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December 24, 1997
The big movers:
Sound Choice opened a new mega-karaoke factory and multi-level sales facility in Charolette, North Carolina. Built and custom designed from the ground up at a cost in the millions, Sound Choice's new home sprawls over 25,000 square feet in a beautiful, landscaped industrial park (fountains and lakes as you enter). Inside the new facility are multiple recording studios, computerized robotic wharehouse order-fulfillment systems, dozens of customer service rep offices for direct dealer sales and rooms set up with banks of telemarketing stalls for direct sales to the consumer. As the state-of-art facility opened, distributors were informed that the new facility would allow Sound Choice to produce over 1,500 tracks a year! (Songwriters: START YOUR PENS!) VocoPro introduced the "Twister". This powerful and dependable unit has brought real sparkle in the $1,000.+ end of the portable karaoke market. Dealers have been enjoying good profit margins, terrific customer satisfaction, and low defect rates. This hot performer brings karaoke hardware to the M.I. dealer with sturdy road-case construction and 6-speaker power, the "Twister" should re-establish karaoke as a viable and profitable hardware niche for the astute dealer. Music Masetro STUNNED the karaoke market with the introduction of it's new core library CDG collection, the 500-song, 25-disc "Gold Pack Limited Edition". With a suggested retail under $600., Maestro was sold out of this product the first week it shipped! Maestro's other complilations (Club Pack '98, Country Pak, Standards Pak, and Oldies Pak) also have provided the software market with attactive new collections at price points that bring smiles to dealers and customers alike. Priddis Music has just completed mastering and issuing their entire library in audio-CD form. This work has paved the way for next year's releases of all major cassette collections as CDG's starting with 10 new CDG's in January 1998! Priddis Music's "Amy Grant's Christmas" karaoke song collection proved to be a real winner this holiday season. Look for their very popular Christmas tape collections to be converted to CDG next year and move up the Christmas Karaoke chart BIG TIME! MMO/Pocket Songs release of the lush and beautifully produced "Professional Sound Track Series" ushered in a new benchmark of quality karaoke tracks. Praised by singers and dealers around the country, these tracks present MMO/Pocket Songs with a real challenge: How can you top this? Knowing Irv Kratka (President of MMO/Pocket Songs), he's probably already planned and is producing it! MMO/Pocket Songs also topped the year off by issuing dozens of artist-collection CDG's in 1997. With their attractive, unique packaging and artist-based collections with excellent vocal demos, they provide dealers with a great consumer freindly product that brings color and diversity to the showroom. (to be continued)
November 15, 1997 There is a market for karaoke(or you probably wouldn't be reading this) so..... where are the customers and who's your competition? Take this short quiz and see how you score as a savvy karaoke / sing-along dealer. I know my competitors____ I have a sales plan for karaoke products____ I know what the most popular karaoke products are____ I promote karaoke in my advertising____ I offer special programs to karaoke professionals____ I give karaoke the floor space it deserves based on the sales it produces____ I have someone trained to sell karaoke products in my store____ I know who the vocal teachers in my area are____ My store promotes karaoke outside its premises.____ I have a list of clubs in my area that offer karaoke_____ If you scored 31-40, you've probably been selling karaoke for a while. You stock some product and may even offer discounts to professional karaoke companies. You may have become disillusioned with karaoke because your core "K.J." customers are buying elsewhere. You stay abreast of the newer hardware products and have samples set up to demonstrate. (Let TRAX show you how to improve your margins on karaoke products and develop some long-term programs to increase your market share) If you scored 41-50, Congratulations! You're doing a great job at marketing karaoke in 1997. You have created special incentive programs to attract and maintain the business of the karaoke professionals as well as the first time karaoke buyers in your market. You've forged alliances with the vocal teachers in your area. You advertise karaoke in the yellow pages and in the rest of your general display or broadcast advertising. You've created an effective sales approach that takes into account the features and benefits of your karaoke products with a clear knowledge of your competition locally and mail-order. You can easily find a song title for a singer, and usually you have it in stock. Your karaoke hardware products are displayed with "shelf talkers" that describe features, financing available, special promotions etc. There is always a sales person on the floor who is fully trained to sell karaoke products. You help promote karaoke outside your business through sponsorship of karaoke programs at fairs, benefits, and other community events. (TRAX wants to earn YOUR business now!) Nobody's perfect! Not even Trax, but we always try to exceed you expectations
of us. If you'd like suggestions on how to improve your karaoke score,
please give us a call.. Ask for Ernie Taylor. I've been in the karaoke
business for many years (don't ask) and I'm still in it!
The best time to reach me is in the morning from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Tuesday-Friday.
The Doctor is IN! If you are coming out to Los Angeles for the NAMM convention,
please let us know so we can provide you with personal welcome at one of
our associated all-karaoke retail stores in the area. We'd love the opportunity
to show you how we've put these ideas to work.
Pioneer has just released their first DVD karaoke discs! We'll be posting their titles and suggested list price this weekend! We have all 3 Pioneer 10-song Christmas Laser discs in stock! Also from pioneer we have 6 new laser discs of the latest hits plus a new collection of Nat King Cole songs. Music Maestro’s “Gold Karaoke Pak” of 25 discs covering 500 songs is NOW shipping! Please call for dealer pricing on this $599. list package. The new Fleco CDG3 3-disc karaoke carousel with CD+G and Video CD capability arrives this week! Call for shipping and pricing info. With an attractive price point and a host of features, look for this unit to F L Y at Christmas!.....ET
October, 1997 What sells ALL year sells the BEST at Christmas. Although the market for karaoke products varies from region to region, if you stock up on what's been selling well in the past 6 months, you'll maximize your sales through the holidays. This is especially true with software. "Evergreen" selections (not the song) like Patsy Cline and Bette Midler song collections will do better than ever over the holidays. Christmas tapes and CD's are an important stock item as well. Be sure to put a selection of Christmas songs together BEFORE Thanksgiving. Let people know you have the Christmas products BEFORE its Christmas! Trax Distributors has weathered eleven Christmas seasons, and has been tracking Christmas software sales for at least 10 years! Here's a list of the most popular Christmas karaoke software currently available (ratings are in order: 1.-most popular, based on years 1994, 1995, & 1996): Cassettes:
CD+Graphics discs:
MY PICK TO BREAK INTO THE CHRISTMAS
TOP 10 IN 1997:
Laser Discs:
Now the New... Music Maestro is reinventing it's "Karaoke Club Pak" by adding 40 new songs to the 10 disc collection and dubbing the new collection "Karaoke Club Pak '98" . A limited edition "Karaoke Gold Club Pak" will also debut, combining the "Karaoke Club Pak '98", with their "Standards", "Oldies", and "Country Club Packs" into indexed collection of 25 CD+G's containing 500 songs. MSRP is $599. for the complete set. Call Trax for delivery date and prices. Sound Choice will be delivering their Fall '97 catalog this month... let us know how many you'd like for your store with your next order! In addition to their regular releases, Sound Choice is releasing new Christmas and Halloween discs in their "Star Series(tm)" in October. Pocket Songs is releasing two eagerly awaited new Sinatra CD+G's in October as well as a "Complete" Phantom of the Opera Disc. The selections are also available on cassette. Priddis Music will also be releasing it's brand-new catalog this month . Please let us know how many you require. Music Minus One has selected
TRAX as West Coast Distributor for their famous play-along CD's.
We'll also carry their entire line of classical vocal CD's ...at
factory-direct prices. Happy 4th quarter!
...Ernie :)
September, 1997 While many of you relaxed over Labor Day weekend (or had sales and worked hard), I was at home pounding my computer. I was updating the Trax web site. New features of the revamped web site include a whole new look along with new instructions on how to download and use our free database. Also included on the website is information and photos of some of the new equipment we'll be offering this fall. 1 I'll be adding and updating the site on a regular basis now, so be sure to come back for a look every month or so. For those of you who have been taking advantage of our free karaoke database on our web site, please note that I update the database every week (usually Monday or Tuesday) unless we are not supplied with new release material that week. 2 We have newly included the "MMO" listings for instrumental CD packages. If you wish see what is available for violin, just search for "violin" instead of a song title. We are currently still special ordering MMO instrumental products for you, but will be stocking them for immediate shipment in the 4th quarter. Also newly included in the database are "PSG", Pocket Song CD+Graphics in the jewel-case packages and "DKG"- Encore, Applause, and Premier series of CD+Graphic discs. 3 Sound Choice offers a "fax on demand"
program that allows you to have faxes sent to you showing their new releases.
This program is updated around the 10th of the month every month.
It's very easy to use, just listen to the recorded information and, using
your touch telephone buttons, select which updates you'd like faxed.
You don't need a dedicated fax line to get this information because the
facts are sent immediately to your fax machine. The Sound Choice
fax on demand phone number is: 800 948-6086.
4 We are once again offering our automatic release program. If you would like to have new releases from any of the lines Trax carries sent to you automatically, please sign and complete the attached form and return it to us via fax or mail. No releases will be sent automatically without a signed auto-release form on file at Trax. 5 Another way to access new releases is to make sure you have the latest catalogs available from the many different software companies that Trax distributes. Currently, we have a brand new catalog from Pocket Songs and a brand new catalog from Priddis will be arriving in the next two weeks. Please be sure to ask for these catalogs for you and for your customers. As always, these catalogs are free to our dealers. 6 As always you can always call Trax and we'll be happy to send you any update sheets or even help you look up songs for your order. If you wish a number of songs looked up, we would appreciate you facing us a list in advance of your call. 7 If you still can't find what you need for your customers, why not start a "wish list" of titles your customers want, but are not currently available. Send Trax the wish list, and we'll include your suggestions in a monthly compilation which we send to all the major software makers. (Sound Choice, Pocket Songs/MMO, Music Maestro, Pioneer, & Priddis). New Releases MMO/Pocket Songs is releasing the "Professional Background Track" series on cassette, " PST" 2561 thru 2572 these tracks, recorded with a 42-piece orchestra, are a "must" for any serious singer. Also new is PST 2488, a cassette of songs by SWV. Sound Choice's new listings for September are: Cassettes SCH5475-5482, Spotlight CD+G's SCG8381-8389, Star CD+G's SCA2120-2122, & PowerPick CD+G's SCP3036-3039. Look out for "Somebody Slap Me" by John Anderson on SCA3036 & SCH5476 (also on MAG6213 & StarDisc SDG0040). Music Maestro just released the new 5-disc "Oldies" CD+G pack "MOP0000". Also due out in September CD+G's MAG6209-6214. Of special note is the all Spanish disc, "Las Conclones De Linda Ronstadt"- MAG6212. Priddis is releasing two new cassettes in September, "Toni Braxton"-PRD1280, and Hits of 1997"-PRD1281. ...Ernie
August 1997 Yup, its UPS! I mean OOPS! The U.P.S. strike seems to be a "lose-lose" situation for retailers, distributors and manufacturers alike. For what's it's worth, here's an idea that may allow you retails to actually TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE STRIKE. Since it is virtually prohibitive to order heavy hardware via FEDEX, & many wholesalers are not offering the USPS as an alternative, two distinct opportunities for sales present themselves to the savvy dealer. 1. UPS Strike SALE
Place these tags on any "last of the kind" units you have on display, or any units that you stock just the floor sample. You then create a legitimate REASON for a sale in the mind of the buyer and a way of overcoming the objections sometimes raised when a "factory-sealed" box is unavailable. I have even heard some sales associates state that even if this is not EXACTLY the model they have in mind, it is the LAST ONE AVAILABLE for the foreseeable future (due to the strike), and thus providing a reason to BUY NOW. In short, here's an opportunity to sell some the the "" units and make way for some of the great new karaoke systems coming out this fall. 2. Make "Strike-Friendly" purchases..
For a limited time, Trax Distributors is offering our current dealers FEDEX shipping at the cost of our regular UPS Ground billing! This offer begins Wednesday. August 13, 1997 and continues until UPS is back on the job in full force (available on software orders of at least $100.- hardware not included). New Software Flows....
Very hot is PowerPicks CDG #SCP3030 and cassette #SCH5464 from Sound Choice with the very much requested "HOW DO I LIVE" of Trisha Yearwood fame. Just in (we had to pick them up in Santa Monica) is Music Maestro's new CDGs, MAG6206 - a fabulous new blues disc, and MAG6207 a hot country disc also containing "HOW DO I LIVE" . The first three "Professional Series" Pocket Song CDG's are now available for shipping(PSP6001-3). Don't miss out on the best karaoke tracks ever made! Remember, we'll be working hard to help you during the strike! Thanks for your support, .....Ernie
July 1997 Summertime Slump?
Suppose you charge $50. per night for a home karaoke unit rental. Your customer rents the unit, has a great party and lots of fun then returns the unit to your store. At this time, you've already made a great "in house demo" and the customer is feeling good about the fun the karaoke unit provided themselves and their friends! If you offer THEIR $50. rental fee off the price of a new unit your customer feels he already has an INVESTMENT in the purchase of a karaoke unit even before he's decided he must have one! If you make the sale, you've sold a unit at FULL PRICE and loaned your rental unit out free for one night. If you don't make the sale, you keep the $50.anyway. You've got everything to gain and nothing to lose! Hot New Software...
We are now taking orders on the new Pocket Songs Professional
Tracks CD+g's recorded by the Hollywood Soundstage Orchestra.
These are the the lushest karaoke tracks I've ever heard (PSP6001-PSP6006)!
After a long dry spell, It looks as if we will be seeing some updated hardware coming to market in the next 60 days. Look for new units from Panasonic, Pioneer, Memorex, and Fleco. Available right now is the new VocoPro "Twister" and the non-powered
cassette-CD+G component, the CDG-X3. Both units are available and
in stock. Trax is offering a nine-disc prepak and a VocoPro microphone
FREE with either unit sold (for a limited time, software pre-pak subject
to change).
...Ernie
June 1997 What's new... Look out for some exciting new releases from MMO / Pocket Songs in the next few weeks including CD+G collections from Preacher's Wife and Space Jam (both are huge cassette hits). Later in early July, look for 50 tracks by the Hollywood Sound Stage Orchestra, performing both great standards and Broadway classics from Showboat, So. Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, Man of LaMancha, Cats, etc. The karaoke field has not seen nor heard orchestral tracks of this caliber except for a few full orchestra tracks that Pocket Songs previously offered. Priddis music has reintroduced the 9 LOST "Lost Classics" series
of CD+G's in an improved consumer format with a vocal demonstration in
multiplex included for each of the 8-13 songs on each disc. These discs
contain many great songs unavailable elsewhere and at a very friendly dealer
price of just $12.98. If you need a list of the the "Lost, Lost Classics",
give us a call we'll be happy to fax it to you right away.
Rosie O'Donnell recently demonstrated the "Leadsinger" on her popular daytime talk show for over 7 minutes....and gave everyone in here studio audience one to take home. We have the Leadsinger available at Dealer price of just $95. each in lots of 2. We also have available extra song "chips" and power adapters. Call for details. Music Maestro's big release this month is #6200, a special "Tribute To 'Ol Blue Eyes". I've already heard some of the tracks at their studio, and this is by far one of the best discs Maestro has ever made! Look for this to be a big, LONG-TERM seller. Our website (www.traxdist.com) is a big hit! We've been getting 8,000+ hits a month and hundreds of you are downloading our free database and song book program. We update the database every week...get this great customer service tool today. -Ernie
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