A lot of karaoke hosts are afraid to talk about tipping. Some hosts believe tipping is the only way to make more money for themselves.
Personally I would rather the venue pay me (the karaoke host) what I’m worth = a good nights salary, so that I do not have to accept or think about tips. Fortunately, I have worked at venues where that was the case. But some bar owners only pay a modest rate and encourage their performers to play things up for tips (see for yourself by attending a night at Howl at the Moon Dueling pianos. It’s so painful to watch, they begin, then abbreviate and swap out songs feverishly to increase the tip taking).
At any rate, accepting tips is judge a common hospitality thing. It can cause drama at times, especially around people who don’t know the value of tipping.
Which doesn’t make sense to me because 1. We are adults who have been around restaurants and hospitality venues before, so we really should know the arena by now and 2. Usually we are in a bar setting where tipping is expected, especially if you want to get a drink in a spirited and timely manner.
People who routinely go out for karaoke sing-a-long will quickly realize that blinking tip jar, reading “Tips Welcome.” If a singer is looking for special privileges: such as moving to the front of the line, and getting to sing ahead of others, the quickest or should I say sincerest way to make something special happen like that, is with a tip.
A tip says “thank you” for changing what you were already doing and accommodating me. It’s that simple people.
Keep in mind the DJ or KJ already knows what he or she is doing or planning to play.
Your request or suggestion is welcomed but it’s not a necessity. Of course the karaoke host needs singers, but tipping usually isn’t so important at the beginning of the night, it usually comes into play later in the evening when the room is packed and open singing positions are limited.
One generous singer I know starts at the beginning of the night by coming up to me, saying hello and he then drops a $20 bill in my tip jar! Never have I ever asked for such a thing but naturally I make sure he gets to sing every rotation. Why would I want to upset him right? Other singers like wait till the end of the night, and as they are leaving or saying goodnight they toss something in the tip jar, it’s a little something to help out their favorite karaoke host. It’s all good. What’s not good is when people treat the DJ or KJ like a human jukebox, changing songs over and over and being rather high maintenance but then they forget to put any coins in the machine… that’s rich.
No worries, I’m just a messenger helping you understand some of the tricky navigation points of going out and singing karaoke.