Gospel Artiste Manager Orville ‘Dajourney’ Williams Calls Out Promoters for Underpaying and Disrespecting Artistes
Gospel artiste manager and producer Orville Dajourney Williams is speaking out against the unfair treatment of artistes in the Caribbean Christian music community.
In a post shared to his Instagram, Williams called on promoters, churches, and organizations across the Caribbean to stop undervaluing the artistes they depend on for the success of their events and to start factoring in appropriate compensation for them.
“Too many of our artistes are being undervalued, underpaid, and outright disrespected by promoters who want to benefit from their gifts and from their calling,” he wrote.
Williams, who manages and works with gospel artistes such as Prince Saj and Marvia Providence, pushed back against the assumption that a performance is simply a performance. Behind a 20-minute set, he explained, is a full band and team to maintain, hours of rehearsal, travel, logistics, and spiritual preparation because artistes must be in the right place spiritually before they can minister to anyone else.
Despite all of that, he said too many artistes are still being asked to perform for exposure, handed unrealistic budgets, and then expected to carry the weight of an entire event with little to no investment on the promoter’s side.
“That can’t be right. It is just unfair and it is not just unfair, but it is unsustainable,” he said.
For Williams, the issue goes beyond a matter of finances but how the church and the wider industry treats the people God is using. He argued that if the Caribbean gospel community is serious about pursuing excellence, the culture around how artistes are compensated must shift.
The reception of the post confirms that Williams is not alone in his view with several gospel entertainers sounding off in the comments in agreement, including DJ Nicholas, Flavia Beswick, and Jodian Pantry.
