What Australia Can Learn from America’s Gospel Touring Scene | Featuring Anais Campbell

In this discussion on OzInDi Live & Exclusive, JD, Baz, and N Campbell explore a fascinating example of how music can function as a sustainable industry — the thriving gospel music touring scene in the United States.Across America, gospel artists regularly tour churches, theatres, and community venues, creating a professional circuit where talented musicians can travel the country performing and earning a living from their craft. It’s not just about the performers either — the ecosystem supports sound engineers, managers, graphic designers, promoters, and production crews, creating a full creative economy around the genre.The conversation raises a bigger question for Australia: why doesn’t a similar touring infrastructure exist here?JD points out that Australia often struggles to sustain even mainstream touring circuits, let alone specialised music communities like gospel. With fewer venues, longer travel distances, and a smaller population, the challenge of building sustainable touring pathways for musicians remains a major hurdle.But the American gospel scene offers an interesting model — one where community, culture, and organised touring networks allow creatives to treat music as a real profession rather than just a passion project.So could Australia learn something from this approach?JD, Baz, and Anais Campbell unpack whether the gospel touring model demonstrates how strong communities and structured touring networks can create sustainable careers in music — not just for artists, but for everyone working behind the scenes in the creative industry.