God bless

I do absolutely hear what you’re saying; there are a lot of Christian bands I have heard and I’m like “eh…, really?” but at the same time, there are a lot of secular bands out there that suck too. I think it’s honest to consider that the Contemporary Christian market is sizably smaller than the secular market, which has influence on how obvious a group or an artist’s lack of technical skill is. Lack of skill happens all the time in the secular industry, but I think because the industry is so broad, those artists just get swallowed up by more talented acts and they just kind of fade out of our sight. Because the secular industry is always churning, I think we barely get a glimpse of some of these acts; though I am sure there is a heavy reality of them. I think the Christian music industry churns at a slower rate. Also, in addition to being a smaller market, it has also had some opposition along the way which may have hindered its formation from being as fresh and modern as the secular market as quickly. I think the Christian market is doing a pretty good job at catching up, and is pretty on point in a number of areas as of recent. I see quality improving. I know in the music industry before, you could record songs on a demo, submit to a record label and after a few other happenings you may get signed. Now, they want to see artists actually play live. Good move. Nerve racking for aspiring musicians, but it raises the bar to identify real talent rather than listening to edited refined tracks from a demo made in a studio.

Kudos for posting this article. It’s thought provoking and is helpful to anyone in the Christian music industry who wants to gain perspective from a person’s honest opinion. In my opinion, from what I know about the Christian music industry as of late, they seem to be making great strides with increasing success. It may not be that apparent as of yet, because in some respects the industry still smacks of work in progress. Though I wouldn’t sleep on them as they seem to be really catching up to speed, and gravitating to the forefront with the music scene.

By the way, my background is Church of Christ; hehe so I was laughing at your comparisons between you and your childhood friend. =D I’m currently attending a Christian Church that basically teaches the same thing as the Church of Christ, but add instruments & a more relaxed post-modern kinda feel. =P

Cool article man.

I always cringe when the commercial for “Songs for Worship” album put out by Time Life comes on. Here we have all these cheesy music and everyone looks as if they are brainwashed. What must that look like to non-believers? If I were a non-believer, I wouldn’t want to be part of that. In fact, I am a believer and I don’t want to be part of something that seems to have very little depth.

I had to delete my thoughts before I posted them, I don’t want to come across as attacking people or tastes. It’s fine with me if you prefer to listen to Christian music. That’s your choice.

However, please don’t tell me that I need to. Don’t tell me that I just need to hear YOUR band or this ONE song and then I’ll like it. I won’t. Trust me. And if it’s ok for you to listen to Christian music (despite its flaws), then it should be ok for me to listen to my music. That’s my choice.