The Music Ministry Revolution
By John Michael Talbot

There is a revolution in Catholic and non-Catholic Christian music. We artists need your help in order to keep going!

Most of you know by now that the music industry is in serious trouble. Christian Music is no exception. There are major reorganizations and mergers happening within the major music companies of the world. The recording world we all grew up in is going through a major face-lift, indeed an identity change. I would not be alone in calling it a "revolution." It is a revolution of how recordings are made, marketed, and sold. It has left the entire recording world in crisis.

Christian music has not been unscathed by this revolution. First we thought that we might be OK when we remained one of the only categories still in the black, or at least breaking even, in recent years. Last year we tumbled into the red. Artists are now selling only 50% of what they sold only a few years ago. Lesser known artists are selling even less. Worship bands are the main thing happening in Christian music today. As always, up and coming artists are on the rise, but their sales remain minimal at best.

This revolution all started with illegal free downloads of songs through internet companies like Napster. With the lawsuits against Napster and the establishment of iTunes and Rhapsody, legal downloading became possible. But the possibility of song by song downloads (not just album by album) seriously changed the face of the record business. This has exciting possibilities, but it changes the economics of how recordings are made and marketed.

This seriously affects the retail side of record buying. Tower Records, the largest retailer of music, officially closed its doors last year. Others already have or will follow. Sales of recordings in Christian bookstores reflect this downturn at this point, and may become more marked in the months and years ahead.

The rise of downloaded music is the future, at least substantially. CDs will continue to be manufactured, and artists will continue making albums. But more and more people are almost exclusively downloading their music from an internet outlet. I know that is the case with most music people, including myself. Artist sites, major sites like iTunes and Rhapsody, and Indie websites will grow as sources for downloaded music.

What is missed in downloaded music? Not much. Some would have said great access to artwork and credits and such are missed. But these are even downloadable with devices like the newer iPods. Furthermore, music and documentary videos are also possible with the new downloadable formats. The future is wide open.

This also affects advertising. Today it is pretty much agreed that the traditional methods of marketing music are gone forever. Slick radio and print advertisements simply do not yield results in actual sales anymore. What will replace them?

Blogging and Podcasts are the newest way to share the news about new music today. The new generation wants to be communicated with, not marketed. They want to read communication, not a sales pitch. This means the artists themselves must personally invest large amounts of energy and time into maintaining their blogs and web pages by sharing what is behind the music as well as just what's in the music. This means sharing their vision, thoughts, and feelings with those who support their music. This means being appropriately open with their life without denying them any rights to privacy. This is sometimes difficult for older artists because we grew up in a music world where managers and record companies did the marketing of our recordings and concerts. Not anymore. While there are companies to be hired for maintaining Podcasts and blogs, the artists themselves must actually sit down to write, talk about their music and share their message. It will prove to be difficult for new artists who are often too inexperienced to have much wisdom to share, at least yet. This takes energy, talent, and time.

As to how a recording is made: It is possible for an artist to release as many new songs as they wish, based not on the status quo of 12 or so songs per release, but rather what the project calls for regardless of how few or how many songs are involved. This has exciting creative possibilities, but it will be difficult to break the 12 song per album mentality that is ingrained in the buyer and the producers alike. The traditional 12 song album is still preferred even when downloading costs the standard $9.99 as compared to 99 cents per song.

What about record companies? Record companies will probably exist for the foreseeable future. But their place is not nearly as assured as it once was. The prevailing wisdom right now is that record companies can break a new artist better than an artist can break themselves into the popular awareness. After that, artists are sometimes better served by breaking away and starting their own company. But this is not as easy as it sounds. It is very hard work.

The one last issue is the age of our listeners. Catholic music tends to sell to an older age group in their 40s and up. There are attempts to reach Catholic youth, especially after the phenomenon of the World Youth Days instituted by John Paul II, but that is a slowly developing demographic. It has not really broken out yet. Older listeners are less apt to stay abreast of the newest technological trends. Most have computers and use the internet, but very sparingly, and not with the savvy and ease of the younger computer generation. It is only recently that elder listeners have really switched over to CDs. Very few are downloading music regularly. But that time will come sooner rather than later, so we need to be ready.

The bottom line is that we artists need your help! We need the help of our listeners who may not have kept up with these changes and assume that we have simply stopped making recordings because the traditional "hype" is no longer apparent. We need help from support companies in putting together great blogs and podcasts, and whatever else may appear on the fast approaching horizons of technology. New artists also need the help of record companies who can normally break an artist into the popular awareness better than the artists can themselves. Please support your favorite artists during this time of transition and crises. Visit their websites. Ask for their recordings in Catholic and non-Catholic Christian bookstores. Ask for their music to be played on Christian radio. Go to their concerts when they are in your area.

The days of instant success are over. A revolution has taken place, and we artists are severely affected. If you love great music, then please support Catholic and non-Catholic Christian artists who have been given the gift from God to make that music for you.