The Artists Music Guild was a dba company of the International Academy of Music Arts and Sciences, Inc., until April 2014 when it incorporated into a non-profit corporation. The company opened its doors on January 1, 2010. The corporation is an entertainment and artists relation firm. Its primary goal is to mentor and protect artists from predatory industry practices.

History

The Guild began as a safe haven for artists who had been taken advantage of in the arts community. Its focus was to place several corporations and business leaders into a position of power within the Guild so that artists would not have to leave the protection of its umbrella. In April 2014 the Guild became an independent non-profit corporation and was no longer under the umbrella of its parent IAMAS Corporation. In May 2015, the Guild announced its partnership with the City of Monroe, North Carolina and the Monroe Crossing Mall to open offices into the mall. The Guild was charged with the duties of bringing in arts programs into the mall at various times of the year. The Guild also coordinated an art gallery inside of the mall which displays art work from artists throughout the country and the City of Monroe. The first program presented by the Guild was a concert by country music star

Terri Gibbs Teresa Fay Gibbs (born June 15, 1954) is an American country music artist who is blind. Between 1980 and 2017, she has recorded eleven studio albums, including four for MCA Records and one for Warner Bros. Records. She also charted 13 singles ...

and the Union County Youth Ballet.

Leadership

The Guild has two working boards. The first board is the "Executive board of directors." These are the CEO's of the Guild and owners of various other corporations. Their function is to oversee and make corporate decisions that effect the growth of the Guild as well as its visibility and expansion. The second board is the "board of directors." It is this board that works closely with the artists and service providers to ensure the mission of the Guild is being met.

Executive board of directors

The leadership of the Guild starts with Christian recording star,

David L Cook David L. Cook (born November 11, 1968) is an American Christian country music singer, songwriter and comedian. Born to Donnell and June (née Mercer) Cook, David is the oldest of six children. He has written more than 2,500 songs and has won ...

. Beginning his career at the age of five with his family

The Cook Family Singers The Cook Family Singers were originally formed in 1885 by David J Cook and his wife Martha, who hailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They had six children, and on Sunday afternoons after church they would pass time by perfecting their singing ...

, Cook spent most of his time onstage as a child. Cook partnered with Chris Nowels the president of IHN Productions, Inc., in

Midlothian, Texas Midlothian is a city in northwest Ellis County, Texas, United States. The city is southwest of Dallas. It is the hub for the cement industry in North Texas, as it is the home to three separate cement production facilities, as well as a steel mill ...

. Nowels and Cook had worked on various projects together. Most notably the two won an Emmy Award in 2011 for their work on the documentary, "''The Award Goes To: A Look Back at the Legends''" Elddy Trevino, owner of Loco Sound, Inc., in Monroe, NC was added to the board and serves as a service provider and director of convention audio for the Guild's annual conventions. Forrest Ward, the CEO and president of US Success Centers in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas was added as an executive board member and serves as an artist educator and career builder. Jason Howell, an SQL supervisor at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

was added to the executive board and serves as electronic media and marketing. Howell maintains the Guild's websites and builds artist member websites. Philip Irish, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida was added as legal adviser to the executive board. Irish is an attorney but does not represent the Guild in court actions. His role is simply to advise the Guild and to resolve disputes.

Board of directors

The Guild's board of directors work hands on with established artists while mentoring up and coming artists. They educate artists on industry pitfalls and how to protect themselves against predatory practices. Each board member must agree to be a mentor to maintain their board position.

Artistic board of directors

The Guild's Artistic board of directors work on voting and convention activities. This also includes the AMG Heritage Awards broadcast.

Gayla Earlene Gayla Earlene (born January 31, 1954, in Inola, Oklahoma), is a Christian country music recording artist and musician. Biography Earlene began her professional career at the age of 16 as a singer/songwriter. In 1971, she met and married fellow ...

served as the first ''Artistic Board Review Leader.'' The leaders main responsibility is to identify and chooses the twenty five anonymous final judges for the last stages of awards voting procedures. It is also their responsibility to certify and confirm all nominations before moving the ballots to the membership for final voting.

Mentoring

One of the Guild's primary focus' is on education. Members of the Guild must agree to be a mentor to achieve and maintain their Guild membership. Once a member, they are required to help in the education sector of the public school systems. Professional artists are asked to go into the classrooms to teach various skill sets such as vocal, stage presence, breathing or industry practices. The Guild works in tandem with school boards across the country to ensure teachers have continued curriculum that otherwise might be beyond their affordability. In 2012, Terry Webster was added to the Guild's board of directors as the "President of Education and Programming." Webster is responsible for setting up programs within the public school systems as well as during the Guild's convention and awards shows. Many professional artists lend their talents to the continuing curriculum to be taught in the classroom.

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

serves as the Guild's spokesperson and front man who makes public appearances into the classrooms in an effort to excite young people about the arts and a possible career opportunities. In an effort to ensure each school child has a proper start the Guild provides book bags and school supplies to all children attending their conventions and awards broadcast. They also provide schools with various instruments and equipment that the schools may need but do not have the financial means to procure.

Heritage Awards

The Guild created the Heritage Awards as an outlet to allow all forms of arts and entertainment to be recognized by their peers. The Heritage Awards are held every year on the second weekend in November and formerly took place at the historic

Heritage USA Heritage USA was an American Christian-themed water park, theme park and residential complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina, built by televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye Bakker, founders of ''The PTL Club''. The park, which occupie ...

. The 2014 awards broadcast was moved to Monroe, North Carolina, due to the loss of the Heritage USA Studio property by its former owners. The AMG Heritage Awards presents twenty-five awards to artists in various categories. Despite the term ''music'' in the company's title, it umbrellas all forms of artistic expression.

2011 Heritage convention

The 2011 convention was held on November 10, 2011. The members of the Guild participated in the filming of a documentary entitled, "The History of Music in the United States." It was a complete look and depiction of the origins of various forms of music and how they were pivotal to the growth of the music movement throughout the United States.

2012 Heritage awards

The 2012 convention and awards were held on November 8, 2012. The host for the evening was Christian comedian Trina Jeffrie.

2013 Heritage awards

The 2013 convention and awards were held on November 9, 2013, and hosted by music legend

. Participants for the awards broadcast included, Lynn Anderson,

Betty Jean Robinson Betty Jean Robinson (born Betty Jean Rhodes; June 17, 1933 – November 25, 2021) was an American Country music, country and Christian music singer and songwriter. Biography Rhodes was born in Hyden, Kentucky, Hyden, Kentucky, on the foothill ...

Dino Kartsonakis Dino Kartsonakis (born July 20, 1942) is an American pianist of Greek heritage. He is known for his arrangements of religious music for the piano. Biography Dino was born in New York City and attended Glad Tidings Tabernacle. He began playing ...

and the Dixie Melody Boys. The first official worldwide broadcast of the AMG Heritage Awards was aired on January 28, 2014, on The Dish Network to an audience of over 14 million homes.

2014 Heritage awards

The 2014 convention and awards were held on November 15, 2014, and hosted by country music star

Billy Gilman William Wendell Gilman III (born May 24, 1988) is an American singer. Starting as a young country artist, he is known for his debut single " One Voice", a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and a top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country ...

and

Mallory Lewis Mallory Hurwitz Lewis (née Tarcher; born July 8, 1962) is an American writer, television producer, ventriloquist, and puppeteer. Lamb Chop is a sock puppet created by Lewis' mother, Shari Lewis. Early life Mallory Lewis was born as Mallory T ...

and

Lamb Chop (puppet) Lamb Chop is a sock puppet anthropomorphic sheep created by the late puppeteer and ventriloquist Shari Lewis. The character, a female lamb, first appeared during Lewis' guest appearance on ''Captain Kangaroo'' in March 1956 and later appeared o ...

. The show was moved from its home in

Fort Mill, SC Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. Some businesses and resid ...

to Monroe, NC and sponsored by the City of Monroe. Participants in the 2014 show included, Gloria Gaynor,

Dee Dee Sharp Dee Dee Sharp (born Dione LaRue; September 9, 1945, in Philadelphia) is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961. Career Although Sharp had been playing the piano from an early age and directed chur ...

, Shirley Caesar. Christy Sutherland,

David Meece David Meece (born May 26, 1952) is an American contemporary Christian musician who enjoyed success in the mid-1980s, and into the early 2010s, with more than thirty Top 10 hits including several No. 1 songs. In November 2012, Meece was given a ...

and

. Other guests included YouTube stars Sam and Nia, Kat Williams and Dennis Reed and GAP which were finalists on America's Got Talent.

2015 Heritage awards

The 2015 convention and awards were held on November 14, 2015, and hosted by

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Bucky Covington William Joel "Bucky" Covington III (born November 8, 1977) is an American country music singer. He placed eighth on the 5th season of the Fox Network's talent competition series ''American Idol''. In December 2006, he signed a recording contract ...

. The show took place at the AG Convention Center in Monroe, NC and was sponsored by the City of Monroe. Participants for the 2015 show include,

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosali ...

Billy Paul Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was a Grammy Award-winning American soul singer, known for his 1972 No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones", as well as the 1973 album and single '' War of the Go ...

Melanie Safka Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her compositi ...

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

, Christy Sutherland, Kat Williams,

and Mike Manuel. NC Secretary of State,

Elaine Marshall Elaine Folk Marshall (born November 18, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to be elected to statewide offic ...

was also in attendance. The show aired in its entirety on February 20, 2015, on the

Sky Angel Sky Angel was a U.S. operator of Christian television networks; it operated three channels, Angel One, Angel Two, and KTV, all of which were exclusive to Dish Network. The company's corporate headquarters were located in Naples, Florida. The co ...

Network.

2016 Heritage awards

The 2016 convention and awards were held November 12, 2016 and hosted by television star

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit " Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He appeared on Broadway in the musicals '' Two Gentlemen of Vero ...

and

Freda Payne Freda Charcilia Payne (born September 19, 1942Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944.) is an American singer and actress. Payne is best ...

. The show took place at the AG Convention center in Monroe as in years past. Participants for the 2016 show include

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Gene Chandler Gene Chandler (born Eugene Drake Dixon; July 6, 1937) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful son ...

The Orlons The Orlons are an American R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1960. The group won gold discs for three of their singles. Career The quartet consisted of lead singer Rosetta Hightower (June 23, 1944 – August 2, 2014), Sh ...

Peggy March Peggy March (born Margaret Annemarie Battavio, March 8, 1948) is an American pop singer. In the United States, she is primarily known for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him". Although she is sometimes remembered as a one-hit wond ...

, Mayor

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and Christy Sutherland. The Heritage Awards are set to air on January 29, 2017, on the

Network.

2017 Heritage Awards

The 2017 convention and awards were held November 11, 2017 and hosted by music dignitaries

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series '' Solid Go ...

and

Billy Davis Jr. Billy Davis Jr. (born June 26, 1938) is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", " Your Love", ...

The show took place at its stationary AG Convention Center in Monroe. Participants for the show were

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...

The Tymes The Tymes are an American soul vocal group who enjoyed equal success in the United Kingdom and in their homeland. They are one of the few acts to have one and only one chart-topper in both the US and UK with different songs. Early career The ...

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, record executive and bandleader, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for S ...

, David L. Cook, pianist, Jonathan Helms and

. The show is to be aired February 11, 2018 on the

Network.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.artistsmusicguild.com
IAMAS Corporation

AMG Heritage Awards

Loco Sound

Jason Howell
American companies established in 2004 Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina Companies based in Tennessee 2004 establishments in Tennessee American television awards Education companies established in 2004