Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Musical Artists Trying to Ban Their Music for Karaoke

     Here is some news that really makes me mad, more than 100 artists are pushing for a ban on the use of their material for karaoke.  I guess that they don’t make enough for their effort and afraid that some bar singer might belt out a better version of their song.  It is a sorry day to see this happening.  It is my feeling that it is time to boycott the artists that that aren’t satisfied that they receive royalties for their works sung by karaoke singers even though they are not even a part of the performance.
     Karaoke singers have been banned by top stars like Abba and Adele and more than 100 bands and performers are no longer issuing new licenses for their music.   Don’t panic or anything, but your days of badly singing Hello and Dancing Queen at the top of your lungs during Karaoke could be over.   Adele, Abba, and Katy Perry tracks feature on a long list of bangers that have been banned from being performed on karaoke. We kid you not! No more Adele on Karaoke?  The London born star’s smash hit single Hello, Katy’s Roar and Abba’s classic Dancing Queen are sadly some of the legendary tunes that karaoke fans will be prohibited from belting out, as 100 bands and performers are no longer issuing new licenses for their music

     Bars and companies which re-create hits without the vocals are baffled by the move because it deprives the artists of royalties.  The ban already applies to online streaming services but will be extended to discs from January.  And future releases will no longer be available on any format.  Other artists on the list include the Bee Gees, Eurythmics, Katy Perry, Paul Weller and New Order.  He said: “We can’t understand why they’re doing it, it makes no sense.”  Jay Taylor, director of karaoke disc-maker Vocal-Star, said the move, which also affects home karaoke machines, will devastate the industry.     Rob Kempton of music rights consultancy Footprint Music said a variety of reasons could be behind the ban.  He said: “Artists might want to negotiate their own deal with karaoke companies, or it might be they don’t want songs overplayed and put people off.  "Maybe some just don’t like karaoke.”