The Issues with Christian Music – The Christian Music Industry Part One
A brief overview of the series taken from my second post:
In this blog series my goal is to explore some of the issues that many people in American Christendom seem to have with Christian music these days. It is in no way meant to be a fully exhaustive commentary on the recording industry or state of corporate worship in American churches. My goal is simply to use my experiences in both the Nashville recording industry and church world to shed some light on a few of the more common topics. Since this is a series, I strongly encourage you to start with the first post in the series and catch up as each post builds on the arguments of those that precede it. As always, my prayer is that in discussing our differing opinions we can be brought to a deeper place of unity as described in John 17:23.
The Christian Music Industry
In preparation for this post I read Michael Gungor’s recent blog post in which he discusses his self-described angry rant that went viral. The original controversial post was written a couple of years ago, but is still alive and well in the complex world of social media. A number of my friends on Facebook have been reposting it recently. I encourage anyone who has read the original piece to read his recent answer to it as well. It is full of humility and a deeper understanding of a Christian musician’s role in the universe. That said, I do actually believe that Michael Gungor touched on some relevant subjects in the original rant. I do not necessarily agree with all of them, but I say that they are relevant because I see many people agreeing with him or simply ranting along the same lines.
At the core of the post and other such rants is the idea that the “Christian” music industry has “sold out.” Instead of pursuing life changing ministry, art, or whatever is perceived to be lacking, it is after what will make it the most money. The same has been said about all forms of the “Christian” entertainment and publishing industry. The product that it is putting out is overly simple, bland, and otherwise uninventive. Again, these are the words of the rants not my own. Before you read this post, you would be best served to read my previous two posts on the Sacred vs. Secular and Hymns vs. Contemporary Worship debates. They lay the groundwork for these final two posts in the series. In addition, I recommend that you read my post from a couple weeks ago that looks at what I believe to be a new critical spirit that is quickly replacing whatever used to be the American spirit. It also, speaks to this particularly issue.
What is “Christian” music?
Without rehashing my entire post that launched this series, I feel it is worth once again asking the question, “How do we define Christian music?” This is incredibly important because a misunderstanding of this label greatly skews this subject. As I have already stated, I do not believe that we can arbitrarily define a song or album as “sacred” or “secular”. That said, there is still, most definitely, something called the Christian Music Industry.
Christian Music, or as it is sometimes labeled “Contemporary Christian Music” (CCM) is a specific music genre with record labels and distribution channels. When I read rants about the “Christian Music Industry” I find that the authors of said rants tend to blur the lines between the music created by Christians and the very specific musical genre of CCM. This genre also has very close cousins in Gospel and Southern Gospel. Though these are related, they are not necessarily linked no matter what iTunes does to try to lump them together. There is also another emerging genre in some circles called “Worship Music” though in the radio and even sometimes record label world it is often lumped in with CCM.
When discussing (or ranting about) the “Christian Music Industry” it is important to understand exactly what you are ranting about. Too often, we Americans are guilty of making broad generalizations and engaging in passionate arguments without actually taking the time to fully understand the things we seem so passionate about. Ask most non-Americans and they will agree. It is, unfortunately, one of our defining characteristics. In this post I will do my best to clearly articulate when I am referring to the specific genre of CCM (and/or its close cousins) and music created by Christians.
Is the Christian Music Industry all about money?
If you are referring to the recording industry in which a record label is investing sometimes large sums of money into an artist or a band in order to produce a recording that will be distributed to a vast number of retail outlets and pushed to radio stations, then the answer is most definitely “yes.” Let that sink in. The industry behind every artist from TobyMac to MercyMe, from Chris Tomlin to Matthew West exists to make a profit. From my experiences in the Nashville music industry, I have never encountered a record label that was a true non-profit. Though some use a portion of their profits to further the Kingdom of God in very tangible ways, labels like the one backing Matthew West are not investing in his music out of the kindness in their hearts. If you put aside any personal bias and think about it logically, why is it at all wrong for this to be the case? America was not built on the concept of people throwing their hard-earned money and expertise around for free with the goal of “bettering society.” We are a capitalist society. Consumerism is what makes the American economic machine run.
I recently released a full-length instrumental Christmas album independently (i.e. no record label backing). I played every instrument on the album, composed or arranged every piece myself, recorded it in my personal project studio, and paid for the production of the physical discs and distribution myself. If you factor in what I would have paid if I would have contracted the musicians, recording engineers, recording studio, and various other aspects of the complex chain of individuals required for a major album release, the cost of my album would have been in the tens of thousands if not more. All told, I was able to complete the project for less than five hundred dollars out of pocket, but it cost me hundreds and hundreds of man-hours. Now, the reason I bring this up is to illustrate that no recording project, no matter how innovative, simple, or complex is going to cost a lot of money to make the journey from music artist to consumer. If a company with financial backing is going to finance this journey, it is completely within the realm of reason for them to do everything in their power to recoup their investment and hopefully turn a profit. Again, isn’t that the American way?
Closing
Unfortunately, I have run out of space on this post and will have to continue this discussion in another. Take the time in between posts to ask yourself these questions: What is Christian music? Why does this world need it (if at all)? We will continue this discussion by looking at the role of ministry in the Christian Music Industry and the common complaint that all “Christian” music sounds the same.
Benjamin was born in Rockford, IL. He’s a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, a musician, an author, a speaker, a son of God, a lover of all things Chicago sports, a pizza consumption virtuoso, an intellectual, and a self-proclaimed comedian (yet to be confirmed). All these things, simple as they may be, make up the person that he has grown to be. He graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, TN with a BA degree in Commercial Music with an emphasis in Guitar Performance. He has toured the country with multiple Christian bands, leading numerous congregations, camps, and conferences in worshipping our Lord. In 2006 he became the worship pastor at a church in the Chicago suburbs. He and his wife and son now reside in Central Indiana where he is a full time musician, author, and speaker. You can visit his personal website and blog at www.BenjaminJDenen.com