On the heels of the 2010 Stellar Award Nominations, thanks to the wondrous works of Internet, social media and web 3.0 applications, various reactions came from all over.

To my surprise however, there were more Jeers than Cheers for the 2010 Stellar Award Nominations. Even rumors about how some artists were left off the ballot due to unethical things being done by their label representatives in the past hindering any chance of their label mates being up for a stellar nod this year.

With all that said, the blogosphere has been looming with reactions– and I hate to slight those who were nominated this year and who have put forth effort to truly deserve to be nominated but I believe its time for standards and transparency in order to give this new age of distribution, the closing of record stores, and the abundance of indie artists and up and comers hope that their work will be rewarded justly. Not to mention the displeasure of that SAT long voting ballot which if you have read my posts in the past– the voting process for the Stellars has so many flaws where people can vote multiple times depending on the computers that they come in contact with.

Well, speaking out is E.J. Gaines, a fellow Gospel Blogger. He has wrote an open letter to SAGMA. I have enclosed it for your reading. If you want to sign his petition, you may do so here.

Open Letter To The Stellar Awards Gospel Music Academy (SAGMA)

And Central City Productions

I believe gospel music to be the greatest genre in the music industry.  More than the excellent musicianship and staggering vocal abilities, the message of the Gospel, often wrapped in a diversity of sounds, is the only message that has the ability to truly transform lives and set its listeners free, eternally.

Twenty-five years ago, Central City Productions (CCP) began the Stellar Awards, acknowledging the value of this genre of music and embarking on a journey that would better the gospel music industry for decades to come.  It is with great pride and gratitude that I applaud Don Jackson and his team at CCP for their commitment to gospel music, the people who create it, and the consumers who are blessed by it.  Understandably, then, it is with a great degree of sadness and frustration that I now pen this letter to express my concerns with the current state of the awards show, specifically as it relates to the voting process.

Immediately following the Stellar Awards press conference on October 29, 2009 in Nashville, TN, the gospel music community witnessed a rather significant outcry from consumers, media, commentators, artists and executives within the gospel industry on numerous social networking websites and new media outlets.  Shocked by the absence of several chart-topping, established artists from the nominees list, and by the presence of several lesser-known artists in some of the overall categories, the gospel community’s voice of dissension rose greater by the hour.

As I am certain you will agree, the value of any awards show is only as great as the perceived legitimacy of its voting process.  At present, the overwhelming sentiment of the gospel music community is that the SAGMA voting process has been compromised and no longer adequately reflects the voice of the gospel industry.  With prayer and thought, I have drafted this letter in hopes of creating a dialogue with SAGMA about how the gospel community can, collectively, ensure that integrity and legitimacy return to the Stellar Awards voting process.

I have pinpointed three key areas of concern, from which a litany of other issues flow—enforcement and accountability, membership criteria and, most recently, the public vote.  I briefly address each of these concerns below:

Enforcement and Accountability

At its core, I believe the issue to be one of enforcement and accountability.  SAGMA should enforce the rules it has in place and the gospel music community should be able to determine whether those rules are, in fact, being enforced.  Though I am a dues-paying member of SAGMA, I do not possess a copy of any governing by-laws for the organization, nor do I know that such by-laws even exist.  The gospel community has no way of ensuring that the SAGMA Executive Board follows protocol, as we have not been made privy to what the protocol is.  As a result, various decisions have been made for which we can trace neither the origin nor intent.

For example, for each of the past three years, the eligibility dates, by which an album must have been released in order to be considered for an award, has shifted for reasons not fully explained to the community. Months are skewed and deadlines extended but, in the end, the validity of the award is diminished in the sight of the public.  The official website of the Stellar Awards states that a “confidential Nominating committee” ensures that eligibility criteria are met, but such a committee is of no effect if the eligibility criteria remain fluid and erratic.

Similarly, the website states that entries must be “charting on the Billboard or Nielsen Sound Scan charts” in order to be included on the first ballot.  If I were to audit the first ballot, which was made available to public voting, and compare the first-round nominees with the Billboard charts of that eligibility period, I am not convinced that each nominee would be listed.

Finally, I am absolutely certain that, this year, the first-round ballot was changed in the middle of the voting period to add an artist who was not originally on the list of first-round nominees.  No official statement was made by SAGMA about the addition of that artist’s name whatsoever—the gospel music community was expected to simply accept it and proceed accordingly.

Within SAGMA, decisions appear to be made unilaterally and behind closed doors.  The gospel music community is given information on a need-to-know basis, if at all.  While I can respect the notion that this process requires a certain degree of confidentiality, I believe that greater transparency is still necessary.  It is essential to the integrity of the organization.

Membership Criteria

According to the official website of the Stellar Awards, CCP formed the Stellar Awards Gospel Music Academy (SAGMA) to serve as the “official Stellar Awards voting body aimed at industry professionals.”  The website further states that, to acknowledge the numerous supporters of gospel music “who are not actively working in the industry,” a second level of membership was added to SAGMA—that of an Associate Member.

As it presently stands, any individual who desires to participate in the Stellar Awards voting process may do so after simply completing an application, which we assume has been reviewed by someone, and paying the annual membership fee of $85.  In fact, and perhaps in response to the national economic crisis, SAGMA boasted a “2-for-1” discount this year, such that two individuals were able to join the voting body for the price of one.

Though the SAGMA membership application designates that one must join either as an “industry professional” or as a “non-industry professional,” the criteria for what constitutes an “industry professional” seems unreasonably broad, allowing applicants to either select an industry role from among the roles listed, or to simply write-in a role, and submit a biography.

I believe that the integrity of SAGMA requires that voting members have their finger on the pulse of what has been driving the gospel music industry that year.  To discourage the tendency to turn an awards show into a popularity contest, it is essential that the voting body of SAGMA be comprised of professionals who work in this industry, not merely anyone who submits a membership payment that year.

I take note of the requirements of the voting bodies of other awards shows, such as the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), which is responsible for the GRAMMY Awards.  In order to be a voting member of NARAS, one must have “creative or technical credit on a minimum of six tracks” on albums that have been “commercially released in the United States.”  Further, qualifying albums must have been sold on a non-consignment basis, such that a retailer must have purchased the albums in advance of individual sales.  If an album is only sold on Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, or similar websites, it does not qualify.

Clearly, because of the intricacies of our industry, SAGMA cannot adopt such a strict policy.  A great amount of albums released in the gospel music industry do not receive such broad distribution, and are often sold on a consignment basis.  Still, the NARAS requirements have merit and should at least be considered in restructuring the eligibility requirements of a “voting member” of SAGMA.

Also unique to our genre and industry is a consideration of the type of voting designation that should be extended to members of choirs and ensembles.  Perhaps a membership distinction of some sort should be made between a signed recording artist in our industry, and a person whose name is merely added to unverifiable liner notes as a member of a large mass choir, for example.  It seems unlikely that the two share equal footing in terms of expertise, leaving me to wonder whether they should share equal voting rights.  The current “pay-to-vote” structure strips SAGMA of its legitimacy in the public view.

The Public Vote

This year, the industry saw SAGMA undertake a positive and noteworthy initiative—allowing the public to participate in the Stellar Awards voting process.  I believe, however, that the weight of the public’s participation should have been tempered in some way.  Other awards shows have created special awards, such as “People’s Choice Awards” or “Fan Favorite” awards.  Similarly, some awards shows allow the members’ votes to carry greater weight than the internet votes of the public (i.e., in a 2:1 ratio).

In either case—by creating a special award or by weighing the votes accordingly—the governing bodies of other awards shows have successfully acknowledged the voice of consumers while resting on the expertise of industry professionals.  In so doing, the voting bodies have maintained the integrity of the voting process.  I believe this to be a viable option for SAGMA and the Stellar Awards.

I am not asking that SAGMA and CCP amend the current list of nominees or in any way change its plans for the upcoming awards program.  Despite rumblings on the internet about consumers who plan to boycott the upcoming awards show and future shows, I have no intention of doing so.  Instead, I am eager to celebrate the past 25 years of gospel music with CCP and SAGMA.

I respectfully urge you, however, to take these concerns into consideration for the upcoming year.  I believe I can speak for the gospel music community in requesting an opportunity for continued dialogue and a review and/or revising of the current SAGMA structure and operating procedures.  At the very least, I look forward to a public statement in response to the above-noted concerns.  Please be careful to not merely dismiss this letter as a shallow complaint.  I believe that the concerns in this letter represent the concerns of the full spectrum of the gospel music community.

It is vital that the gospel music community believes in the integrity of the SAGMA voting process.  It would be tragic to see the Stellar Awards, now in their 25^th year, begin to flounder, as the designations of “Stellar Award winner” and “Stellar Award nominee” come to carry no significance in our marketplace.

Sincerely,

EJ Gaines

Editor, GospelPundit.com