Help and questions
Everything about running a karaoke night with this website: what you need, how guests sign up, how the line works, and what to do when something looks off.
Quick start
- Start a nightOn the home page, press “Start a karaoke night”. You get a room with its own code and land on the host page. Keep it open on your phone or laptop: it’s your remote control.
- Open the screen on the TVOn the host page, press “Open the screen”, move that window to the TV and press “Start the screen”. Browsers only play sound after a click, so that one click is needed. Press F for full screen.
- Guests scan and sign upBetween songs, the TV shows a big QR code. Guests scan it with their phone camera and send the song they want to sing, with their name.
- Approve, or let it runEach request shows up on the host page with the karaoke video found for it. Press “Add” to put it in line, or turn on “Add requests without asking me” and the line fills itself.
- SingThe screen plays each singer’s video. Between singers it shows who’s up next, with a countdown, so the next person has time to get to the mic.
Running the night
Can I run it from my phone?
Yes. The host page works on a phone, a tablet or a computer. Many hosts keep the screen on the laptop connected to the TV and run everything else from their phone while walking around the room.
How do I approve or turn down a request?
New requests appear under Requests. Each one shows the karaoke video the website found for it. Press Add to put it in line, or ✕ to turn it down. The guest’s phone shows the answer straight away.
The video it found is the wrong version. Can I pick another?
Yes. Press Change on the request to search YouTube yourself and choose a different karaoke version. If nothing was found, the button says Find instead.
Can I change the order of the line?
Yes. Under Up next, move singers up or down, or remove them. Guests’ phones update their place in line on their own.
How do I pause, skip or take a break?
- Pause and Resume stop and continue the current video.
- Skip ends the current song and moves to the break before the next singer.
- Hold after this song lets the current singer finish, then waits. Use it for announcements, a DJ set or last call. Press Resume karaoke when you’re ready.
- During the countdown, Start now skips the wait.
How long is the break between singers?
You choose: none, or 10 to 60 seconds, under Break between singers. Around 20 to 30 seconds usually gives the next singer enough time to reach the mic.
Can I stop taking requests for a while?
Turn off Taking requests. Guests then see “Requests are paused” instead of the form, and it comes back on their phones as soon as you turn requests on again. Songs already in line stay there.
How many songs can each guest have in line?
Five by default. Change it under Songs each guest can have in line, anywhere from 1 to 99, or turn on No limit. Once a guest has sung one of their songs, they can add another.
A guest’s phone still says “You’re on!” after their song ended
The screen marks each song as sung when its video ends, so this is rare. If it happens, press Clear the line on the host page: every song still waiting or playing is marked as over, and every phone can send a new one. When the room is linked to Pistamix, each song also has a Mark finished button. As a safety net, the website treats a song that has been “singing” for 15 minutes as over.
I closed the host page. How do I get back?
On the same device, open the host link again: the browser remembers the room. For a permanent room, use Host sign in on the home page with the room’s code and password, on any device.
For guests
How do I sign up to sing?
Point your phone camera at the QR code on the TV and open the link. Or go to karaoke.pistamix.com and type the code shown on the screen. Type the song, the artist and your name, then press Send to the DJ. No app or account needed.
How do I know when it’s my turn?
Keep the page open. It updates by itself: “Request sent”, then your place in line with a rough wait (about four minutes a song), then “You’re up next!” and “You’re on!”. Below that is the whole line, with your spots highlighted.
Can I sign up for more than one song?
Yes, up to the limit the host sets (five unless they change it). Press Add another song under your request.
It says “Give it a few seconds before sending another song”
To keep the line fair, each phone waits a few seconds between requests. Try again in a moment.
My request was turned down
The host may not have found a version that plays, or the night may be running long. Try another song, or ask the host.
Songs and videos
Where do the karaoke videos come from?
From YouTube. The website searches for a karaoke version of each request (lyrics on screen, no lead vocals) and plays it in YouTube’s own player on the screen.
Why can’t it find a song that’s on YouTube?
Some video owners don’t allow their videos to play on other websites. The website only offers videos that YouTube lets it play, so you never pick one that won’t start. Try a different spelling, add the artist, or press Find to search yourself.
Why did an ad play before a song?
Some YouTube videos come with YouTube’s own ads, which YouTube shows in its player. This website doesn’t add ads to the videos or the TV screen.
Can I use my own karaoke files?
Not on the website. For your own music and video files (MP3, MP4, CD+G), use Pistamix for Mac.
Bars, restaurants and regular nights
Can we use the same code every night?
Yes. Create a permanent room from the home page (or press “Keep this room permanently” on the host page). Give it a password of at least 8 characters, and optionally a code of your own, such as your venue’s name (4 to 20 letters and numbers). Permanent rooms never expire.
How do I print the code?
On the host page, press Print the code. Choose a full-page poster or four table cards, each with the room name, the code and the QR code. Because the code never changes, the printouts work every night.
Can staff run it from different devices?
Yes. Anyone with the password can sign in on any device. If a phone with access is lost, or a staff member leaves, press New key: every other device is signed out. Change the password too.
Do we need a licence?
Playing music in public, including karaoke, usually needs a public performance licence for the venue. The rules depend on your country (for example, SOCAN and Re:Sound in Canada). Check with your local music licensing body.
Tips for a great karaoke night
- Test before guests arrive. Start a room, open the screen on the TV and send yourself a request from your phone. Check the sound level with a microphone.
- Put the QR code where people are. It shows on the TV between songs, but printed table cards (in a permanent room) get far more people signing up.
- Kick it off yourself. The first song is the hardest one to get. Have a friend or staff member ready with a crowd favourite.
- Keep the break short. 20 to 30 seconds keeps the energy up. Use “Hold after this song” for longer pauses instead.
- Set a fair limit. On a busy night, one or two songs per guest keeps the line moving and gives everyone a turn.
- Balance the sound. Turn the music down a little below the microphone. Singers need to hear themselves, and the crowd needs to hear the singer.
- Use a cable for the TV. An HDMI cable is more reliable than screen mirroring, which can stutter and fall out of sync.
Troubleshooting
The screen shows the countdown but there’s no sound
Press “Start the screen” on the TV computer if you haven’t: browsers block sound until someone clicks on the page. Then check the computer’s sound output is set to the TV or your speakers.
“Another screen is already running this room”
Only one screen plays a room at a time, so two TVs don’t play the same songs. Press Use this screen to move playback to the one in front of you.
The host page says “The screen isn’t open”
The TV computer has lost its connection, or the screen window was closed. Press “Open the screen” on the host page again, from the TV computer.
Guests can’t open the page
Their phones need internet access (mobile data or the venue’s Wi-Fi). If the QR code won’t scan, they can type the room code at karaoke.pistamix.com.
“That room isn’t here”
The code may be mistyped, or the room was deleted. Rooms for one night are deleted after 30 days without use, so use a permanent room for printed codes.
About this website
Is it really free?
Yes. No account, no app to install, nothing to pay. A small ad at the bottom of the home page and the guests’ page helps cover the cost. There are never ads on the TV screen, over the videos, or on the host page.
What is Pistamix?
Pistamix is DJ software for the Mac, made by the same team, that works with Numark and Pioneer DJ controllers. It has its own karaoke rotation, plays your own music and video files, and can link to a room from this website so guests’ requests go straight to the DJ. It’s a free beta for now: get it at pistamix.com. To link it, copy the room key from the host page and paste it in Pistamix under Karaoke → Song requests → Online room → Use another room. Pistamix is still in testing.
What do you keep about me?
Very little: room names, requests (song, artist and the name a guest types) and settings. See the privacy page for the details.
Who makes this?
MexCanTech, a bilingual (English and Spanish) technology company that offers IT consulting, courses and apps. The karaoke website is in English for now.
Ready to sing?
Start a karaoke night