. . why is this website necessary for such a private man? Well, I am being ‘called’ to teach others what I know of the divine and holy nature of music, of praise and worship, of the musical prowess, integrity, ethics, and honesty required of a worship leader and the worship team, and help the younger generation of songwriters have the opportunity to publish their works.
. . . allow me to explain.
Throughout my career, I have never received more than 15% of the net income acquired by a publisher for the sale of my works. I have never had first right of refusal for performances, for altered arrangements, for licensing. I have never been able to restore my rights to a work I signed over to a publisher. And, in too many cases, I have not been paid royalties for the works I have written. So, in essence, I have spilled countless hours of talent and effort in the creation of the works you hear, and lost every right of intellectual property copyright provides me, in theory, under the law.
Over the past five years, I have been seeking a solution––one that gives individual musicians the opportunity to publish music with a company that is “creator-friendly.” In other words, rather than focusing on the sole idea of creating a profitable publishing company, why not create a company whose primary goal is to give emerging musicians the chance to bring their ideas to the market by means of a small independent company that serves the artist first? And, given many of the large publishing companies maintain a money-centric approach with little regard to the goals and interests of their newest artists, why not be committed to publishing a quality product that is often overlooked by the larger companies in the publishing world? Give creative opportunities to artists that were ‘waiting to be discovered?’ And, why not provide artists the opportunity to a low-risk publishing house, giving musicians a higher percentage of profits, alongside a unique no-risk termination clause––one that indefinitely allows artists to recapture and retain their publishing rights should they choose to leave the publisher, with proper notice of course?
. . . the means to the goal requires I develop my brand before your eyes––a brand I have intentionally kept in darkness for the sake of my sanity. So, I move forward in my career by sharing my private musical endeavors with you, the general public, with the hope that––as I attend premieres, teach clinics, and guest conduct various ensembles, artists who are blessed with a musical calling will have a place to publish their works for the public to enjoy.
I’ll share more about my vision in the days and weeks ahead. For now, let me focus on composing and arranging a few new, faith-based works for you to enjoy.
Keep checking back!