CCM: A Victim of Its Own Success?

By Jonathan Fosdick • May 29th, 2008 • Category: Artists in Residence

Oh how the times have changed… Anyone that has spent a decent amount of time listening to Christian music is likely familiar with this argument: Christian music is inferior because its artists are less talented, its production quality is too low, and its songwriting themes are too specialized. I myself heard that argument for so many years back in “the day” that it’s almost a shock to see where CCM is today, the opposite side of the fence. So, if many of the arguments against Christian music have been addressed, why is CCM taking it on the chin today more than ever? Unfortunately, the cure to all that ailed CCM in the past may have been worse than the disease.

It’s all so wonderfully ironic how this has all transpired through the years. 20 years ago, CCM was known in mainstream circles as the ghetto of music from which Amy Grant had sprung. All of its fans, me included, just wanted to scream, “There’s more here than Amy Grant!” We wanted those on the outside to see the wellspring of talent that there was to offer. After a while, we even took pride in the underdog nature of the whole scene. Then, suddenly, people started taking notice. What was the fastest growing genre of music, sales wise? Christian/Gospel. Secular companies started investing in the industry. Production quality skyrocketed. Big name producers wanted to work with Christian artists. It was an explosion of popularity! And thus the downward spiral began.

I remember when the Christian labels started getting gobbled up by mainstream interests. The overriding sentiment was that these new owners and executives would be the downfall of Christian music because they would essentially demand that all Christian artists water down their messages so that they would sell more records. And here we find the wonderful irony (in the true sense, not the Alanis Morissette definition). What has occurred has been the exact opposite.

I heard a story recently. A popular Christian artist (who will go unnamed) recorded what they felt was going to be perhaps their best album ever. It was completely different from what they had recorded in the past, more challenging, intelligent, and real than ever before. This artist submitted the final product to the label and got it thrown back in their face. The label said that the album wasn’t happy enough. It wasn’t what the fans would be expecting. It was a chance, and the label wouldn’t take it. The label sent the artist back to the studio to “fix” the album.

Years ago a few artists boldly started what would become the modern praise and worship movement. I say bold because at this point in time, praise and worship music was not en vogue. It was generally relegated to (no offense) generic Maranatha and Integrity compilations. When the albums started selling, all of the sudden there weren’t enough praise and worship albums on the shelves. The labels kept churning out more and more, many times the same songs recycled over and over again. It’s the worst thing that I could have ever possibly imagined by this point in time. Praise and worship music has almost become trite. How sad are these examples? This is what Christian music has become, a marketing gimmick, a formula.

Why has all of this happened? Because to many (not all to be certain, but many) in the industry, Christian music is not about bringing the message of Jesus Christ to the world or even ministering to the body, it’s about selling albums. Follow the formulas, make an album that everyone wants to buy, be happy, don’t experiment, and whatever you do don’t challenge the listener.

Now, I’m sure that there are some people that may be a bit upset at me for slamming “uplifting” music. Please don’t get me wrong. There’s a place for all sorts of messages in Christian music, and everyone needs to have something to uplift them when they need it. However, the Christian message will and never should win a popularity contest. Music is a powerful medium, in my mind sometimes just a strong as a preacher on a pulpit. Christian music should tell us what we want to hear no more so than a minister should. Christian music should reflect the Christian life.

When you hear Christian artists demand to be labeled an artist who is a Christian instead of a Christian artist, for some of them, this is the image that they are fighting. They don’t want their faith to be used to market them, and they don’t want to be told what to say in their art. I’d even speculate that there are some “artists that are Christians” out there that have shunned a Christian message in their music because of the implications of being associated with Christian music and therefore the industry.

Of course, the interference of labels in the creation of an artist’s work is nothing new in any circles, mainstream music included. It just feels particularly offensive in this case. That I am being targeted as a niche demographic by some marketing executive, that somewhere in some room, people are talking about how to use my faith in order to motivate me to buy their product, to give them my money… Yes, it does upset me.

What is the answer? To be honest, at this point in time, I’m not sure if the industry can be saved in the state it’s in. Personally, I really wish that I could send them a message. I want them to know that we’re not so shallow, so naïve that we want to be spoon fed baby food day and night. Some days we want a steak, or a salad, or how about a quiche? We’re not a marketing demographic, and we don’t want the artists’ messages to be censured like some sort of Gestapo propaganda machine. We want to know what the artists have to say, not what the labels want them to say. We like the Christian message *because* of its depth and layers, not because of some happy, care free simplicity. I fear, though, that even if my message were to be heard, it would go unheeded. Really, where my hope lies at this point in time is in the artists who are going it alone, recording their albums either independently (Jars of Clay and Jill Phillips) or perhaps for smaller interests (Caedmon’s Call and Sara Groves working with INO comes to mind). Wouldn’t the ultimate irony be if those artists that follow their own (and, no doubt, God’s) artistic leading found greater success than any major label Christian artists or artists who are Christians or whatever they want to be called? What if they were able to set a trend of artistic freedom?

Let me finish up with a strong disclaimer. I’ve cast a rather wide net in this article. Please let me say that even with all of the accusations that I have thrown around and critical comments that I have made, I am still a huge fan of Christian music. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. There are many, many artists out there that make meaningful, moving, important music. There are even artists out there that are subject to the whims of the industry that are doing the best that they can in the situation that they find themselves in. There are also those that work in the industry that are not the antichrists that I have made all of them out to be. Really, this isn’t meant to be a condemnation of people as much as it is an indictment of a trend that seems to be permeating a genre of music that I used to be quite proud of. I don’t know; maybe I was naïve then, but regardless, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t something that needs to change.

Now that I’ve said my piece, it’s your turn. What do you think? Is the situation that Christian music finds itself in as bad as I make it out to be? What do you think needs to be done, if anything? Do I need to be prayed over for overwhelming cynicism? What’s your view?

↓ 3 comments

#1 Brian on May 29th, 2008 at 4:14 pm

We always need to be prayed over, Jonathan, otherwise how else would we get through the day? That being said, I find no fault in your thoughts or logic here because what you have said is true. If I have to see one more CCM band do an album of P&W songs, especially ones that have been covered by dozens of bands already, I’m going to scream. Without intending to call any band’s faith or passion into question, I don’t for a second believe that every single one of these bands absolutely feels the urge and need to be recording one of these worship albums that have become some trite these days. It is about marketing, it is about sales and it is about using our faith as a motivator to buy whatever their selling this week…sometimes. The CCM world is largely no different from the rest of the music world because it relies on attitudes and marketing ploys that are often more cloying and annoying than helpful, both to the artists and the listening public. If it weren’t the case, more bands would be sticking around instead of going independent, and bands like Mute Math and P.O.D. wouldn’t feel the need to distance themselves so thoroughly from the industry if CCM were on the right track.

I get that labels are businesses and need to make money like anyone else, blah blah blah, but what it ultimately boils down to is most of the labels don’t trust their talent enough, and what’s worse, they don’t have enough faith in the listeners either. There is of course a large Christian demographic that wants their happy, K-LOVE-style, stripped-down music that loves ridiculous electronic squiggles and completely abhors electric guitars because electric guitars are evil (apparently), but a lot of Christians don’t dig that style. To be honest, if these labels are trying to stick with what is safe because it sells, they’re actually doing themselves a disservice because all of the additional sales they’re missing out on by not letting the artists be more creative and make music that isn’t quite as safe. The labels are going to get their sales from safe music hand over fist, no one is arguing that; the problem is they’re not willing to look beyond that and see how else they can impact lives in the CCM world by playing music that is daring and creative.

Maybe they’ll get their heads on straight at some point. I sure hope they do. But given the longstanding traditionalism and closed-mindedness of the CCM market, I’m not going to hold my breath. I’ll look to the indie artists to be the change we want to see in CCM before I put any hope in the labels’ desire or ability to do so.

#2 John Wofford on May 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

I completely agree with you! Bravo!

#3 Cindy on May 31st, 2008 at 3:53 am

I’m wondering if the popularity of praise and worship albums flows out of the rise of contemporary church services, which are replacing the traditional organ/choir/hymn services. It seems natural that people hear congregational songs on Sunday, like them, and want to buy them.

It’s extremely difficult to write a great praise and worship song, and that’s why the good ones get repeated on different albums. They’re “evergreen,” like Christmas carols. Michael W. Smith’s “Agnus Dei.” Paul Baloche’s “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” Marie Barnett’s “Breathe” (she composed it while she was onstage leading worship - talk about the power of the Holy Spirit.) Stuart Townend’s “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” Matt Redman’s “Better is One Day” or “Blessed Be The Name.”

These songs are cousins to hymns - they have to be singable, convey a simple message, yet be distinct from the hundreds that get churned out every year. The poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, said that “A good hymn is the most difficult thing in the world to write.”

I love the praise and worship genre, so just thought I’d defend it.

I’m less bothered by record labels wanting to make money than I am by the unknown forces that hamstring Christian radio stations, who seem to have to stick to certain playlists. If I hear a great song on an indie album that has been released as a single, I ought to be able to call or e-mail the station and request it. That would do a lot to promote lesser known talent and enable them to compete with the major record labels.

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