With limited opportunities available for Christian/gospel artists on mainstream TV, Gaither Music Group is tackling the challenge by launching a 24-hour channel on satellite operator Dish Network, Billboard has learned.
The new network will launch to Dish’s 14 million subscribers on Sept. 16 and is already being pitched to other cable and satellite operators for wider coverage across the United States.
While the bulk of the content will be Gaither Music’s own, the launch of a dedicated Christian network with a focus on music is expected to give the wider genre a boost with renewed interest from other Christian media businesses in the cable network format.
“We talked about it for years, and now is the first time we can take that step forward,” Gaither Music Group VP Paul Sizelove says. “It’s taken 20 years to build enough content.”
Like other genres, the Christian market has faced difficulty, particularly with the falloff in CD sales. During the first half of 2013, sales were 9.5 million (according to Nielsen SoundScan), down 11% compared with midyear 2012, yet Christian/gospel is still the healthiest niche market. Christian/gospel albums so far in 2013 have outsold dance/electronic and jazz albums combined.
Though it’s hard to measure the impact of one-off performances on late-night TV, securing a reality show or, in Gaither’s case, launching an entire channel devoted exclusively to its product should boost sales and help lift the genre overall. Time will tell just how much, but with Mary Mary’s catalog sales jumping more than 300% after the launch of the duo’s reality show on the WE TV cable network (according to Mary Mary’s former manager, Mitchell Solarek of Maximum Artist), other companies are seeking opportunities.
Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and Gospel Music Hall of Fame member Bill Gaither founded Gaither Music Group. The 77-year-old artist/entrepreneur still performs with the Gaither Vocal Band and has built a multifaceted business that includes Spring Hill Music Group, Homecoming magazine and the chart-topping “Homecoming” CD/DVDs series.
The first “Homecoming” video was shot in 1991 when a group of Southern gospel veterans gathered around a piano after a recording session to sing and swap stories. The impromptu session was taped and became an unexpected hit. Gaither continued to produce a series of multi-artist concert CD/DVDs. Gaither Music has sold more than 40 million albums to date.
“TV has been the best way to communicate to a larger audience,” Gaither says. “We found out the audience really likes what we do.”
In two decades’ time, Gaither has built a successful brand and been proactive in getting his product in front of TV viewers, but for most Christian/gospel artists getting TV time is a struggle. BET has long been an exception. “Bobby Jones Gospel” has aired on the network since 1980 and is its longest-running show. BET also airs “Sunday Best,” a talent competition hosted by Kirk Franklin, and “The Sheards,” a reality show featuring Karen Clark Sheard and her family.
“The doors are opening wider for Christian/gospel artists to get on mainstream TV,” Gospel Music Assn. executive director Jackie Patillo says. “Mary Mary was one of the first gospel artists to get their own reality show on WE TV. Amy Grant, Kirk Franklin and Mandisa have been featured on several shows. TobyMac did ‘The View’ and For King and Country performed on [“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”] to name a few.”