mp3g Is this site legit?
I have decided not to go the route of .kar files thanks to forum advice. What about mp3g. I have come across a couple of sites offering very cheap packages. Any comments or suggestions?
http://www.karamp3.com
http://www.v-direct.org.uk/karaoke-xtremedvd.htm
Originally Posted by samuelchristian
karamp3.com "3700 Files" for £49.99... what do you really think?
Sunfly discs currently selling for £6+ (I've not looked too hard) Obviously some deals around, but assume £5ea, thats still just under £1000 for 3700 tracks (assuming 20 tracks/CD)
If they were "legit" (ie not pirate copies of Sunfly, Zoom etc), then they will either be very poor quality (ie .kar files saved as MP3+G), or simply terrible versions.
Your best bet is to locate (ebay/forums) 2nd hand sets, and hunt around for deals from Legitimate suppliers.
i wouldnt risk it personally there seems a lot on offer for such a little price It would be more legal to buy the sunfly, legends, zoom etc etc.
on the original discs and buy some software to convert it to MP3 & G
http://www.karaokedirect.co.uk
these seem to be a good shop.
Bear in mind that not all computer disc drives are capable of reading sub-channel data (a sub-program of Nero, Disc Drive Info, shows it a tick-box labelled CD+G but other programs might just show "sub-channel data").
If the drive you have can't read CD+G discs then you will not be able to rip and convert them.
Dazzy D
Lightning Disco & Entertainment
Born to make you party!
Dazzy has a good point there. The drives ive heard that can do CDG are the samsung drives and plextor but id look at the technical specs before you buy. If that was your intention of doing that.
and a ProDub licence with a karaoke extension
Are any UK Karaoke companies signed up with the MCPS to receive funds from ProDub?
I thought they paid the copyright holder (for the lyrics), and as they produced the background music in-house, there are not performance fees to pay? (very happy to be corrected!)
Not much point paying for the Karaoke add-on if the Karaoke companies are not going to receive anything AND the original song-writers/company has been "sorted" directly by the Karaoke company!
I would personally contact the Karaoke company who's Disks you intend to rip and ask their permission.
A statement from Zoom and Laughing Knome in Sept. 2008 says they are (at time of writing) happy for DJ's to continue ripping their tracks from Original CDG's.
Source: http://www.djassociates.org/karaoke_news.html
Now- this status may have changed, so its worth checking before paying for a ProDub Add-on that is not required.
I do not offer Karaoke, but a fresh response from these companies would be helpful to those that do.
Finally! Somebody else spotted it!
This is the reason why I haven't purchased ProDub yet. I have, on a few occasions, emailed ProDub to ask them to verify the legallity of the karaoke upgrade and how exactly the karaoke companies/session musicians who record the backing would be paid from ProDub.
As the article states, karaoke tracks are not always (but sometimes) covered under MCPS. However, there are some companies that strictly forbid the conversion of their tracks from CD+G (the article states Sound Choice but I'm sure others include Sunfly which, as the biggest manufacturer & distributor of karaoke discs, this could leave you with a really big hole in your MP3+G collection).
So, as I've stated before, I'm not 100% sure of the legallity of the ProDub karaoke add-on and, as a big part of my business is karaoke, I'm not buying the licence for this very reason. At least until someone gives me concrete proof of what karaoke tracks I can legally (and with agreement of the CD+G companies) convert and also make it clear which companies (like Zoom - never actually heard of Laughing Gnome, though) give permission to do so outside of ProDub.
I'm not holding my breath as it's over a year since my first email to ProDub and, despite repeat emails, I've never heard anything back... yet!
Dazzy D
Lightning Disco & Entertainment
Born to make you party!
Surely it's irrelevant whether UK karaoke companies are signed up with MCPS to receive funds from ProDub?
If the law says you need a ProDub licence to format shift karaoke songs, then you need a licence...regardless of where the money ends up.
It's a bit like saying "I'm not paying the road tax for my car...because nobody has been able to prove to me that 100% of the money I pay will be spent maintaining the roads."
Under copyright law, the writers of the tracks and composers of the music own the copyright (or have passed the rights to the MCPS/PRS or whoever) and their work cannot be reproduced without their permission or a licence.
No one can make money from someones copyright work without the appropriate permission.
It doesn't matter that the Karaoke companies say that they are not registered with MCPS - they may have some other licencing agreement in place for them to have permission to reproduce the works.
PRS for music represent the copyright holders of the music and lyrics.
If they say you need a Pro Dub to bring another copy of the works into existence, then you need one.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
