How Not to Promote on Facebook
How Not to Promote on Facebook…
This is quite a short post.
I get this on a fairly frequent basis, so I thought I’d point out a few things:
1. Always introduce yourself: this was the very first time I’d heard of this person.
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The Essential UK Gospel Tracklist – March 2012
Happy New Year! First ‘Essential’ post of 2012. Sorry it took so long.
The short version: through the ‘Essential UK Gospel Tracklist’ series I’ll point you in the direction of UK gospel tracks I think are worth further exploration. Read the full background here.
In the meantime, the music for 2012 is looking rather good. Here – in no particular order – are a few you definitely need to check out.
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Why I Can’t (and Sometimes Won’t) Play Your Music On Radio
Funny old thing, radio…
Before I started presenting the Gospel Breakfast Show on Premier Gospel, my relationship with – and impression of – radio was probably similar to yours.
I understood its existence and how potentially pervasive it could be, but – if I’m going to be honest (due in no small part to the fact I’ve been a digital publisher for years) – I was almost snobbish and largely ignorant about just how powerful it really is.
New E Tizz album ‘What I Gotta Say’ – out February 7th on iTunes
If some of the music I’m hearing (both new and imminent releases) is anything to go by, then it’s pretty safe to say 2012 has already kicked into high gear!
E Tizz’s ‘What I Gotta Say’ is an absolutely sterling example.
The bar is set quite high with this one: ‘the Doctor’, Grammy-nominated GP of DVine Muzic Productions is again at the helm of affairs, and the overall audio styling of this project presses his sound into something strangely different yet familiar at the same time.
Time for one of those pretentious new genre names, methinks: Electro-Synth Hip-hop, anyone..?
The new album is released on February 7th and available for download on iTunes.
It consists 13 tracks, featuring UK and US artists: Jahaziel and Tru2DaName (who – along with E-Tizz also go under the name Forerunnaz), Guvna B, G.P. himself and Ricardo ‘Rocstarr’ Williams.
US guests include vocalist Jai, and one of my favourite US rappers, KJ-52.
This is a very, very good project. Check out Henry Yanney‘s on full review on UKGospel.com. In his words: ‘there’s a lot of gems on here…’
Meantime check out the lead single, “Clap Clap” featuring Jai:
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Why Your Media Contact Doesn’t Respond To Your Tweets
I start with a disclaimer: the title is somewhat disingenuous, as this is less about what every media person thinks, and more about me just venting about my pet Twitter peeves.
Now that you know the truth, feel free to close the browser down.
For everyone else, here’s how the story goes:
UKGShop.com: ‘How many of my CDs have you sold…?’
I used to get asked this a lot.
It was one of the reasons why I set up the ‘What’s Selling’ page on UKGShop.com.
It’s a fair question, but one that probably needs more space than I can give it here.
So, if you’re an artist looking to submit your music and need an idea of how well your CDs can sell, here are some good tips for you: Read the rest of this entry »
Mark Of The Beast – 101: One way to prepare the world…
Wednesday evening. April. Tired…
Preparing the world for the mark…?
Me: biiiig fan of Dr Who. And science fiction generally.
Last Sunday was the beginning of the new series. Lots of hype, new assistant for the Doctor (Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones. Pretty Black girl in high-profile role. Cool.)
Anyway, main reason for this entry: classic example of how to prepare the world for not resisting the mark of the beast Read the rest of this entry »
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Random: Sold down the river – with our own boat…?
Originally published on UKGPresents.com – October 2007
This was the most-replied blog post on UKGPresents.com back in 2007
‘Gospel Gathering’ – and some WORRY
This can still have a happy ending….
So the November 2007 SonyBMG event ‘Gospel Gathering‘ has been and gone.
It’s been a huge triumph for gospel music in the UK, which is still so deep underground it’s somewhat hidden even from those of us within it…
However, I worry.
Sell me the steak. Not the sizzle
So we went to the BET presentation on 5th Feb 2009.
We were there to hear what BET and Glen Yearwood, (apparently the person responsible for BET happening in the UK), ably supported by one of our industry’s media veterans, Roy Francis, had to say.
On the plus side, the omens are good: Read the rest of this entry »
Random: will the last person out please switch off the lights…
Went to the free Digital Music Training seminar organised by the fantastic Roney Henderson of 03 Media.
It was, in a word, brilliant.
It was led by Toby and Juan from Music Ally (who really knew their stuff), and the cross section of invited guests covered the range of the Christian music scene: publishers, managers, company owners and media heads like me…
As it was an introductory course it covered the basics:
- ‘What is’, ‘how to’, ‘what works’ and ‘what others have done using these same tools’.
Much of it I was already familiar with, but there was some tremendously useful stuff for me to pick up and use (I’m now importing my blogs into my Facebook profile as a direct result of the course, for example!)
Anyway, moving on. The title probably suggests this is a rant, so I might as well get to the point:
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Random: Do your friend a favour: Hit them hard…
I spend a significant part of my week outside the UK gospel scene’s self-contained bubble: Media Guardian for news, and BBC 1Xtra for radio (I rarely miss Ras Kwame and Twin B‘s 100% UK shows).
I also indulge my old-school Reggae interest by trying to catch up with David Rodigan on KISS as often as I can.
So what’s this got to do with UK gospel music…? Read the rest of this entry »
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Top 5 Tips: Writing a decent bio
I think I’ve tapped into a collective nerve with my last few notes on Facebook.
You guys have been great! Thanks for the comments, links, references and feedback so far.
The idea behind these notes is to share some of the info that will energise whatever it is you’re up to as a promoter, photographer, DJ, artist, designer, whatever… Read the rest of this entry »
News: Book on British Black Gospel: crash and burn – or eagles’ wings…?
Just took delivery of this book ‘British Black Gospel‘ a few of days ago.
It’s written by Steve Alexander Smith, a guy I know is majorly into his UK gospel history with a passion – and then some.
At first glance (I haven’t read all the way through it yet) the book traces the history of British gospel music and its impact on social, demographic and even parts of popular UK culture, taking in the history from the late 1800s to contemporary times.
It’s subtitled ‘The foundations of this vibrant UK sound’, so – quite naturally – it focuses more on events of the past in the runup to our contemporary times, with extensively researched and presented information, anecdotes and images.
This is history that is significant and hugely wide-ranging, taking in elements of American Historical events, slavery, the Caribbean Windrush generation and the emergence of the African influence.
It’s really good to see someone try to put those potentially disparate strands together in one volume. I don’t feel sufficiently qualified to comment on how well Steve achieved that, but I find it a hugely welcome addition to charting the history of the UK gospel scene.
Crash and Burn
As you’ll no doubt have noticed by now I feel this book deserves more than my usual brief news blog entry.
I desperately hope it gets the attention and support it deserves from the demographic that inspired it, in addition to it becoming a useful guide for anyone else interested in the scene and its rich history…
But I fear it might crash and burn within the Black Christian community.
Let me explain. Read the rest of this entry »
Mark Of The Beast: Endgame Theory
Mark Of The Beast: Endgame Theory
I’m always wary about the default doomsday scenario panic mode that some Christians go into when looking things to do with the sign(s) of the end times.
You might have seen it before: the often generalised, doom-laden statements: ‘the world is coming to an end NOW!!! Pray, Pray, Pray!!’
Or: XYZ (insert current high profile mainstream personality here) is a Freemason who in turn is of the Illuminati who in turn are going to bring the entire planet into slavery and then hand us ALL over to Satan!!!!!!!!! ‘Pray Pray pray!!’ Read the rest of this entry »
Audio: Breaking into the industry
Breaking into the mainstream music industry
I don’t know how long this BBC 1Xtra Audio documentary is going to be up, but it’s well worth you taking 20 minutes out of your life to listen to it if you’re serious about your music.
It features Mpho, Sluggz, KMD and Boyson – all at different stages of their music career…
So, my BIG ANNOUNCEMENT is…
Thanks to Dayo from Quadosh for the GREAT picture.
If you’re my friend on Facebook or following me on Twitter, then you know I’ve been dropping these rather unsubtle hints about my BIG Announcement for the past few weeks.
Well, here it is:
Starting tomorrow, 1st February 2010, I’ll be co- presenting a new radio show on a new radio station in London!
All those cryptic messages about ‘going off to training’, ‘waking up early’ and ‘being extremely nervous’ all boil down to this: Read the rest of this entry »
Download: Eddie Kadi on the Gospel Breakfast Show on Premier Gospel
I met Eddie Kadi for the very first time on this audio you’ll hear. I can’t believe how quickly we hit it off.
He came in to the show I co-host with Nage, to talk about his one-man show at London’s 20,000-seater 02 Arena in London. She was away, so it was just Eddie and I. I hadn’t laughed that much live on air for quite a while… 
Download the MP3 by clicking on the down arrow in the player, and click on picture to go to Eddie’s site
Guvna B Gospel Cypher Freestyle (video)
Easily one of the best things I have seen in months.
I’ll let the video do the talking:
LINKS
Video: Faith Child ‘Just Pose’
Very catchy, great little song of affirmation from the forever-cheeky, London-based Faith Child.
Proof positive once again (as if you really needed it) that you don’t need a huge budget to create something memorable and effective…
‘Just Pose’ is taken from Faith Child’s excellent debut album, IllumiNATION.
And yes, that is Micheala The Poet you can hear on the song as well…
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Roucheon – Never Gone (video)
This is the second Royal Priesthood video I’m posting in as many hours.
Smooflow’s got the mellow RnB/Hip-Hop flavoured groove down to a fine art, and – as per usual – Roucheon finds interesting ways to deliver a soulful melody.
If you’re a Royal Priesthood fan you’re gonna love it, and if you aren’t, this is a great introdution to the group.
New Blog Series: ‘Top 5 Things To Do Before…’
New Blog Series: ‘Top 5 Things To Do…’
Like many of the good ideas we all have from time to time, this came to me out of the blue.
Exciting
I’m privileged to work in what I consider to be one of most exciting emerging gospel music industries on the planet: the UK gospel scene. Read the rest of this entry »
Music update – ‘The Essential UK Gospel Tracklist’
The UKGospel.com Essential UK Gospel Tracklist – March 2011
2011: third month in, and things have been off to a cracking start right here in the UK.
I can barely keep up with the pace of new music announcements. Under many other circumstances, that could be a bad thing. In this case, it’s the rather delicious, delightful opposite.
If you’re after up-to-the-second news updates, links and reports then you have to follow me on Twitter.
That’s where I publish all the hot news as soon as I get it – long before it makes the main site or this blog (that is if it even ever gets here…)
On With the Music
Anyway, main reason for writing this: I’m putting – in one place – some of the serious musical stuff that you need to be checking out. I’ll be updating this post a lot so check back often.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in Read the rest of this entry »
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16 Tweets to start your radio (and media) career…
Funny how things turn out…
If you’d told me just over a year ago that I’d be on radio presenting a breakfast show on one of the most recognisable Christian radio and media brands in the country I’d have laughed in your face.
After I’d slapped you for being ridiculous. Read the rest of this entry »
The Essential UK Gospel Tracklist – April 2011
The UKGospel.com Essential UK Gospel Tracklist – April 2011
2011: April. The good music keeps coming.
Last updated: 21st April 2011
Month four already, and if the response to this new series of ‘Essential UK Gospel’ blog posts is anything to go by, then it looks like we’re all on to a good thing.
If you missed the first one, here’s March 2011′s Essential UK Gospel Tracklist’.
Meantime, let’s get straight into it. As usual, I’ll be updating this throughout April, and the tracks are presented in no particular order. Read the rest of this entry »
UK Artist Makes US Dove History
Lola Godheld image by StarlightImagery.co.uk
Last week was a good one for UK gospel, not least because on the 20th of April, 2011, London-based Lola Godheld made history by becoming the first Black British solo artist to win a Dove Award.
She was awarded the Urban Recorded Song of the Year for her song ‘Wait On The Lord’, taken from the excellent UK gospel compilation album ‘The British Are Coming’. Read the rest of this entry »
Official music leak: Jahaziel is ‘Broken’
If you have even the flimsiest of connections to the UK gospel scene then you probably know that ‘Still Livin”, Jahaziel’s new mixtape, is due out next week.
In the meantime, there had been rumours of an official pre-release ‘leak’ from his camp recently, and the rumours finally became fact overnight when I woke up to ‘Broken’ (featuring Roccstar) in my inbox this morning. Read the rest of this entry »
Want some *awesome* UK Gospel Music..? Start here!
The recent holiday season was amazing.
If you were shrewd enough in your planning, you might even have been one of those people with an 11-day holiday stretch. I’m not jealous.
No, really… I’m not.
Over the same period we’ve been plied with some great new music, so I’ve been a very happy bunny.
Here’s a quick round-up of the music you definitely need in your life. If you went away you certainly missed the release of an amazing selection of strong music.
There’s still time to get them, though: Read the rest of this entry »
Top 5 Things that will Make The Media Work For You (part 1)
Back in January 2011 I promised you a ‘Top 5′ series, offering advice, tools, tips, hints and more.
Well, here’s the first: ‘Top 5 Things to Make The Media Work For You (Part 1)’.
It’s a ‘part 1′ because I suspect that of all the Top 5s I’ll be doing, this will the most ‘living’ one – many of the tips will be based on real-life strategies and experiences I’ve seen work both for me and other people.
So, without further ado, let’s get on with it:
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The Essential UK Gospel Tracklist – June 2011
It’ll be pretty obvious to anyone who cares to look that we’re in the middle of an amazing run of great new music in the UK at the moment
And that’s helped in no small part both by the mixtape culture of giving away free music, and the seemingly dwindling resistance to Christian artists writing songs to mainstream instrumental tracks. Read the rest of this entry »
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More Top Tips to Make The Media Work for You
Keen for Others to Succeed
One summer’s evening in July 2011 I logged on to Twitter just in time to catch a rant so passionate it reminded me of the fact that – aside from the very natural evangelical thrust of our calling – many of us in the UK gospel scene (particularly non-performers – publishers, event organisers, photographers, media bods and the like) do what we do because we’re keen to see other people succeed.
Which brings me to the guy you see below: Matt Brooks.
Four Kornerz return with ‘Dynamite’
Fresh off the back of a surprise but nevertheless deserved MOBO 2011 nomination, Four Kornerz return to the scene with yet another solid track, ‘Dynamite’.
Produced by in-house producer SCSI (pronounced ‘Scuzzi’), ‘Dynamite’ boasts the new signature Four Kornerz Electro/Pop sound – fans would have already spotted the new musical direction from their previous release ‘Superstar’.
The Best 2011 UK Gospel Tracks You Probably Never Heard
(Picture: FreshFiber.com - Red iPhone 4 case)
Last Updated: 26 December 2011
I know we die-hard fans say this pretty much every year, but: 2011 was awesome for UK gospel music.
However, you don’t need a batch of rocket scientists to tell you that the very same thing considered the greatest asset of a predominantly independent scene – it’s very independence – is also usually its primary weakness.
Creativity in Major Vacuum
Somewhat ironically, that’s also a good thing because creative variety thrives in the selfsame vacuum created by the lack of major music companies promoting whatever they consider to be the latest music trend to bring in the big bucks – which in turn spawns countless bland clones looking to hit the big time.
The upshot is a scene that’s as varied as it has potential to be interesting, although there’s no getting away from the fact that it also makes some of the really good stuff hard to find.
Hopefully that’s where I come in.
