...I think that I have mentioned before in this thread that SG radio will improve by working on what we don’t play as opposed to what we play. Don’t play music - progressive or traditional - that lacks quality. If you don’t know what quality is hire someone that does. Look at the SN chart’s top 30 (no laughter please). Look at this site’s chart. If you don’t see it there don’t play it. Extreme? Probably but a good start for those that don’t know a good song from one that is a dail turner.
Very intelligent thought. The problem is with SGM we have too much emotion attached to “our style” or “our group”. we have no objective standard as to a level of quality…vocals, arrangements, musicianship. After all we had a family group come to our church and they were nice folks, they couldn’t sing, but were nice folks so I will call and request them every day and my station will play them. In the meantime no one is impressed with SGM enough to listen a second time.
... Somebody needs to play cutting edge groups and leave everything else alone and give it some time to build a base.
Please define “cutting edge” Pleasee don’t use a group name or names as the definition.
I will try to define it, but I’d like to clarify first. I don’t believe all stations should follow the format I’ll try to describe below, but someone should try it and see if it is marketable to listeners.
My idea of a “cutting edge” station would be to play artists who are more on the progressive side stylistically and vocally. This would eliminate air play by traditional quartets, trios, and mixed groups. Convention style singing, screaming endings, etc would be saved for the more traditional stations.
It’s just a thought. We’ve got to try something different and we have several stations who have already tried the quartet only or conventional style music without much affect.
I disagree. Equal time should be given to both (as closely as possible). Stations must play progressive music while maintaining the sound of SG. If we eliminate traditional quartets, trios, and mixed groups, would it even be SG anymore? To me that music is the substance of SG. Southern Gospel needs to be innovative and progressive, but it must also be true to itself.
Isn’t that what most SG stations are already doing and it ain’t working.
I said all that to say this: SG is not restricted to drawing fans to country music. I might not do well with Christian Rock or AC, but at least the inspo crowd would be worth targeting. And even the AC crowd might have some potential, since some of that music is based more on vocals than instrumentation.
You are right about Inspo. Inspo as it was ten years ago is gone. Artists like Twila Paris, Sandi Patty and David Phelps (to some degree) have no home on the radio. They are still loved, draw a crowd, and are wonderful, but the Inspo market has shifted to light AC and these vocally talented groups are being pushed out.
Chris had mentioned somewhere on an earlier post that he was adding Point Of Grace’s new song to his rotation. The sound, although at the edge of SG, worked. I agree, it fits well.
Part of SG is progressing into the vacancy left on the radio dail by the shift in Inspo and this is one area where we can grow. Groups like Hope’s Call, Crabb Revival, TK and McRea, Taranda Greene. fall into this group.
Part of SG is progressing into the vacancy left on the radio dail by the shift in Inspo and this is one area where we can grow. Groups like Hope’s Call, Crabb Revival, TK and McRea, Taranda Greene. fall into this group.
That is the progressive style I am referring to. Surely with all these SG stations that play quartet only formats, it wouldn’t hurt to have just 1 station try their hand at this kind of programming.
I have friends who listen to CCM exclusively and loved groups like those above and others like Talleys, Jeff & Sherri, and even some if the Isaacs stuff. However, when I have them listen to our SG station they hate it. They equate it to digging through a barn of poo to find a pony. Just not worth it to them.
That is the progressive style I am referring to. Surely with all these SG stations that play quartet only formats, it wouldn’t hurt to have just 1 station try their hand at this kind of programming.
I have friends who listen to CCM exclusively and loved groups like those above and others like Talleys, Jeff & Sherri, and even some if the Isaacs stuff. However, when I have them listen to our SG station they hate it. They equate it to digging through a barn of poo to find a pony. Just not worth it to them.
I’ve been allowed to program aggressively and progressively for the past few years and it appears to be successful. We have not alienated the long time fan base and have captured the aging baby boomers that like quality music. We draw from the left (Country) and the right (Inspo). The secret lies in the mix of the variety that is within SGM with the overriding emphasis on quality. Tempo is key as well.
There was a weaning process for the die-hard karaoke SG artist wannabees that enjoyed music of the quality that they themselves could reproduce but they have been won over. We don’t play local or regional groups unless they meet the same standards as the top artists. When in doubt it gets left out. That goes for every song by every group.
Mixing music on the air is like making a cake. One wrong ingredient will make the cake taste bad. If you ate a piece of cake with Jalapeno peppers in it you would not talk about the delicious icing, the fresh eggs or the finely sifted flour. The peppers would be what you remember. The same happens in radio. One bad song can ruin a shift. You could lose someone and never have the chance to win them back.
Imagine someone scanning the dial and not stopping to hear the message of Christ in a song because the music was poor quality. That one chance at hearing the Gospel in a SG song could have made the difference in their eternal destiny. Its a big responsibility when you consider that.
Isn’t that what most SG stations are already doing and it ain’t working.
Are you sure its the music? Could it be a lack of professionalism or poor geographic location, in a lot of radio stations? Or perhaps the DJs are too old, or sound too backwoodsy (not to insult anyone).
Isn’t that what most SG stations are already doing and it ain’t working.
Are you sure its the music? Could it be a lack of professionalism or poor geographic location, in a lot of radio stations?
Could be. If someone tries this idea and it flops then we can look elsewhere. Speculation on either part is not as reliable as data.
SG has trouble producing data. No one wants anyone to know how many albums they’re selling, what size crowds they’re playing to, how many tickets are being sold, and how much the groups are ACTUALLY being played. Its hard to solve a problem with speculation and no data.
Part of SG is progressing into the vacancy left on the radio dail by the shift in Inspo and this is one area where we can grow. Groups like Hope’s Call, Crabb Revival, TK and McRea, Taranda Greene. fall into this group.
That is the progressive style I am referring to. Surely with all these SG stations that play quartet only formats, it wouldn’t hurt to have just 1 station try their hand at this kind of programming.
I have friends who listen to CCM exclusively and loved groups like those above and others like Talleys, Jeff & Sherri, and even some if the Isaacs stuff. However, when I have them listen to our SG station they hate it. They equate it to digging through a barn of poo to find a pony. Just not worth it to them.
Perhaps the solution is to progress more into the inspirational sound (while maintaining traditional harmony), and for radio to play only the absolute best in traditional SG. Mike Bowling (I haven’t heard his duets with Kelly), Rejoice!, and the Dunaways would probably help in that direction also. Mike Bowling would probably be especially good, since he has a country accent, but some of his songs have been much more inspirational musically, so maybe artists like he would draw the country crowd also. It is truly a shame that we’ve lost some great inspirational SG artists, like the Bishops, the Perry Sisters, the Steeles, and Tony Gore and Majesty. (at least the Steeles aren’t big on the charts like they used to be, if they haven’t retired).
Isn’t that what most SG stations are already doing and it ain’t working.
Are you sure its the music? Could it be a lack of professionalism or poor geographic location, in a lot of radio stations?
Could be. If someone tries this idea and it flops then we can look elsewhere. Speculation on either part is not as reliable as data.
SG has trouble producing data. No one wants anyone to know how many albums they’re selling, what size crowds they’re playing to, how many tickets are being sold, and how much the groups are ACTUALLY being played. Its hard to solve a problem with speculation and no data.
Maybe you and Tim could start an organization devoted to planting semi-autonamous radio stations across the country. I think your insight would be invaluable to SG radio, though I might not agree with all of you two’s ideas.
Also - please tell me what SG artists were sharing the stage with major country acts? I really want to know who these acts are, because for my own knowledge I want to know.
I hope my post earlier successfully answered this question. I will be happy to name more if you would like. I’m sure you are too young to remember the early groups I named. Maybe you’ve seen some of the Opry shows. Surely Deon has since country fans are our potential fan base.
Perhaps you remember the political rally scene from the movie Oh, Brother. My mom and grandparents said that was typical. It was OK for country artists to sing gospel songs but gospel artists couldn’t sing country. It was viewed as hypocritical.
Man, I’ve not been able to get to a computer for a week, and so much junk has been said about SGM in this thread that it’s unbelievable.
First, When you say that SG artists used to share the stage with major Country acts, I am totally scratching my head trying to figure out where you have seen that on any regular basis. Now, SG artists have been used as “special guests” on TV shows and a few concerts, but never have they shared the stage with major country artists on a regular basis. There is a huge difference between being a special guests and a regular performer.
As you mentioned, even today, SG artists are special guests on the Opry.
When SG was just getting started away from the singing conventions where they made their living selling song books, some of the groups sang a mixture of secular and Gospel tunes. Groups like the Sunshine Boys, the Speers, the Stamps, the LeFevres, etc had a mixture in their programs, but this again was not it the heyday when SG took off as it’s own genre of music in the 60s and 70s. When SG moved to churches, away from the singing conventions, it became inappropriate not hypocritical to continue to sing secular songs on their programs.
i for one have a totaly different veiw point. i think on the whole that SG has progressed to far driving their base audiance way, and that they have not made any progress into the CC scene or the AC scene or CCC scene all they have managed to do is lose the folks they all ready had. now this is going to cause a lot of angist and some of you will call me an old fogy and i am. but if this trend to the progissive side of things was the right thing to do, and you have to agree it’s been going on for some time where are all the “new fans”?
i really think that you progesive folks are barking up the wrong tree. and SG needs to find their roots before its way to late.
Ok, my eyes started hurting after a reading a couple of pages, so bare with me if I’m repeating someone here. Here is my opinion. I use to love SG that is all I would listen to can’t explain how or why but about 4 years ago SG became bland to me; here are some possible reasons
1. In the area I live in we are covered with SG am radio stations, the mess they play on these stations is enough to make anyone quit listening. You have DJ’s that lounge while talking on the air, leave their mics on while talking on the phone and list goes on and on. I know all this because I use to work at one and seen this first hand! The only SG you can hear of quality in this area is through the internet. When I travel and go somewhere that has SG radio you hear 10 to 12 songs and not one time the song or artist is mentioned.
2. Sorry, but I am a drummer and I played with a very popular SG artists 7 years ago, I do think the crowd especially younger crowds enjoy live bands. NO THE BAND ISSUE IS NOT THE ONLY REASON that younger people are not listening to SG.
3. Look at the guys that are bringing in crowds right now, EHSS these guys are packing out places, because they are doing something different, they have STAGE PRESENCE!! How boring to see singers stand there and not have any presence about them at all.
I would love to see a SG artists enter a show like America’s Next Big Band and see how long they can make it!
Thats all I have to say about that
Everyone around here loves us because we are singing true SGM, Vintage style SGM, and the largest critisum we receive is that we sing Vintage style SGM. Will someone please make up their minds!
We work hard to sound like I feel SGM was intended when it evolved from convention style singing, in the vein of the Blackwoods, Couriers, and Uncle Earl and the Weatherfords, vintage 1950’s 60’s and 70’s, etc., etc. We chose this path, maybe it’s not such a good idea, but it’s the way it is, we like it, our fans like it, frankly we are not doing it for the INDUSTRY, we are doing it for the Lord and our fans.
I’ve read through this thread, and others like it, and I think our main problem is perception. For example, my 15-year-old daughter views the quartet-style of music as “Dad’s music” and won’t even give it a listen. Is the issue perhaps the younger audience we are trying to reach regards the Southern Gospel genre as outdated? That it’s not “hip”? (I know, they don’t use that word anymore)
Or is it perhaps that the music just isn’t getting played as it used to? In the early 70’s, Evansville had the only FM stereo station in Indiana, and it was playing southern gospel. In the late 70’s the station was purchased by a conglomerate that immediately changed the format to Country and moved the southern gospel to an AM station, where it began a slow death, with CCM phased in a few months after the change. Since that time, there is no Southern Gospel being played around here, AM or FM.
The point I am trying to make is this: if most of our stations are low-quality AM (and I don’t know this to be true) could the issue be not only the quality of the recordings and music, but perhaps the station they music is played on? Oh, if we could only have more quality stations that played more music and less block programming and weren’t only located south of Kentucky.
I think everything that has been mentioned on this thread and others has played a part in the SGM slide. If we can improve the quality of our performers, improve the quality of our music, improve the quality of our performances, improve the quality of the marketing, and improve the quality of the broadcasters, perhaps we can reverse the trend.
I’ve read through this thread, and others like it, and I think our main problem is perception. For example, my 15-year-old daughter views the quartet-style of music as “Dad’s music” and won’t even give it a listen. Is the issue perhaps the younger audience we are trying to reach regards the Southern Gospel genre as outdated? That it’s not “hip”? (I know, they don’t use that word anymore)
Or is it perhaps that the music just isn’t getting played as it used to? In the early 70’s, Evansville had the only FM stereo station in Indiana, and it was playing southern gospel. In the late 70’s the station was purchased by a conglomerate that immediately changed the format to Country and moved the southern gospel to an AM station, where it began a slow death, with CCM phased in a few months after the change. Since that time, there is no Southern Gospel being played around here, AM or FM.
The point I am trying to make is this: if most of our stations are low-quality AM (and I don’t know this to be true) could the issue be not only the quality of the recordings and music, but perhaps the station they music is played on? Oh, if we could only have more quality stations that played more music and less block programming and weren’t only located south of Kentucky.
I think everything that has been mentioned on this thread and others has played a part in the SGM slide. If we can improve the quality of our performers, improve the quality of our music, improve the quality of our performances, improve the quality of the marketing, and improve the quality of the broadcasters, perhaps we can reverse the trend.
You are right about AM - it’s hard for them to compete against the signal quality of FM. Also most people under the age of 30 don’t even know the AM band exists.
What’s interesting is Ernie Haase has tapped into a younger crowd by using MySpace. He’s got alot of younger “friends”. Perception and marketing.
