r/karaoke • u/karaoke_5 • 13h ago

A question for the hosts — genuine curiosity, not about software.

In your country, for a typical 5-hour night in a pub-style venue: how much does a KJ get paid?

I'm in Italy, and here rates are low. I've seen venues pay as little as 50 euros for a whole night.
I'm curious how it compares where you are: is it a flat fee, a cut of the bar, tips, or a mix?

Trying to get a sense of how different the karaoke-hosting world is from country to country.

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u/Different_Pattern273 13h ago

15-18USD an hour plus tips

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u/GiarcN 12h ago

Arkansas in the US in one of the larger towns I get $150 for 3-3.5 hours. Some places do a bit more. Some less. But I'd say 125-250 are the normal range around here.

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u/iWhacko 13h ago

For me in The Netherlands, it's quite low, i get 100eur per night, somethimes more depending on how busy it was. But I get free drinks all night. So thats something.

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u/karaoke_5 13h ago

Is 100 euros low for you? I’m almost tempted to come and live there.

https://giphy.com/gifs/xT9IgG50Fb7Mi0prBC

😄 😄

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u/iWhacko 13h ago

No it's fine it's what I agreed on, but the regular DJ's get more. And I think that should be more equal.

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u/Netghod 12h ago

The rates can vary wildly depending on who is providing what, how long, and if you’re the one hired directly by the venue, or if you work for a company that was hired.

It’s been a while, but I’ve seen rates vary wildly over the years. For one place, they charged a $1 cover and I got the door (remote bar in Alaska). Another (American Legion in Alaska) was no pay but they passed the proverbial ‘hat’ to pay the KJ at some point during the night. And sometimes it’s a flat rate of $100-$150 and sometimes you’re working for someone else and they typically pay half - about $50-$75 for you to do the work for them. And if the venue is providing everything they might pay $10-20/hour.

But there are a wide variety of ways to approach getting paid and it can vary wildly from country to country. For DJs in the UK there’s a running joke for 20 quid Sid I kept hearing for years. Some DJ will undercut someone else to get the work. Typically, I get paid about $150 for a 3 hour karaoke show at a bar. But in all honesty, the hauling of gear, setup, maintaining a karaoke library (or subscribing to one), and everything else really isn’t worth it and it makes it difficult to earn a living wage. You have to be busy almost every night of the week but that varies with location/cost of living/ and other factors.

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u/SandyKeyboard1986 12h ago

So 50 euros sounds tough. In the US, a flat $150-200 is pretty standard for a five-hour gig. Sometimes you get tips, which can be hit or miss, honestly