MUST READ PRIVACY ISSUE.....

[Bigdog]

This topic started in another thread. Below in the next post are portions of the Sound Choice agreement you must sign to buy the GEM series from them. Even if you don't sign the agreement you are legally bound to everything in it just by purchasing the set. The only way this can happen is if the site you bought the GEM series from has agreed to give Sound Choice your name and address. Then prepare for a visit.



By buying online do we have or should we expect to have any privacy????

What if an agreement exists between Sound Choice and the karaoke outlet sites????


I think a serious online disc buying boycott is on the way if you want your privacy.....

Blame Sound Choice...Do you think the other disc companies want sucked into this????

I predict the end of karaoke as we know it is coming very soon.


90,000 pages of TOP SECRET people are going to die as a result of...government stuff just hit the internet...how secret is your name on a karaoke disc site???

The end is near......

I just bought me last updates.....unless they are locally available. I will buy nothing karaoke related on the internet again. Not hosting programs or song book programs or anything else. If I can't make it work with what I have then I'm going out of business.

Soon only the illegal KJs will be doing jobs. Because the legal ones were forced out of business over privacy issues.

EVERYONE better wake up real quick. It may very well be too late already.... I think major damage has happened and is happening at this very moment.

THE END IS NEAR.... Kiss karaoke as we know it goodbye....


This is not a joke and I'm not kidding....

WAKE UP NOW....

STOP BUYING ONLINE NOW WITHOUT KNOWING IF YOUR NAME IS SAFE FROM WHOMEVER WANTS IT RELATING TO YOUR RECENT DISC PURCHASES. Get it in writing from them first....

[Bigdog]

You must read, understand, sign, and return this Agreement before you acquire any Sound Choice GEM
Series MP3G discs. However, your acquisition or use of Sound Choice GEM Series MP3G discs for any
purpose signifies your acceptance of these terms, regardless of the presence or absence of your signature on
this Agreement.
Because of a combination of technology, anonymity, competitive pressure, lack of controls and unscrupulous
individuals, the karaoke industry, from the producers to the commercial hosts to the singers has seen a
dramatic downward spiral at all levels of the value chain. Regardless of your present situation (whether you
are in a lawsuit with Sound Choice or trying to avoid one by the legal purchase of a set of discs or just starting
in business) you will be making a substantial investment in your business by the licensing of these Tracks.
This License Agreement is intended to help us and you gain some measure of protection over the illegal use or
copying of the Content and to maintain the value of your investment.


Whether you agree to sign this or not...if you buy the Gem set you have agreed in proxy....meaning you signed it without signing it. And are legally bound to everything written within this agreement. And open to audits.

2. OWNERSHIP. You acknowledge and agree that the ownership of all Media, including all right, title, and
interest therein, belongs to Sound Choice and will remain with Sound Choice throughout the term of this
Agreement. You also acknowledge that all rights in the Media and the Content not specifically granted to
you by operation of law or expressly granted through this Agreement are reserved to Sound Choice or to
third parties, as applicable. You further acknowledge and agree that the ownership of all Content—
including the entire right, title, and interest therein, including copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual
property rights—belongs to Sound Choice or the respective rights holders of the Content. In particular,
copyright in the underlying musical works (the composition rights) belongs to the original authors or their
assignees and are reserved to them. This Agreement does not grant you any rights with respect to those
copyright holders. We are unable to grant you any particular license or resolve any claim on behalf of
those copyright holders or any other third party. You are responsible for obtaining any necessary
licenses or permissions prior to any public performance of the underlying musical works.


Does this mean at any time they can take back their files????

They haven't said they bought the rights to shift anything....

You are responsible for obtaining any necessary
licenses or permissions prior to any public performance of the underlying musical works. They haven't given you anything but their song renditions and they can not give you permission to use the songs at your gig. LEGALLY

I highly doubt they have paid the publishers to do the format shift for all 6000 songs.

MEDIA-SHIFTING POLICY. You may not shift the Content of the Original Media to any Non-
Original Medium unless you are in compliance with our media-shifting policy. Provided that such
media-shifting is otherwise in compliance with the laws of the United States or Canada (as
applicable), you may shift the Content stored on each of the Original Media to ONE Non-Original
Medium of your choice. You must maintain possession of the Original Media whose Content you
have shifted during the entire time the Content is stored on the Non-Original Medium. While the
Content has been shifted, you may not use the Original Media for any purpose, commercial or
otherwise. If you desire to shift the Content of any of the Original Media to more than one NonOriginal Medium, you must acquire one or more additional original discs, so that you maintain a 1-
to-1 relationship between original discs and the non-original media. For example, if you want to
store the Content of a disc on three hard drives, you must acquire and maintain three original discs.
This media-shifting policy operates only to state the terms under which we tolerate media-shifting.
We do not, by this Agreement or otherwise, indemnify you against any action or claim by any third
party.


NO BACK UP HARD DRIVE....it would make you illegal..So now it costs $9000 to have their 6000 songs.

This Agreement shall have an initial term expiring December 31 of the fifth calendar year following
the date of this Agreement (“the Expiration Date”). For example, if you signed this Agreement on
July 1, 2010, it would expire on December 31, 2015. This Agreement may be renewed according to
such terms offered by Sound Choice as are in effect on July 1 of the expiration year of the
Agreement (July 1, 2015, in the above example) (“the Renewal Date”). Regardless of the particular
terms of renewal, the length of the renewal term shall be not fewer than three (3) years and the cost
of the renewal shall not exceed $100. In the event of our failure to offer specific renewal terms in
advance of the Renewal Date, this Agreement shall be deemed renewed in all respects for a threeyear
period upon our receipt from you of a $100 renewal fee, after the Renewal Date but before the
Expiration Date.
(b) If you breach this Agreement, we may terminate it at any time upon 14 days’ notice and your failure
to cure the breach. In the event of our termination under this provision, you must remove all
Content from any Non-Original Medium to which you have shifted it, return the Licensee
Identification Sticker to us, and return the Original Media to us. Our waiver of any breach of this
Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of any future breach of this Agreement.


THIS AGREEMENT EXPIRES....IN 5 YEARS. IF YOU DO NOT PAY MONEY AGAIN YOU NO LONGER OWN THE SONGS AND YOU MUST DELETE THEM.

You are just renting the GEM set you will never completely own it outright....

If your hard drive crashes you're screwed. And until you get a new sticker you can't work. And you will probably have to wait for them to do another audit before you work again.

How much money is this set going to cost..I mean save you in the long run??????

Pretty good marketing. You never own their stuff permanently anymore without rebuying it again and again.

You don't have to agree to this if you just continue to buy their regular discs.... Anyone that buys their GEM set is goofy.

I also believe that any/every karaoke outlet selling the GEM set has agreed to turn over all your info to them so they can contact you.

And after just saying that...I believe that they also will turn over your name if you buy any Sound Choice discs.

It might be too late but I just stopped buying all Sound Choice items immediately...Period...the end...done.

In fact I just stopped buying all discs on the internet. If I can't find the songs locally....I'm done buying discs.


Note to all my singers....too bad. This developement just about kills all the karaoke outlets online. The end..... of karaoke is coming soon. Repent now before it's too late.....

Do you still trust any of the karaoke online stores with your information about the discs you just bought???? I'M DONE!!!!!!!

Sound Choice single-handedly is going to kill the karaoke industry......how long will it take?????

[Bigdog]

Anybody that thinks I'm wrong about this....please buy the Sound Choice GEM series and let us know how long it takes for them to contact you for your audit.

Prove me wrong. I dare you.

I'm talking about buying from an online site without signing their (SC) contract. Buying the set means you have agreed with everything in the contract whether you sign one or not.

This doesn't pertain if you willingly have agreed to and signed the contract.

[Bigdog]

Anybody that thinks I'm wrong about this....please buy the Sound Choice GEM series and let us know how long it takes for them to contact you for your audit.

Prove me wrong. I dare you.

I'm talking about buying from an online site without signing their (SC) contract. Buying the set means you have agreed with everything in the contract whether you sign one or not.

This doesn't pertain if you willingly have agreed to and signed the contract.

And don't forget to buy 2 sets if you want to have a legal back up hard drive.... Because they will audit you and your office and storage area and garage and attic.

[Bigdog]

Karaoke warehouse has these discs for sale. Only KJs can buy them. Not for sale to the general public. I don't know if it's because of the discount price or if that is a Sound Choice policy to keep KJs under the gun.

And there is a link to the contract you must sign before purchase. Other sites probably have the same set up. My other concern is about whether these sites have an agreement to tell Sound Choice about people that buy regular discs. Or just the names of registered KJs.

Sounds like only KJs will have to justify their library legality and Joe public doesn't.

Remember we technically don't have the legal right for public performance unless/until we get permission for the useage of each and every song.

I'm going to stop all internet and credit card sales of discs. No more paper trails. Or pay a non KJ to buy them for me.

[Bigdog]

What's to stop a karaoke site from handing over your name to all the disc manufacturers???? If they ask....

These sites make their money from the discounts they get from the manufacturers. Without the discs to sell they go under. Where is their biggest loyalty???


Why do I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach? Like the one you get when someone is screwing you and you don't know it....


Is this a mountain out of a mole hill or is anyone else feeling this way??? We have no idea what is going on behind the scenes.

[Sabrina59]

Sounds to me like Sound Choice has gone over the deep end. This is absolutely ridiculous that you can't have a back-up copy, are renting the songs, and, if I read correctly, can't give you permission to use these in a public venue.

Wow ... just wow.

[wiseguy]

This really should be the straw that breaks Sound Choice's back. Instead of releasing new music they have opted to "lease" their existing collection under some absurd contract.

Of course the only people who would be interested in the these songs are those new to the business. Most KJs who have been around for awhile already have all the SC music that they plan to buy.

Bigdog is correct in everything he is saying here except that I don't believe this will be "the end of karaoke as we know it" but rather the end of Sound Choice. And that should send the message to other karaoke music manufacturers that this type of tactic simply will not work.

[DanG2006]

Chartbuster is looking into streaming content. Won't work because how many bar owners are going to get internet connections for their hosts? If anything the bar owner finds out that he can hire joe smoe to run the show for cheap while the KJ's that were doing it before go out of business.

[Bigdog]

Streaming files to a job would be like a rental too.

I'm not hooking my karaoke computer up to the internet. If you get a virus at the show..you will go home with empty pockets and getting rid of the virus could cost you money. Lost wages and down time and maybe a new hard drive. Not worth the risk

How many new KJs want to RENT their songs???

How many old KJs want to RENT their songs????

UNTIL EVERY KARAOKE MUSIC SITE CAN GUARANTEE THAT MY PRIVATE INFORMATION IS GOING TO REMAIN PRIVATE, I'M DONE BUYING ONLINE.


What if a company (SC or someone else) decides to Subpoena their sales records? They will be forced to turn over your name. What, when and where you bought discs. Who knows what will come next.

Protecting your name even if you are totally innocent still requires a lawyer. YOUR MONEY and YOUR TIME. Lost income. Your name in the paper. Lost jobs from the bad press.

If we KJs let our intentions be known to all the internet disc selling sites, we could have them stop selling SC discs if they want to continue to remain in business. Think about it. You don't have to tell them who you are. Just block your number and be anonymous. Tell them your concerns about your privacy and Sound Choice's new policy for music rentals and you don't like it. And you will stop buying from their company until they can guarantee your privacy in writing and until they stop selling Sound Choice music. If each site gets a couple hundred calls about the same thing they will take notice real quick. Comply or die on the vine. Show them who has the real power. With our dollars. Money talks BS walks. Clog the switchboards with complaints not orders.

My initial legal karaoke music investment stands and I'm keeping it protected on a hard drive forvever. I'm not re-buying it. I'm not renting it. I OWN IT. IT'S MINE. The disc sales were final and never slated to end and have to be returned after a certain time period.

As of now my karaoke musical investment has stopped until this matter comes to an end.


If anything the bar owner finds out that he can hire joe smoe to run the show for cheap while the KJ's that were doing it before go out of business.

How many bar owners want to rent their karaoke music???? We have no worries about this subject.

If we all start calling all the karaoke sites Monday morning by Monday night this will all be over and done with. Karaoke sites will side with us or be out of business Tuseday. What do you think they will pick???? Wednesday everything will be on clearence racks...

We can do this......who's with me???? Is your karaoke business income worth protecting with some phone calls????

[mnementh]

And don't forget to buy 2 sets if you want to have a legal back up hard drive.... Because they will audit you and your office and storage area and garage and attic.

I belive this is incorrect and is simply a matter of semantics.

I had a quick skim through the License agreement and I'm sure I saw a paragraph that says you can make ONE copy of the files and use that copy.

However, it also states that while you use the copy, you may NOT use the originals.

In my book, that IS a backup situation.

If the copy fails for any reason, I read it that you can make another FOR YOUR OWN USE.

However, I have to say that Sound Choice arte basically slicing their own wrists with this form of sales practise. If they don't get their heads out of their backsides, they will go to the wall.

Sandy

[wiseguy]

And don't forget to buy 2 sets if you want to have a legal back up hard drive.... Because they will audit you and your office and storage area and garage and attic.

I belive this is incorrect and is simply a matter of semantics.

I had a quick skim through the License agreement and I'm sure I saw a paragraph that says you can make ONE copy of the files and use that copy.

However, it also states that while you use the copy, you may NOT use the originals.

In my book, that IS a backup situation.

If the copy fails for any reason, I read it that you can make another FOR YOUR OWN USE.

However, I have to say that Sound Choice arte basically slicing their own wrists with this form of sales practise. If they don't get their heads out of their backsides, they will go to the wall.

Sandy

Yes, you can make another hard drive copy from your discs if the ONE you have fails. How can you consider this a "backup situation"? The discs are worthless to you on the job. Your show is over until you go home and load another hard drive.

[DanG2006]

And don't forget to buy 2 sets if you want to have a legal back up hard drive.... Because they will audit you and your office and storage area and garage and attic.

I belive this is incorrect and is simply a matter of semantics.

I had a quick skim through the License agreement and I'm sure I saw a paragraph that says you can make ONE copy of the files and use that copy.

However, it also states that while you use the copy, you may NOT use the originals.

In my book, that IS a backup situation.

If the copy fails for any reason, I read it that you can make another FOR YOUR OWN USE.

However, I have to say that Sound Choice arte basically slicing their own wrists with this form of sales practise. If they don't get their heads out of their backsides, they will go to the wall.

Sandy

Yes, you can make another hard drive copy from your discs if the ONE you have fails. How can you consider this a "backup situation"? The discs are worthless to you on the job. Your show is over until you go home and load another hard drive.

Unless your outside player plays Mp3+G discs. Then you carry the discs with you and you're good to go. The discs only have 30 songs on them so amount of songs on the disc isn't an issue.

[mnementh]

Unless your outside player plays Mp3+G discs. Then you carry the discs with you and you're good to go. The discs only have 30 songs on them so amount of songs on the disc isn't an issue.


Correct!
And given that you are using a PC to host your show, your Karaoke MP3+G hosting program will not care a jot if the files are on your hard drive, or a disc.

If my calculations are correct, at 30 songs per CD, Sound Choice is also taking the urine in terms of how many discs there are per set.

As a recordable CD has 800Mb available, at even 10Mb per song, you should be able to get at least 80 tracks per disc.

Sandy

[wiseguy]

You can't be serious about using the discs and your CD drive. Your karaoke hosting program is looking for the song files on the hard drive and not the CD drive so you have rendered it useless.

And then how stupid is it to have to set up for both a hard drive AND a disc system.

I say it is as stupid as a person would need to be to agree to the Sound Choice contract.