation of artist royalties and collection of such fees from many venues where live music, karaoke, and jukeboxes become utilized for public entertainment purposes. This is in addition to execution of similar responsibilities involving the recording industry, music retail sales, media advertising, radio airplay, TV, and other commercial enterprises where music is broadcast.

You know how it is....somehow, somewhere, some way, you gotta pay the piper - that is, if you're a legitimate operator maintaining legal compliance. When patrons put their quarters and/or bills in the jukebox, the collected cash pie represents proceeds that are sliced-up several ways in varied proportion between the jukebox owner, venue owner, and of course, the performing rights organizations who also get their share of the take - presumably in order to pay a portion of their operating costs along with artist performance rights royalties and associated fees.

Similar situation with live music, and DJ's/Karaoke Hosts employed within a given establishment. The venue owner is subject to payment of annual fees to performing rights organizations based upon a convoluted formula that I don't completely understand as yet. Someone tried to explain it to me once, but I guess the lesson did not fully take root.

Anyway, one of the venues where my bandmates and I have often played are charged about $700 per year (or so I've been told) based upon the approximation formula which takes into account such factors as venue size, location, average patron base (especially on those nights when performance of live music or karaoke occurs, or when a DJ is working), records of cover charge proceeds (when applicable), and other financial components which comprise a total payment figure for music-related entertainment, along with profits taken-in relative to food, beverage, and alcohol sales receipts.

So like I said before, the performing rights organizations are willing to act when it suits them, especially when they monitor activites of the bigger fish to go after!

I would hope that somehow the appropriate organizations may be able to soon gather momentum in a concerted effort to crack-down on the pirates before legitimate professional karaoke hosts as a group suffer too much more damage for very much longer due to the pirating/undercutting turmoil which appears to still be running unchecked and rampant throughout the industry.

* there are a few licensed exceptions, but for the vast majority of situations, if you see a burned disc at a show it's a pirate disc.

I've never seen any Super CD+Gs available by SC and it really burns me that he has what I have spent 10 years collecting legally.

Websites where the previously-addressed services are provided seem to advertise rather comfortably, up-front, and freely - with no apparent regard to scrutiny, nor concerns relative to exposure and possible legal repercussions resulting therefrom!

In light of the foregoing, are we left to assume that such (perhaps unscrupulous?)business operators are actually just inexblicably oblivious to what they have been doing, or that they may in-fact actually have some form of proper licensure, authorization, and legal protection in-place which actually allows them to operate as they do? Or is it most likely that they just don't care, and do not really believe that anything will ever happen to them if they just continue doing what they do?

It sickens me too! There are many in Nebraska that have gone to computerized systems and they are on laptops or regular computers. They are all over Omaha and Lincoln. And here I am, still lugging cases of CDs around.

Just recently I learned of a KJ in Omaha who purchased Super CD+Gs of the entire SC catalog - and he is very proud of it too! Funny, I have never seen a SC manufactured Super CD+G.

I have also had occasion to have someone from Omaha produce a burned disk that she swore was perfectly legal. Bought it from a vendor in Omaha who told her so. I told her sorry, I can't play it. It was an exact duplicate of a manufactured disk, right down to the disk number, but had a homemade paper label.

It's no longer easy to have the best library in the area and be legal. All I can say is there needs to be a change in the copyright law. That seems to be the only way we can compete. If the laws would give us a license to copy our material onto harddrives for public performance - I'd be there.

It's taken me over 10 years to amass a library of over 10,700 songs without duplicates. Now, for a few hundred dollars, anybody can do it - illegally.

And we're bottom of the food chain. Think of all the performers, record companies, etc that are being ripped off for thousands and millions of dollars.

I'm very disappointed in our judicial and enforcement system.