Comments on: SN Fan Awards on Saturday night

By: PassTheCornbread

PassTheCornbread — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:03:40 +0000

Another reason for doing it is to keep the bigger groups there all week, make them be there Saturday instead of home or another concert. That way they get the most for the discount flats they pay.

By: BL

BL — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:44:05 +0000

OK # 15, I have a question for you. Why do you feel that the artists should sacrifice time with their families just so they can meet you? I understand that we as fans keep the artists on the road and that without fans singers have no one to sing to, but does buying their product and going to hear them sing give us a right to tell them to be at their booths at all times just so that we might meet them and shake their hand? I think not. Consider this, you probably watch movies and if not you certainly watch TV at some point. Surely you have a favorite actor or actress. But has it ever crossed your mind to complain because they haven’t taken time out of their schedules to meet you? Probably not. I just think that sometimes the fans expect to much out of SG artists. They’re already the most accessible artists out of all genres, what more do you want?

By: Payton

Payton — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 06:25:22 +0000

Ok Dad……

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:59:55 +0000

Well Payton, Ben Harris has a group called “Southern Sound” which is an excellent group that sings the traditional style quartet music with a fresh sound. Since a great number of “Southern Gospel” seem to want to be more “contemporary” his group was VERY popular at NQC recently. And since Ben has been in the SG “Industry” for many years, and on a variety of SG message boards, many folks know who Ben is…don’t get “testy” because you don’t. lol

By: Payton

Payton — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:54:55 +0000

Shoot, works for me. I think it’s a smart move. This year will be the first year I’ve ever attended NQC but I won’t be there the first part of the week so I will get to see the Fan Awards now. I think it will work for a lot of people.

Who is Ben Harris? Who is this group he’s referring to? He acts like we should know.

By: Ben Harris

Ben Harris — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:46:17 +0000

To Thinker:

Who decides who is best in SG? And for leaving momma and the kids at home…..SG should be about family. True this is a business, but it is a business that is very much ministry minded too. And too, when your group is out singing main stage or showcase, someone needs to be taking care of the booth space that you paid for. It is expensive, and yes we do budget for the event, but that does not keep the actuall cost from being a thorn in the side. What we get paid to be on the main stage does not cover the costs. That said, our sales, especially this past year, were awesome and we actually left the event well in the black. I am looking forward to 2008 already. NQC and Grand Ole Gospel are the highlights of our year.

By: Wayne Kerr

Wayne Kerr — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:15:19 +0000

Ok…fuzzy logic at it’s best says that a group has to leave the most attended two nights of NQC because they have to have the money. If you can’t afford to be there….STAY HOME! I am assuming that they must pay for the booth for Friday and Saturday Evenings in advance. What sense does it make to pay for the space and then not use it? Wasted money in my opinion.

Do these groups really NEED to bring every living relative to NQC and feed, house, and bathe them all week long? Make momma and the young uns stay home. More wasted money.

Why can’t the groups park their buses at a campground? They have shower and restroom facilities at most of them these days. Hook the bus up for the week and actually spend time at your booth. I see far too many booths that are manned by “whodats” during NQC. Fans don’t travel hundreds of miles to “whodats”, they want to see their favorite artists.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:38:12 +0000

Hey! Don’t dog on that “crappy” food in the exhibit hall. I happen to like the many choices, and it all tastes pretty good (except for the buffalo burgers - tasted like grubworm burgers). You clearly haven’t gone to a county fair in CA.

By: wackythinker

wackythinker — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:41:01 +0000

I wouldn’t dispute that it’s costly. It’s costly for the fans, too. But if you want to do business, you do exactly what you did — budget. Let’s face it, if you can’t afford to be there, you can’t afford to be there. That’s the bottom line. Either you do it, or you don’t.

I’m in a business that attends trade shows several times a year. Sometimes they pay for themselves immediately, but usually we attend more for the P.R. value. But we pay to be there the entire run, because we feel we need to be there. Many times, we feel we could make more money leaving early and making sales call from the home office. But we make the business decision to be there, and we stick with it.

Sometimes we have to look at the bigger picture, and decide whether, in the long run, is it better to stay the extra day or to go get an extra check? If Billy Bob and the ThornTones have fans that expect to see them at the world’s biggest s/g event, and BB&TT have schlepped out to do a gig in East Yibbip, has that extra hororarium covered both the extra diesel fuel and the ill will?

And has it hurt the overall cause of NQC, which we all say we dearly love? We all seem to bemoan the fact that attendance is down, and Saturday night needs to be pumped up.

I especially think top-tier groups, who have members on the NQC board, should be setting a more loyal example. I realize NQC may have waited too long to start cracking down, and they may not be able to step on board memebers’ toes, but it is a point to consider.

By: thinker

thinker — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:58:34 +0000

Yes, it is expensive to do NQC for a week. But, I think you should keep it that way and let the Entire Week be a Showcase of THE BEST that SG has to offer. The TOP groups should be there for the entire week.

I know, I know, I’ve heard all the arguments for giving the “new” groups a break and making a stage available for them too. But honestly, these regional showcases are horrible for the most part.

Pack the nightly programs with only the TOP Groups - raise the rent on the booth spaces to weed out all the starry-eyed flat singing local groups - and make the Entire week into one big star studded event.

Bring Gaither back, bring the Isaacs back, bring in ehssq, and make it THE SG event of the year - every year - and watch attendance go up!

By: dkd

dkd — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:34:46 +0000

We were always there from opening day to Sat. night close up time. Singing on the big stage and on a couple of Industry Showcases, we alway’s budgeted very carefully, and usually came out ok, but my point was/is that it is VERY costly for any group to stay for the entire week.

By: wackythinker

wackythinker — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:34:18 +0000

dkd: You’re right, it’s expensive. But you’re wrong, it’s a part of doing business. Any business (most any industry) who does trade shows has to budget all the costs — meals, lodging, salaries, et al. Even in the craft show/flea market business, there are shows that require the exhibitor be there through the end. That’s a part of being in the business.

And maybe a side benefit of “fining” for early departure would be the weeding out of the lowest tier of exhibitors.

Maybe not everyone needs to exhibit. If it’s not profitable for you, don’t go. If it is, let it be profitable for the ENTIRE week.

And if everyone were required to stay through the end the fans would be the ones to decide whose booth they visit the last night, not the artists. Or maybe the fans are smart enough to make that decision?

By: dkd

dkd — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:57:45 +0000

Former DJ #8, obviously you have never had to pay for a both at NQC, pay for a group of 4 or 5 people to stay in a hotel,meals, and the weekly paychecks for said group. After you rent the requisite furniture and change your both so it is fresh each year, then make sure you have a new project out to promote it is VERY expensive..budget smudget!

By: FormerDJ

FormerDJ — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:27:13 +0000

I’m tired of hearing the “we have to leave to get a paying date to cover the cost of NQC” excuse. Have any of these groups heard of a budget? You know you are going to spend a week in Louisville. Budget accordingly. Your fans have to do that. If I want to go to NQC for a week, I better have some money in the bank before I leave. Stop using the cop out and stick around for the people who actually buy your music and request your songs.

By: Ben Harris

Ben Harris — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:30:20 +0000

Wacky, I don’t disagree with you. However, believing that everyone will be happy with the changes is wishful thinking. We have had many fans speak their mind, in no uncertain terms about who they thought were actually southern gospel and who were not. When a large segment of our collective fan base gets so disenchanted with the music of SG, that they drift away, it weakens our genre. This has happened many times over the last several decades and each time, we are not replacing those who left with new fans that the “stretched” music brings in. Somewhere down the line we must stop the bleeding, and I believe the only way to do that is to give the fans the music they ask for. Terry Blackwood and I had a similar discussion not too long ago. I told him at the time that he has so much musical ability that he many times sings right over the peoples heads. He agreed. It is a fine line to walk…..how to keep the members of your group challenged and not leave your audience behind. Now, I unlike one of the other commentators above, have heard many songs sang at NQC that I thought were well out ofthe genre of Southern Gospel Music.