Four teenage males accused Bishop Eddie Long of sexual misconduct. Artist, actors, and politicians have held the Bishop to high standards, and his 25,000-member church located in Atlanta has also put him on a pedestal. Harlem Gospel Choir had legal issues in 2006. Kirk Franklin also had legal issues in the late 1990s during a revolution in the gospel industry. Bishop Eddie Long, The Harlem Gospel Choir, and Kirk Franklin all had recent court issues.
Bishop Long has been a mogul to the gospel industry for years. His current legal issue has brought some devastation to the gospel market. Long left room for the press and people to criticize the gospel market. Long enter mediation with the four young men last year, and now they have finally reached a settlement. This hurts new gospel artist trying to establish because of the bad press. The Harlem Gospel Choir has face different legal issues.
Organizers of a Harlem Gospel Choir concert sold more tickets than the venue could hold. This led to a problem of people wanting their money back, and they stood outside the venue only able to hear a distorted sound. This would be a potential lawsuit for any venue if tickets were oversold. Other great gospel names have had legal issues.
Kirk Franklin had legal issues in 1998 with his album “Gods Property.” Some artist who actually performed on the project felt they didn’t receive proper royalties after album sold well. “The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Franklin induced God's Property founder Linda Searight into signing an "onerous and one-sided" contract with B-Rite Music.”
In Conclusion, legal issues were and still are present in the gospel industry. Many legal issues have played a significant role in the gospel music industry. Bishop Eddie Long, The Gospel Harlem Choir, and Kirk Franklin has given artist reason to consider the legal liabilities of the industry.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/eddie-long-lawsuit-close-to-being-resolved-says-judge-49980/
http://www.abcprague.com/2006/10/27/harlem-gospel-choir-will-perform-in-prague
"God's Property sues Kirk Franklin". Jet Magazine. 1998-11-02,. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n23_v94/ai_21256447/
