Thoughts on AGM

This past weekend, what was supposed to be the next big event in Southern Gospel happened. The American Gospel Music Festival was supposed to drive home the point about quality being the key to the industry. It fell flat. Period.
It didn't fall flat because the groups weren't good, for the most part they were. It fell flat because of lack of fan support.
Why there was so little fan support is truly anyone's guess. There can, however, be some educated guesses on the reasons.
1. Price
The price of the event was disproportional to the income of the average fan. Whether we like it or not, the majority of Southern Gospel fans are on a limited income. Whether it is because they are in their retirement years or because they are close to it; or even because they are raising a family, the ticket cost was outside of the majority's budget.
Whether we like it or not, our fanbase falls mostly into this category and we need to accept that.

Some events like NQC and Homecoming concerts can command this kind of price, but they are very well established and built up to that over time. You have to give people the opportunity to "test the waters" before they will put a whole lot of their limited funds into something.

2. Location
The Dallas Convention Center is not a good location for something that actually caters to out-of-towners, especially the older people for whom driving is a requirement, not a pleasure. There are few hotels within a reasonable and safe walking distance to the Convention Center. The ones that are have a hefty price tag, plus there are crime concerns for those who do choose to walk. I may be wrong, but I don't think there were any hotel packages accompanying the ticket opportunities. At NQC, there are hotel deals as well as ticket only deals.

The Convention Center also suffers from a lack of eating establishments within walking distance. There is a McDonald's and Eddie Deen's Ranch close by, but that is pretty much it. Eddie Deen's Ranch is usually booked for parties, in addition to their catering services. (I know this because my husband is connected through a third party company). So that leaves McDonald's, which I know from almost 10 years on the road, can get mighty old, mighty fast, if your diet even allows you to eat it.

3. Parking
This one could be essential, and ties to number two. Parking cost $8.00. If you paid to park when you went in, then you decided to leave to get something to eat in-between events (or had to drive to your hotel) then you had to pay to get back in. Another $8.00. So, with a Thursday night event, Friday showcases, Friday night event, Saturday and Sunday matinees, and Saturday night, if you had to leave between each one for whatever reason-that is another $48.00 (cash only) to park. We volunteered to help out twice this past weekend and were thrilled to do so, but had to pay parking both times. So we paid for the privilege. We did get to see the events in return so we didn't come away empty-handed by far.

4. Advertising
There was very little advertising in the Dallas area (ex: billboards, newspaper ads, television spots) for the event. Hardly anyone in the Dallas area knew this was going on. Except for the message boards that I frequent, there was very little put out about this event.

Dallas is a different type of place when it comes to Southern Gospel music. The number one Christian station in the area is KLTY. It does not, and will not play Southern Gospel no matter how progressive it sounds. They have a very strong signal and KLTY stickers can be seen all over Dallas. KCBI did it's part and has been for several months now but the Dallas market is dominated by CCM and that's how it is. You can get Southern Gospel into a church that is dominated by CCM if you don't tell them it is Southern Gospel and get the people in charge to listen to your demo first. (If it is a good one, but that is another subject for another day). That helps about 75% of the time. The other 25%, it doesn't matter, so we don't bother even trying at this point.

Another point on this is that what church advertising was done was done at bigger churches. In the Dallas area the biggest supporters for Southern Gospel music are the small churches, the gospel oprys, and the local associations. No attempt was made to bring in any of the biggest supporters of the music into the process. The local associations (GMAA and SGMA) could have been a major help in advertising with little (if any) cost. At least if the ticket prices had been reasonable. The small churches are more apt to put a group of people together and get the word out to their members if offered the chance. The gospel oprys are also major venues in the Dallas area for the music and by reaching out to them would have gotten the word out to many people as well.

5. Certification
While everyone who has ever read one of my message board postings will agree that I am big on the abilities and quality of anyone who sings Southern Gospel, I do not advocate nor adhere to this certification thing. The fact is that while we have to keep in mind a business aspect we are supposed to be ministering to the lost and the church. Sometimes our role is encouragement, sometimes it is to get the Gospel message to those who haven't heard it stated the way your particular ministry puts it, through word or song. But whether we like it or not, the choice of who succeeds with an individual or a church isn't up to us, it is up to God. Many of us can't understand why an off-key rendition of "Because He Lives" or any other standard touches people, but it does. It doesn't do me or many of those I know any good, but it happens. So this idea of certifying a group for ministry-worthiness (for lack of a better term) is a turn off for many people.

In the almost 10 years I have been privileged to be involved in the music area here in Dallas, I don't know of any pastor or music minister who has asked our group if we are certified to be in the ministry. They have asked for references, or asked other minister and MoM friends about us. They have asked for a demo, they have wanted to know about our personal lives, but they have never asked if we were certified.

Certification isn't bad if it is viewed as it should be. Just like awards, it can open doors of opportunities to places and people who put stock in that sort of thing. But it can't be the definition of what we do as a group or a ministry. It must be a footnote, not the end all and be all.

It is my understanding that there have been attempts to get some SG stations to play only the groups that are certified by this particular group. That is totally and completely unacceptable. It is unacceptable because that limits the fans opportunities to hear what they want to hear, that limits up and coming groups opportunities to gain access to the higher levels of the industry through hard work and proving themselves, and it requires a large output of funds that many groups do not necessarily have or they will have to raise their prices to get. Those same funds can go to hiring a better recording studio, a better producer, or pay for better graphics if they want to grow and improve their ministries. God's stamp of approval is the only certification any group should be having to worry about getting and that comes from within the members themselves.


So there are my reasons why the ticket sales weren't what they could have been.

But wait, there's more. The event itself needs to be addressed. I heard from a couple at my church about their feelings, and I have my own observations from the two times we were there.

On Thursday night, the choir and orchestra sat there like bumps on a log unless they were singing. Even then, they were technically good, but not that enthusiastic. I heard the Prestonwood choir was about the same. I did hear good reviews of the Stephenville choir that was there. People liked their energy and song selection and their participation when the groups were singing.
Thursday nights are not a great concert night. It is the end of the week, but there is still one more day of work for most people. We had to leave at intermission (thankfully after the Booth Brothers) because of my husband's work schedule. That meant we missed Legacy Five and Shiloh. Didn't want to, but didn't have a choice.
Daystar was supposed to cover an hour and a half of the event on Thursday, they only covered an hour. The time they had it on the viewers got two songs from Ivan Parker at the top, three songs at the back from the Booth Brothers (who were cut off in the middle of speaking) and the rest was the Florida Boys. Now, not to diminish the Florida Boys or anything but if you are wanting to bring a new audience to SG, be sure that you have your younger and more progressive talent showcased. The Perry's or Brian Free would have been better choices in that slot.
Thursday night (and from what I gathered from the couple at our church) Saturday night were really bad sound nights. First problem from my perspective (I have the "privilege" of running sound during our group events) was the location of the main sound booth. Stage left at the front. Wrong answer. But the main sound at the middle or back of the venue. The singers can tell you what they need through signals and sound checks, the sound man needs to be able to have a true picture of what the crowd is hearing.
I have seen the Booth Brothers many times and they are awesome. The minute they took the stage and sang their first notes I could tell something wasn't right in what they were hearing. They never said anything and are troopers in this business, but knowing their sound and what it is they do, it wasn't hard for me to spot. Sometimes there are one or more members of a group having a down day, but that wasn't the case this time. The sound they were getting and the mix in the auditorium were horrible. It doesn't hurt to also know that Ivan Parker's set had it's glitches as well when they forgot to turn up the music in his monitor and in the main speakers. He had to start over because of it, and no singer likes to do that. It kills the mood you've set and the train of thought.
I was told that on Saturday night the same problems occurred. That is so unfortunate because while not all sound issues can be avoided, a knowledgeable and well-trained person can avoid most of those things, especially if the planning is done beforehand.

There is probably more that I haven't thought of but if I am not thinking about it now, it isn't pertinent. All these things can be thought out and addressed if much thought and care is given to the event itself. Having met Clarke Beasley I can't imagine that he didn't do all that he could to make it a success. If he didn't, then it was either lack of research or arrogance that created these things. Like I said, I met him, and I don't think it was arrogance.

One thing that I am on board with is what he is trying to do to change the name associated with our music. He wants the label American Gospel so that we move away from the regional identification that Southern Gospel has given it. It is a good idea from a marketing standpoint as well as a reality standpoint. Since we all live by labels (like it or not) then we have to realize that the label is what people see. The Southern Gospel label leaves the impression that the music is southern in nature, not fit for everyone. It truly doesn't identify the music of today. Country is a label that encompasses many styles. American Gospel would do the same.