AZ Karaoke Alliance announces dates for Summer Heat 2011 Karaoke Contest Club Finals

The Arizona Karaoke Alliance has announced the dates for the Club finals of the Arizona Karaoke Alliance Summer Heat 2011 Karaoke Contest.
George & Dragon Pub	4240 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85012	Monday August 22nd
Bricks Family Sports Grill	2235 E Power Rd #127 Mesa, AZ 85209	Tuesday August 23rd
Stadium Club	940 N Alma School Rd Chandler, AZ 85224	Wednesday August 24th
Dirty Drummer	1211 N Country Club Dr #8 Mesa, AZ 85201	Wednesday August 24th
bar|an|gril formerly Native New Yorker	110 S Val Vista Gilbert, AZ 85296	Thursday August 25th
Jimmy’s Of Chicago	3107 S Gilbert Rd Gilbert, AZ 85296	Saturday August 27th
Connolly’s Sports Grill	2605 W. Carefree HWY Phoenix, AZ 85085	Monday August 29th
Dirty Dogg Saloon	10409 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale, AZ 85253	Tuesday August 30th
Rosie McCaffrey’s	906 E Camelback Rd Phoenix, AZ 85014	Tuesday August 30th
Kimmyz	5930 W Greenway Rd Glendale, AZ 85306	Wednesday August 31st
Mumbles Place	6149 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale, AZ 85250	Wednesday August 31st
Connolly’s Glendale	5160 W. Northern Ave Glendale, AZ 85301	Thursday September 1st
Funugyz Sports Grill	8378 W Thunderbird Rd Ste 101 Peoria, AZ 85381	Thursday September 1st
City Final is on Friday Sept. 10th at 9:00 PM.  Final location will be announced on Friday Sept 2nd
Contestants should show up at least 15 minutes prior to show start time to check in.  Show times are listed on show pages at Arizona Karaoke Night start times.  Open karaoke will be held for first 90 minutes and after 1st round of contest.  Contestants have qualified over the last 10 weeks.

Karaoke DJ (KJ’s) and DJ’s – Who pays ASCAP / BMI / SESAC

Performing rights organizations (PROS) are businesses designed to represent songwriters and publishers and their right to be compensated for having their music performed in public. The three US PROS are listed below along with estimated market shares.* When any public establishment plays music for the entertainment of patrons or spectators the artists whose music is being played are entitled to compensation. Owners of establishments playing the music are responsible even if they are hiring others to come in and play the music. The establishment collects the benefits of the music being played, thus they are responsible for the fees. Fees are based on type of music being played, how it is performed and the capacity of the facility where it is being played. There are minor exemptions for very small facilities playing music or television being broadcast on a station already paying fees, but the manner in which the broadcast is played is very limited and numerous criteria must be met.**
KJ’s or DJ’s can not pay fees for PROS. There is no program in place or contractual arrangement that allows such licensing.   Contracts have to be based on the facility and it’s size and all fees must come from the facility and match to entity listed on contracts. Satellite Radio, Piped in Music and Jukeboxes have many provider companies that have fees wrapped into their contracts. Establishments should verify this and check it in their agreements to assure they are covered.
ASCAP – the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 410,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music. About 50% of US Market Share*. –See Frequently Asked Questions for more information: http://ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.aspx
BMI – Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed. About 45% of US Market Share* See Frequently Asked Questions for more information: http://www.bmi.com/faq
SESAC, Inc. – a performing rights organization with headquarters in Nashville and offices in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and London. About 5% of US Market Share.* *. –See Frequently Asked Questions for more information: http://www.sesac.com/Licensing/FAQsGeneral.aspx
*http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju21140.000/hju21140_0f.htm
** http://ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.aspx

Running your Karaoke Business Legally and Ethically

Karaoke is about having fun and enjoying music. When you get in the business, it does not have requirements and safe-guards of many other businesses. It is a service business and unfortunately many that get into it do not have the characteristics of doing professional business and maintaining legality. The problems this created in our industry are much of the reason we formed the US Karaoke Alliance.

We recently received 2 new inquiries asking how to run a legal Karaoke Company and how to get a “Karaoke License”.

Let’s start with the easy answer to these questions.

There is no “Karaoke License”. There is no “DJ License”.

Laws vary from state to state. We are located in Arizona and here there is no state license, certification, or permit to run a DJ or Karaoke business. This makes it very difficult to ascertain who is legal or not legal in running their business.

The other half of the question and difficult part to ascertain is if a KJ is legal or not legal. Based on my experience most are not.

What makes you legal?

1. You need to have a CD or legally paid for download for every copy you have in use at any show. That means if you are on a download site and you purchase a copy of a song then you can only use it at one show. If you have one more show then you need to pay for another copy.
2. As stated above, you need to be aware of rules in your state. If the state requires you to have a business license then you need one. Your Secretary of State website for your state should have numbers to contact for how to register your trade name with your state and they should have information on licensing requirements. Most states do not require a license for a business that is service only with no materials used in services. There are rules for contractors and for service industries requiring materials being used in repairs. If you are selling CD’s or providing favors of any sort you can jeopardize your service only status and be subject to taxation on service which means you will need a federal, state, and local government tax ID. Regardless of any of these you should register your trade name and if you have any employees (W-2 Employees or 1099 Independant Contractors) then you should register for a Federal Employer Identification Number.
3. There is no requirement besides good business sense to carry Liability Insurance. If you are truly concerned in doing business the right way and wish to work for larger corporations then you need Liability Insurance. The National Association of Mobile Entertainers (NAME) provides insurance to entertainer under its group policy. USKA Members get discounted access to NAME Membership and access to its insurance policies.
4. Integrity and Customer Service – There is no legal obligation, but having the integrity and honesty to try to give good service and do the right thing for you and your customers is the key to staying in business…

In summary, you need 1 for 1 CD’s for music on your systems, you need to register your business name and check on local and state business permits and guidelines, and you should try to have liability insurance to protect your business. Remember it’s Karaoke and when you are performing make sure you and your patrons are having a good time! When you go back to home or your office, remember it is a business and you need to follow copyright laws to protect your business and your customers legally.

How to affordably advertise Karaoke Bar and hosts on Karaoke2night.com

http://Karaoke2Night.com offers KJ’s and Karaoke Bars ability to advertise across 7 different national websites. Most benefits are free, but those who pay get embedded videos, photo gallery links and more photos per page. Free Karaoke bar and Free Karaoke Host listings give you multiple links to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and professional associations. Karaoke Bars or Karaoke Host, or KJ’s give it a try!

Fight Breast Cancer – Susan G Komen Car Wash Mesa AZ

Mesa, AZ – Saturday, July 9 · 7:00am – 1:00pm – parking lot of University Service Center – 253 W University (SE corner of University and Country Club next to Sonic)
Mesa, AZ. This will be a fundraising event for the Susan G Komen 3 day walk, put on by Team Thrivr. For those interested in coming by to get their car washed we will be taking donations and providing FREE HOT DOGS while you are waiting!! More info – goteamthrivr@gmail.c​om

Mesa AZ Breast Cancer Fund Raising

Dirty Drummer and Starz Karaoke in Mesa, AZ helps with Susan G. Komen – Join Lisa, Eric, and Mark for Fri Night – Fund Raiser-25% of sales to Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 5P- 1A at the Dirty Drummer Mesa AZ – Country Club & Brown. Karaoke 9P-1A. We will be having a great time and making money to save the Boobies! There will be raffles and several give-aways. during the night. Buy $20 or more in in raffle tickets for a special treat!!

Gilbert AZ – Karaoke Contest, Native New Yorker Sports Bar

Native New Yorker Gilbert, AZ – hosts AZ Karaoke Alliance Summer Heat Arizona Karaoke Contest! Come out and qualify at Thursday night Karaoke!

Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Karaoke Contest – $10K in prizes

Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Karaoke Alliance, Chartbuster Karaoke & Karaoke2Night.com have teamed to sponsor the Arizona Summer Heat 2011 Karaoke Contest. The contest just commenced on June 12th and continues through mid September.  The Contest winner will get well over $2K worth of prizes. Over $10K in cash and prizes will be awarded. Over $3000 of the prizes that are listed are cash prizes. Prizes are including 21 raffle prizes awarded to audience members casting votes for winners at the Championship round. At each Arizona metro area Karaoke bar final and also at the Arizona Karaoke Contest Final, audience members get to vote for their winner. The ballots are tabulated and the audience vote counts as one of the judges. Chartbuster Karaoke joins in sponsorship for the 2nd year in a row. This year they are offering over $5,000 worth of studio recording time at Big Mama Studios in Tennessee, in addition to a variety of Karaoke music packages for winners. Karaoke2NIght.com is sponsoring much of the advertisement for Karaoke bars around Phoenix, and Starz Karaoke is contributing Karaoke discs for audience raffles and the staffing to run the contest. If you know somebody who thinks they can sing, tell them to consider competing. Bars are eligible to join the contest up until July 15th of this year. Entering the contest is free to anyone who wishes to take a shot at stardom or just have some fun competing! See the AZ Karaoke Alliance website for more details!

Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Karaoke Contest – $10K in prizes

http://AZKaraokeAlliance.com, Chartbuster Karaoke and Karaoke2Night.com are combining to sponsor the Arizona Summer Heat 2011 Karaoke Contest. The Contest is being held in karaoke bars around Phoenix with over $10,000 worth of cash and prizes being awarded.

ATTN: Arizona Karaoke Bars Spec. 4 AZ Karaoke Contest

http://www.azkaraokealliance.com/AZKaraokeContestSpecial.htm
Special Offer – Arizona Karaoke Bars – participate in AZ Karaoke Alliance Summer Heat Karaoke Contest. Please forward to Karaoke venues!