The gospel music industry is set to welcome new talent next month in Jackson, Mississippi. The Malaco Artists Retreat and Showcase (M.A.R.S.) will be held next month and will feature a singing competition, a television show(on The Word Network) as well as a retreat for current industry members and hopefuls.
The Malaco Artists Retreat & Showcase is a national singing & performance competition developed to give unsigned artists an opportunity to showcase their talents, win prize money, receive a recording contract with one of the Malaco Music Group family of labels and perform on the national television show.
Malaco records' more famous gospel division rose to dominance with the purchase of Savoy's gospel division and inherited a slwe of gospel hitmakers. From that time(1986) on,the name Malaco was synonymous with artists like The Rev. James Cleveland, The Mississippi Mass Choir, The Georgia Mass Choir, The Rev. F.C. Barnes, Dorothy Norwood, The Rev. James Evans,Keith Pringle,Wille Neal Johnson,Dottie Peoples and The Rev. Clay Evans to name a few.
Malaco also won notoriety for its other sides: jazz and R&B. Award winning acts like Johnny Taylor, Bobby Blue Bland, and Shirley Brown were Malaco recording artists. The likes of jazz pioneers Dizzy Gillespie and the incomparable Duke Ellington even scored recordings with Malaco.
With the changing industry; Malaco has become somewhat an afterthought with gospel music’s departure from the recording mass choir, but this “MARS” is sure to re-energize and resuscitate one of gospel music’s recording giants!
Artists and choirs from all over are invited to attend the event. Industry heavyweights and executives will be on hand to share their expertise in a panel to apprise attendees of methods of success in the current gospel recording industry.
Experts scheduled to appear will discuss a wide range and variety of topics. The preliminary list include: Gospel Radio, Marketing, Radio Promotions, Public Relations, Distribution, Booking & Management, Concert Promotion, Studio Production, Songwriting, Publishing and Copyrights.
If you or someone you know are interested in attending this event, you can register here.For artists interested in participating in the showcase,you can register for both the showcase and the seminar here.
The showcase date is Saturday, February 16,2012 at the Stronger Hope Baptist Church in Jackson,Mississippi. The address is 23 Beasley Road Jackson,Mississippi 39206
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