<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I don't understand your purpose in posting this. Do
we know someone in Gospel??</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, May 02, 2005 7:17 AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] 05-02-05 LA Times:
Gospel Artists Forced to PonderRoot of All Evil</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>
<DIV style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" align=left><A
href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gospel2may02.story">http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gospel2may02.story</A><BR>
<H1>Gospel Artists Forced to Ponder Root of All Evil</H1>
<H2>A lawyer's suit against a Sony BMG record label stirs up questions about
money and mission.</H2>By Charles Duhigg<BR>Times Staff Writer<BR><BR>May 2,
2005<BR><BR>Bestselling songwriter and Pentecostal minister David Frazier
recalls that two years ago, as he sat with one of the most powerful figures in
gospel music, he was told to choose between his lawyer and his
God.<BR><BR>Frazier, now 39 and author of more than 15 songs that went gold or
platinum, was discussing the forthcoming WOW Gospel 2004 compilation album
with executives from <STRONG>Verity Records</STRONG>. Verity's bestselling WOW
series transformed the gospel marketplace in 1998 and fueled the genre's
growth by offering lesser-known artists a shot at exposure they might
otherwise not get on their own.<BR><BR>Frazier's inclusion on previous WOW
compilations had enhanced the songwriter's profile and finances thanks to the
negotiating prowess of his attorney, James L. Walker Jr., who demanded
high-end royalty payments.<BR><BR>But Walker, 36, had also publicly accused
Verity executives of using the WOW albums to bully some of his clients and
others into exploitative contracts. So in 2003, Frazier said, Verity's
president warned him that his songs would be excluded from future WOW albums
if Walker was invited to the bargaining table.<BR><BR>"James had gotten me
great payments because he was aggressive," said Frazier, who wrote the 2004
gospel hit "I Need You to Survive." "But my first goal is the ministry of
Christ. And as my mama said, 'If you aren't heard, you aren't doing God's
work.' So I found a new lawyer."<BR><BR>That conversation and others are at
the center of a lawsuit filed last month by Walker that has stirred up
controversy not only about the money in gospel but also about its mission,
revealing the fissures in this small corner of the record business.<BR><BR>In
his federal suit, Walker alleges that New York-based Verity and parent company
<STRONG>Sony BMG Music Entertainment</STRONG> intimidated his clients into
firing him and maligned his character, depriving him of income. Sony BMG and
Verity, one of gospel's dominant labels, declined to comment on Frazier's
account or the pending litigation. <BR><BR>Though some gospel artists and
religious leaders praise Walker's hardball tactics, others dismiss the
litigation as an affront to the spiritual origins of a genre that exalts God's
everlasting word above the almighty dollar. Some also accuse the Stamford,
Conn.-based lawyer of fostering unrealistic expectations among gospel singers
and songwriters, whose music represents only 6% of albums sold in the U.S.
about $750 million a year.<BR><BR>"Gospel artists don't want to think about
money and greed," so the industry disdains secular activism, said Frazier, who
consented to a lower rate of compensation on the WOW Gospel 2004 album after
dropping Walker and signing with a new lawyer.<BR><BR>Walker is "a crusader,"
said Garrett Johnson, who now represents Frazier and negotiated his 2004 WOW
deal. "But I'm worried he's convincing musicians they have more power than
they really do. A songwriter may be a fantastic talent, but there are a lot of
fantastic talents in gospel. It's better to settle for a smaller deal than to
get barred from ever appearing on WOW."<BR><BR>Music historians say that
Walker's crusade, win or lose, has cast a hot light on what they say is the
exploitation of spiritually driven artists that has long plagued gospel
music.<BR><BR>"For a long time gospel artists saw performing as almost an act
of charity," said Yale University Chaplain Jerry Streets. "Songwriters didn't
even know to ask for publishing rights. Artists didn't realize labels were
profiting from their recordings."<BR><BR>But musicians began recognizing the
economic importance of their work in the mid-'90s, when Christian music, which
includes gospel, began outselling classical and jazz, according to Nielsen
SoundScan. The genre's steady sales among a core audience prompted major music
companies to begin acquiring smaller gospel labels. Today, three corporations
Sony BMG, <STRONG>EMI Group </STRONG>and <STRONG>Warner Music Group
</STRONG>Corp.<STRONG> </STRONG> dominate sales of recorded religious music
of all sorts.<BR><BR>The major players quickly began producing compilations of
the kind that had scored big in pop and rock. Verity released the first WOW
Gospel in 1998; the 2003 album sold almost 500,000 copies. Last year's reached
No. 1 on the gospel charts.<BR><BR>Many artists crave inclusion on these
compilations because of the albums' exposure and sales. But because no single
artist is essential to the project's success, labels retain significant power
over the terms of participation. In exchange for the exposure, lesser-known
artists frequently compromise on royalties.<BR><BR>"Those WOW albums are
really important," said Roger Helms, manager of Grammy-winning singer Donnie
McClurkin. "They offer smaller musicians the chance to appear with big names
and participate in a bestseller. There's only a few gospel singers who can
make it without being on WOW, and the labels know that."<BR><BR>Walker
represented 15 clients on the WOW albums between 1999 and 2003 and negotiated
top-dollar royalty payments for each of them, he said. The lawyer has
negotiated on behalf of more than 200 artists appearing on 30 gold and
platinum albums, he said. Industry leaders agree that Walker is one of a
handful of attorneys representing gospel's most successful artists. <BR><BR>In
his lawsuit, Walker alleges that Verity President Max Siegel and other
executives two years ago demanded a cut in royalty payments to the lawyer's
clients. After he refused, Walker said, Verity's executives began telling
artists they'd be barred from WOW albums unless they changed
representation.<BR><BR>"This is the top project in gospel music, so the
artists deserve top compensation," Walker said. "There's no labor in these
albums you just grab the masters, put them on a CD and it's in the stores
the next week. So for Verity to ask artists to take a cut of $25,000 is just
greedy."<BR><BR>Walker said that after he was dropped by three of his clients,
he decided to sue Verity and the label's president, distributor and parent
company. "They're scared of anyone who stands up to them, so they want to make
it impossible for me to work," he said. "I have to fight back for both me and
my artists."<BR><BR>To press his agenda, Walker in April helped found the
Gospel Artists Progressive Movement, a group whose stated goal is to educate
musicians about copyright law and artists' rights. But even that group,
illustrating the conflicts in the gospel music ranks, has asked the lawyer to
withdraw while his case is pending, questioning the spiritual valor of his
methods. <BR><BR>"The Bible speaks of Christians not suing one another," said
Rev. Robert Lowe of Mount Moriah AME Church in New York and chairman of the
Gospel Artists Progressive Movement. "This is Jesus' music and it is governed
by the rules of God. Our artists have not gotten our fair share, but the Bible
prefers things are decided at a table rather than in the
courtroom."<BR><BR>The religious criticism is particularly risky for Walker.
Unlike hip-hop, whose artists successfully negotiated with record executives
by founding their own independent labels, the gospel industry has
traditionally valued harmony. A Dallas choir came under criticism in 1997 when
the group signed with Interscope Records, then distributor of Death Row's
Snoop Doggy Dogg. When Kirk Franklin, one of gospel's few platinum-selling
artists, launched his own label, he did so under the aegis of Verity's parent,
Sony BMG.<BR><BR>Some artists say they are uncomfortable with their battles'
becoming public.<BR><BR>"I don't like talking in the open about money," said
Twinkie Clark of the bestselling Clark Sisters. Clark, who appears on WOW
Gospel 2005, was represented by Walker on projects that did not involve
Verity. "I want to concentrate on talking about the Word."<BR><BR>Walker's
critics say change is already happening within the industry. As evidence, they
point to business conferences administered for the last 12 years by Rev. Bobby
Jones, a musician and Black Entertainment Television
personality.<BR><BR>"Bobby Jones is teaching singers how to fight for their
rights and to lobby," said Richard Manson, a Nashville attorney who represents
Jones and other gospel artists. "The WOW albums are exploitation in its purest
form, but the answers lie in better laws instead of
litigation."<BR><BR>Legislators, however, say there's only so much they can
achieve.<BR><BR>"There's no law that will give artists the backbone to weather
a fight with the record companies," said California State Sen. Kevin Murray
(D-Culver City), an artists' rights advocate and former entertainment lawyer.
"Gospel is where rap was 10 years ago. The artists are unsophisticated and
there aren't a lot of high-powered attorneys, so the labels can push tough
negotiators out. The problem is, some lawyers may be tough but not very
competent. It's hard for clients to tell which one they've got."<BR><BR>In the
meantime, Walker is preparing for the religious ire of his peers and gambling
that his lawsuit will win him power within the industry.<BR><BR>"The Book of
Matthew tells us it is OK to sue," Walker said. "What I want is an apology. I
want public admission that I was fighting for my clients and Verity was scared
so they wanted me out of the room. When I get that, you'll see everyone line
up behind me. Then you'll see some real change." </DIV><BR clear=all>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1><!--
st_v=1.1;
//--></SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.2><!--
st_v=1.2;
//--></SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1
src="//st.sageanalyst.net/tag-703.js">
</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript>
if (st_v==1.0) {
var st_uj;
var st_dn = (new Date()).getTime();
var st_rf = escape(document.referrer);
st_uj = "//"+st_dd+"/"+st_dn+"/JS?ci="+st_ci+"&di="+st_di+
"&pg="+st_pg+"&rf="+st_rf+"&jv="+st_v+"&tai="+st_tai+"&ai="+st_ai;
var iXz = new Image();
iXz.src = st_uj;
}
</SCRIPT>
<NOSCRIPT><IMG
src="//st.sageanalyst.net/NS?ci=703&di=d001&pg=&ai=2773574"></NOSCRIPT></FONT></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>_____________________________________________________<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>