SingStar

[PlexShaw]

Im only goin to buy it when it had MJ song on there.
You might in for a bit of wait as I'm not aware that any Michael Jackson songs have appeared on any versions of SingStar. Legends on the PS2 has I Want You Back by The Jackson 5, but that's about it.

[Buubar]

I'd love to have some more modern songs on the Store, something thats around now.

[b4thegoodbye]

The talk of Michael Jackson does lead me to another question, and I hope the developers do read these threads and can offer an explanation, but there seems to be a distinct lack of truly classic tracks.

I'm talking about artists such as -

Michael Jackson, Queen, Abba, Elton John, The Bee Gees, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and countless others.
It is probably much harder to get licencing rights for the old classics to be honest.. There was a big thing about American Idol not being allowed to use Beatles songs (this season is the first time they are allowed!) - so I guess the problem with those groups u mentioned is just that - singstar have not yet got the rights to use them - and as they are classics, I am sure they are trying their best to secure those songs..


I'm sure artists such as Opus X, Dragon, Elvira Nikolaisen, Maria Mena, Paddy Casey and the like all come a lot cheaper to put into Singstar, but I mean, come on, who are singing to these tracks ? Surely these tracks are added to make up numbers.

Those acts are pretty much locally specif though, they are not UK acts... In fact I dont think ANY of them ever released any music in the UK.. Elvira is a Norway artist, Paddy is Irish, Maria Mena Scandinavian etc.. so I am sure that people in those regions are happy to have local acts.. since they probably dont know the likes of Five, Steps & Big Brovas which are UK based acts...


Who here wouldn't like to belt out their own version of - I Want To Break Free, Beat It, Thriller, Stayin' Alive, Dancing Queen, Hey Jude, The Long and Winding Road, Another Brick In the Wall. This list could be endless, so I think you see the point here.

Its encouraging to see that some positive action has been taken and that complaints have been noted and we are now kept more up to date regarding updates. I can only hope that the Singstore continues to improve with some better content.

DP.

Different people have different tastes though... to be honest, I would rather have more current music, Britney Spears, Take That, Westlife, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Plain White T's, Mariah Carey, OneRepublic, Timbaland etc.. more so than the old classics u mentioned... (tho i would LOVE some Bon Jovi )

[DaddyPig]

Singstar is basically karaoke all dressed up. Go to any karaoke machine and its full of classic songs. Why are they full of classic tracks ? The reason is because that is what people generally want to sing.

Yes, there will always be a few people that want 'this and that' and something a little less popular or more obscure, but I think everyone shares the same view re: a classic track, as that is how those songs achieved that status, that is why they feature on karaoke machines.

If this selection of songs was on a pub karaoke you would find that (bar a few of the tracks) punters would be asking the same question - Where are the classics ?

I'm sure it must be a money / licensing issue as it would seem very odd that the Singstar developers have missed this mark by a mile, and they surely must know what is 'key' to a good karaoke party.

Get some karaoke classics on there, then pad out the list with 'fillers'.

DP.

[DaddyPig]

It is probably much harder to get licencing rights for the old classics to be honest.. There was a big thing about American Idol not being allowed to use Beatles songs (this season is the first time they are allowed!) - so I guess the problem with those groups u mentioned is just that - singstar have not yet got the rights to use them - and as they are classics, I am sure they are trying their best to secure those songs..



Those acts are pretty much locally specif though, they are not UK acts... In fact I dont think ANY of them ever released any music in the UK.. Elvira is a Norway artist, Paddy is Irish, Maria Mena Scandinavian etc.. so I am sure that people in those regions are happy to have local acts.. since they probably dont know the likes of Five, Steps & Big Brovas which are UK based acts...



Different people have different tastes though... to be honest, I would rather have more current music, Britney Spears, Take That, Westlife, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Plain White T's, Mariah Carey, OneRepublic, Timbaland etc.. more so than the old classics u mentioned... (tho i would LOVE some Bon Jovi )

Yes different people have different tastes, that is why we all have our own music collections, however this isn't about having a big music collection, its about singing great songs.

As for people in Ireland, Norway etc.. I'm sure they have heard lots of classic tracks. Using Steps and Big Brovaz as an example is a mistake however, as even though I'm sure there are lots of people out there that like them, they aren't exactly 'classic'. I think if you were to ask most people in Ireland for example if they would prefer 'Paddy Casey' over a popular 'Beatles' song, I can guess what the answer would be 99% of the time.

Of course it would be great to have artists on there that we personally like, but again, that is missing the point of what Singstar is, and that is singing popular tracks, just like karaoke.

Again, its not about individual tastes, its about mass appeal, or at least it should be. I've got some obscure tastes, but I know for a fact I'm never going to see them on Singstar, and I can understand why.

Take Japan for example, the biggest karaoke-ing (?) nation on earth, do you think they are singing local Japanese tracks ? No, their biggest market is singing stuff like Elvis and the like, you know, classics.

DP.

[DaddyPig]

It is probably much harder to get licencing rights for the old classics to be honest.. There was a big thing about American Idol not being allowed to use Beatles songs (this season is the first time they are allowed!) - so I guess the problem with those groups u mentioned is just that - singstar have not yet got the rights to use them - and as they are classics, I am sure they are trying their best to secure those songs..


I agree 100% with what you're saying here, although I do find it odd how you can find these songs in a pub karaoke. Maybe the problem is tied to licensing the use of the video's as well as the song itself.

[andy7689]

i think the sun-fly discs that they use for Karaoke machines can get around the licensing issues as the music on them is not from the original artists, its been re-done by some small time band

[thecabbage]

i think the sun-fly discs that they use for Karaoke machines can get around the licensing issues as the music on them is not from the original artists, its been re-done by some small time band

Correct. The nature of singstar, and one of it's selling points, is that you are singing along to the ORIGINAL version. Frankly I'm amazed that you can fade out the original vocals, but that's progress. However that means that liscencing becomes a big issue. Singstar, London studios and Sony are just like us in that they would love more elvis, neil diamond, Beatles, stones, MJ and all those other karaoke classics, but I reckon that they have yet to convince the artists with real clout that it would be financially viable. People like the Editors are just thankful for the extra publicity, but Mick Jagger et al are gonna be after every penny they can.

This leads on to the obvious question: ARE WE WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR CLASSIC TRACKS? I say yes, but not too much more...

[DaddyPig]

This leads on to the obvious question: ARE WE WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR CLASSIC TRACKS? I say yes, but not too much more...

Uh oh, you've done it now

[cdimpey]

Excellent update, looking forward to a similar size and standard on the 21st March.

my only gripe is...why the hell can no one in my family reach certain notes during the Feeder track....

the verse section i believe " think were gonna make it" etc.

can only get back on note once you get to " Anymore, anymore"

is everyone experiencing this problem?

One of my favourite tracks to date and its ruined