The World of The Karaoke MP3
Welcome to the new world of the karaoke MP3. For singers, online karaoke offers a number of opportunities to practice, record and share their renditions of popular songs. Downloading music is not as cut-and-dry as one would think however, which has turned many people off turning their computers into karaoke machines. Instead, people use their video game consoles to play “Karaoke Revolution” or purchase a karaoke system and songs in CD G format.
There are several things to look for when downloading karaoke MP3 files. Some files feature recordings from the original band members, with the vocals removed. Others have professional recording artists performing the tracks, with the vocals removed. Other tracks come with the vocals and allow you to cancel out the vocals on your karaoke system, if your system comes with that feature. It is important to understand the features and the limitations of your karaoke equipment before you start browsing for music.
Another factor to consider is its extension. Most downloads will come as “.mp3″ files, although some may say “midi,”"mp3+g” or “mp4.” Midi sometimes sounds like keyboard music and is often a very different version, so you will want to avoid those. The MP3+G are good because they have the lyrics included that can be output to video. MP4 format may be a music file and an accompanying music video file, which is fine if you want the videos more than the lyrics.
Apple’s iPod revolutionized the way we experience music. As a result, many consumers want to go to their iTunes store to browse karaoke MP3 files. This is good in theory, considering that there are in fact a few karaoke downloads for sale, although there are problems too. Lyrics don’t automatically come with the songs, for instance. But never fear, fine music fans, as Apple is working on appeasing its “American Idol” loving audience. Their most recent offering, the DoPi Karaoke system, has been getting a lot of attention lately. For $60, you can buy songs from the DoPi store (99 cents for karaoke music only, $1.99 for karaoke songs with lyrics); then plug one cable from your player into a converter box, which connects to your television set and voila, your iPod has become a karaoke machine of sorts. Unfortunately, the music selection is only up to 9,000 songs so far, since the product is so new. Also, the songs are recorded by Sound Choice artists, not the original artists and only songs with the vocal tracks completely removed will work (because there is no voice cancellation feature). It is sort of a poor man’s on-the-go karaoke.
One of the most popular sources for karaoke MP3 files is www.ez-tracks.com, which offers thousands of karaoke songs for low prices. As a bonus, new members can download 101 songs for free, including artists like Haste The Day, Norma Jean, The Beatles, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Kanye West and Kid Rock. However, be sure you set up a separate email account to start using the site, as they do sell your email address to their advertisers. You will also see a lot of advertisements on the site, but since “free” is hard to find in the world of karaoke songs, most people say it is worthwhile.
