Panam Percy Paul, a well-known gospel singer, has disclosed that he declined a substantial record deal in 1995 that held the potential to significantly alter the trajectory of his musical career
In a recent conversation with Nigerian Pastor Emmanuel Iren, Paul recounted the details of the offer, which involved a three-year contract valued at £24 million. At the time, this sum was roughly equivalent to N7 billion.
However, the singer revealed that the lucrative deal was contingent upon conditions that directly contradicted his deeply held Christian beliefs.
Specifically, Paul stated that the record label requested he minimize the frequency with which he mentioned the name “Jesus” in his songs.
read:https://naijanewswatch.com/gtco-makes-huge-profit/
Furthermore, the record label executive suggested that he employ alternative terms, such as “Righteous One” or “Greatest Lover,” as substitutes for the name “Jesus.”
Paul expressed his shock at the request, stating, “1995, I was at the peak of ministry, and success in the industry, I was offered 24 million pounds for a three-year contract. 1995, 24 million pounds was equivalent to 7 billion naira.
The catch was ‘can you reduce the number of times you call the name Jesus in your songs?’. And there is more where this came from. and one of them said to me, ‘you actually don’t need to mention the name Jesus. You can call him other names like Righteous one, Greatest Lover.’ I was shocked, so I told them, you can keep the money, while I keep the name.”
Paul also reflected on the evolution of the music ministry, observing that it has increasingly become a music industry, where commercial considerations often dictate artistic choices.
He further elaborated on this point, stating, “Today, the extreme is that music ministry has now become music industry. Where the industry now dictates to the ministers what to do, how to sing and when to sing. For example, it was the marketers in Alaba that encouraged the musicians to add tongues to their songs.”
