Singer Rotation Policy

During conversations with my colleagues, the topic of Singer Rotations has sparked some interesting debate. I feel that the topic is straightforward because all of us in the field earn our livings by facilitating our patrons as fairly as is possible. The following is Heartland Karaoke's policy:

The First Rotation:

Your host opens the show with a song for two main reasons. The first, and most important, is to set the sound levels while there are people in the room. The initial sound check is normally done with a relatively empty room and sound quality does change as the room fills. The second is to signify that the show is starting and those who have submitted songs should make their preparations for their turn at the mic. Typically, your host sings the first song in each round unless the amount of requests is too large, then the host will start every second round in order to provide more time for everyone else.

The rest of the first rotation continues with each singer, in the order that the host received the requests, until all of the current requests are complete.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? There are always wrenches thrown in the works. Here's how we handle them:

Duets:

A 'turn' in the rotation means that a singer comes up and sings. For Duets, both singers use their turn in the rotation. Neither will be allowed to sing again until the next rotation - even if they are up for a duet with another singer in the rotation. This eliminates the perception that one person is getting more time at the mic than the others. If the Host is asked to join in a duet, then the host will also miss his or her regular turn in that rotation.

The situation may arise that the person trying to perform two duets with two different partners in one turn causes the second partner to have to wait a longer time to sing. The solution to this is for the second partner to submit a solo song for the current rotation or choose a duet with another partner. We do not want to cut people from a rotation but this is the most fair way we have come up with to handle this situation and it eliminates hard feelings by the rest of the singers.

"I have to leave soon, Can you move me up in the rotation?":

The answer to this is simple. No, we won't. If you have to leave before your turn comes up again then we will miss your performance, but we will not be changing the order of the rotations just for this reason. It may seem harsh, but we've seen this come up far too often in other shows where the singer has been moved up in the rotation to accomodate their leaving and they are still in the room when their regular turn would have come up anyway. This just creates a bad feeling among the rest of the patrons who have waited patiently for their turn.

"My partner has to leave soon, Can you move our duet up in the rotation?":

If neither singer has had their turn in the current rotation, then we will place the duet request in the turn for the first one to come up. If either singer has had their turn then the duet has to wait until the next round and the second singer still gets their turn in the current round. We will not, however, put the duet into the rotation before their respective turns. See the previous note.

"The owner/manager/employee of the bar wants to sing several times in a rotation":

This is the one that always gets me in trouble. I've struggled with this over the years because the bar pays me to be there. The staff of the establishment must understand that if we allow this to occur, we'd have to allow it for the patrons too. The only 'special treatment' that Heartland Karaoke gives to the staff is this: If they are busy serving our clients when their turn comes up, we will continue in the rotation and then bring them in when they are able to sing. Their place in the order will be maintained for the next turn with the same provision. Other than that, they are under the same rotation policy as our patrons are. If the staff does not find this to be acceptable then they really didn't want the highest quality Karaoke Hosting service in their establishment - they want someone who will showcase the staff.

"I'm a new singer, When am I up?":

If we are currently in the first round, the new singer is placed at the end of the list in the order their request was received.

If we have completed the first round when the new singer arrives, they are placed in the rotation shortly after the singer who follows the current singer and that will be their turn placement for subsequent rounds. When their turn comes up they will be announced as a new singer so everyone knows that the rotation has shifted by one.

If there are more than one new singers in rounds following the first, they will be inserted in between those who have sung before so that the people who have been waiting still get their turns fairly. We will not shift a round by more than two new singers in a row.

"This next singer is really bad, Can you skip them?":

Absolutely not. Karaoke is not just for those with pristine voices. It is for everyone who wishes to get up and sing. Each singer, regardless of ability, will always get their fair turn in the rotation.

"What will cause me to lose my place in the rotation?":

Ok, No one really asks this question, but it still has to be covered. There are very few reasons that will cause a singer to be tossed out of the rotation. They are:

• Disorderly conduct and/or language over the mic. Depending on the severity, a warning may be given on the first offense. You will not be called up again if there is a second offense. If the bar manager allows the cursing which is in some of the songs, this will not be considered an offense if it is contained to the lyrics of the song.
• We will not tolerate ANY blatant racism/discrimination through our system. Depending on the severity, an initial warning will be given and a second time will result in your turn being forfeit (If the bar staff doesn't bounce you first).
• Abuse of the equipment. The equipment we use is not cheap. We wouldn't be able to maintain our great reputation as the finest quality Karaoke Show if it was. As such, abuse of the equipment (ie: swinging microphones, throwing mics, etc...) will result in your immediate removal from the rotation and may even result in your turn being cut short.

These policies have been put in place to ensure that each singer gets their fair share of time to sing. We don't particularly enjoy being rigid about enforcing these policies. Everyone at a Heartland Karaoke show soon realizes that these policies also work in their favor because if we won't allow you to use someone else's turn, we won't allow anyone else to use your turn either.