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How To Hire a KJ (Karaoke DJ) For Your Club Karaoke Show
DJ Kool Karl
I have often advised club managers on the finer points of
selecting a Karaoke Jockey for their upcoming Karaoke shows.
Some have followed my advise with reasonable success, and some
did not with predictably poor results. I will attempt to
elucidate some of these important positives and the avoidable
pitfalls in picking a host for a weekly restaurant or club
Karaoke show.
There are two major mistakes the uninitiated bar owners make
when considering Karaoke as an attraction in their venue. The
first is the expectation that you will make a lot of money
selling drinks to singers. Most singers are light drinkers or
drink non-alcoholic beverages. The purpose of Karaoke is
entertainment, it creates a party atmosphere and attracts locals
to your pub for a little fun and liquid refreshment.
Many people come in to party with friends, and not to sing. This
is a requirement for a successful show. You will rarely average
more than 20 singers per night in So. California since the wait
to sing will be so long that singers will go elsewhere. You need
a minimum of 2 to 1 audience to singer ratio, and preferably
more. The happy party crowd is where you make your profit.
We have a number called "critical mass" which is the number of
people in an establishment where a party spontaneously ignites.
When you hit this point, people hopping from bar to bar "stick"
in your club because it's a fun happening place. Below the
critical mass the place appears dead. Karaoke music and singers
act as a magnet to boost your numbers early in the evening. It
can make the difference between a "good night" and a poor night
financially speaking.
The second mistake managers make is assuming all Karaoke is the
same. I have heard this theory from way to many managers, and it
couldn't be further from the truth. The success of your show
will be due to many factors and the KJ will be the most
important of these. But the management and staff in your venue
must also support and promote the shows. If you are going to
commit to it, commit 100% with advertising, promotion and fully
supporting your Karaoke host.
If all Karaoke is not the same, how can you pick a winner and
not a looser? First don't look for dirt cheap, you get what you
pay for in this area as in any important endeavor. As far as the
KJ himself goes, there are five things to check for when sizing
up a KJ. These are; music selection, sound quality, experience,
fairness, and personality.
We are well into the second decade of Karaoke, and the
requirements in music selection for success are an order of
magnitude higher than when it all began. It takes 10,000+
selections today for a top show. But beware, there are KJs and
venues sporting less than 1000 songs trying to land your gig.
Only pick a KJ with CD+G Karaoke format. Midi, Laser Disk, VCD
or DVD formats will not attract singers, and no top KJs will use
them. Some of the new MP3+G computerized systems are now good
enough to equal CD+G. Check it out first before hiring a KJ
using one of these new computer systems.
Sound quality is just as important as selection. This has to do
with both quality and matching of sound components such as mics,
amps and speakers, and tuning and adjusting the equipment for
your venue. KJ experience and expertise weigh heavily in this
area. Expensive equipment can sound crappy when a poor KJ tunes
it, and an average system can perform fabulously with a top
notch KJ at the dials. The only way to tell is check them out
live at shows. Bring some experienced singers you trust if you
are not into singing yourself. Don't just talk to the KJ's
friends.
Experience matches up with several of the other requirements.
Most, but not all, experienced KJs will know what CD brands are
good quality, how to tune sound equipment, how and why to be
fair and honest with singers and clubs, and how to run a
popular, upbeat show. Few inexperienced ones do. But there are
heavily promoted companies out there who hire inexperienced
hosts, give them mediocre equipment and piss-poor music
selections, and offer them to you at a great price. Run, don't
walk away from these promoters. It's a guaranteed looser.
Fairness includes a lot of things, including honesty and
integrity. As in the rest of life you want to deal with and be
dealt with fairly. You want a host who is fair to all the
singers, good and bad, and lets everyone sing. Some dopes
actually require a bribe from singers to sing at their shows. A
good KJ always keeps singers happy. It's happy singers that make
successful shows. Unhappy singers go to your competitor's shows.
If some KJ approaches you with an offer to replace your current
KJ for less money, just remember honest KJs go out and start
their own shows. Do you want a cheap (read low quality) KJ
ruining what it has taken you and your KJ months to build up? If
this slug has so little regard or respect for a fellow KJ, how
far do you think you can trust him? And once again, you get what
you pay for.
Personality can be the maker or breaker for your K-show. Not how
pleasant the individual is and definitely not how attractive,
but whether or not the KJ has ANY personality at all. He can be
outrageous, or funny or silly or totally off the wall, but he
needs some kind of personality to make him stick out from the
crowd. He may dress offbeat, wear a funny hat, have goofy hair,
tell dumb jokes or whatever. You just don't want some dull,
"jims up next", "nice job suzy", "zzzzzz", kind of kid that puts
your audience to sleep. You don't even have to like his
personality or his jokes, if he runs a lively show and makes you
money, he's the man!
Now how do you find this super hero of Karaoke when they come in
all flavors and the big promoters are often the dregs of the
business? This is where you have to do your homework. You don't
buy a car without checking different models, kicking some tires,
and taking a test ride or two. Karaoke is no different. This
takes a little honest investigating, but it's worth it in the
long run. First find some candidates, check the yellow pages,
search the internet, and go to some local K-shows.
Check out at least a half dozen popular spots in your area. Talk
to the singers. Find out where they go. decide what kind of show
you want in your establishment, laid back and mellow, wild and
fun, or totally off the wall. Do you want Sinatra, rock and
roll, or rap-crap? Find out what the KJ specializes in and what
kinds of music he offers. Make sure he has a good selection of
what you want.
Song books can be very misleading. Most people list songs twice,
by title and by artist. Some will use several types of listings
to pad their book. Plastic loose leave page inserts with two
single sided sheets per insert will give you a book six times as
thick as double sided printing on standard paper in compression
binders.
To asses the true song count, take one section (say by artist),
count the number of songs on a page and multiply by the number
of pages in that section. If there is an 'update' section, add
the 'by artist' pages in there also. You will find that most KJs
claim grossly inflated song numbers. And if you check for
duplicates of the same songs, you will find from five to twenty
five percent duplicates. With over 10,000 songs it can easily
exceed 25% to 50% dupes.
Listen to the singers to see how well the system is tuned. Don't
judge the singer, everyone will be different talent wise. If you
don't sing, bring friends who do, and have them sing and
evaluate the system from the singers perspective. It will sound
different to a singer than to an untrained observer.
When you find some good possibilities, approach them and see if
they are available. Ask if they will do a demo show for you.
Offer to pay them, never ask for a free or cheap demo, you may
turn off an excellent prospect. When you find the right KJ, find
out how much he wants to work for you. Remember if you have done
your homework, you have found a top host and he won't work
cheap. Saving $25 or $50 a night on a cheap company is poor
economics if it ends up costing $200 on the bottom line every
night from poor sales.
The closer you start to Saturday in the week, the faster your
new show will build. If you plan more than one night, start as
close to the end of the week as your venue will allow, and as
the shows build, add new nights one at a time before it. Don't
quit if the first show isn't overflowing, these things do take
time. Saturday may take only 2 to 4 weeks to build. Monday could
take 6 months. Plan accordingly.
Ideally you will find an owner-operator KJ who runs his own
business, owns his system and CDs, and cares about doing a good
job. He also has KJ friends who can fill-in, in an emergency.
You are now ready to start your professional Karaoke show with a
professional host. On the other hand if you just run a dive bar
and all you want is something loud to drown out the drunks
snoring, disregard everything I have said.
About the author:
Kool Karl has been a KJ and Disc Jockey for over ten years. His
articles have been published in Karaoke magazines and on
internet disc jockey sites. He can be found DJ-ing at various
clubs and private parties around Orange County California. To
get your own Kool Karl articles, DJ/KJ shows, private parties,
or special events call 714-544-2614
Email: Karaoke@TheOffice.net
Or check out:
http://home.earthlink.net/~karyll/DiscJockey/
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