The Songwriter

Jun

2008

$5.00 A Gallon

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[8] Comments

About three years ago I was writing with a major Southern Gospel recording artist. We started discussing the rising price of fuel and how it was effecting traveling music ministries. At that time diesel fuel was still under $3.00 a gallon. This writer/artist told me at that time, that if diesel hit $3.00 a gallon, they would have to park the bus and go into another area of ministry. Well, needless to say, that is exactly what happened. They could no longer break even, much less make a profit and a living. This was a popular artists on a major label, with several #1 songs to their credit.

Today fuel prices are well over $4.00 a gallon in many areas of the country, and I have been informed by some news sources that we can realistically expect it to go over $5.00 by the end of 2008.

Fuel prices have now reached a make it, or break it point for many Southern Gospel artists. It has not yet effected Pop, Rock or Country music. The big name artists in those genres of music can easily bring in a $50,000 flat, or more, for each concert. So they are still not at a breaking point yet. Most of them can still afford to travel in multiple busses and take a couple of eighteen wheelers along to carry merchandise.

But there are only a hand full of Southern Gospel artists that can demand a $10,000 flat or more, and get it every night. There are a few that can get $5,000 , but most SG groups are earning less than $2000 per concert. As a matter of fact, it would surprise most fans to find out what well known groups you can get at your local church for under $1000. And unlike
secular music, Gospel music always deals with the elusive LOVE OFFERING. That means, you have no idea what you are going to get paid. It could be just what you need, or more than you need. But too often it falls below what you spent to make the trip. Many groups will work for these Love Offerings, just in order to help pay for fuel on the way to a good paying date.

So you may be wondering what all of this has to do with songwriting. Well, it effects all of us in the industry. As more and more groups decide to sell the bus and make a living doing something else, that means there is less and less demand for new material to be recorded. Southern Gospel songwriters will have fewer and fewer opportunities to take their music to the air waves. But is there a solution? I believe that there is, but it is not an easy one for the writer.

As the pool of major label artists begins to evaporate, we writers need to find ways to get our songs into the church market. There is a market for Southern Gospel songs in Church Choral music. This music has proven to be very successful in sales for major choral companies like Word, Prism, Brentwood Benson, and others. Mike Speck, Lari Goss, Russell Mauldin and Mosie Lister have been very instrumental in keeping Southern Gospel Music alive in the Church market over the past 10 years.

But the choral market is not the only place that Southern Gospel can work in the church. If our writers will focus on some praise and worship lyrics, I believe that it will help to bridge a gap between those who love modern music and lyrics, and those who prefer a more traditional style. Most of the advocates of Contemporary Praise and Worship music have argued that the lyric content of Southern Gospel is not appropriate for corporate worship. And I would have to agree that a great deal of it is not. They also have stated that the hymns that so many people love, are archaic in their language style and do not relate to today's society. And again, I would agree that some of them do not.

I believe that if the best writers of our industry would begin to focus less on the charts, and sales, and start writing for the congregation again, we could see our music take a more
prominent role in today's church services. Why don't we write modern day hymns, in today's language style? Hymn style songs are usually well structured and can be sung in a variety of styles. Southern Gospel melodies tend to be simple and uncomplicated. But that is just what the average church member needs in order to sing. Most church members in the pew are not professional singers. I think they would appreciate an uncomplicated melody and lyric that doesn't use the repetition that many contemporary tunes rely on for simplicity.

It is my opinion that there will always be a Southern Gospel market in radio and some outstanding artists recording and singing those songs that talk about heaven and the salvation message. And we can continue writing those kinds of songs. There is still a need for them. But for those of us who intend to continue making a living writing Southern Gospel songs, we may have to focus on people who don't own busses, and live within 15 miles of their local Church. We need to get them singing our songs.

Until next time, keep on writing!!!

Daryl Williams
http://www.darylwilliamstrio.net

Reader Comments

First, let me inform you that diesel is $4.79 TO $4.89 a gallon in The Huntington, WV area.... TERRIBLE!

Now, to what the article said.... I agree that songwriters need to do what it takes to get their songs out to the public. I would hope that SG Songwriters would make their songs "singable" by the "rank and file" person in the congregation. That is the easy part. The hard part of this is to make the song easy to sing, without being too soft on the wording.... to mushy in the content...

Of all the negative comments I hear about Praise and Worship music, it is that the songs are repetitious, and just "fluff". And, as a SG dude, I see that MOST of the places I go that have a "praise team" .... and I use that term loosely.... are simply singing the same old P/W songs over and over again, and the singers themselves have absolutely no business being on the stage trying to "LEAD" the congregation, as they are as BORED as they can BE! They can carry a tune, which is ok, but they are not showing any joy, or excitement about what they are supposedly doing for Jesus.

I am taking this as my own challenge to first of all be aware of this "bored syndrome" when I am leading singing, and also to look for SG Style songs to make P/W songs from.... If Mike Speck, Lari Goss, Russell Mauldin and Mosie Lister can do it (and they can and do), why can't we all?

Thanks for the article Daryl, and I am praying for you and your family.

Commented by bludline On 06/06/2008

Thank you so much for saying what has been needing to be said for, what I think, for a long time. I lost interest in praise and worship music, the way it is presently, a long time ago. And, I know it ministers to a lot of people, I don't want to take away from that, but not to everyone. Not everyone can sing the melodies that high...and even some of the older hymns are high and hard to sing. I find that the southern gospel style music is easy to sing the melodies and have always loved them, of course, I'm from the south and was raised on this style of music in church, and at home and loved it and still do. But, I really do think ,,,we need some new/old traditional gospel music back in our churchs...and I'd love to see our standard hymns ...like "Rock of Ages"..."The Old Rugged Cross"..etc..sung..so our young people will grow up with this embedded in them to hold onto in the storms of life.. of course, along with the "Word of God" , first of all. Thanks again..I'm looking for a church that will sing this way again. I just visited one while in Nashville and loved it..Cowboy Church..in the Texas Troubadour Theatre..next to the Ernest Tubb Record Shop..across from the Grand Old Opry. Johnny Cash' sister and her husband pastor it...wonderful..I highly recommnend it if you are in Nashville and get the chance...reminded me of my Baptist church I grew up in, and I'm going back every time I'm down there now. God Bless and keep you. Connie Lee Turner

Commented by Connie Lee Turner On 06/07/2008

Perhaps the increased costs of keeping careers in SG going will cause those in the industry to develop a more marketable product, one that can gain in acceptance in areas and venues where SG is not popular. Certainly the music,the songs,styles,performances, etc. have grown stale. I, as an observer for many years, have sensed that SG has shown little change or growth for the past ten years or more. Whether this opportunity for change will bear positive results is up to us.

Commented by On 06/09/2008

i agree the cost of being on the road is absolutely horendus. i used to be in a FT group but was fired because they couldnt afford to pay me "the piano player" cause they didnt have to pay traxs. lol.and the "band" is the first to go but what gripes me so is that the groups complain aobut not getting the required "love offering" but STILL go back to the same church on the premise that "they are in it for eht ministry and NOT the money" but complain they "didnt get enought for expenses"...something i learned also ive learned that the church and pastor that beleives in the "seed sowing" principle "sows" more into the ministry of the groups than the ones that arent as stong in beleiving that principle. they. the second group., hoard the money in bank accounts for "the building fund" when theres been no outward signs of any new "building" shown. maybe all the FT groups with busses and exhorbiant payroll accounts SHOULD fold up and start over with a new perspective of what they are in the ministry for... money or souls..

Commented by On 06/20/2008

I never thought of it like this. It seems that in changing times our church services have strayed away from the traditional hymns and went to the more contemporary songs. I attend a United Pentecostal Church and we now have a projector that puts the "words on the wall", and we do praise and worship music. As a songwriter,I need to help get back to our roots every now and then.

Commented by On 06/25/2008

Maybe more artists could develop their own publishing companies and give independent writers who are not signed with a publishing label a chance. Thus, bringing in some revenue from the publishing company.
Southern Gospel is in many ways stagnant...the same artists use the same writers and the same arrangers. Therefore their music consistently stays the same and does not progress in any way.
I am still a fan of SG, but do grow tired of knowing that when I buy an artist's recording I'll be hearing songs from the same handful of writers, with similar lyrics, styles, and messages.

Commented by On 06/25/2008

Daryl, I've always thought your songs had that church hymn style. Why don't you consider making a personal hymnal our your songs with an accompany cd so churches would have the songs plus how they should be sung. In many areas, gospel radio is unavailable and many church goers are not familiar with current radio singles. Just A Thought!!

Commented by On 06/25/2008

I agree. It has always seemed to me that the recording industry, especially for Christian music, is an unstable medium for a songwriter, anyway. We, unlike secular music genres, have a large, eager audience in the church. More people go to church every week than attend all other venues offering music put together. It seems to me that marketing directly to the church is a more logical way to go. There are three hurdles: 1) Putting the music in a form the church can use (who can create octavos?), 2) Getting it into the hands of the churches, and 3) Convincing churches that not everything that will minister to people has to come from the popular culture. The current situation may work good for the songwriter while, at the same time, making it hard for the traveling singer.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit

- Galatians 5:25.

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Commented by Keith Prater On 06/27/2008

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