By Mike Cook – VA Southern Gospel
If you go to a typical Southern Gospel concert you will notice that most of the audience is from a generation that was born in 1945 or earlier. It appears that some of the most recent marketing of Southern Gospel is targeted to the next generation called Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964) with artists like Russ Taff, The Gaither Vocal Band and The Booth Brothers performing songs from the 1970’s.
In order to preserve the heritage of Southern Gospel we must promote it to a new generation in new ways. Gone are the days when an artist can rely only on Radio, Television, and print to promote concerts and album releases. Generation X (born 1965 – 1976) and The Millennial Generation or Generation Y (born 1977 – 1998) will require a different approach when marketing to them. Here are some New Media outlets that artists and promoters can use to connect with X and Y.
A Web Site
Statistics are showing that most of generation Y and some of Generation X are spending more time each week surfing the web than watching television. It’s no wonder that most every ad you see on TV or in print includes a web address. It’s not enough to just put some information out there like a billboard, it must be done well and change often to keep users coming back. Some young artists like Crabb Revival, Valor, and The Lefevre Quartet have their music begin playing as soon as the web site opens up. The online store should also accept some form of credit card. Pay-Pal is a very secure way to accept payment and no credit card information is exchanged, just email addresses. A lot of the Talent Agency web sites provide high quality photos, biographies, and concert posters available for downloading by local promoters that are bringing the artists in to their area.
Social network Web Sites
Social Network sites are very popular among X and Y. www.myspace.com and www.facebook.com offer users an opportunity to connect with each other through chats and message boards. Young artists like The Imperials and Driven Quartet have My Space pages that link to their web site.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing is a great way for Talent Agencies and artists to stay in touch with fans. I receive an Email once a month from Greater Vision that is created through a service called Constant Contact. It has templates that can be customized with photos and logos. The service also allows users to put a sign up box on their web site where fans can sign up for their monthly newsletter.
MP 3’s
Just when we were getting comfortable with the compact disc instead of cassettes, along comes the new format of MP 3’s. Apple brought us the iPod MP3 player and iTunes software for the computer that allows users to convert their CD’s to MP3 format and load them on the iPod for listening. The iTunes store provides an opportunity to preview the albums before buying. You can also choose to buy one song instead of the whole album. There is a universal database at www.gracenote.com that has artwork, album and track names for most every kind of music available. This is where we need some work in the Southern Gospel area. Not all Southern Gospel albums are recognized by this database. Artists and record companies should submit this information to the database and make the albums available on iTunes the same day that the CD is released in stores. This will increase album sales and provide more recognition for the artists among younger users.
Podcasting
A Podcast is an online radio show available on web sites and through iTunes. Daniel Britt of XM Radio and Joy FM in Winston Salem, North Carolina hosts a podcast with artist interviews. Mark Lowry and Mark Bishop also have podcasts available.
Video
Ever since the early 90’s when Bill Gaither released the Homecoming series, Video has played an important part in the spread of Southern Gospel. Now You Tube is available to allow users to search and view videos on the web. Artists can take clips of concerts and submit them to You Tube and then link them back to their web sites for viewing. Jason Crabb features several You Tube clips on his web site.
Great legends of Southern Gospel like The Statesmen and The Imperials were known for thinking outside the box for ways to promote their music. We have the torch now and must continue to look for new ways to promote the world’s greatest music to future generations.
Mike
Friday, December 28, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Give the Gift
I know that I haven’t had the chance to post in a while but I have been really busy. There have been a lot of changes and life has been happening really fast. A lot of times we get so caught up in life that we don’t take the time to just sit back and rest. I am very guilty of overworking by doing church, singing in groups, Bible study, going to concerts, running a website, and the list goes on. With doing all these things it is very easy to loose sight of the real reason that you do them. One of the many things that I have done while being so busy is singing in church. Me Mike and another guy that I have known for a long time sing as a trio at our local church. In a church that is not a strong southern gospel church, we make it a point to do everything southern gospel. We do everything from Gaither Vocal Band to Poet Voices to Greater Vision.
With the Christmas season starting out it was time to pull out the Christmas music. For whatever reason, I have not really listened to a lot of Christmas Music this year. I’ll flip through the radio stations and all of them are playing their versions of Jingle Bells and The Christmas Song. I did pick up 3 new Christmas CDs: Diamond Rio, David Phelps One Wintry Night, and Jason Crabb Because It’s Christmas. Of course David Phelps was the best one out of the bunch. It was mostly an original in the fact that he had a hand in writing the songs. The ones he didn’t write he arranged. His first Christmas CD was more traditional with the brass and big orchestras. This Christmas CD was done as if David were writing the music so he was allowed to put his own touches. The other two were got but not quite as good.
Back to my point of singing. We always like to pick music that is southern gospel first of all and second of all we pick music that says something. This year we picked a song called Give the Gift by Tribute Quartet. This wasn’t on a typical Christmas CD but was a bonus cut on their first CD, My Tribute. The guys are friends of mine and you won’t find a better group of guys out there. They have the right heart for what they are doing and it shows. We had the opportunity to interview them for our first podcast, so if you want to know a little more about their ministry head on over to http://www.southerngospelva.com and listen to the podcast. (Now that I have put in my plug we can move on)
A lot of times we get so busy with Christmas that we forget the real reason for the season. I know that phrase has become cliché now but there is a lot of truth there. I was in Walmart for a couple things well before Thanksgiving and they already had up Christmas décor. The real meaning of Christmas is being forgotten and things like black Friday or the fact that a certain store says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” has taken over. The more these kinds of things take over I think the more applicable the words to this song become. Take a look at the lyrics.
Give the Gift
Verse 1:
Seems Christmas starts earlier each season
The stores light up for all the wrong reasons
Displaying all the latest things to spend your money on
That only lasts a moment then their gone
Chorus:
Give the gift that keeps on giving
The one that makes this life worth living
The one that won’t wear out or ever fall apart
Give the reason for the season
Give them something to believe in
Give the gift that keeps on giving
Share the Jesus in your heart
Verse 2:
There’s lots of things we could buy each other
But to really show our love for one another
This year why not share the gift God sent to you and me
The One He left hanging on a tree Chorus
Chorus 2:
Give the gift that keeps on giving
The one that makes this life worth living
The one that won’t wear out or ever fall apart
Give the reason for the season
Give them something to believe in
Give the gift that keeps on giving
Share the Jesus in your heart
Give the reason for the season
Give them something to believe in
Give the gift that keeps on giving
Share the Jesus in your heart
So this season and throughout the rest of the year remember that the most important thing you can do is give someone the gift of Jesus.
Jeremy
With the Christmas season starting out it was time to pull out the Christmas music. For whatever reason, I have not really listened to a lot of Christmas Music this year. I’ll flip through the radio stations and all of them are playing their versions of Jingle Bells and The Christmas Song. I did pick up 3 new Christmas CDs: Diamond Rio, David Phelps One Wintry Night, and Jason Crabb Because It’s Christmas. Of course David Phelps was the best one out of the bunch. It was mostly an original in the fact that he had a hand in writing the songs. The ones he didn’t write he arranged. His first Christmas CD was more traditional with the brass and big orchestras. This Christmas CD was done as if David were writing the music so he was allowed to put his own touches. The other two were got but not quite as good.
Back to my point of singing. We always like to pick music that is southern gospel first of all and second of all we pick music that says something. This year we picked a song called Give the Gift by Tribute Quartet. This wasn’t on a typical Christmas CD but was a bonus cut on their first CD, My Tribute. The guys are friends of mine and you won’t find a better group of guys out there. They have the right heart for what they are doing and it shows. We had the opportunity to interview them for our first podcast, so if you want to know a little more about their ministry head on over to http://www.southerngospelva.com and listen to the podcast. (Now that I have put in my plug we can move on)
A lot of times we get so busy with Christmas that we forget the real reason for the season. I know that phrase has become cliché now but there is a lot of truth there. I was in Walmart for a couple things well before Thanksgiving and they already had up Christmas décor. The real meaning of Christmas is being forgotten and things like black Friday or the fact that a certain store says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” has taken over. The more these kinds of things take over I think the more applicable the words to this song become. Take a look at the lyrics.
Give the Gift
Verse 1:
Seems Christmas starts earlier each season
The stores light up for all the wrong reasons
Displaying all the latest things to spend your money on
That only lasts a moment then their gone
Chorus:
Give the gift that keeps on giving
The one that makes this life worth living
The one that won’t wear out or ever fall apart
Give the reason for the season
Give them something to believe in
Give the gift that keeps on giving
Share the Jesus in your heart
Verse 2:
There’s lots of things we could buy each other
But to really show our love for one another
This year why not share the gift God sent to you and me
The One He left hanging on a tree Chorus
Chorus 2:
Give the gift that keeps on giving
The one that makes this life worth living
The one that won’t wear out or ever fall apart
Give the reason for the season
Give them something to believe in
Give the gift that keeps on giving
Share the Jesus in your heart
Give the reason for the season
Give them something to believe in
Give the gift that keeps on giving
Share the Jesus in your heart
So this season and throughout the rest of the year remember that the most important thing you can do is give someone the gift of Jesus.
Jeremy
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Old vs. New music
As I sit in my living room, I watch Hovie Lister, Big Chief, Doy Ott, Jake Hess and Denver Crumpler, better known as the Statesmen Quartet. In the 1950’s they did a lot of promotion for Nabisco. They had a weekly television program where they would sing songs and advertise for Nabisco (National Biscuit Company). In their day, this was unheard of and way ahead of their time. Just like in a lot of other areas, they were way ahead of their time and probably the most innovative gospel group to ever be on a southern gospel stage. Hovie Lister’s standards in having a group was to have the best singers he could find, the most spiritual he could find, and the best performers that he could find. That sounds like the making of a pretty good group to me.
Not only were they innovative in the way they presented themselves, but they were also innovative in their singing. When I listen to the early Statesmen LPs, Denver Crumpler era and back, I hear so many things that a lot of groups just don’t try today. I hear inverted harmonies, modern harmony, and key changes in the middle of verses without warning or intro. (Just imagine they did all that around just one mic and without a lot of fancy equipment.) And like all changes in music, there were a lot of Christians who didn’t take to well to their music. They still had a good message but because of the type of chords they were using and the instruments they were using, it was somehow less spiritual or couldn’t be classified as “Christian.” Does this struggle seem at all familiar in today’s culture and today’s music world?
So many of the younger southern gospel artist and contemporary artist have this same struggle. Their music does not fit the exact mold of what is the norm for that day and they become outcast in the Christian music world and are not seen as viable Christian musicians. I think back to another Statesmen story. They released a song called “Head’n Home.” Personally this is one of my favorite Statesmen songs. It has a simple message of I’m weary, I want to rest, and I want to go home to heaven. When they released this to radio they had DJs breaking it on the air and saying that they would never play it again. Now roll forward about 40 years to the 1990s. Another group named the Kingsmen Quartet recorded it with a similar track. I didn’t hear of any widespread stories of that CD being broken because it was radical. Times changed and even though back then this song was seen as out in left field it can be done today and accepted without a second thought. In fact, the Kingdom Heirs did a whole CD as tribute to the Statesmen. They did the arrangements as close to the old Statesmen as they could. Still no broken CDs on the air.
I know by this point, a lot who are reading this are wondering where in the world are you going with this. Let me get to my point. I love all kinds of music old and new alike. I love to hear old groups like the Statesmen, Weatherfords, Cathedrals, Imperials, and the Melody Masters and the list could go on. That doesn’t mean that is the only way to do it and there cant be any new good music. It doesn’t matter whether the group decides to wear matching 3 piece suits or jeans and polo shirts. It’s all about the message. Just in case that didn’t come through loud and clear the first time, It’s all about the message. Let’s encourage some of these new younger groups that have the right heart for the ministry. We have enough negativity and tearing down people because we don’t agree with one thing that they are doing when they are doing 10 others that we do agree with. So the next time your favorite group (or not so favorite group) is in town go out to the concert. After the concert put your arm around them and tell them that you appreciate what they are doing and the ministry that they have. You don’t know what kind of encouragement you would be to them and you might just make their day.
Jeremy
Not only were they innovative in the way they presented themselves, but they were also innovative in their singing. When I listen to the early Statesmen LPs, Denver Crumpler era and back, I hear so many things that a lot of groups just don’t try today. I hear inverted harmonies, modern harmony, and key changes in the middle of verses without warning or intro. (Just imagine they did all that around just one mic and without a lot of fancy equipment.) And like all changes in music, there were a lot of Christians who didn’t take to well to their music. They still had a good message but because of the type of chords they were using and the instruments they were using, it was somehow less spiritual or couldn’t be classified as “Christian.” Does this struggle seem at all familiar in today’s culture and today’s music world?
So many of the younger southern gospel artist and contemporary artist have this same struggle. Their music does not fit the exact mold of what is the norm for that day and they become outcast in the Christian music world and are not seen as viable Christian musicians. I think back to another Statesmen story. They released a song called “Head’n Home.” Personally this is one of my favorite Statesmen songs. It has a simple message of I’m weary, I want to rest, and I want to go home to heaven. When they released this to radio they had DJs breaking it on the air and saying that they would never play it again. Now roll forward about 40 years to the 1990s. Another group named the Kingsmen Quartet recorded it with a similar track. I didn’t hear of any widespread stories of that CD being broken because it was radical. Times changed and even though back then this song was seen as out in left field it can be done today and accepted without a second thought. In fact, the Kingdom Heirs did a whole CD as tribute to the Statesmen. They did the arrangements as close to the old Statesmen as they could. Still no broken CDs on the air.
I know by this point, a lot who are reading this are wondering where in the world are you going with this. Let me get to my point. I love all kinds of music old and new alike. I love to hear old groups like the Statesmen, Weatherfords, Cathedrals, Imperials, and the Melody Masters and the list could go on. That doesn’t mean that is the only way to do it and there cant be any new good music. It doesn’t matter whether the group decides to wear matching 3 piece suits or jeans and polo shirts. It’s all about the message. Just in case that didn’t come through loud and clear the first time, It’s all about the message. Let’s encourage some of these new younger groups that have the right heart for the ministry. We have enough negativity and tearing down people because we don’t agree with one thing that they are doing when they are doing 10 others that we do agree with. So the next time your favorite group (or not so favorite group) is in town go out to the concert. After the concert put your arm around them and tell them that you appreciate what they are doing and the ministry that they have. You don’t know what kind of encouragement you would be to them and you might just make their day.
Jeremy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)