We have been doing karaoke in this region (Milton Keynes is about 50 miles north of London) for 5 years. We travel within a 50 mile radius, and do weekly residencies in bars, pubs, clubs and private functions (weddings, birthdays etc). We don't advertise as word of mouth gets us enough business.Carl, my partner, is a singer and owns the kit. I have only been with him for a year but my expertise is sales/marketing/pr. I am an entrepreneur, and a headhunter so I have a huge network of contacts. THis has been a huge advantage in organising these UK competitions.
We always take the name and number of the really good singers we meet, wherever they may be, telling them that there will be competitions in the future and we would like to invite them to take part. This ensures we have a good number of high quality performers before we even start a competition. They love the flattery!
The most important thing in organising these events is the PR. I make sure I contact the local press, radio stations etc to tell them that someone from THEIR REGION is going to represent the UK at the WORLD karaoke championships. I have other stories to tell to make it more enticing (see below). Part of the appeal to any bar/club to host such a competition is the free press they will receive for their venue. The last one I did, we got approx £7,000 worth of free press from them + the TV exposure (see below). All local radio station etc love to take the mickey out of karaoke, but we make sure we record the really good singers on CD which we edit down to 30 second sound bytes each, label them as to name, what they do for a living and where they live. The DJs were amazed at the quality and kept playing all the snippets when we thought they might just play one or two. They were so cynical to start with but ended up being dead chuffed. The best thing is if you can persuade them to a judge for the final as then they will plug the event non-stop.
Make the final a charity night. Ours are known as GRAND CHARITY KARAOKE CHAMPS FINAL. Then the non-profit making stations (ie BBC in the UK) will plug it too. Everyone likes to feel they are giving to charity. The final is ticket only (£2.50) to everyone (no freebies) but all is given to a local charity. The entry tickets also double up as raffle tickets (usually prizes like a £50 bar tab, tee shirts, merchandise donated by the bar which is worth peanuts to them but people like to get).
I am lucky in that I have very strong connections at a very senior level in the music industry. I call on a couple of these guys to be the 'celeb music industry judges' and it gives the whole thing credibility. Our 2 main ones last time were a guy called Tim Hollier who founded and runs the largest independent music publishing company in the UK - MCSmusic PLC, and Barry Mason, one of the best lyricists around who wrote Delilah, The Last Waltz, There goes my first love, Love Grows where my Rosemary goes etc. He did a 15 minute cabaret slot whilst I was totting up the scores and had the crowd in uproar. They were not paid any fees, but were paid travelling expenses. Local DJs are great for judging, or if there are any local record producers, talent agencies, music manufacturer reps etc. Basically anyone who people will want to feel worthy of judging them. The more famous, the better. For god's sake give them plenty of notice though, and make sure they know the exact running order of the night, what is expected of them (judging criteria, what to look for this particular competition , how to fill in the score sheet etc). Make sure they have lots of booze in front of them too. Give them a big intro at the beginning so that they feel special and the audience appreciate their worthiness of opinion!
Sponsors are incredibly important. They pay for the prizes, your costs, add interest, and usually some other benefit (TV, work for winners etc). Choose some local companies to approach with the pitch of free press, supporting your local talent, being on TV etc. I tend to try and get several sponsors for different things. Sometimes the venue sponsors the main prize (ie trip to Finland for 2), whilst a local recording studio sponsors half a day in the studio for 1st and 2nd prize. I had a Texting company which is present online and on SKY TV (cable/digital) to sponsor some of the lesser prizes last time, but they also filmed the event to put up on their channel. Huge pull for press and contestants alike. They had a banner with their logo as did the venue, behind the stage which made the stage more appealing and gave them a great brand presence. We had the banners made up at their expense (another small opportunity to cover some extra costs) so that they fitted the stage area well.
Prizes are very important. Make them something that the really good singers want, and that is RECORDING STUDIO TIME. They are all desperate to get a proper demo down. Give them karaoke equipement, hi-fi stuff, CDs etc but keep in all in the theme. If you can give them the opportunity of working for a local talent agency, all the better.
The actual format for the competition works really well. It is short, focused and productive for everyone.
Run it over 4 weeks, for 2 nights a week so you end up with 8 nights in all. The first 6 nights are just heat nights but no decisions are made on those nights. We want them to come back as many times as they can to show versatility (after all they have to sing 6 songs in Finland so doing your best number isn't going to hack it!). Help them improve. Give constructive feedback about choice of song, presentation and performance - all of which are important. Believe me, they will take it on board and you can watch them improve over those 6 nights. Then you are in a better position to choose the semi-finalists. After heat night 6, phone the top 20-25 singers to ask them to come back in for the following night which will be the invitational semi-final. Have some respected friends/colleagues on hand to help judge this one informally from the sidelines as this is when it gets a bit emotional! You will have a good idea of the 12 you want in the final, but its good to get other opinions. You need to get to that final 12 and let them know that night who will be in the final. If you have 10 definites but can't decide on the last 2 places as it is between 4 entrants, get those 4 to have a sing off by themselves and get your group of informal judges to choose 2.
Grand final night is great. Sell the tickets throughout the competition, although people tend to buy them at the last minute. This is the night that is filmed and then edited for a TV programme. The celeb judges are in place and the atmosphere is great. Each singer chooses 2 songs which are on a first come, first served basis (ie whoever registers first gets to sing the song even if someone else wants to sing the same one). The running order is pulled out of a hat, and is repeated the second time around. We make sure we have all the discs ready in order so there is no delay. Have an interval after all 12 have sung their first song (15 mins for stretching of legs etc). Then second song. Then cabaret or whatever to occupy crowd whilst scoring is added up. The reverse 3 order announced, prize giving etc. Finally TV interviews with winners etc. Photos for press.
Follow up the press in the next few days by providing CD snippets of the winners, digital photos of the event etc. Thank judges by writing to them. Make sure you collate all the press you have received (cuttings, recordings fo interviews on radio, noted times of plugs etc) and make up a press report tailored to each specific sponsor, together with monetary value of said report. They may do it again!! Pose for photographs with charity whilst you present the cheque!
You can repeat the above format for any region, but you have to have a good all round event organiser to pull all the bits together + the KJ to actually run the nights and have a good judgement of singer.
costs are borne by the venue (usually 5,000 printed and distributed flyers on the back of which is the main sponsors promotion) and sponsors. These include printing of flyers, tickets, banners, prizes, TV production costs etc.
No venue should charge you for the privilege of using their club. They are getting increased trade, press, and status from your event.
Make sure any flyers etc have an age limit on them for both the venue (usually 18 in this country) or KWC (16).
This is a proven formula and works well here in the UK.
We have just formed a YahooGroup to better communicate with everyone. This will enable us to all communicate through our regular email program, or by going directly to the KWC/USA Contest YahooGroup website. Those using the form below will have their names etc. added to our KWC/USA Contest YahooGroup so that they will be able to stay informed with everyone else. Please use the form below when you have a comment or would like to participate in the management or hosting or sponsorship aspects of the contest.
If you wish to be a contestant send an email to:
kwcusa-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
That will make you an official member of the KWC/USA Contest YahooGroup and add your name to the mailing list for the contest. It is free and there is nothing to download. You may also subscribe by going to the site directly:
Click to subscribe to the KWC/USA YahooGroup.
