The Zimbabwe Gospel Hub ZINGOMA is calling all gospel musicians to attend the Gospel Musicians Seminar which will be held on the 28th of October 2017 at Courtney Hotel, Harare free of charge.
Running under the theme “Uniting for a common cause”, the seminar seeks to address some of the challenges which are being faced by various gospel musicians in the country today. Music distribution, marketing, quality music production, and organizing successful gospel music shows are among other topics that will be well covered.
In a press release note the organisation wrote;
‘A number of changes have occurred over the years that have greatly affected quality music production. Whilst the emergency of many studios is a welcome development, quality music production has also suffered with it. The seminar will tackle these issues advising artists on how to produce quality music, selecting producers, assembling music groups and music arrangement.Another predicament facing gospel musicians is revenue to sustain their work and livelihood. In the past artists’ main sources of revenue have been music sales, shows and to a lesser extend royalties from air play. However, music piracy and technological developments have greatly affected music sales. The seminar will address alternative channels of music distribution and sales, so that artists salvage something from their efforts.Furthermore, the Gospel Musicians Seminar will help artists with ways to market their music. This will address all issues from product packaging, pricing and promotion. It will also look at how social media and the web at large can be used to market artists’ music.The second main source of income for gospel musicians, live shows is also collapsing. The music is no longer on demand on the live entertainment circuit. Day in day out poorly organised shows are evidenced, attendance is dwindling each day. We are witnessing flops after flops. This has resulted in less gospel music concerts and festivals. Whilst other socio-economic factors are also impacting on gospel music shows, poor show management and promotion is the chief factor. The presentation on, organizing successful gospel shows will provide solutions to these challenges.’
There will also be short presentations or words of encouragement from key stakeholders in the music chain like radio stations, print media, television, music promoters, video producers and promoters.
ZINGOMA Gospel Hub’s objectives among other issues include creating a platform for gospel artists to network and exchange ideas; facilitate, support and accelerate the development of a financially viable and sustainable music industry; and promoting and packaging Zimbabwe gospel music for the global market.
