Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the Gospel Heritage Foundation’s Praise & Worship Conference in Jacksonville, FL, which is the vision of Gospel Today’s Dr. Teresa Hairston.

I was a featured speaker on two panels for the youth and college division along with Carla Williams (General Manager of Kirk Franklin’s Fo Yo Soul Entertainment), Monica Coates (author/speaker/industry vet), Asaph Ward (super producer), Grant Jenkins (artist manager/artist development consultant, the point5ive agency) and Myron Butler (artist/songwriter/producer).

On the first panel, we talked about the “new” music industry and how the current industry differs from what it used to be.  And we talked about what it means for people, in both the short-run and long-term.  After a quick break, the second panel featured us sharing more about our unconventional careers in this “new” music industry.  Of course, we had lots of time for Q&A, which is generally my favorite part of any panel discussion.

I can’t recap all the nuggets of wisdom that each of the panelists gave– you shoulda been there. In short, we really tried to equip and challenge people to be better, not just to do “business as usual.”  And the audience was of a perfect age to take it and run with it (cuz some of you “seasoned” saints get so set in your ways!).

I’ve been thinking about the panel discussion since then, and I wanted to share some concepts from it with the general readership of GospelPundit.com.  One thing I wanna stress is that it is not enough to look the part– you actually have to be competent.

The “do-it-yourself” theme of the industry is both a good thing and a bad thing.  It’s good because the playing field is being leveled– anyone can promote, market and further their careers from a home computer.  Trust me, I love it.  However, the unfortunate reality is that, of those who do it themselves, only a handful are actually artists or executives of substance.

Don’t be fooled by the current music industry’s resources, now replete with social networking and opportunities galore… you STILL have to do the work, lest you be found severely lacking when the spotlight is on you.  And don’t think that a bunch of views on your YouTube video automatically translates to album sales, ministry bookings, OR (most importantly) impacted lives.  Remember– your shortcut doesn’t speak for you.  You’ll still have to be a person of substance once your arrive at the destination.

That goes for everyone.  It’s not enough to just “look like one,” whatever the “one” is.  Songwriters need to dig deeper; artists, musicians and producers need to be more creative; executives need to actually be educated in what they’re doing.

This is an age of information– but anyone laboring in the gospel industry needs to be more than just informative, they must be transformative.

So, as you’re carving out your niche in this industry, do the gospel community a favor– be a person of substance and refined professionalism, not just someone who grabbed an opportunity and fooled people into buying your hype.  Do your work, beforehand and during, so that you’re actually contributing to, not just taking from, the Kingdom of God.

Cool?