Quote of note:

"There's no law that will give artists the backbone to weather a fight with the record companies," said California State Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City), an artists' rights advocate and former entertainment lawyer. "Gospel is where rap was 10 years ago. The artists are unsophisticated and there aren't a lot of high-powered attorneys, so the labels can push tough negotiators out. The problem is, some lawyers may be tough but not very competent. It's hard for clients to tell which one they've got."

Gospel Artists Forced to Ponder Root of All Evil
A lawyer's suit against a Sony BMG record label stirs up questions about money and mission.
By Charles Duhigg
Times Staff Writer

May 2, 2005

Bestselling songwriter and Pentecostal minister David Frazier recalls that two years ago, as he sat with one of the most powerful figures in gospel music, he was told to choose between his lawyer and his God.

Frazier, now 39 and author of more than 15 songs that went gold or platinum, was discussing the forthcoming WOW Gospel 2004 compilation album with executives from Verity Records. Verity's bestselling WOW series transformed the gospel marketplace in 1998 and fueled the genre's growth by offering lesser-known artists a shot at exposure they might otherwise not get on their own.

Frazier's inclusion on previous WOW compilations had enhanced the songwriter's profile and finances thanks to the negotiating prowess of his attorney, James L. Walker Jr., who demanded high-end royalty payments.

But Walker, 36, had also publicly accused Verity executives of using the WOW albums to bully some of his clients and others into exploitative contracts. So in 2003, Frazier said, Verity's president warned him that his songs would be excluded from future WOW albums if Walker was invited to the bargaining table.

"James had gotten me great payments because he was aggressive," said Frazier, who wrote the 2004 gospel hit "I Need You to Survive." "But my first goal is the ministry of Christ. And as my mama said, 'If you aren't heard, you aren't doing God's work.' So I found a new lawyer."

That conversation and others are at the center of a lawsuit filed last month by Walker that has stirred up controversy not only about the money in gospel but also about its mission, revealing the fissures in this small corner of the record business.