Provident Music Distribution announces
the significant signing of Gospo Centric and B-Rite Music to a major
distribution deal. Beginning April 2, all Gospo Centric and B-Rite Music
upcoming and back catalog product will be distributed by Provident Music
Distribution. The first new project to come under this arrangement will be
the April 3 release of the soundtrack to the Fox Searchlight/Fox Pictures
movie Kingdom Come, starring Whoopi Goldberg, L.L. Cool J., Toni Braxton,
and others, and featuring the music of Kirk Franklin, Trin-i-tee 5:7,
Crystal Lewis, etc. There will also be a new project this year from the
multi-platinum selling Kirk Franklin and The Family.
“Provident accounts for nearly 35% of urban and gospel sales in our top
national accounts,” states Don Noes, senior vice president of Provident
Music Distribution. “We are now poised to dominate the marketplace in this
genre with the addition of the phenomenal artistry and marketing expertise
of Gospo Centric and B-Rite.”
The Provident Music Distribution sales team will immediately begin
presenting Gospel Centric product to retailers with order fulfillment to
begin April 2. “We are immediately beefing up our sales resources dedicated
to the specific demands of holding well over half the market share in gospel
music,” emphasized Noes.
“Year 2001 already promises to be the best year yet for Gospo Centric and
B-Rite Music,” noted Vicki Mack Lataillade, president and CEO of Gospo
Centric. “We are thrilled to be able to join with Provident to help meet
our mutual goals of impacting culture with this extraordinary music made up
of gifted artists, songwriters and producers.”
Formed in 1992, Gospo Centric became the No. 1 selling Gospel label in 1996
as reported by Billboard magazine. The following year the burgeoning company
had an astounding sales increase of over 400% and formed B-Rite Music. The
new label’s first release, God’s Property, made its mark as the best selling
Gospel album of all time. The album also spawned the first Gospel video
clip to receive heavy rotation on MTV. By 1998, Gospo Centric and B-Rite
had sold an unprecedented 8 million albums spanning only 20 titles.
As the decade closed, Gospo Centric, B-Rite Music and its artists had
collected 23 honors on Billboard’s 1999 Year End Charts and secured the No.
1 positions for Top Gospel Label, Top Contemporary Christian Artist and Top
Gospel Artist. The companies also placed six titles in the year end Top
Gospel Albums chart, including albums by Walter Hawkins, Trin-i-tee 5:7,
Rev. Jackie McCullough, and the Gospel Gangstaz. Last year, the companies
further saw its artists receive RIAA Double-Platinum certification (Kirk
Franklin’s Nu Nation Project), Gold certification (Trin-i-tee 5:7’s debut),
as well as multiple GRAMMY, Dove, Stellar, NAACP Image, and Soul Train
awards and nominations. In addition to the aforementioned artists, the
Gospo Centric artist roster includes 1NC (One Nation Crew), Tramaine
Hawkins, Woody Rock, Natalie Wilson & The S.O.P. Chorale, Kurt Carr Singers,
McClurkin Project, Gospel Gangstaz, Dorinda Clark Cole, Byron Cage and Ray
Bady.
The first new project from Gospo Centric to be distributed by Provident
Music Distribution will be the Soundtrack to the Fox Searchlight/Fox
Pictures movie Kingdom Come. Releasing April 3, the soundtrack features an
amazing collection of new Urban and Gospel tracks written by Kirk Franklin
and performed by AZ Yet, Tamar Braxton, Deborah Cox, Crystal Lewis, Tamela
Mann, 1NC, Jill Scott, S.O.P. Chorale, Shawn Stockman, Carl Thomas,
Trin-i-tee 5:7, and Natalie Wilson. The Kingdom Come movie will be in
theatres in April and has been adapted for film from the hit stage play,
“Dearly Departed.”
Supporting the soundtrack release, a multi-level marketing strategy has been
put into place and includes an aggressive radio, retail, print advertising,
publicity, and grassroots campaign. An extensive television audience has
also already been introduced to the project. Kirk Franklin & The Nu Nation
performed the project’s “Thank You” on the 16th Annual Stellar Awards, which
was broadcast in over 80 markets. This month further inaugurates the
multi-format radio campaign with radio singles being simultaneously serviced
to Urban, Gospel and Contemporary Christian radio formats.
In addition to the Kingdom Come Soundtrack, as well as backlist titles,
other new projects to be serviced under this agreement this year will be
recordings from Tramaine Hawkins (May 15), Woody Rock (June 5), Dorinda
Clark Cole (June 5), Ray Bady (June 26), and Kirk Franklin & The Family in
late summer 2001.
The current distribution liaison between Gospo Centric/B-Rite Music and Word
Distribution, Gabriel Aviles, will continue to be the distribution liaison
under the new arrangement with Provident Music Distribution. Word
Distribution will fulfill orders through March 30.
For more information, contact Rick Hoganson (615) 459-9870,Hoganson@Prodigy.net; or Jackie Marushka Smith, 615-261-6439,JMarushka@ProvidentMusicGroup.com.
Provident Music Distribution is the distribution arm of Provident Music
Group, which was formed June 1997 by its parent company, the New York-based
Zomba Music. Provident Music Group is the Christian music and publishing
entity of the parent company and also includes Brentwood Records, Diadem
Records, Reunion Records, Essential Records and Brentwood-Benson Publishing.
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