The past 12 months have been a landmark year for Tyscot Records, the gospel label established by dentist Leonard Scott and late church organist Craig Tyson in 1976.


Bryant Scott, president and CEO of gospel record label Tyscot, will be profiled in a "Behind the Music" story, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. (Photo by Danese Kenon/The Indianapolis Star) - Danese Kenon / The Star
Bryant Scott -- son of Leonard Scott -- signed mega-church leader Bishop Noel Jones, former R&B vocalist Shirley Murdock and platinum-selling contemporary Christian singer Carman to recording contracts.
Rather than making a hard sell or writing large checks to attract talent, Scott says he approached negotiations from a different direction.
"Listen and you'll learn," Scott says. "Learn what people's desires are. Learn what drives them. Then you can really find out how you can help them."
Scott, 39, began working at Tyscot in 1988, when he estimates the label sold about 50,000 recordings. By the early 1990s, annual unit sales exceeded 1 million, thanks to breakout star John P. Kee.
The label lost money and momentum, however, when a company contracted to place Tyscot recordings in stores filed for bankruptcy in 1993.
"It took about a decade to overcome that setback," says Scott, who maintains label headquarters in an office on the Far Northside. Tyscot employs a staff of 12, but only three work in Indianapolis. Five are based in Atlanta.
"I don't have to be in (cities such as New York and Nashville, Tenn.)," Scott says. "I can pick up my phone and call. The reason most of my employees are in Atlanta is because of the great talent pool there."
The North Central alumnus says radio industry consolidation and whims of big-box retailers create challenges for independent companies.