By now, I'm sure most everyone has heard the news of Southern Gospel Music once again having "The Kingsmen." Even though a few of the current members of the quartet came on board during the Carolina Boys days, having Ray Reese and Tim Surrett on board provides the most distinctive link to the - for lack of better words - the "glory days" of the Kingsmen.
But I'm not convinced that all of the "glory days" are behind us. And that holds true for many groups, too. See, no one can change yesterday. But they can work on today and tomorrow. Audiences, despite what some people may want to think, know exactly what they want. And common sense dictates that the groups who give audiences what they want - and have paid for to see and hear - will be the ones that are consistently successful and will have a long and healthy career.
Back in my record company days, (I spent several years with the Eddie Crook Company and the Horizon Music Group), one thing that we had to often battle was one artist trying to "outdo" another artist's record by using slicker production or different musicians and so forth. Sure, the musician in me understands wanting to "do better" but some people never really seemed to catch on that as a rule, artists don't buy other artists' recordings (everybody swaps CDs nowadays) or buy concert tickets to other artists' performances (when are they going to have time to do that anyway?). So, with that thought in mind - who should the recording be geared toward?
The audience.
Once, there was a producer who commented that audiences needed to be educated about what good music is. He was making a good living from the sales of the products he produced for several groups, but once he took that gem of advice to heart and started tinkering with his artists' recordings by musically going off the beaten path, his account didn't quite have the dollars it once had. Groups left, went to other labels, new producers went back to what had worked in the past and - surprise, surprise - sales went back up.
The long and short of it is this: audiences know exactly what they want. They respond in a positive manner by attending events and/or buying product. They respond in a negative manner by not showing up and ignoring the CD on the store shelf.
Many artists have figured this out. There are some who are still searching. And for those who are searching, it's really simple - just watch the audience. They'll let you know.
