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SGPA Starts New Information Era

As Gospel Music fans, we are very blessed! We have the GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD as our musical epicenter, and we also have the greatest composers, singers, musicians, and arrangers ever assembled! Add to that array of "world class" talent, great publications such as this one. Top that off with Gospel Music radio, television, and webcasting and you have a lot of "horsepower."

But, it's all "segmented." And, many Gospel Music fans are "out of the loop." Just remember, Gospel Music is "Concert" driven. Nothing happens until a promoter sells a ticket! And, getting information about concerts to the maximum number of fans is next to impossible. That "information gap" has been a devastating problem for promoters, and the fans they serve. How can fans attend a Gospel Concert if they don't have the information? It's a huge problem! An industry leader recently stated that there were no Gospel Music radio stations in the top 80 markets in the United States! That's a high percentage of our total population. So, there's much to be done.

But, here's a start. The SOUTHERN GOSPEL PROMOTERS ASSOCIATION (SGPA) has spent several months developing a website (http://www.sgpromos.org) that will go a long way toward filling the "information gap." It will have several functions. First, and foremost, it will provide Concert information to Gospel Music fans- border to border and coast to coast! For the first time ever, fans will be able to access Concert information in one central location. Nearly everyone has web access themselves, or through a friend or relative. So, it just makes sense to use this unique new tool. To use it, just "log on" to [url=http://www.sgpromos.org]http://www.sgpromos.org[/url] and scroll down the menu to "PROMOTERS IN YOUR AREA. Click on that and a large map of the United States will appear. Click on the state of interest (Alabama or Texas for example), and our SGPA Member's "Plaque" will appear.

Each Plaque has the Promoter's information. And, it's all "linked." So, you can "click" on the web address on the Promoter's Plaque and get complete information on their upcoming events. Artists, time, place, ticket prices, ticket outlets, ticket order telephone number, headquarters motel, and so on are right there- in LIVING COLOR! Check it out! Soon, you'll be a regular visitor with "up to the minute" information!

Promoters couldn't survive without the other segments of the industry, but without Promoters, there is no Gospel Music industry. We must, as an industry, use all the available tools. Let's make "I'd have been there if I'd just known" a distant memory!

By: Harold Marshall VP/ SGPA