[This post is part of a new series on “The Christian Musician“. Check out the rest of the posts here.]
Christian music is dying.
More and more artists are fleeing all associations with the label to pursue a more honest form of art.
Is this a healthy transition or are we becoming too artistic in a way that’s destroying our souls?
Derek Webb says nothing should be labeled Christian other than an individual.
Gungor is fed up with the industry and the Christian subculture, in general.
As more and more artists explore what is possible outside the Christian label, what is the future of CCM as we know it?
The Power of Christian Music
My mother loves Christian music. To her, it’s a standard of what is safe to listen to in the home. I know many other parents and families share her sentiment.
Many lovers of Christian music appreciate it because it focuses their heart on God. Secular radio reminds them of their dark days of living in sin.
Their favorite band is Casting Crowns.
And I think that’s beautiful – beautiful that music is out there that is maybe less “artistic” and more message-centric. I believe that’s a healthy spiritual growth tool for a lot of people.
Are You Fed Up With CCM?
On the other side of the equation are those who are fed up with Christian music.
They’re seeking to return to art for art’s sake.
They want to move beyond the breathy tenor vocal, chimey U2 delay, predictable themes, and song structure.
Their influences are Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros, Arcade Fire, and dare I say Kanye West?
They’ve moved beyond U2 and Coldplay. Too many people have caught onto it.
They long for something more. They don’t dislike Jesus as much as they dislike the subculture Christian music has become.
We’ve already discussed the future of worship music, but what about Christian music in general?
Questions. Concerns.
So let’s chat. What do you think the future holds for Christian music? Who is “right” and who is “wrong”? Are we on the right track? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Hey David…I am of the mind that the industry side of all music is in trouble. With advancements in recording, you can do most if not all of an album by yourself. I loved christian music back in it’s rock days. I thought that a lot of that music was as good as what was being played on the rock stations. I see music kind of like the modern church. If churches are not making some changes to keep up with the culture changes, then they will slowly fade away.
Artists will always struggle with industry. It’s the nature of the beast. However, I wonder if the christian music industry is not facing the same struggle to change. Artists are stepping away because they feel bound by the tradition of the music industry. They are trying to separate themselves from all of it. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Perhaps, christian music has an unbelievable opportunity to rise to the occasion and create new companies that reach out to many folks through music.
I like your outlook, Jeff. Do you think Christian music is rising to the occasion or has it not happened yet?
Man! Love this! I really dont like Christian radio. Its the same 5 songs over and over. Same singers… Same chord structure… Same voice… I love Gungor. JMM. Why must we put a limit on creativity. Dont get me wrong, I will forever love Hillsong. They were the first band I listened to when I got saved. But theres so much more out there!
Brittany, I think we put a limit on creativity in order to reach the masses. A certain radio friendliness appeals to your grandmother, your mom, and your dog. I think we’re afraid to take creative risk because it doesn’t appeal to mass…it appeals to a smaller niche. As Seth Godin would say, we need to get weird.
I hate fear. Its so… stupid. I cant wait for the day that we take back all of music. We cant advance in the state that we are in…
I read the blog from gungor…let me digest it and get back to you…
My family and friends have been talking alot about this…
not just in Christian Music…but also in the “Christian” Lifestyle that has been “created” for youth and others…
This lifestyle that “HIDES” are real self of failurs and mistakes…but just put on a happy face…don’t associate with non-believers…(unless you will bring them to church and convert the hell out of them)…if you make a mistake….SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!! DON’T TELL ANYONE…JUST PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS AND ALL IS WELL….MOVE ON…(And by mistake, i mean have a drink of beer, smoke, hang out with friends from school, go play pool at the pool hall to watch the game…)
HIDE IT!
IT’S SAD…
why can’t we write HONEST worship songs…
like…
God I really don’t feel like worshiping you. This life is freaking hard…but here I am….DO WHAT YOU WILL OF ME…
still thinking…..
I agree. Christian music can’t deny the struggle of real life. But it also can’t just stay there. It guess it needs to lead to the hope of Christ. I think this is where it can start sounding fake.
I’m interested in your Casting Crowns comment, both as an generalized example of what most CCM fans like and also as a lead in to a statement about bands not being “artistic.”
Logically, it would follow that you don’t find Casting Crowns (or the like) as artistic. It might help us who read your blog to know how one comes to that distinction. What does somebody mean when they say one group of musicians is less “artistic” than the another one?
I’m not a fan of Casting Crowns, so I see where you’re coming from, but a post on how you specifically distinguish artistic expression might be cool for us to read. What leads you to think Casting Crowns isn’t artistic but Gungor is?
I don’t think the goal of Casting Crowns is to take creative risks and be different. They are trying to communicate Christian truth through song. That’s their main goal. So their creativity will be limited and I think that’s fine for them. It obviously works. Gungor seems to breaking stereotypes of what “Christian” music can do. It’s more of a focus on creative expression than simply the message, if that makes sense.
K-luv drives me up a wall . It sounds like the same song over and over. CCM puts itself in a small box stylistically. Cant say thats different than other genres. Make a blues pandora channel and see if anybody in last 50 years is playing anything different. If they are someone is saying “thats not blues”. Seems to me CCM has always been about copying the current secular trend so its just like secular music, but lags a couple of years, or in the case of U2 / delirious / hillsong – 30 years. Hey if something works, stick with it I guess.
I am intrigued by what one person and a computer can do with pro-tools, and then put it on itunes. I have a couple of friends who do amazing things this way. The opportunity to be more creative is there but I’m not trying to make a living at it. That puts it in a whole new realm. How many sales do you need to consider it a success? For a church? For an individual? If a church is producing CDs what are the goals and how do you measure the success or failure of the endeavor? In the old days the worship team was the pastor’s wife playing organ (real old school!) – that is easier and less expensive, but how would you measure the success or failure of that endeavor? How did we get from there to here and where are we going?
Great questions, Ron. I think I might do a separate post on church recordings. We’re in the middle of one now and I’d love to get the opinions of this community.
Pastor Dave,
Since I’ve joined APC, I’ve enjoyed all the music our church has provided. David Crowder, Jeremy Camp, Keri Jobe, Chris Tomlin, etc. They have become household music names. I listen to mostly K-love (98.3) in my car now, with the occasional country music splurge (being that kenny chesney is a favorite). I find myself listening to christian music more and more, and I hope that the industry for modern christian music continues and grows.
I came from a church where all we sank was classical songs from an old book of classical lutheran songs, and I found it hard to relate to, or find comfort in. Our church has provided songs, and artists worth listening to as well as our own church based band, and they have certainly touched my heart, as well as my families.
I hope christian music grows along with Gods will and word, since it has certainly touched and moved me within this past year. However… its hard to come by, Gods people and his word, the christian view of life has certainly become misconstrued through the general medias outlook on how things should be according to pop culture and popular ideals. I suppose all we can do as christians is pray, spread the word, and continue to progress in music and Gods word and will for our lives, and others who have been lead off course.
Jackie, I love your heart. Your comment gives me hope that there is a unique purpose for Christian music. Though it may not be as creative or innovatie, it has its place in encouraging and equipping others in their walk with Christ. Thanks for sharing!
David:
The Christian music industry is CUTTHROAT. Sad, but true. Ya’ll probably know that already, but it bears saying again.
Partially, I don’t blame the music labels. Christian music, afterall, a business. You have to pay artists, agents, corporate, janitors, etc. etc. etc. and with the price of music going down down down it is a difficult business indeed – just like publishing.
My thought is that the future is in small indy labels and self publishing. With the internet and technology, there is no reason for it. With a wider market, more artists that can arrange and produce how they want, I think it will be an exciting new time for Christian music in general. Yay!
On a side note – David – I want to thank you for sending your authenticity and excellence article to me. I used it as a reference and linked up to it at my new article over at worshipministry.com – you can see it here.
http://www.worshipministry.com/leading-worship/leading-worship-creative-conflict-authenticity-and-excellence/
Thank you and be blessed!
Sarah Wooten
Thanks for linking to the article, Sarah!
I personally don’t enjoy listening to a lot of Christian music. Worship albums are all that I really enjoy anymore.
Artists like Casting Crowns drive me nuts and most Christian radio stations are on my “do not play” list. I appreciate some of the out-of-the-box creativity of groups like Gungor, but I don’t know if Christian music needs “fixing.”
It’s great for a certain niche – the people that love it will always enjoy it, and the people that don’t will never like it. As long as there’s secular music, there will be sacred music as an alternative for people that want it.
Dave, I am sorry I missed this one when it was fresh. I have so many thoughts, my head is spinning. I can tell this is going to be another long one. To start with, let me mention a book that has caused me to re-evaluate my experience in Church Music. I haven’t seen it in any of your recommended book lists. “Selling Worship” by Pete Ward. The main theme is “How what we sing has changed the Church”. I have been involved in Church Music since about age 14, and I have a degree in guitar performance. Being a guitar player, I have always had an interest in some rock music, and many other kinds of music as well.
Being a born-again Christian, I had to draw lines as to what to listen to and what to participate in. At times that was not an easy decision, but it was basically this. There was Church Music, there was secular music that was OK (non offensive to most Christians or anyone else), then there was secular music that was offensive to a lot of people, even to some non-Christians. I think these boundaries still work to explain things. Music has always been amoral.
The musics lyrics define its morality. Sometimes a place and artist hijack a song and redefine its morality by association. I think these three compartments have always represented society at large. It may seem like a simple cliche, but prove me wrong. God and “His” people on one side, Satan and the world on the opposite side, and an undecided group in the middle that both are trying to influence. All three of these groups create music and art, and can not easily hide there influences. The lines do get blurred and there are splinter groups in all of this, but I think the analogy holds up pretty well.
There is a growing splinter group of Christian musicians who want to create original music, but feel restricted because Church Music does not allow them to stretch as far as they want to. Church or Worship music is one thing, concerts are something else.!!! Christian rock on the radio is not necessarily suited for worship. Churches naturally grow a lot of budding musicians, who then want an ever wider audience. Go get your audience! Its possible to do that by doing concerts. But they find it hard to transition, then they get frustrated, because Church is a ready made audience that does not necessarily
translate into concert goers. Selling concerts is more about writing and selling original material than continuously covering songs by someone else. Michael W. Smith does Worship concerts. What do Switchfoot or Need To Breath do. Great concerts, but to me it is not Worship Music.I really like both of those groups, and they have a lot of crossover appeal. Music might be business in Church (Selling Worship), but it is definitely “big business” out side of Church. But, Christian music is reclaiming some of the “middle” ground in a growing genre called “uplifting pop”. Radio stations that a few years ago called themselves Christian, are renaming themselves as “uplifting pop/rock”. I think it is a good trend that offers everyone alternatives. The future of Church Music will be what we want it to be as long as it glorifies God. But, I think Worship Music will swing back a little towards the conservative side as the uplifting pop splinters off and continues to grow. This new genre will offer an outlet to conservative artists that want to do more than just Church music. We are taking back some of the good music the devil has stolen. I can worship in Church and then go to a great, interesting, fun concert. No conflict, and both in their place with everyone getting what they want. Seems to easy, what am I missing?
If you think this is long, you should have seen how much I deleted.
Don
Awesome, Don. You’re giving me a lot of new books to read 🙂
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