The Songwriter

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In 1978 Dolly Parton wrote and recorded a song called NICKELS AND DIMES The subject of the song was how she got started in the music business by taking her guitar to the street and singing for anyone who would listen, and the people would throw a few nickels and dimes her way. The song goes on to tell us that this is a poor way to make a living in the music business, and she eventually started getting her music to the public another way, and for much more money than nickels and dimes she made when she first got started.

I recently heard this song again and it reminded me much of the Southern Gospel music industry. We are still a business, for the most part, of nickels and dimes.
I began to ponder why that is.

I think one major reason that Southern Gospel songwriters and artists still make so little money is that they still are following the same business plan that Dolly had when she went to the street with her guitar. She took her music to an uninterested crowd and delivered it, in hopes that someone would think it was worth a few coins in her guitar case.

That is basically what most Southern Gospel Groups, part time and full time professionals, do today. We are an industry that takes our music directly to the public in hopes that they will give us a little something for it. Why is that, you ask?

I believe it is because there is not one legitimate record label in our industry.

To me, a legitimate record label is one that takes an unknown artist, produces a piece of product for retail, and SELLS it. The legitimate record company should have a development budget for all new artists they sign. That budget would include print ads, radio advertising, television and retail marketing. It is also the duty of a record label to create an audience for this artist. This is typically done in Country, Pop and Rock music by putting a new artist on tour with an established artist from the same label. The new artist needs an audience to sing to while their music is being exploited in every way in can be by the label.

Now let's clarify who a new artist is NOT. A new artist will not have any member who has already been part of another established group on a major label. Groups like Legacy Five, Greater Vision, The Nelons, Jeff and Sherri Easter, The Talleys, The Talley Trio, Ivan Parker, Brian Free and Assurance, Mike LeFevre Quartet, Karen Peck and New River, Lordsong, and Janet Paschal, Jason Crabb, Kenny Bishop, Mark Bishop, Aaron and Amanda Crabb, New Crabb Revival were not New to the industry when they began their current ministries. The record labels love to go after these type of artists, because they have a fan base before they've sung their first note.

A new artist is also NOT a group or soloist that has already built a fan and sales base on their own prior to signing with a label. Artist like that include The Booth Brothers, The Isaacs, The Perrys, The Crabb Family, The Hoppers, The Collingsworth Family and others. These careers were established by the artist themselves, not their record labels.

A truly NEW artist has no sales or fan base, but does have talent and skill.

Every Major Southern Gospel label over the last 25 years, that I have seen, have pretty much operated the same way, when it comes to new artists. And it is not the fault of today's biggest Southern labels. They have inherited this system of operation from all the Majors labels of the past, including Heartwarming, Riversong, Canaan, Morningstar, Springhill, Chapel (anybody remember them?) and others. Daywind and Crossroads are about the biggest thing we have going today. But I can't think of a single unknown artists that any of these labels have taken from unknown status, to star. Not that they haven't tried at times to do it. The bargain bins are full of major label artists whose name and music you've still never heard. I don't think any Southern Gospel label knows how to do it.

Here's what usually happens. A new artist starts booking churches, calling friends and promoters and books a lot of dates on their calendar. They began to sell over a thousand units per year of their custom recording at their concerts. When that sales number starts to reach the 8000 per year, the so called Major labels start taking notice.

The first two questions that a Southern Gospel label will ask a new artist that they are interested in signing these:

1 How many units a year do you sale yourself? They ask this question because they want to know how much of the label's product that the artist will buy from them in a year. If the artist can already sale 10,000 units at their own concerts then the label knows how much they can sale to the artist. The label will sale the artist 10,000 units at $5.00 per CD. That's brings in $50,000 from the artist to the label. So the label fronts approximately $15,000 for production, more if the sales base is higher. The label will have about a little less than a $1.00 per unit in manufacturing. So if they spend $10,000 to advertise the project, they will still clear about $20,000 a year on a current product.

2 How many dates are you working a year? They label wants to know if you have enough dates on your date book to maintain these sales.

The only problem with this plan is, the artist is doing All the selling. The artist now has to tour non-stop. Most professional Southern Groups tour at least 48 weeks a year.
Most of these artists work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning and Sunday night. They will work 250+ concerts a year. That is unheard of in Country, Pop, or most any other genre of music. Most Secular music acts consider anything over 70 concerts a year, an extremely heavy tour schedule. Southern Gospel artists are taking their music to uninterested audiences, hoping they will buy some of it.

The Southern Gospel industry has not moved beyond singing for nickels and dimes. There are not enough good quality venues for an artist to work 250 dates a year. Some of those will be good quality dates, but many of them will be filler dates, for nickels and dimes.

As long as the Southern Gospel Artist is selling the label's product for them, why should the label get excited about marketing to retail? And today it's harder than it's ever been for labels. Retail sells for all genres of music have taken a nose dive over the last five years. The turn in our nation's economy has only added to the problem.

I wish I had an answer for the Labels and the New Artist both. Southern Gospel music is far too good to keep selling for Nickels and Dimes. I love this music. I love it's message and I love the people who have dedicated their lives and careers to promoting it.

There have been a lot of people try to break this mold that has been cast. Bill Gaither has probably broken away at it better than anyone else. But when you put his career up against secular artists who've been around the same amount of time, like Barbra Striesand, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen, his sales are far less.

My prayer is that God will give someone the answer that He has withheld from us so far.

Until next time, keep on writing!

Daryl Williams

Reader Comments

Great article, but I disagree with a little of it, at least as it is put forth here. Artists do sometimes at least have some sort of following in pop or country before signing. They hit dives, and build at least a small base. The record company hears them and thinks they can take them to a new level or not. Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Alabama, Faith Hill and others performed other places and built at least some following prior. I am sure there are a few who walk in off the street having not performed other places, but many build up a local following first. When the Oaks signed to ABC they had had a big gospel following, but had lost some due to moving to Columbia and changing their style. They still had some following and worked hard to keep things going. ABC took them more into the mainstream. Sonya Isaacs had a following, but her label either didn't or couldn't make her a household name like Patti Loveless.

Some labels have better results out of the same artists and vice versa. But I do think there is a point that the business model in SG isn't great. However, by the same token, the money isn't there as much anywhere it seems. The fans won't fork it over, or don't because they either don't have it, or they don't have to BECAUSE the artists are underselling themselves. That and if the group asks for too much, the people think they are only doing it for the money and then they are blacklisted. I wonder how the fans would feel if their companies took away part of their income and made comments about them being wrong for doing it for the money.

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