SO sorry for makin’ you wait for this… we’ve been busy busy busy at the site (as you’ve seen), but we’re back with PART THREE of the Gospel A&R Series of And Now You Know.  As a reminder, this series features top industry professionals giving us the EXCLUSIVE deal on how things work in the gospel music biz.  Be sure to POST COMMENTS and lemme know what you think!

Monica Coates is updating us on the current state of “artist and repertoire” (A&R) in the gospel industry.  Over the course of her diverse career, she has worked at the top Gospel labels (EMI Gospel, Verity) and with a variety of artists, including Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker and Joann Rosario.

Her first book, The Beginner’s Guide To The Gospel Music Industry, is available NOW at http://www.monicacoates.com.  Do not sleep… it’s an incredible, must-have book.

If you need a refresher from Parts 1 and 2, click here now.  Otherwise, here’s PART THREE of the Gospel A&R Series, entitled “A&R And The Current State Of Gospel Music”… 

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PART THREE: A&R AND THE CURRENT STATE OF GOSPEL MUSIC

In our last conversation we discussed how and why true A&R methods are dying in today’s Gospel music marketplace.  We cited the corporate demands of mainstream record labels along with the broad accessibility of high-quality recording technology as the main contributors to this phenomenon. 

So what does all of that mean for the future of Gospel music?  To fully answer that question, we need to look at the short-term impact as well as the long-term implications.  In this article, we’ll focus on the short-term impact.

In recent years the lack of a true A&R presence at our major labels led to two major trends: (1) the rise in power of the Gospel producer and (2) a lack of artist development at Gospel labels.

Perhaps the greatest beneficiaries of the music technology boom of the 1990s were producers.  It is the role of the producer to shepherd a song from idea to full production.  The producer oversees the creative direction of a song, hires the performers (musicians and background singers) and engineers, directs the recording sessions and, although funded by the record label, is often responsible for ensuring the bills are actually paid.

Where once a producer had to rely upon hefty financial support from record companies to create a song, the introduction of MPCs and Protools gave virtually anyone with a dream access to high-quality, digital audio in the comfort of their own home.  That shift in venue also marked a shift in financial and creative power.

Historically a producer had to allot a sizeable amount of each recording budget to an expensive studio along with an array of recording costs. However, in the wake of the technology boom, the same producer could now spend that money in his own studio.  And because the new technology made recording more affordable, producers could now complete a song with a bit more money to spare.

As the creation of music moved into home studios across the nation, A&R representatives became less involved with the daily process of production.  And for the first time producers found themselves in a position of greater control not only financially but creatively as well.

That’s when things began to get really interesting. 

When you combine the pressure of corporate timelines and responsibilities with a decreased need for A&R reps to be hands-on in the production process, the role of true A&R is relinquished by the record label and picked up by the producer.   The result was our second trend—a lack of artist development at Gospel labels. 

Rather than the A&R rep discovering an artist and working to develop that artist’s material and style, labels began signing artists based upon their potential and sending them out to develop their sound with a producer.  Over time the process shifted even further to the point that producers were discovering and signing talent and then bringing that talent to the labels to cut a deal.

From a business perspective the arrangement worked well for large record companies.  As with other kinds of businesses, the ability to outsource certain tasks can increase efficiency and allow the company to become more profitable.  But when the main product is creative, that business model has a way of stunting artistic growth.

The strength of the old-school A&R model was the broad access that the A&R rep had to various producers, songwriters and musicians.  An A&R person could draw from a large pool of talent to best explore the potential of an artist and further develop that artist’s sound.  Conversely, with producers at the helm of the process, too often an artist would conform to the style of that producer, rather than growing into a sound of their own.

In the new scheme of things, the producer is often more famous than the artist.  Audiences can recognize the producer shout-out at the top of a track even though they’ve never heard of the artist featured in the song.  In fact frequently it’s the producer’s name and sound that lends immediate credibility to a new artist.

In the short term everyone wins:  The label gets the power of an established name to attach to an unknown artist, the artist gains an immediate audience through his connection to a well-known producer and the producer finally gets to reap real financial benefits.

But what happens to our marketplace in the long-term?

More about that next time…

Copyright © 2009 Monica A. Coates.

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Wow.  I love that entry because it talks about the stuff that we’re SEEING in the industry, but haven’t really articulated.

For example, we’ve definitely seen the pro’s and con’s of everyone being able to record without big label dollars behind them– some amazing indie projects, and some reaaaallly bad ones.

Soooo… whatd’ya think of the article?!

Okay, folks.  Here’s the final interview in the Sunday Best Finalist Edition of interviews.  If you’ve been following, we’ve heard from Jessica Reedy and Y’Anna Crawley (click here if you need a refresher)– now, it’s time to chat with Latice Crawford!

Latice floored us from jump, amazing us with her near-flawless rendition of Vanessa Bell Armstrong’s “Peace Be Still.”  Judges and fans have been a little rough on her lately, leaving some to believe that she may be sent home this week.

She’s got a sweet spirit with an incredible voice and a love for God.  Here’s Latice Crawford…

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey!  How are you?

LC:  I’m doing good, how are you?

EJ:  I’m great thank you.  I wanna first congratulate you on how you’re doing on Sunday Best.  You are a phenomenal vocalist!

LC:  Thank you so much!  Thank you.

EJ:  No doubt.  Tell me about your experience on the show.  What’s it been like?

LC:  Umm… tiring… *laughing* Fun, exciting, a blessing… just a new door that’s opened up for me.  It’s been such an awesome experience.

EJ:  That’s great!  I think you gained a huge fanbase from week one of the performances, when you did “Peace Be Still” by Vanessa Bell-Armstrong.  Folks fell in love with your incredibly unique voice and tone– where did that come from?  Did you work on that?  Were you influenced by certain singers?

LC:  No, actually it came from me losing my voice for four years.  I didn’t really appreciate my gift and God snatched it away.  I used to have a really high voice, like a Karen Clark-Sheard, Mariah Carey kind of voice.

EJ:  Are you serious?!

LC:  Yeah… but I didn’t appreciate it.  I didn’t want to sing.  And God just snatched it away, and gave me some life experiences that made me want to SCREAM and sing.  *laughs*  So that’s the gift I have now– I just belt it out.  It’s definitely God-given.

EJ:  Wow.  You also had a pretty big transformation on the show– you cut off a bunch of your hair!  Now, I know a bunch of black women who don’t just CUT their hair on the fly.  *laughing*  Was that your idea, had you planned to do it and what was your motivation for it?

LC:  Well, I’ve never had a problem cutting my hair.  I’ve had everything down to a Caesar.  The only thing I haven’t had is a baldie, and I’m not trying to go that route any time soon. *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs*  Okay.

LC:  But I never had a problem cutting my hair.  They have so many things out there now, they’ve got weave and wigs, and some of everything that you can get for hair, so… I don’t have a problem.  It’ll grow back.

But yeah, I was definitely in the decision-making process for that.  I wanted to do something really different, something that everyone hadn’t seen me with (as far as “in America”), so I chopped it off and… I like it.

EJ:  Well it worked well.  I think it got a lot of people saying “Whitney Houston!  She looks like Whitney Houston!”  Had you ever heard any of those comparisons?

LC:  I hear that every day of my life. *laughing*

EJ:  Do you?! *laughs*

LC:  Yes, every day.  My cousin, I think, was actually the first to tell me that, but since then, I’ve heard it every single day.

I don’t mind the Whitney comment.  I think she’s great, but I don’t want to be compared to her all the time– I want people to know me as Latice Crawford.

EJ:  Absolutely.

LC:  You know?  Because I’m Latice Crawford, she’s Whitney.  There’s only one Whitney Houston and only one Latice Crawford.  I’m happy with the compliment, but I definitely don’t want the comparison. *laughs*

EJ:  Right.  You don’t wanna get stuck there.  Now, lately, viewers have seen comments from the judges that you’re disconnected from the audience in some way.  A couple of weeks ago, Tina Campbell asked if you were comfortable singing the song you sang and you seemed to give an unequivocal “yes.”

Can you clear it up for people– what are people seeing, or THINKING they’re seeing, that would suggest some nervousness or disconnect from you?

LC:  Well, what people fail to realize is that when the shows are taped, we are being pulled in every direction, you know, behind the stage.  And they don’t understand, really, what a day is for taping– it’s nothing like what they can imagine.  They think we just get on the stage and we sing, but no… they don’t understand the rehearsal process and the learning of the song sometimes 15 or 20 minutes before… things that happened or got changed.  They don’t understand those types of things.

But I will say, with the audience, there wasn’t really a disconnect.  There might have been some exhaustion.  I was tired, my voice was strained… y’know?  We were singing A LOT and it was just getting down to the wire.  Some of my songs weren’t really songs that I might have chosen for myself, so I was trying to do something different, outside of my box.

EJ:  Sure.

LC:  And like you said, from the beginning, I think the expectation for me was set so high… and I’m up against some real strong singers! *laughs*

EJ:  *laughing*

LC:  *laughing*  You know?  Jessica and Yannie… So, maybe I was in my head a little bit.  There were some technical difficulties with my songs a couple of weeks ago and, like I said, those are things that people don’t get to see– there’s a lot of editing and people don’t get to see the behind-the-scenes.  But, all in all, I think I did an okay job.

EJ:  I agree!  You know, one of your fans on a blog someplace else said that it seems like the judges are just making up stuff to try to send someone home.  And when I spoke with Y’Anna, she said that the competition is really strong this season, so the judges are having a hard time deciding among you all.

Do you feel like you’re being picked on at all, or that you’ve been unfairly called out in the past couple of weeks?

LC:  Honestly, no.  I feel like the judges, like Yannie said, are having a very difficult time taking people out.  The competition is really tough.  I’ve always been the type of person to look at things from the opposite side– I feel like whenever someone is giving you a hard critique, it’s because they expect a lot from you.  It means I’m capable of doing whatever it is that they are saying.

EJ:  That’s a good word.

LC:  So to me, I felt like the judges had high expectations for me and wanted the best out of me.  Everyone is pushing for everyone, so I have nothing against the judges.  They’re just doing their job and they have to eliminate somebody! *laughing*  So, it’s cool.

EJ:  That is cool.  Because the reality is that somebody does have to go home.  But, like I keep telling people, at this point, each of you three ladies could do albums and do very well in the industry.  You each have big fan bases, you have proven to the nation that you are great vocalists, you can be great artists, and it’s gonna pan out for each of you.

LC:  Thank you.

EJ:  You’re welcome!  On the show, we’ve heard Jessica’s testimony about getting pregnant at a young age, we’ve heard from Y’Anna about being a single parent.  But BET hasn’t really featured a “story” for Latice Crawford yet.  What is your story?  What pushes you, what motivates you in this competition?  What would you say if you had that camera time to get your background in?

LC:  Well, like I said earlier, I’ve had a lot of different experiences in my life, none that I could pinpoint now.  If I started, I’d never stop! *laughing*

EJ:  *laughing*  Okay.

LC:  You know, we all have our testimonies– no, I’m not a single parent.  No, I’m not raising two kids.  But I’ve had my own share of difficult times.

What pushes me is that I just don’t wanna stay stuck anywhere.  You know, people say “you’re the only one sitting there dwelling on it, the other person has moved on.”  So, there’s no point in me dwelling on anything.  So, I sing through it, I push through it.  I write… I write a lot of songs and different things.  I just try to push through it and encourage someone else.

Every time I encourage someone else, it shows me that what I’m doing is worth something– it’s not just about singing, it’s about ministry.

EJ:  Tell me a bit about losing your voice for 4 years– that’s astounding to me!  I think of Joann Rosario (now Condrey), who lost her voice for a time… it was her livelihood, but it was also the gift that she used to worship God, it was how she spent intimate time with him sometimes.

What is it like for a Christian, who is a singer, to be unable to use that gift for so long?

LC:  Honestly, in the beginning, it didn’t really bother me.  I never really asked to sing– it was something that was given.  But when it started affecting my communicating… I mean God shut me down, literally.  I couldn’t say “hi” too loudly without not being able to speak for days at a time.  I couldn’t sit on the phone.

And this is before texting was really popular– like, when they charged you 10 or 20 cents per text! *laughing*

EJ: *laughs*  Right!

LC:  And I couldn’t express myself.  My grandmother, before she passed away, she would always so “when you think I’m not with you, look to your left.”  And I always thought “what is she talking about?!”  But I’m left-handed.

So, as time went on, and I realized I couldn’t SING it out, I could write it out.  And the more I wrote it out, I was like “I can write all of this stuff, but I can’t SAY it?!”  I mean, God has taken me through some stuff and I couldn’t even tell anybody about it.  And God just gave me a “want” for my gift– that’s what He had to do to make me want it, so that I can be where I am, ministering to people today.

God knew what I had, but I didn’t.  And I didn’t want it.  But, you know, gifts come without repentance.

EJ:  Well, I’m glad He made you TAKE it! *laughing*

Like I said, I think you’re gonna do well.  You have a large fan base already and I know it’s gonna grow.

LC:  Thank you so much.

EJ:  And I appreciate you for taking a minute to talk with me.

LC:  Oh, definitely!

EJ:  And you keep in touch!

LC:  I sure will.  Bye.

*     *     *

So, that’s THAT!

Make sure you check out some of her earlier tracks (GOOD stuff!) at her MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/laticecrawford.

And with THAT interview, I believe we’re now ready for Sunday Best this Sunday!  Make sure you follow me on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/gospelpundit) for real-time updates and commentary on Sunday night!

In the meantime, what did you think of the interview???

[Editor's Note:  Most of you know her as Joann Rosario, but I'm using her new name, as she recently wed Atlanta-based gospel DJ (and host of BET's Lift Every Voice) Cory "Coco Brother" Condrey.]

I’d actually like to do a post on each one of Joann Condrey’s albums, because I think the industry and consumers have kinda Slept On all of her stuff to date.  But, for now, I’ll stick with the most recent.

Her latest album, Joyous Salvation, was a great collection of some incredible music, featuring background vocals from some of the greatest in the industry (i.e., Darwin Hobbs, Blanche McAllister, Jerard and Jovaun Woods, LeAnne Palmore) and masterful production from giants like Aaron Lindsey, Fred Jerkins and Donald Lawrence.  This year, the project garnered her a Stellar Award nod for Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year.

For your listening pleasure, here’s a snippet of one of my favorite tracks from Joann Condrey’s Joyous Salvation– “You Are Holy,” written/produced by Aaron Lindsey, with some bgvocal production by Donald Lawrence (you can hear it!).  Following it is a YouTube video (but it’s just audio) of another hit from that album–”Restore To Me.”

Who else has it?  You love it?  Who Slept On it?  Why?  Talk to me!

[Editor's Note:  I've re-posted this because I reaaaaally want you guys to read it as a featured article and it got lost in the shuffle after the "breaking news" post that now follows it.  READ ON!]

Part Two is here already!

Y’all judged me so hard last time cuz you wanted the goods IMMEDIATELY, so I decided to follow-up sooner than anticipated with the second portion of the Gospel A&R Series of And Now You Know.  To refresh your recollection, this series features top industry professionals giving us the EXCLUSIVE deal on how things work in the gospel music biz.  Be sure to POST COMMENTS and lemme know what you think!

Monica Coates, a Gospel music industry vet with experience in artist management, publicity, radio promotions and A&R, is back with more info on what’s happened to “true A&R.”  Over the course of her diverse career, she has worked at the top Gospel labels (EMI Gospel, Verity) and with a variety of artists, including Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker and Joann Rosario. Her first book, The Beginner’s Guide To The Gospel Music Industry, will be published in the Spring. 

If you haven’t read PART ONE, you should prolly do so now (click here).  Here’s PART TWO of the Gospel A&R Series, entitled “True A&R: A Dying Art Form”…

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PART TWO: TRUE A&R: A DYING ART FORM

In our last chat, we discovered that historically A&R representatives scouted new talent (artists, songwriters and producers) and were also responsible for finding and developing appropriate material for artists at their labels to record and perform.  So how is it possible for such an important role to virtually disappear from the Gospel music industry?

In all fairness, most record labels still have A&R Departments housed by A&R directors (or A&R reps).  However, with few exceptions, those divisions have morphed into Artist Relations departments where the A&R rep is expected to serve primarily as a financial and production administrator, overseeing the flow of album and video projects. 

I can tell you it is no small task to deliver the project of a major artist both within budget and on time!  Nevertheless, that’s a far cry from true, old school A&R.

Two major changes in the overall music industry contributed to this shift in A&R method: (1) the acquisition of Gospel labels by major record companies and (2) the audio technology boom of the 1990s.

In the late 1980s, several Gospel labels came under the umbrella of major, mainstream record companies. While those corporations delivered important perks—huge increases in CD sales, mainstream media exposure and significant touring opportunities for their Gospel artists—the demands of big business gradually shifted focus at the labels away from developing their artists and toward meeting the parent company’s timelines and sales goals.

Simultaneous with that development, the creative side of the industry was forever altered by the audio technology boom.  The widespread use of musical programming and digital recording technology—most notably the introduction of the MPC programming system and Protools software—gave rise to the self-contained producer. 

No longer did artists and producers have to rely on record labels to provide access to expensive recording studios.  For the first time, anyone with an MPC and a computer could take a song from idea to mix in the comfort of his own home.  Consequently, a major breach occurred between record labels and the creative process, which has only widened over the past two decades.

Those historic changes had an inevitable ripple effect—a void in training opportunities for A&R executives.  In a world where quarterly sales projections rank higher than an artist’s creative vision and where record labels are all but removed from the creative process, there are fewer opportunities for industry executives to learn the art of true A&R. 

A genuine ear for Gospel, an eye for real talent and the insight and wisdom necessary for artist development are skills cultivated over years spent in creative spaces, learning how to work with creative people.  Furthermore, true A&R requires opportunities to try new things in an atmosphere where failure is viewed merely as a stepping stone to breakthrough. 

With the steep drop in CD sales due to the impact of digital music sales, in a very real sense major Gospel labels simply cannot afford the luxury of developing their artists nor their executives. 

So, what does all of this mean for the future of the Gospel music marketplace?  More about that next time…

Copyright © 2009 Monica A. Coates.

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Crazy, right?!  As the music industry evolves, it almost seems like the “creative” aspects are getting sidelined while folks are overburdened and overwhelmed with administrative duties.  So, how we gonna fix it (fix it… fix it)?

Thanks, Monica!  Don’t forget to check our her MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/monicacoates for more info on her and her upcoming book.

What do y’all think about what she had to say this go ’round???

I’m really excited to bring you this new series, And Now You Know, in which top industry professionals will give us the EXCLUSIVE skinny on how things work in the gospel music biz.  I’m gonna try to cover all facets of the industry, starting with one of my personal favorites– A&R– which will be covered in multiple parts by industry favorite Monica Coates.  Be sure to POST COMMENTS and lemme know what you think!

Monica Coates is a veteran of the Gospel music industry with experience in artist management, publicity, radio promotions and A&R.  Over the course of a diverse career, she has worked at the top Gospel labels (EMI Gospel, Verity) and with a variety of artists, including Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker and Joann Rosario. Her first book, The Beginner’s Guide To The Gospel Music Industry, will be published in the Spring. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you PART ONE of the Gospel A&R Series, entitled “What Is A&R?”…

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PART ONE: WHAT IS A&R?

For the past 16 years it has been my pleasure to serve as a member of the Gospel music industry.  During that time, one of the most fulfilling aspects of my work has been the opportunity to meet aspiring artists and aspiring music industry people and answer their questions.  In fact, that experience led me to write The Beginner’s Guide To The Gospel Music Industry: A Handbook For Aspiring Artists And Industry Executives.  In the spirit of that book and as a service to all you GospelPundit bloggers, I wanted to answer one of the most common questions:  What is A&R?

Historically the term “A&R” stood for “Artists and Repertoire”.  An A&R representative typically scouted and discovered new talent and was also responsible for discovering and developing appropriate material for that talent to record and perform.  Over the years, as record companies have shouldered less of the burden for the development of artists, the function of the A&R Department has morphed a bit toward “Artist Relations”. 

Nevertheless, of all of the departments within a record company, the A&R representatives work the most closely with artists, songwriters and producers.  They are the staff members responsible for facilitating the creative vision for a project, overseeing the budgets for those projects and keeping them on schedule.

For those of you who think you might like to be involved with the industry side of Gospel music, or are simply curious about what goes on behind-the-scenes, here are some important skills that a good A&R person needs: 

* A true ear for Gospel music

* Strong relationships with people throughout the Creative Community (esp. artists, songwriters, producers and their respective support teams—managers, engineers, publishers, etc.)

* A thorough understanding of the production process for CDs and DVD projects

* Knowledge of the legal aspects of production

* The ability to create and maintain a budget

* Strong management skills

Sadly, true A&R is a dying artform in Gospel music.  More about that next time…

Copyright © 2009 Monica A. Coates.

*     *     *

Soooo???  Cool, right?  Make sure you keep comin’ back to see the follow-up parts to her awesome series.  And check her out at http://www.myspace.com/monicacoates!

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post telling you that this new series would start soon– and here’s the first installment!

Few choir soloists have left as indelible an impression on the gospel music community as Kim McFarland.  You prolly remember her from her days with Chicago’s Milton Brunson & The Thompson Community Singers.  She led HITS for days, including “I Tried Him and I Know Him,” “For the Good of Them,” and “In My Name.”

But she started waaaaaay before that with Walt Whitman & The Soul Children of Chicago, leading (and co-writing) “We Are One.”  In my opinion, she kinda helped to define what a contemporary choir soloist is gonna need to bring to the table!

And she didn’t stop there… she released two solo albums– New Life in 1994, and Amazing in 1996.  The latter album features one of my favorite cuts from her, “Intercession.”

So, Kim McFarland, where YOU been?!

Various biographical sources on the internet suggest that Kim McFarland is 39 years old, resides in Chicago, and is married to Chris Anderson, who is a producer, vocalist and session musician.  Together, they run CAKM (I’m guessing, their initials), an event and concert production company.  He also wrote several songs on both of her solo albums.

She’s apparently got two MySpace pages– the most recently updated page is private, but available by clicking here; the other, though publicly viewable, hasn’t been accessed since September of 2008.  Access that one by clicking here.

So, is she still singing?  I think so.  I’m not aware of any big guest appearances, but I do see her name as a background vocalist on various album liner notes over the past three years alone: Hezekiah Walker’s 20/85 The Experience, Marvin Sapp’s Be Exalted, Smokie Norful’s Nothing Without You, Coko’s Grateful, Dewayne Woods’ Introducing Dewayne Woods and When Singers Meet, and Joann Rosario’s Joyous Salvation.  That’s understandable because several of those albums feature tracks from Donald Lawrence, who has used her for vocals a lot lately (including on the Tri-City finale album).

But ummm… that’s about as far as I’m able to get on my own.  Anyone know somethin’ else???

YouTube pickings are slim, so you’ll just have to settle for her killing “For the Good of Them” with the Tommies back in the day:

Congratulations to Cory “CoCo Brother” Condrey and Joann Condrey (formerly Rosario) on your marriage!

The two became one at a New Year’s Eve celebration in Chicago, IL.  It was quite a beautiful event.  We wish you all the best!

Congrats to Joann Rosario and Cory “CoCo Brother” Condrey on their upcoming nuptials.

The Latin gospel singer and the Atlanta-based radio personality are tying the knot on December 31, 2008 at her father’s church, Maranatha World Revival Church, in Chicago, IL.

Congrats, again, guys!  We’ll see you soon!