[Levi]

As someone who's been involved as a producer, player, and writer in the Christian/Gospel industry for over 10 years, let me shed a little light on what I've experienced, and currently find myself shaking my head about...

There are many, many problems within the Christian/Gospel industry at the "major lable" level (i.e. Word Records, EMI Christian, Provident). The first is that they're all VERY afraid to spend money on acts. Recording budgets, 10 years ago, were from $30,000 on the low side to $200,000 for the biggest acts. Now, budgets range from FREE (!!!!) to $40,000 on the high side. Everyone fights over a palm-sized pie... there are only a handful of acts on "majors" at this point, so people will do anything to work on them. Radio promotion and marketing are close to non-existent. And yes, "payola" applies here as well. (True story- one of the biggest radio promoters in the country wouldn't play your songs unless you sent him the masters for him to "remix" the way he felt fit the radio format. Come to find out, he was RE-RECORDING THE DRUMS on most of the songs, via his home studio, as he was a "closet drummer" and felt that most of the drumming sucked! Go figure...) You have about 3-5 producers doing everything, while all the other folks wonder whether to work for Pizza Hut or Papa John's this month. It's very sad. Many move over to the "mainstream" industry, with success as writers, touring players, etc. In my own experience in the mainstream, I found that I enjoyed the enviroment much better from the fact that if you were going to get screwed, they'd tell you ahead of time so you could make appropriate plans! Also, lables are down to staffs of 5-20 people, instead of 50-250 as it was in the past. Not one new signing "broke" and was successful in 2005 in the Christian pop market... only established artists. Also, the Christian sales demographic is very "give me something for nothing." (I hate to admit this, being a Christian myself, but it's so very true! I remember touring in the mid-90's, having churches bounce checks or say after a show that they couldn't pay the remaining honorarium... pretty sad.) I guess to make a long story short, it's what is being felt in the "mainstream" market... just on a smaller scale... but that makes it even more problematic!

Several years back, almost every single act that was signed to a Christian record deal did it with the intent of "crossing over." The lables wanted the same thing, as the $'s looked pretty appealing, especially witnessing the success of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman and the like. IMO, their priorities were incorrect for using the vehicle in that way, instead of "growing where you're planted." Yes, less money is available in the Christian marketplace, but you can still make a very healthy living and share your music, talents, and message. If it crosses over, such as Switchfoot and the likes, awesome! But I feel that if you're signing a Christian deal for that intent only, you've missed it. A dear friend of mine is now the A&R director at Word Records and he's realized the problem and is of the mindset of making Christian/Gospel music, and the marketing of it, back to the way it used to be. I am excited for his convictions, but feel he's swimming upstream, as the "higher-up's" look to feel differently.

There are a lot of very talented folks in this industry... Chris Rice is a ridiculous writer and artist, Nichole Nordeman as well, and Nicole Mullen is a great R&B artist. Darwin Hobbs, on the gospel side, is by far one of the finest I've had the pleasure of working with and becoming friends with... in ANY market! It's a great gang of people... a great pool of talent... it's just a very sad industry situation. I guess it comes down to faulty people, myself included, attempting to support and run a faulty industry that's going to become nothing without serious change.