Just plug into your TV set
and away you go singing your favourite songs. Has USB interface
with built-in recordable feature. For the price and
the number of songs displayed on monitor with sceneries, this is an
asset. Also car portable with battery operation. Adaptors
available for international users and can be used on both NTSC/PAL TV.
Prices range depending on song loads and accessories.
See list of built-in
songs here.
------------------
The Singing Machine -
Karaoke system with 7 monitors and 2 tower speakers
available from
www.musiciansfriend.com. This store is currently having a
clearance sale!!!
Are you
frustrated because finding your favorite songs on the net
has become more of a chore than an enjoyable activity? Read
this simple guide to finding music online and your troubles
will be out of mind before you download your next Green Day
hit!
MP3s are
compressed music files that are one-tenth the size of
regular audio files. As a normal audio file requires about
40 megabytes to download, and MP3 requires four. Although
this is still a substantial number, it is much more
manageable for the average
computer.
Thus began the MP3 downloading, sharing and trading craze.
There are a variety of options when it comes to playing your
MP3s. Media Player comes with Windows, QuickTime 4 comes
with
Macintosh,
and Win amp is the industry standard product.
Music can be
downloaded from
websites
or FTP sites. Websites are easier to use. Songs download
automatically when you click on the titles. Finding good
websites to download from is difficult. The sites that used
to work well now dabble in other venues. AlltheWeb.com and
MP3.com usually only contain independent, unknown bands that
may be great, but if you\'re looking for the stuff you\'ve
heard of, you\'ll be wasting your time. Audiofind now
carries radio stations instead of music files, and
Audiogalaxy.com
Music
Search
requires a subscription. Good websites to use are LycoMP3
Search, MP3 Search on Altavista, MP3 Search at Astraweb, and
MP3Bot Search Engine. FTP sites usually require special
software.
Some free software options include WS
FTP
and FTP Explorer. Oth Net (Kermit search) is a clean fast
way to download from FTP sites directly from the browser
that works even better than the software options.
In the wake of
the Napster downfall, it has become mostly illegal to
download and share free music files on the web. Musicians
are opposed to the practice, and rightly so, because the
free music sharing significantly affects the commercial
success of their CD sales in stores. Downloaders tend to
think musicians are being unfair by revoking the free music
files from the net, but one must remember that selling music
is their career. It is nearly impossible to find full
albums on the web. These days, musicians will release a
couple of new hits onto the net to try to entice the web
surfing crowd to wander into the music store and buy the
full album. Remember, if all else fails and you MUST have
the MP3 of a song, there are thousands of sites to which you
can subscribe and pay for the downloads. New bands are
always willing to put their music out on the Internet in
hopes of getting heard, so free downloads are limitless if
you are willing to lend your ear to some new tunes.
Keith Kingston is a professional web publisher who offers
advice on internet radio stations and
Eminem MP3
downloads. (Republished from www.valuablecontent.com).
The US Copyright Laws are broken. Under
current copyright law it is illegal for a
business to buy a piece of media in one
format and convert it to another better
format that is unavailable to them. Karaoke
disc are a prime example.
No, you MAY NOT load songs from
other manufacturers on your hard
drive. The licensing rights for
music on a hard drive machine
exist only between the machine
manufacturer and the music
provider. These rights do not
extend to the owner of the
machine, to load songs from
other manufacturers on the hard
drive player. Copying the discs
on to a hard drive is still
copying the discs. Legally, it
is absolutely no different than
burning a copy of the discs. In
order to copy your discs on to
your hard drive, you have to
have the written permission of
the company that produced the
discs and owns the copyrights.
On this page I will attempt to
convince you that format
conversion should not be a crime
and that businesses should be
allowed to convert a phonorecord
(That's the legal definition for
a song) from one format to
another. I am not making a case
for piracy, the legitimacy of
Peer to Peer networks, nor
serial copying, but rather the
simple process of encoding a
compact disc to a compressed
digital audio format like MP3.
With piracy and serial copying,
the artist is not paid for their
work. With format conversion, it
is assumed the work being
converted was legally purchased,
and thus the artist was paid his
share of the royalties.
We'll begin with a little bit of
history on the DJ industry. When
the DJ industry first started,
vinyl records were the most
popular medium for their
performances. How ever, these
were heavy and easily damaged.
Because of their weight and
cost, many DJs only brought a
few hundred records to a
performance and much money was
spent replacing records that
hard worn out or become
scratched. While this was good
for the record industry, it was
bad for consumers because it
increased the costs for the DJ
which were then passed on to the
consumers. When the cassette
tape was introduced, most DJ's
began using them instead because
they were lighter and more
durable. It was impractical to
copy records on to cassette tape
because the noise of the record
(especially if it was worn)
combined with the tape noise
made for a poor quality
recording. While tapes were more
durable than records, they too
wore out. Again, this was good
for the recording industry
because it meant that DJs would
have to purchase the same record
they already owned in the
cassette format. Of course, this
cost was passed onto the
consumers through higher prices
charged by DJs. When the CD came
out, DJs switched formats again.
They now had a digital medium
that wouldn't wear out no matter
how many times it was played. It
weighed less than a tape, and it
offered the ability to find a
particular track as quickly as
DJs used to be able to with
vinyl records. Now instead of
bringing a few hundred records,
or several hundred cassettes,
DJs could bring one or two
thousand CDs. This meant DJs had
a consistent product and a wider
selection of music than a band,
so not surprisingly DJs are now
the entertainment of choice at
weddings and parties.
Now enter compressed digital
audio. Most people are familiar
with MP3, so I will use that
term in place of compressed
digital audio, however most DJs
use other better compression
formats than MP3. With the MP3
format, DJs can store not just
one or two thousand CDs worth of
music, but hundreds of thousands
of CDs. Since MP3's are digital,
they never wear out, and because
they reside on a computer hard
disk, they never get scratched.
In 50 years they will sound the
same as they do today. They take
up less room because they are
inside the PC, and not spread
out on a 3 foot by 6 foot table.
They are lighter because they
are not a physical "thing". And
since computers are really great
at sorting information,
requested music can be found
instantly by the DJ instead of
forcing him to search through
thousands of CDs to find that
one particular CD that has that
one requested song. Compressed
audio is a godsend for the DJ
because it means he never has to
replace a disc/cassette/record,
he has less to carry, he can
offer the widest selection of
music possible, and reduce his
cost. This is great for
consumers because lower costs
mean lower prices.
Some argue that compressed audio
does not have the same sound
quality as a CD, and I have to
agree. However, it takes a very
good ear and a good set of
speakers to detect a difference
between a high quality digital
encoding and a CD. In a large
hall filled with celebrating
people the two are
indistinguishable. Further, I
would point out that CDs do not
sound as good as a high quality
analog recording like a vinyl
record, but the public still
embraced compact discs with open
arms. The public seem quite
happy with a good recording that
is more durable than a great
recording that degrades.
Unfortunately, as with every
invention that threatens the
status quo, it is illegal.
Currently disc jockeys who
convert a CD to another format
(including another CD) are
breaking copyright law because
such a conversion is not
considered "Fair Use". The
courts use four factors set
forth in section 107 of the
Copyright Law to determine if a
use is "Fair Use":
1. The purpose and character of
the use, including whether such
use is of a commercial nature or
is for nonprofit educational
purposes.
2. The nature of the copyrighted
work.
3. The amount and substantiality
of the portion used in relation
to the copyrighted work as a
whole.
4. The effect of the use upon
the potential market for or
value of the copyrighted work.
In the case of Disk Jockeys, the
questions would be answered as
such:
1. Commercial use for private
performance. It is a private
performance because Joe Public
can't simply walk into Jane
Doe's wedding without an
invitation, nor can he attend
ACME Corp.'s company Christmas
party unless he works there, but
because the disc jockey is
charging for his service, it is
a commercial use.
2. The nature of the copyrighted
material is a creative work.
Creative works typically
afforded a more restrictive
definition of Fair Use than
informational works like
dictionaries and encyclopedias.
3. The entire work is used in
the format conversion process.
This should be seen as a plus,
since the disc jockey is not
altering the work in any way.
The DJ is faithfully reproducing
the entire work as intended by
the artist.
4. The effect of this conversion
increases the potential market
for and the value of the
copyrighted work. By allowing
disc jockeys to convert formats,
they will be able to carry more
music to a performance, and
potentially bring the artist
more fans and ultimately more
fame and money.
To add this all up, the fact
that it is commercial use of a
creative work argues against
fair use, but the fact that the
entire work is used and its use
potentially increases the market
for the artist should outweigh
the negatives. The fact that it
is a private performance is
fairly neutral.
Another reason it is illegal is
because the CD is not consumed
during the process of
conversion, so by nature of the
process one is left with 2
copies of the recording instead
of the one that was purchased.
In theory the DJ should pay for
that second copy. Unfortunately,
no method for paying for this
second copy is available, and
since many DJs would rather have
the music in digital format than
CD format you would find them
selling the CD after making the
conversion which would hurt
record sales even more since you
would now have a glut of discs
flooding an already battered
market. This would be legal if
the DJ were forced to pay for
the copy, as the original CDs
carry the Right of First Sale
(which means you can sell it at
a garage sale, sell it on eBay,
or trade it in at a used music
store). Having the DJ pay for
the created copy would imply its
legitimacy as a legal copy in
and of itself, and thereby imply
the Right of First Sale to it as
well.
"What can I do about this?"
If like me you feel that the
music industry is trampling your
rights, contact your state
senators and representatives and
let them know that your vote is
more important than the money
they get from the music
industry's special interest
groups.
Tim Smith is the owner of By
Request DJ & Karaoke Company and
has worked towards getting US
disc jockeys the right to use
compressed digital audio since
it became legal in Canada.
No, you MAY NOT load songs from
other manufacturers on your hard
drive. The licensing rights for
music on a hard drive machine
exist only between the machine
manufacturer and the music
provider. These rights do not
extend to the owner of the
machine, to load songs from
other manufacturers on the hard
drive player. Copying the discs
on to a hard drive is still
copying the discs. Legally, it
is absolutely no different than
burning a copy of the discs. In
order to copy your discs on to
your hard drive, you have to
have the written permission of
the company that produced the
discs and owns the copyrights.
On this page I will attempt to
convince you that format
conversion should not be a crime
and that businesses should be
allowed to convert a phonorecord
(That's the legal definition for
a song) from one format to
another. I am not making a case
for piracy, the legitimacy of
Peer to Peer networks, nor
serial copying, but rather the
simple process of encoding a
compact disc to a compressed
digital audio format like MP3.
With piracy and serial copying,
the artist is not paid for their
work. With format conversion, it
is assumed the work being
converted was legally purchased,
and thus the artist was paid his
share of the royalties.
We'll begin with a little bit of
history on the DJ industry. When
the DJ industry first started,
vinyl records were the most
popular medium for their
performances. How ever, these
were heavy and easily damaged.
Because of their weight and
cost, many DJs only brought a
few hundred records to a
performance and much money was
spent replacing records that
hard worn out or become
scratched. While this was good
for the record industry, it was
bad for consumers because it
increased the costs for the DJ
which were then passed on to the
consumers. When the cassette
tape was introduced, most DJ's
began using them instead because
they were lighter and more
durable. It was impractical to
copy records on to cassette tape
because the noise of the record
(especially if it was worn)
combined with the tape noise
made for a poor quality
recording. While tapes were more
durable than records, they too
wore out. Again, this was good
for the recording industry
because it meant that DJs would
have to purchase the same record
they already owned in the
cassette format. Of course, this
cost was passed onto the
consumers through higher prices
charged by DJs. When the CD came
out, DJs switched formats again.
They now had a digital medium
that wouldn't wear out no matter
how many times it was played. It
weighed less than a tape, and it
offered the ability to find a
particular track as quickly as
DJs used to be able to with
vinyl records. Now instead of
bringing a few hundred records,
or several hundred cassettes,
DJs could bring one or two
thousand CDs. This meant DJs had
a consistent product and a wider
selection of music than a band,
so not surprisingly DJs are now
the entertainment of choice at
weddings and parties.
Now enter compressed digital
audio. Most people are familiar
with MP3, so I will use that
term in place of compressed
digital audio, however most DJs
use other better compression
formats than MP3. With the MP3
format, DJs can store not just
one or two thousand CDs worth of
music, but hundreds of thousands
of CDs. Since MP3's are digital,
they never wear out, and because
they reside on a computer hard
disk, they never get scratched.
In 50 years they will sound the
same as they do today. They take
up less room because they are
inside the PC, and not spread
out on a 3 foot by 6 foot table.
They are lighter because they
are not a physical "thing". And
since computers are really great
at sorting information,
requested music can be found
instantly by the DJ instead of
forcing him to search through
thousands of CDs to find that
one particular CD that has that
one requested song. Compressed
audio is a godsend for the DJ
because it means he never has to
replace a disc/cassette/record,
he has less to carry, he can
offer the widest selection of
music possible, and reduce his
cost. This is great for
consumers because lower costs
mean lower prices.
Some argue that compressed audio
does not have the same sound
quality as a CD, and I have to
agree. However, it takes a very
good ear and a good set of
speakers to detect a difference
between a high quality digital
encoding and a CD. In a large
hall filled with celebrating
people the two are
indistinguishable. Further, I
would point out that CDs do not
sound as good as a high quality
analog recording like a vinyl
record, but the public still
embraced compact discs with open
arms. The public seem quite
happy with a good recording that
is more durable than a great
recording that degrades.
Unfortunately, as with every
invention that threatens the
status quo, it is illegal.
Currently disc jockeys who
convert a CD to another format
(including another CD) are
breaking copyright law because
such a conversion is not
considered "Fair Use". The
courts use four factors set
forth in section 107 of the
Copyright Law to determine if a
use is "Fair Use":
1. The purpose and character of
the use, including whether such
use is of a commercial nature or
is for nonprofit educational
purposes.
2. The nature of the copyrighted
work.
3. The amount and substantiality
of the portion used in relation
to the copyrighted work as a
whole.
4. The effect of the use upon
the potential market for or
value of the copyrighted work.
In the case of Disk Jockeys, the
questions would be answered as
such:
1. Commercial use for private
performance. It is a private
performance because Joe Public
can't simply walk into Jane
Doe's wedding without an
invitation, nor can he attend
ACME Corp.'s company Christmas
party unless he works there, but
because the disc jockey is
charging for his service, it is
a commercial use.
2. The nature of the copyrighted
material is a creative work.
Creative works typically
afforded a more restrictive
definition of Fair Use than
informational works like
dictionaries and encyclopedias.
3. The entire work is used in
the format conversion process.
This should be seen as a plus,
since the disc jockey is not
altering the work in any way.
The DJ is faithfully reproducing
the entire work as intended by
the artist.
4. The effect of this conversion
increases the potential market
for and the value of the
copyrighted work. By allowing
disc jockeys to convert formats,
they will be able to carry more
music to a performance, and
potentially bring the artist
more fans and ultimately more
fame and money.
To add this all up, the fact
that it is commercial use of a
creative work argues against
fair use, but the fact that the
entire work is used and its use
potentially increases the market
for the artist should outweigh
the negatives. The fact that it
is a private performance is
fairly neutral.
Another reason it is illegal is
because the CD is not consumed
during the process of
conversion, so by nature of the
process one is left with 2
copies of the recording instead
of the one that was purchased.
In theory the DJ should pay for
that second copy. Unfortunately,
no method for paying for this
second copy is available, and
since many DJs would rather have
the music in digital format than
CD format you would find them
selling the CD after making the
conversion which would hurt
record sales even more since you
would now have a glut of discs
flooding an already battered
market. This would be legal if
the DJ were forced to pay for
the copy, as the original CDs
carry the Right of First Sale
(which means you can sell it at
a garage sale, sell it on eBay,
or trade it in at a used music
store). Having the DJ pay for
the created copy would imply its
legitimacy as a legal copy in
and of itself, and thereby imply
the Right of First Sale to it as
well.
"What can I do about this?"
If like me you feel that the
music industry is trampling your
rights, contact your state
senators and representatives and
let them know that your vote is
more important than the money
they get from the music
industry's special interest
groups.
Tim Smith is the owner of By
Request DJ & Karaoke Company and
has worked towards getting US
disc jockeys the right to use
compressed digital audio since
it became legal in Canada.
Karaoke evolved from an activity of singing normally
people in groups notably in Asia such as the Philippines. The word 'karaoke' was derived from two Japanese words 'kara' meaning 'empty'
(absence of singer's voice in the music or minus one) and 'oke' meaning 'orchestra',
such activity was a past-time that also flourished
in Japan where the first known device 'karaoke' came to existence.