Can Christian music be saved?

Can Christian music be saved?  The question is more than a play on words. With the entire music industry being written off by some (see NY Times puts music industry on death watch), niche markets like contemporary Christian music that hitched their star to the majors back in the 90’s appear to be even more in danger of getting thrown under the bus as the mega labels jettison anything that’s not a clear winner.

To get a sense of where the religious genre might be headed, I leaned on a couple of friends, who are still in the thick of it, for answers.

For starters, Christian artist Brad Olsen (formerly of The Waiting) was gracious enough to spend some time with me in a phone interview. He's just released a new album on his own label and previously was signed, with his band, to Sparrow Records, owned by EMI. I asked him where he thought the Christian music biz might be going.

“The secular labels, with more mainstream artists, they’ll figure out how to make money and then the Christian labels will follow suit.  That’s how it’s always been,” Olsen said.  “We’ve always taken our cues musically, artistically, and marketing-wise from the mainstream.”

“Since the Christian market is unique and, in a very real way, has its own self-contained audience,” I interjected.  “Couldn’t the Christian market really lead the way as we try to invent the new music business?”

“I wish it were that way,” Olsen lamented.  “But that’s just not how it’s been.  And we may bleed a lot more than the majors as a result, because we wait for them to make the first move.  But, I’m hopeful about it all,” he added.  “Because in the end, people always need music to listen to and there will always be Christians wanting Christian music. And who knows?”  Olsen asked, sounding hopeful.  "Somebody might just use this situation to discover a whole new way of doing things."

That somebody, just may be Keith Mohr, the founder and CEO of Nashville-based IndieHeaven.com, a resource, development and sales site for Christian artists.  As he generously took some time to share his thoughts with me on Contempoary Christian Music’s current state of affairs, he echoed some of what Olsen said, but with much more of an edge.

“It’s in a state of disarray as the old business model does not work anymore,” he began. “The Christian music industry patterned itself after the mainstream music industry. We all know the music industry has used artists as cans of oil to lubricate its machinery for years. And artists have used the industry as their sugar daddy for years. In my opinion, there should be a higher standard in Christian music. Sadly, there isn’t. It will not be until artist and industry understand prosperity and success come through mutual beneficial relationship. A ‘what’s in it for me, forget about you’ mindset permeates the Contemporary Christian Music industry because of fear and control. After years of worshiping the almighty dollar, the CCM industry is just about dead because that almighty has gone missing.”

Realizing the possible cost of his frankness, Mohr continued.  “This is a very hard statement that won’t win me many friends, but it is the truth. Talk to industry people, talk to artists, talk to studio cats, and they will tell you the level of greed and distrust in the business is very high. That saddens me, personally. This has nothing to do with being a Christian, or even Jesus Christ. It has everything to do with flawed human beings operating in a flawed system. It’s to be expected when your business model is based on mafia mob practices.”

Mohr, a musician himself who grew up in Baltimore, decided to get involved in Christian music after finding his faith in the mid-80’s.  While many have followed the mainstream model, Mohr decided to lead in a different direction.  Having heard the disenchantment expressed by some of the national Christian bands who came through his area, Mohr formed BrokenRecords.com as a way for unsigned Christian artists to get their music released and promoted. 

“My desire,” Mohr explained, “was to change that business into a less political situation that was much more open; one that could really bring independent Christian artists together, to realize we’re all playing on the same team.”

BrokenRecords.com eventually gave way to its more recent evolution, IndieHeaven.com.  “With only about 10% of Christian artists able to really pursue their music as a full time career because of the need to make a living for their families, any resource we can provide them helps them accomplish their real mission of getting their music and message out there.”

IndieHeaven is unique in that visitors to the site can make comments to the site’s approximately 650 artists and purchase product without having to become site members themselves.  “This really helps simplify the relationship that fans have with the site,” Mohr observed.  “We try to make it easier for artists to drive fans to their site and to buy their music. Since there’s no sign-up required for fans, there’s no resistance.”

In providing an online outlet for artists to sell their CDs and digital downloads, IndieHeaven initially appears to be the Christian answer to CD Baby and iTunes.  It’s much more than that, however, as Mohr makes his personal coaching and consulting services available for artist members, encouraging their development all along the way.  In addition, Mohr provides a remarkably valuable resource that most artists of any genre would die for—the names and email addresses of those who purchased their music. 

“There’s no problem getting the fans’ permission,” Mohr explained.  “After all, fans are excited at the idea of having the artist possibly contact them to say, thanks.”  That information, Mohr explained, becomes a valuable resource that the artists can use to establish a real relationship that allows them to engage with their following. 

That alone seems to be worth the $19.95 monthly subscription price artists pay to join IndieHeaven.  But when you also consider that Mohr takes no cut of the royalties off the digital downloads (that’s right 100% goes to the artist), you have to wonder why more artists aren’t stumbling over themselves to get into IndieHeaven.

Wondering how Brad Olsen’s experience of being signed to a major Christian label like Sparrow compared with the disenchanted artists Mohr described, Olsen tried to be even-handed.

“It was good and terrible,” he said with a laugh.  “It was such a big place, so it was hard to get attention, because they had several big artists like Stephen Curtis Chapman that were the lead horses.  We were little fish in a big pond.” Olsen explained.  “And it was hard to get meaningful attention and real creative support, or someone to be your champion.”

“But on the other hand,” he said to even things out.  “Even the crumbs at their table were better than what we had done before.  We got into all of the big Christian music festivals just by virtue of being with them.  It was a package deal.”

When I asked each Mohr and Olsen how they felt the market was changing, they pretty much agreed that, for now, the market is focused on worship music.

“I think it’s less conservative than it used to be,” Olsen added.  “Churches have largely come to accept that rock music with the right lyrics can be an acceptable means of worship.  And it wasn’t always that way.”

So can Christian music be saved? 

With people like Keith Mohr purposefully trying to save artists from Indie hell, as he calls it, and experienced veterans like Brad Olsen forging the way on their own labels, it just could be that Christian music ends up leading the entire industry toward a much needed resurrection. 

To read the full written interview with Keith Mohr, please visit Mohr’s blog at: http://www.indieheaven.com/blog/

and read the August 24th entry.

To access Brad Olsen’s latest album, I Can Explain, please visit: http://olsenexplains.com/

If you enjoyed this article, here are three more you might like “20 questions every band should answer,” “What you need to know about do it yourself music: part 1?” and “Before you record your music: part 1.”