The well-known pastor from Abuja, Femi Lazarus, recently disclosed in an internet sermon that gospel artists might charge up to $10,000 USD to play in churches.
The gospel performer, whose identity was kept a secret, read from a document known as a “Rider” in the music industry, which required that they bring an entourage of forty people to the church, all of whom needed to be taken care of.
Details like economy seats for his group and first-class seats for the musicians were included in the document.
In a five-star hotel, the artist insisted on having an executive suite, and his four main male helpers were accommodated in another executive suite.
For the musicians and crew who preferred regional cuisines, the church was required to supply three square meals.
The honorarium, which included a charge of $10,000 USD with a non-refundable 50% paid up ahead and the remaining amount always paid two days prior to the event, was the section of the document that Pastor Femi Lazarus most startling.
These remarks are the most recent in a series of attacks by Pastor Lazarus on gospel musicians who demand payment before playing in churches.
He contends that this behavior is improper and intolerable because it places a value on a gift that God freely bestows and that ought to be used for its intended purpose.
The act of paying a gospel singer to perform in a church, according to Pastor Lazarus, drives the artist to be performative in an attempt to justify the astronomical charge.
He also discussed the honor of performing in church without charging. Some gospel celebrities, like Nathaniel Bassey, who recently disclosed why he doesn’t charge to sing in churches, follow this approach.
Chris Oyakhilome, a well-known Nigerian pastor, has said that the music industry is continuously defrauding the church.
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