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Comments from a seasoned promoter* |
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I want to thank Gloryland Gospel for thinking enough of us Promoters to dedicate an entire month just to say thank you. I have worked with a lot of groups and solo singers. I have put on some of the biggest concerts in my state. I am also one of the persons that is very frustrated right now about promoting quartet gospel. So, with permission of the staff at Gloryland Gospel, I have asked that my comments be posted without my name. That’s not because I don’t want credit for what I am about to say, it is only because I want to try and continue to foster a good working relationships with the singers on the road.
My first point concerns the professionalism of the groups. When I first started promoting gospel music I think me and the guys I were booking were learning the industry together. Know, I have learned from my mistakes and successes. The groups have not. What do I mean? Well I have learned that contracts are important. Most groups will send you their contract and you cannot read it. It is written as if we are still in 1970. Or it seems they borrowed the contract from someone else and the contract does not have anything to do with coming to my city in 2007. The groups still want to be paid in cash. I do cashier checks only. I have had to take some groups to the local bank in my city on Monday morning to get the cashier’s check cashed. I need a good social security number. I will report the money I paid to the group to the government. For me it is a deduction. So, business requires that I do so. I am of the thought that you show respect to any and everyone. That includes taking my hat off when I enter a building. Some group members get upset with me when I ask them to respect the building. It does not matter if it is a school, auditorium, family life center or the church. We are about to have a Worship service so respect the place.
My second point is that I don’t know who will show up. What I mean is that I have booked groups and when they arrive, the only person that I know or have seen before is the lead singer. And sometime the lead singer does not show up. Now I understand sickness, emergencies, and that things will happen at the last minute. But, let me know when the lead singer is not going to come with the group. I think the people attending the concert have a right to know that before they get to the concert. And if you have changed group members send me an updated picture of the group. It is disappointing to me to have a picture of the group say from their latest CD and then only 1 or 2 guys on the CD is with the group. I’m not saying there want be changes in the group, just let me know before the concert. When I book a group and we have agreed on the price, I am booking the group not just the lead singer. I want the group that did the recording. When there is a change in people in the group tell the promoter.
My final point is that as much as I like quartet gospel music and as much as I like bringing the groups to my city I cannot book you on a program if you are on another program within 150 miles of me the same weekend. The number of people attending gospel concerts in my city is down. When I ask people why they did not attend the concert this is some of what they say – I just saw the main group last night in the city next to me. Or, that the main group was just here last month. Or, I have seen them already this year. Or, they don’t have anything new to sing. What that tells me is that we must keep the program fresh. That is hard to do when you are competing for the same people to attend a concert when they just saw the headlining group a night or week ago. And, groups on the road should avoid becoming predictable in what they will sing. There are some songs that people want to hear from you, but add something new. If you have more than 1 LP or CD then you have enough songs to sing so that your program will never be the same from performance to performance.
Now, I have mentioned some of the concerns I have about booking gospel quartet singers. I still love this music and will continue to book the groups. Just keep in mind that things have changed and you can no longer do business the way we did in the 1960's and 1970's.
Been promoting for over 40 years. |
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*This promoter asked for anonymity. We decided that the comments were worthy of publication. So, we granted the request. Although the comments are from the promoter, the title is from Gloryland Gospel. |
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