Gospel artistes urged to pursue opportunities

Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon congratulated awardees at the Gospel Music Awards, praised Trinidad and Tobago’s abundant talent, and encouraged the pursuit of greater commercialisation opportunities within the gospel music sector.

She was speaking at the seventh annual Gospel Music Awards of TT (GMATT) at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts on July 7.

Referencing the 2024 Global Music Report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Gopee-Scoon explained revenue from the global recorded music industry was expected to rise exponentially from US$28.6 billion (2023) to approximately US$53.2 billion by 2030, a media release said.

In addition, she noted Christian music has become one of the fastest-growing genres internationally, presenting significant opportunities for local artistes.

In part for this reason, “The Government has identified music as a targeted industry to advance the country’s diversification agenda. Accordingly, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, through MusicTT, has supported the music industry through dedicated programmes and incentives, with many gospel artistes benefiting," the release said.

“Since the launch of the Live Music District Programme in 2018 to 2024, over 330 gospel music performances were financially supported. Additionally, 21 artistes (of whom) six were gospel artistes, benefited from the Music Business Development Grant Facility during the period 2022-2024,” Gopee-Scoon said in the release .

While encouraging the artistes to pursue greater commercialisation opportunities, Gopee-Scoon offered a few recommendations:

Register for an International Standard Recording Code

Seek sync licence opportunities

Pursue collaborations with fellow artistes, local and foreign;

Genre-crossing and blended genres: Consider the fact that listeners are choosing music based on their emotions rather than sticking to strict genre preferences.

Embrace and use short-form videos and their related platforms: TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube. TikTok remains a powerhouse for gospel music, with over two billion active users and Instagram Reels have become a harmonious space for gospel artistes, while YouTube shorts have helped diversify the content available to gospel enthusiasts.

(A noteworthy example is gospel reggae singer Sherwin Gardner whose latest song Find Me Here, released only in January, has received 1.8 billion e-views on TikTok, making him the first black gospel artiste to achieve over one billion e-views on the platform.) the release said.

The minister also advised artistes to harness the power of artificial intelligence technologies to grow the industry.

Gopee-Scoon said: “In scripture, seven often symbolises completion or perfection. This is indeed a remarkable accomplishment and I congratulate Mr Ian Haywood and the Celian Group on achieving this milestone. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, through MusicTT, has been supporting this event over the years and is pleased to continue our partnership with Celian Group,” the minister said.