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. 

Learning the business

    

 I had the opportunity to speak with a talented trombonist who believes in hard work.  After finishing college in 2003 he later started his own business, Inner City All Stars.  Calvin Sexton has proven to be a man of passion when it comes to music.  They have had the opportunity to perform in places such as Japan, New York, and Florida.  The band is a mixture of brass and percussion instruments that play different styles of music.  They have performed in many different venues from the Apollo to ABC’s 33/40 Talk to Alabama.  Even though they may have a booking agent, Calvin still works as the manager for the group, and continues to search for different opportunities for the band.  

     I had the pleasure of talking with him a little about the business side of his activities.  He continues to look for different performing opportunities for the band in hopes to optimize their exposure.  According to Calvin, finding a manager is not as easy as many artists believe it to be.  An artist must optimize their exposure in order to be seen, so the artist ends up investing a lot of time and money at the start of their career.  The more positive exposure a group receives the better chance they will have of a manger or producer approaching them.  He believes in searching for the next opportunity and not just waiting for someone else to bring it to you.   With these thoughts in mind he is able to keep focus on the main goal when he deals with contracts and negotiations.  To better assist him he researches the companies that he may be working with in order to establish a better understanding of all that they can offer him as well as to assure they are able to fill their end of the agreement. 

   


  Through his research he has been able to find opportunities for the band to work with artist such as Eryka Badu, and Gladys Knight.    His tactics in negotiating are, to him simple and basic, yet they provide him with the skills needed to ensure the best deals for his business.  He believes in researching a venue before signing with them.  He takes the time to research the venues, possible attendance and pays attention to the budget.  When looking to signing a contract he has an initial offer sheet that he sends, which gives the basics information of what is expected, which in turn gives the venue time to look over the initial arrangement before contacting him to negotiate a contract.  Through some of the basic techniques and skills from experience he is able to negotiate contracts that not only provide the needed exposure but it also creates a positive working relationship for future opportunities.  He believes that when negotiating both parties should be able to gain something from the contract.  This is a mind set that I am sure has aided in much of his success.