Where do you get your karaoke music?
Posted: July 8, 2014 Filed under: Karaoke, Music, Tracks | Tags: CD+G, karaoke, MP3+G, MP4, music, WMV 8 Comments
As a karaoke host, one of my many responsibilities it locating fresh, relevant music as well as finding the classics that people want to sing to. I have invested a lot of money is karaoke music for my company. It is the single biggest expense up front and on a monthly basis for my business.
When I first started, I needed to quickly obtain a large amount of music to accommodate the singers. I starting searching on eBay and Craigslist and was fortunate to find some phenomenal deals on large karaoke CD+G collections between the two.
As I expanded to running multiple systems, I considered trying to duplicate everything across all systems but realized very quickly that would not be practical. There are many karaoke tracks that were only produced by one karaoke company and only on discs. Some of those discs are rare and expensive if you you do happen to find them.
About two years ago, I started buying downloads from Karaoke Version and KaraokeDownloads.ca. Even though the individual tracks and more expensive, it was still less expensive than buy a $10-$15 disc with that ONE track I needed. Not to mention, I wasn’t dealing with discs period any longer which just makes sense in this digital age.
Today, I still buy discs when I find great deals, but stick to buying downloads for newer karaoke tracks.
Here are some links to some places to find karaoke tracks (note – there are quite a few more, but I am only suggesting the ones I have used with any regularity)
This is a karaoke music search engine. It is one of the few remaining databases on the web these days. It links out to the two following sites to buy downloads –
http://www.karaoke-version.com
Out of France. They produce backing tracks (no graphics) as well as full MP3+G, WMV, and MP4 versions of many popular karaoke tracks. They have a “frequent buyer” program and you can even suggest tracks to be made that then get voted on by the community. This is my go to brand.
Out of Canada. This site aggregates and distributes Sunfly, ZOOM, SBI, Abraxa and a small number of other brands. They don’t actually make tracks themselves, just distribute on behalf of the mentioned companies. Very comprehensive selection.
http://www.zoom-entertainments.co.uk
All three of these are out of the UK. You can sometimes find tracks on these manufacturer sites that don’t show up on KaraokeDownloads.ca – However, with the recent implementation of the “No Fly” list (will be posting on this topic soon), a small number of well known artists are no longer available for download and can now only be purchased on CD+G.
Final note – Due to the screwy copyright laws in the US, the non-US companies are “supposed” to deny access to computers with IP addresses that indicate they are physically located in the United State. In my experience, they aren’t blocking very consistently if at all. I can access, purchase and download from ALL of the above sites. KaraokeDownloads.ca is out of Canada which does not have the geo-blocking restriction so you should be able to get to that site even if you can’t get to the individual manufacturer sites.
Where do you get your karaoke music?
-Cheers!
a fair rotation 
So I haven’t bought any because the hosts in the area are doing a great job of having most everything I want. But I do have a question for you: what is with the songs that have a movie backup? Some are sooo awful. Like “Nights in White Satin” with the roly poly king (?) getting bit by a snake. Or “I Did It My Way” with a clown. Maybe you can cover the subject in a separate blog. It’s like watching the worse B movies out there.
Do you mean like the old Pioneer LaserDiscs from the 90’s? I happen to love those! They actually have some of the best and most accurate sound renditions of any karaoke songs. I happen to have them in CD+G format as well for those that don’t like the videos.
There are also a number of karaoke companies that are producing “HD” versions of karaoke in MP4 and WMV format. Some have a background graphic, some do not. I actually do not like those so much and prefer to stick to the solid black background.
I use some of the same companies you do, and also All Star Karaoke. That site actually gives a good insight as to which new songs are popular… Gone are the days when I buy monthly discs without consideration of what’s on them… I only try to buy the popular tracks from the new stuff. I do think karaoke-Version has a lot to offer that cannot be found elsewhere… especially some obscure older stuff.
I agree Cliff. I had a monthly subscription to Pop Hits Monthly from 2012-2013. i let it expire though because they weren’t able to secure rights to popular songs quickly enough if at all. Not their fault, but I still couldn’t justify the expense if I wasn’t going to be using their material.
Being a long term KJ I purchase on disc using All-Star for customs and buying directly from the UK manufactures 1 disc at a time. Just the way I feel comfortable in running my business. In all 4 of our systems we have less that 50 total downloads from Karaoke Version and DTE. All are songs not available any other way.
As a company we buy all of our tracks from http://www.karaokeversion.co.uk. Being based in the UK I’m not sure if that would work for you, but they have very good license restrictions. That’s for http://www.karaokenetwork.com and we have over 9000 tracks now so they have quite a good library.
I do use KaraokeVersion.com as my go to brand for new music these days. They have quality tracks, an easy to use site, community participation in song selections, great documentation for purchased and more. Great brand!
Hi! After almost 6 years as a mobile DJ, I am looking into expanding into KJ to grab more gigs and have some fun. What would your advice be to a new KJ in 2014 as far as acquiring a solid, legal song collection? It seems as though I need to find someone who’s been doing it for years who doesn’t want to anymore and pick up all their discs.
Thanks!