Karaoke DJ Membership -
see here
Legal MP3+G Downloads and
ProDub - September 2008
Did you know that if you
download legal karaoke MP3+G files to your performance hard
drive, you do not need a ProDub Licence as no conversion or
copy has been made!
Manufacturers of karaoke music
realise that the vast amount of customers who buy their
products are not ordinary consumers but professional KJs and
DJs.
Members / Karaoke
entertainment providers are advised to check which
manufacturers of CD + G will allow conversion of tracks to
MP3 + G format.
DJ@ understand that Sound
Choice do not permit any conversion whatsoever.
Labels like Zoom
entertainments and Laughing Gnome (who in particular make
some really rare and sought after karaoke tracks) have KJs
and DJs interests at heart and like us, would simply want everyone
to be correctly informed of the facts:-
ZOOM ENTERTAINMENTS LTD -
reply 22nd September
1) Zoom
karaoke tracks are not covered under the Produb
licence as we have never been approached by MCPS and
we are not PPL members. I don't have a problem with
people converting their original CD+G discs to any
other format, provided they keep the original discs
and don't use the original discs and their copies
simultaneously.
2) No, our
recordings are not PPL. I don't know of any UK
karaoke company whose recordings are PPL registered.
So there
you have it. Zoom are
not PPL members - Zoom karaoke tracks are not covered under
the ProDub licence.
Zoom are
happy with people converting their original CD+G discs to
any other format, provided they keep the original discs, and
don't use the original discs and the copies simultaneously.
Zoom state that they are
unaware
of any
UK karaoke company whose recordings are PPL registered.
Zoom entertainments (as far as
DJ@ are aware) was the first UK company to offer MP3+G
downloads legally.
LAUGHING GNOME - 16th
September
In reference to your
email,
......I was happy for people to convert the tracks from
original discs before the Produb licence was issued and this
still stands....All our tracks are licensed through MCPS and
for karaoke purposes that is all that is required in this
country, which would lead me to believe that if what you are
saying is correct then no karaoke tracks are legal under
this system because they do not need to conform to PPL......
Not sure if this is any help, but if you have any further
questions do not hesitate to contact me.
Cheers
Simon
Laughing Gnome
DJ@ understands that as long as the original discs
are retained, Laughing Gnome are happy for KJs and DJs to
convert karaoke tracks from their original discs to MP3 + G.
Please check back here
frequently for any further updates and developments.
Robert Griffiths
About the Author
Robert Griffiths,
UK Based working Karaoke Entertainer and Vocalist. Member
of the DJ Associates Disc Jockey Association (also known as
‘DJ@’)
http://www.djassociates.org and active member of the
DJ’sUnited (‘DJU’) mobile DJ Forum at
http://www.dj-forum.co.uk.
