Before we get started I feel the need to qualify what I'm about to say. I have studied the music business for years, even before I went back to college in 2008. Many of our textbooks were already in my personal library before I began classes at Cedar Valley College. Many don't me beyond articles or a radio show/station but I'm going to be a lot more vocal in the very near future. This is the first of many pieces in this style, enjoy and please share with others!

 I'm not selling you anything or starting a sign up to another conference call or mailing list. What I want to do is encourage you! Yep, that's all. The music industry has experienced a seismic shift as of late and gospel music was situated squarely on a fault line. As the industry as a whole shifted, gospel music sort of well...sunk...is sinking...something like that. But you love gospel music and so do I so what's there to do? 

Many of you have recorded music because you felt as if you were called to do so. Some of you do it full time and some of you don't. Either way is cool and whatever keeps the lights on, gas in the car and food on the table, right? AMEN!!! Until then, pray for release AND provisions. I have observed many of you on Facebook and over the past six months, I've seen your posts about your music diminish. Why though? If it's old to you, surely it's old to people, right? Not necessarily. 

How many new friends have you made within the past six months? How many of them know that you have a project for sale? What about your latest single? See, we've fallen for the market trap but Facebook isn't the market. It's your life, compiled on a single web space. Don't believe me, fast from Facebook for a day. Some of you didn't even think about it! The reason many of you have chosen not to make people aware of your project may be that you're living a comparative life on Facebook. Comparing yourself to everyone else and trying to make the moves their making. Any truth to that? 

Artists...why have you put a shelf date on your music? Consider this: You have a product that is collecting dust and for no good reason. It's just sitting there, waiting on you to compel somebody to come buy it. How many NEW friends have you made on Facebook within the last six months? Do they know you have product and where to get it?
Change that, you may have prematurely ended your career when you shelved your viable product...

A few weeks ago, Anita Wilson (yes that Anita Wilson) put up a song from her first album and you know what? It still jams! It was a cover but it's great music. If you follow her on Facebook, you'll see posts about "Keep Doing What You're Doing" here lately. Music doesn't die! This is proven when artists literally die, there's a spike in sales the moment their death is announced. 

What I'm saying to you is this...as an indie artist, you drive your music sales. It goes way beyond flooding your timeline and posting in every gospel music/artist group on the site. Honestly, don't you know how annoying that is to other people? I'm in many groups and there are some artists that do nothing but post ads (singing engagements and where to download their music). But think about it, if you have music and I have music, what makes you think I'm going to blindly support yours with no guarantee of you supporting me? It's the same with radio announcers that spam these groups with announcements of their shows...you want me to do what exactly...turn my station/show off and tune into yours? 

Be very cautious with groups, you could very well be wasting time, unless you create an interest group of your own and  post to your bonafide fan base. Do you have a like page? If so, how is your engagement there? Do you have promo material/giveaways? Consider that. Do a giveaway, create some fresh, new engagement! I'm on the way to my PO Box today to pick up some promo material from an artist and I can't wait to give them all away! Of course, the end game here is drive CD SALES!!!  Never stop marketing yourself, EVER! 

CD sales are dipping everywhere, even the Grammy's made a move to include streaming music in their consideration for awards. The industry has adjusted to consumer behavior! Do you even know what that means? YES...! Take a minute, let that sink in...the industry has adjusted to consumer behavior! Have you?

So here's the deal, you've got a song or project...what are you doing with it? If your base audience has yielded little to no results, create a new audience and drive new engagement. You've gotta do what works and not what's comfortable. READERS ARE LEADERS! Take some time and discover how to successfully market yourself and your product. There is a plethora of educational material online for the independent artist. 

PROMO MATERIALS
That includes spending some money, not always a lot but at least some! Check Vistaprint for promo materials like postcards and other paper products. You even have the option to design pens, clothing, cups and more. For what it's worth, wristbands are a great idea! Do you have business cards? What do they say? Are they two sided, is your picture on it? If you have a business card, it should literally be your calling card. People should be able to tell what you do by looking at the card. They should also be able to contact you using your card. Current numbers, address and electronic contact info should be prominently displayed on the card.  

Also, freshen up your social media space. Also, print up some promo materials and send them to churches. Let the churches know you're available for bookings. Let local businesses know the same, get yourself out there but don't be drab! To get noticed, you must be noticeable! Also, you should consider a graphic designer to spruce up a new promo picture for summer. Think about it...It's summer, do you have a summer look? Nothing's wrong with changing with the seasons! It lets people know you're still around! (LOL) 

HASHTAGS
What about hashtags? How are you identifying your brand online? Recording artist and musician Tony Bush uses: #BushBrand and you could do something similar. You know Everette Drake, his catch phrase is: "Amen Goes Right There" and he's known as "Mr. Amen Goes Right There" which is his debut single. His album contains numerous gospel gems, but it's the #AGRT branding that has traveled with him to bookings all over the country. 

DO THE MATH
Alright, got it? Some of you had NO sales this week and some of you no sales all month! Do you want to change that? You should want to change it, even if you're currently in studio working on new music! The grind never stops and neither should the marketing of your music. What if you decided to personally sell 5 cd's a day? That's 150 units from you. Of those 150, how many people would tell somebody about the cd they got from you and get them to buy their own copy? At least check you out online? 

I know you want to sell more than 150 units each month, but what have you sold so far? If you're doing better than that, great-this is exactly what we want! Get great music in the hands of listeners! 

The top CCM album last week sold somewhere around 6,359 copies. The top gospel album sold somewhere around 2,291 copies. Hmm...that already seems dismal and these are major, national artists. Can you imagine selling a copy of your cd to at least half of the people on your friends list? Maybe not everyone is a gospel music lover so, let's be realistic and say maybe 30%. What's that number looking like? Some of you reading this are already at 5K friends and some of them have NO interest in buying your product. 

NETWORKING YOUR NET WORTH
Earlier this year, I posted the inaugural blog: "Here's What's Got My Ear". Of all the artists, there were only about five of the artists named in the blog that engaged or responded. I know we're all busy but what if that blog post came from a more well known entity and they ignored it? You can never afford to ignore free, positive publicity! Some of you reading this post will be named in my next installment or one to follow. When you see it, share it! Make people aware of what's being said about your project...your ministry! Not doing so is costing you sales, whether you believe it or not! 

Make connections! I can't spend all day on my computer or phone but there are times during the day that social media interaction is my MO. The same goes for other station owners, PD, publicists, journalists, bloggers and artists. NETWORKING STILL WORKS! Bishop Hezekiah Walker said when asked about the timing of pitching a product to your contemporaries: "It's all about relationship!" He further stated that you need to get to know people before dropping the weight of product on them. This applies to industry contacts and not potential customers. Some of you are struggling with the repercussions of 'too much too soon' when dealing with industry people. "Hi, I'm Fred. Please listen to SoulProsper Radio!" is NOT the way you want things to go! 

You need to find out who is who and what they do inside the industry. Are they an actual outsider? Can they help you? Have they tried to help somebody else and what were the results? Are they just somebody good to know (with no expectations)? Know this when you deal with industry people on social media or meet them face to face.

There are way too many fractured relationships within the industry based on social media suppositions. Think about it, I don't actually know Don Jackson from the Stellar Awards, even though he's my  friend on social media or personally approves my post in the Stellar Gospel Music Group on Facebook. When I see Mr. Jackson at the Stellar Awards, I greet him and introduce myself, even if I have to do it each time. 

Furthermore, I don't actually know Phil Thornton, even if I regularly comment on his success at eOne on Facebook or LinkedIn and even write articles about him. Not until I have personally exchanged information with an understanding can I count someone an actual associate or even friend. I did see him at the Virtue listening party at the Stellars but he left before I could speak to him, still doesn't count! 

I have met some Facebook friends and artists who I didn't recognize in person! LOL It happens but be gracious either way! I love meeting people so yes, I'm actually looking forward to meeting ALL OF YOU VERY SOON!

This is why you must take great care and concern of those you're connected to on social media. There is a fine line between social media contact and professional contact. Many of us do our business on Facebook but it is merely an extension of our business dealings. Handle real business outside of Facebook (what's your email address, where can I send you a copy, may I call you to discuss...?)

Your friends list is exclusive to you. Your taste in music, fashion, comedy, religion, regional interests and much more. You have an opportunity to introduce your music to those different markets within your friends list. Some have bought it already (YAY). But, some haven't because they haven't been compelled to. You have good music, don't you? Well stop depriving your most remote audience of it! You wouldn't imagine outselling a top national artist, now would you? It's quite possible, when you take care of business!

To reach beyond Facebook, Mr. Henry Harris posted this just this morning and I had to add it, you can read it below.

It's been said that your attitude determines your altitude and that's very true! As an indie artist you will be working to prove yourself on a number of levels. DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY THIS!!! Instead, be gracious and embrace each opportunity to introduce yourself to more people, new promoters (with integrity), new stations, DJ's, writers and more. I worked with an artist recently who took every opportunity to rehearse their resume whenever things seemed to dip below their expectation. Handling people wrong as an indie artists very may well be the thing that keeps you an indie artist and creates an invisible ceiling for your career. Here's a rule for you...BE NICE! To tell the truth, we're pulling for the nice people! We really are! Be nice and let God do all the heavy lifting! Smile in the meantime! :)

No, Contemporary Christian Music isn't to blame. But the encroachment of the genre into gospel music is (partly), not at the hands of the CCM industry itself. Countless artists have chosen to emulate the CCM sound and package it to gospel audiences, which just doesn't work. In 2014 we dealt with the disparity between gospel and CCM audiences and industry. We determined that major factors were: 1) Money (which fueled the divide) and 2) Racial disparity (yes it exists in church). Here's an op-ed for your consideration.

Alright, I've been silent on this for long enough. I was at a listening party for an artist the other day and about two songs in we got the Nashville spill...you know, BIG! CCM! As we listened I had a single question...WHY? I looked around the room and there were no CCM radio station reps, no CCM music journalists...none. That artist has built a great bridge between both audiences so for them it's safe. In fact the list of mainstream artists who can do it, doesn't exist. You'd lose money hiring people to compile a list. So, why are we listening to CCM music from a gospel artist? Most of the CCM styled singles don't fare well on gospel radio, the same way gospel singles do poorly on CCM stations. 

When Hezekiah Walker released "Every Praise" we loved it. It's singable and we could stop there. But, that vamp...it sounds eerily familiar. Naw, we knew exactly what it was. It was a motif from "Faithfully" by Journey. But, you'd have to be a Journey fan or casual fan of light rock to notice. In fact, the music of the song is a light rock smorgasbord. The music is set to The Police hit: "Every Step You Take". It was a great addition to the song and props to J. David Bratton for penning the global smash. The song was a crossover hit, much like many of Kirk Franklin's songs and Mary Mary's "Shackles" which still finds a place on CCM playlists. Songs like: "You Made a Way" by Travis Greene seem like viable candidates for crossover consideration but may never happen. 

Labels just don't know how to do it, because they simply get stuff wrong. All the time, they get stuff wrong, like smooth jazz. What is that? Jazz musicians hate it and other genres don't have the patience to to hear their a 'solo' of their favorite song. Unless you're in an elevator, or as a background music in a movie or commercial. 

​So, why are gospel artists continuing to appeal to the CCM audience within the genre? Sounds crazy, doesn't it. Well, it is. The gospel audience is very different from the CCM audience, night and day literally. Artists have changed arrangement, instrumentation and much more to appeal to CCM because let's face it, they sell better over there. As if more concerts are going to pop up because your song pattern is I-vi-IV-V (1, 6,4, 5 chords)? But why? Have you ever thought about that? I mean, the Hammond organ is just an ornament at some of these recordings. 

You don't hear an organ on a ballad unless there's a break with a hymn. Good thing, R&B and country (yep, country) music still know what to do with it. Did you see Jerome Harmon rock whip that Hammond on the Country Music Awards? Everybody was talking about it the next day. 

Organ progressed to be the featured instrument in gospel music and was part of the signature sound for years. Same for guitar in CCM (akin to rock and country music). Now whichever piano patch everybody is using on the Motif or Nord, or Ableton Live is the go-to sound for MD's and producers these days. Over in CCM, they pad...pad, man! 

It has very little to do with actual music and everything to do with community. Yep, I said it. It's in the fabric of the CCM community to buy their own music. More than that, most CCM listeners have similar interests all the way down to political affiliations. Their church support system is also much stronger than that of gospel music. For instance, a concert at a church may be free and the artist will be paid on time in almost each case. Plus, the artists don't mind doing free concerts. Another plus on the CCM side is that the artists are actually promoting Jesus. 

You mean to tell me gospel artists aren't promoting Jesus all the time? Not everybody, but you can tell. We've made it so much about business over here in gospel because that's the directive coming down from the top. Sell or get sold! How many major labels are there NOT under the umbrella of the big three? I'll wait...

Gospel sells but it doesn't make pop numbers nor does it appeal to the pop crowd. The black gospel message is different. We singing about coming up the rough side of the mountain when CCM is singing about the God that made the mountain. We're 'next in line for a miracle and CCM is blessed by its Good, good Father. Get my point...it's another extension of American race relations. Sure is. I hate to say it. Struggle vs. No Struggle. The message in the music mirrors the preaching from the pulpit. 

Look at the black people singing CCM. How many gospel collaborations have they been on? Where were they raised? Look at that and you'll see there's a pipeline to either gospel music or CCM. It's perfectly fine, and I'm not making this a complaint about people's upbringing, etc. What I am saying is that you can't fake the funk as a gospel kid in CCM clothing. 

Artists, have you reached out to CCM radio stations or journalists for reviews? Do you even know the CCM stations in your market? What about publications like Charisma News? Know them? You'll need to if you want your music to really make a statement in CCM. And that's after your mix matches what they're already used to hearing.

You're gonna need to pray. Ask God where your music belongs. Ask Him about your arrangement. Ask Him who is supposed to hear your music. Ask Him for songs! ASK HIM FOR SONGS!!! Covers are great and I'm sitting on a cover of one of Don Moen's funkiest (yep I said it) tunes. In time, it'll happen. I have a version of "How Great Is Our God" but the way publishing works and the fact that Christ Tomlin isn't the only writer credited on the song has made it another solid reference track! 

We don't care to hear your Michael W. Smith cover and the problem you may not realize is that Michael W. Smith fans don't really care YOU cover his song! 

So think about that as you create. Who is this music for? If it's CCM, send it to the CCM channels of media. Get into their audience, don't clog up gospel with what can easily be enjoyed as Contemporary Christian Music.