Dave's Top Eight

1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars)
2. Sounds Like Sunday by Janet Paschal (reviewed 5/07) (5 Stars)
3. True To The Call by Kingdom Heirs (reviewed 3/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
4. Revival by Gold City (reviewed 10/06) (4 1/2 Stars)
5. Get Away Jordan by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (reviewed 2/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Breakin' Chains by Three Bridges (reviewed 5/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Big Sky by The Isaacs (reviewed 4/07)
8. Skywriting by Mercy's Well (reviewed 7/07)

Click title to purchase at CBD.com...click artist name to read Dave's Review. A CD will automatically fall out of the Top Eight after twelve months if no CD surpasses it before then.

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January 11, 2007

Music, Books, and Why SG Is Still Floundering

There's a great discussion going on right now in the SGN forum. Click HERE. The thread began with the question "Where do you buy your SG quartet CDs?" After three pages, the discussion has turned to the music industry. Some questions have been raised about whether or not artists make any significant income from label projects in SG and other genres. Comparisons have also been made to the book publishing industry.

From all I've read and absorbed on these respective industries, I believe there are some key contrasts that should be examined.

First of all, in book publishing, proven writers usually get an "advance" against royalties. The amount of an advance is determined by projected sales based on the writer's previous works. In most cases, the writer gets half when the contract is signed and the other half when the manuscript is delivered. This assures an author they'll at least get paid something for the time and effort it takes to write the book. Sales of the book must recoup all expenses (including the advance) before the author gets any residual income out of it.

While there's probably some exceptions, music artists don't typically get this sort of deal. There's a very good reason, especially in Southern Gospel. Most successful recordings are a team effort. In contrast, with a book, one person typically does 90% of the creative work. With Southern Gospel, the people paid by the record label (producers, musicians, mixers, mastering pros, etc.) are often providing more creative input than the artists who appear on the cover.

If a recording is popular enough, everyone gets paid, but the artist on the cover is usually the last one who gets paid directly. Why? Well, the people who are paid up front for their work on a recording usually remain behind the scenes. The success of a label financed CD should be measured by how much it elevates a group's popularity (which is translated into concert revenue), not by how much direct income it creates for a group from CD sales.

 In contrast, authors don't perform books...or if they do, public readings certainly aren't their primary source of income. The book itself IS the product.

In the music industry, the CD really isn't the final product. CD's are merely another piece of marketing to get people to come to a concert. Sure, you can sell CDs AT a concert as an artist and do very well in terms of net profit vs. the cost of CD manufacturing which you pay the label...but you have to get people TO the concert first.

The Southern Gospel music industry really isn't a well oiled machine at this stage of the game...which can be viewed as good on one hand, but it also has a costly downside.

It's good, because we don't have so much meaningless fluff being propelled to the top by sheer marketing, sex appeal, payola, record promotion techniques, etc. This heavy handed promotion has stifled creativity in the pop industry and to a large part, mainstream country music.

The downside is that the very best artists in SG must work themselves to death in order to make ends meet. Groups that should be singing to crowds averaging 5,000 per night, 50 nights per year, with a $30 ticket price are instead singing to crowds of 1000 or less per night, 200 nights or more per year, with a $12 ticket in a concert hall or for a small flat plus a love offering at a church.

By the way, this is NOT the fault of tight fisted existing fans who often get the blame. The blame can be squarely placed at the feet of Southern Gospel radio (which is generally a joke) as well as concert promoters who pair quality groups with inferior quality talent and then treat them as equals.

But I think it goes even deeper than that. We don't have enough marketing people in the industry who are capable of convincing FRESH FACES to buy our music. Of the two or three artists that do meet the "mega" criteria in SG, what do they have that equally talented groups don't? They have excellent marketing. It's that simple.

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posted by David Bruce Murray @ 8:43:00 PM


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