Gospel/Christian music crossing over

In today’s society it is becoming more and more common for gospel and Christian artist to be heard in the main music stream of pop and R&B.  Knowing the simple facts the words Gospel and Christian hold, there used to be mixed feelings about this movement.  Artist such as Kirk Franklin or Abandon are often heard in the main stream and fit right in.  Does this change the meaning of the music?  I wouldn't think so.  It serves its purpose, which is to reach everyone so that all can hear the word of God.  This crossover provides listeners who are turned off by the religious genre, a way to enjoy their choice in style of music while being inspired and encouraged at the same time.  Religious music is suppose to help those who seek God and those who want and/or need that guidance and the additional positive factor in this is that others who have not taken the time to think about the Higher power will be able to enjoy and hear the word without it being forced down there throats.  This gives the manager of such artist much work to do.  The artist are now not only being promoted in the religious genres but now the manager has to work with through connections of the R&B, Pop, Heavy Metal, etc, to ensure their artist are getting optimal exposure and not being pushed to the side. 

  This may happen to many artists who do not have management that is knowledgeable in the industry or understands how to use their networks and connections to guarantee their success.  Another factor the manager has to take into consideration is the image.  With religious artist crossing over into the mainstream their image will be looked at through a magnifying glass.  Is this fair?  No not really but that is part of the life.  It is the same as the congregation that views their minister, pastor or preacher in the same way.  The fans already hold a high caliber for their mainstream artist, and so the religious artist not only is held to those standards, but a level even higher because of who they are representing through their music.  So managers are taking a look at the artist image in some of the same ways a fan does knowing that the personal life of an artist can hurt their career that much more.  Tye Tribbett and Kirk Franklin have experienced some of this. They both have been exposed for doing things that goes against what God stands for, and for how they portray themselves. Even so their management team has been able to use these factors as a positive to help their careers instead of allowing it to be ruin it.