STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
by Cedric & Victor Caldwell
continued...

The music of Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Angie & Debbie Winans, and Fred Hammond is drawing young audiences to altars all across the country. Despite criticism and controversy the fruit is there to solidify their mission. The entire careers of artists such as Shirley Caesar, Andrae Crouch, and the Clark Sisters have provided spiritual, as well as musical role models for the upcoming generations. They have stood the test of time and have remained unshakable in this wavering and unstable society. Sadly, there is another side that needs mending.

Economically, we are falling short! We are in no way stating that our focus should be on money. We are not implying that the almighty dollar should move to the driver’s seat and the ministry aspect should contently ride in the passenger’s seat. One of the gross disparities in gospel music is the very noticeable gap between labor and management. When we use the term labor, we refer to those persons who, because of their experiences as ethnic minorities have given birth to a large portion of the music which wears the gospel label. When we use the term management, we refer to those non-minority entrepreneurs who produce, record, and market the product which comes out of the minority community, and it naturally follows that since management produces, records and markets, management collects and controls most of the money. This is an imbalance which needs to be corrected.

Again, we reiterate the focal point is not money but ministry. But, it seems only fair that the money made from the gifts, talents, and efforts of our artists should make its way back to those artists. In order to keep their ministries updated and their presentations competitive in quality with the world around them, the financial resources will need to get back to the artists in fair proportion. Until the gospel music industry conducts its business with integrity, and until management lives the life which labor sings about in its songs, the “State of the Industry” will continue to be a “two-faced” industry.

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