To charge or not to charge before making an appearance at the event has been the greatest dilemma of gospel musicians. Thus, musicians who have boldly stood for charging before performing in churches have been labelled as unholy for obvious reasons.
Many Ghanaians biblically believe and hold onto the principle that gospel musicians are basically workers of the ‘Vineyard’ headed by Jesus Christ as compared to their counterparts in other music genres, therefore, their reward is in the hands of the Ultimate Reality – God.
But from all indications, gospel musician Joyce Blessing has boldly joined the brave gospel musicians who ascribe to fee-paying before honouring church invitations. To her, there’s no way she’ll step foot at a church to perform if she has not been paid.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Gye Nyame 94.5 FM’s “Flash Zone” programme hosted by Nana Akuoko, the “Unbreakable” singer stated emphatically that if an event organiser can’t afford to pay her, she’s not the only artiste in Ghana! So, the organiser can look for a different gospel artiste who’ll charge less.
“Yes!, we’re doing God’s work but without money, the ministry can’t function. We can’t exclude money from our work. So, if the event organiser can’t afford my appearance fee, there are uncountable number of gospel musicians in Ghana”, Joyce Blessing said.
She added that gospel musicians especially herself need money badly to push God’s work. That’s why it’s laudable for them to charge for performing because everything about the ministry is money.