Big Ups Diana Hamilton; You'll Reign For A Lifetime - Arnold Asamoah Lauds Gospel Musician

Entertainment Pundit, Arnold Asamoah Baidoo has heaped compliments on gospel musician Diana Hamilton stressing she will reign for a lifetime.

Diana Hamilton, speaking in an interview on Peace FM's Saturday's ''Entertainment Review'', charged her colleague gospel musicians to digitize and monetize their music as the world of entertainment has transitioned from the traditional ways to the digital platforms.

Her comment was in response to statements by gospel singer Ernest Opoku that streaming platforms benefit secular artistes unlike gospel musicians.

Ernest Opoku argued that gospel musicians do not make money from the music streaming outlets.

''The secular artistes benefit a lot from YouTube and other streaming platforms but not gospel musicians. The secular acts get huge monies from there when they upload their songs but the gospel artistes hardly benefit and i am just being real.

"Some of the gospel musicians will say they make money from streaming but trust me it is a lie because i talk to a lot of them. They probably have sponsors who support them.

“Imagine about 800 people buying my cds at GH¢5 in churches, not to talk about my fans, and i was good to go. if i release a song and spend money to shoot a video, pay a sound engineer, and not get close to half of what i put in, then what’s the point? What am i doing with $300 when i spent over $1,000 on that particular song? After uploading on YouTube, i now have to pay DJs and television stations to get the song played. We are not doing well and any gospel musician who will disagree with me probably has a sponsor pushing his or her works," he stated.

But Diana Hamilton expressed dissenting views saying if the gospel musicians do their homework well about the new age, they will reap the benefits thereof.

"Better late than never like they say. It's patience but then also knowing the right roots to channel your energy and also those with the knowledge to help you. God has been gracious and given me people who are hands-on, always reading; management team that are always working behind the scene to make things work. So, those who didn't catch up early, like I said, better late than never. Let's build relationships. These things are based on relationships. A DJ will pick up your song and play not because you paid the person any money but because maybe they like you as a person, maybe the song you're doing is great; maybe the work you're doing is great," she advised gospel musicians.

Evaluating Diana Hamilton's in-depth knowledge about digitization and monetization of music, Arnold was without doubt that she will never lose her relevance in the entertainment industry.

''One thing I like about her is that she also doesn't lose sight of the fact that she's a gospel artiste. So, she embraces the [gospel] business side and still understands she is doing the work of God. She will reign for a long time by the grace of God because this is somebody who is well grounded in the business . . . I keep saying it's show business. Whether you're a gospel artiste or traditional artiste, it's show business. So, embrace the business part of the job and then still reflect the work of God. Big ups to you, Diana; you'll reign for a lifetime," he asserted on the same programme.