New trade association forms for Karaoke industry
By William Smythe
A new trade association was formed recently for members representing all segments of the Karaoke industry, from record labels to KJs. On Oct. 28, 2008, the Karaoke Industry Alliance of America (KIAA) officially opened its doors for business and is now accepting membership applications from anyone interested in joining.
The KIAA was created out of a need to address the many financial and economical challenges facing the Karaoke industry today, as well as to provide Karaoke professionals and enthusiasts alike with a primary source of information regarding all matters pertaining to Karaoke.
In the past, other attempts were made to unify the industry, but this is the first non-partisan effort of its kind. The trade group is made up of Karaoke professionals such as KJ hosts, venues, distributors and record labels. An associate membership is also available for Karaoke enthusiasts who want to demonstrate their support and gain access to "membership only" benefits.
The Karaoke industry has been plagued with piracy and copyright infringement litigation as of late. The combination of these two phenomena has led to a number of Karaoke business failures and has all but brought a once-thriving industry to its knees. Part of the resulting damage has manifested itself in the creation of a substantial black market, which has placed the record labels and distribution channels at a competitive disadvantage.
Unfortunately, the damage has not stopped there and has seeped its way into the performance sector as well. Both KJs and venues now find themselves having to compete with other businesses that engage directly or indirectly in the trade of illegally-acquired music. This practice in and of itself has been responsible for creating an artificially low market rate for services provided by a KJ or Karaoke company, some of whom have tens of 1000s of dollars invested in their music libraries.
Another issue that the KIAA would like to soon address is in the area of music licensing. The KIAA would like to see more artists make their musical compositions available to the public. Many artists and some music publishers still refuse to allow their musical compositions to be used in an on-screen lyrics format. The KIAA believes that much of this resistance is based on a combination of misconceptions, as well as what some would view as a negative image of Karaoke in general, both from a performance perspective and as a business model.
The KIAA agenda stretches well beyond financial matters and has already discussed things like national awards programs for Karaoke friendly artists, developing an artistic community, which could promote songwriting and artist development and promotion from within the Karaoke community, as well as a number of other issues on the horizon that the KIAA is eager to address.
For more information, please visit the website of the Karaoke Industry Alliance of America at www.thekiaa.org and join their efforts in promoting the Karaoke industry agenda.