Frequently Asked Questions

Miscellaneous

Question:

Could you please tell me about your opinion on the Public's Perceptions of CCM, and Church divisions and the CCM industry. I am also interested in your view on the Media's Treatment of CCM & its stars. What is the nature & purpose of CCM? And what is your ultimate goal in CCM performance?

Answer:

The Cold Hard Facts about the CCM Industry...

A) Public Perceptions of CCM

The Public perception of The CCM industry is virtually non-existent. The Industry was initially started to create a platform by which Christian musicians can reach the world, yet in recent years it has primarily reached Christians. As Christians we are called to be "In the world but not of the world." Yet this secret society has managed to create its own world. The CCM industry has formed its own bubble in which Christians can safely dwell without being corrupted by the outside world. It is considered a safe alternative (or rather imitation of the world) that is a very narrow representative of what it means to be a Christian today in such a diverse world. It is usually 2-5 years behind the secular industry instead of setting the standard for the industry.

I think that the greatest public opinion of CCM music is that most of the music sounds the same. It tends to be in-bred and most contemporary Christian music that hits the radio has a similar sound and production. I know that when I am turning the radio dial I can always tell when I get to a Christian station before I even hear the lyrics. It has such a defining signature that is easy to identify. I guess that I could best explain this sound as being "safe" and "pleasant."

B) Church divisions and the CCM Industry.

In this section I have chosen a special soap box to preach from. Regarding "divisions," there are many. I feel that the greatest division in the CCM industry is a huge racial divide that has existed in the American church since slavery. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, the most segregated hour of the week is between 10 and 11am on Sundays. Regrettably this is still the case. However, to make matters worse, the Christian music industry has also created a racial divide that is broader than the Grand Canyon.

Most people don't know it- but there and two main camps, the CCM industry (predominately white) and the Black Gospel industry (predominately black). These two industries rarely co-mingle, they have separate conventions (GMA-mostly white and GMWA-mostly black). They service their music to different stations and sometimes even sell their music at separate stores (although bookstores are often equally representative of both). Sure there are a few who have braved this gap and found success on the other side, but this is very, very rare. Examples of this are Angelo and Veronica (White) making it in the Black Gospel industry and Kirk Franklin, Be Be and Ce Ce, and Out of Eden (Black) making it in the virtually all white CCM industry.

I feel that now is a time for change. Imagine how powerful a force we would be as Christians if we all united! After all, isn't that what Heaven is going to be like?

C) Media Treatment of CCM & Its Stars

Again, this is a sticky situation, for just like the secular industry, the media is controlled by whoever has the most money. People don't always write articles on whoever they believe in. The first priority is who the major labels are pushing. After all, they are paying the most money in ads and promotions. It all comes down to who has the most money and the largest company behind them.

Look at the Dove Awards for example. They clearly define who is big in the industry and can easily turn a new artist into the next Steven Curtis Chapman. All of the Dove Award categories are voted on by GMA members. These are people that are working in the industry. It seems that the formula for winning a DOVE Award and all of the press that follows is simple: be on the label or distributor that has the most voting members. The artist who has the company with the most voters wins! Now this is not always the case, but is an understood truth that is rarely talked about in the industry.

Too many artists have gone from a Dove award winning major label status to an independent label only to never be heard of again. You gotta be a player in this industry and a lot of it is based on who you know and who represents you. I think that it is time that we start fighting for the underdogs.

Now occasionally this mold is broken. There are those artists that have become stars in the CCM industry that did not initially come from a major label. Kirk Franklin for example, he wasn't excepted into he CCM industry until he broke out in the Black Gospel market and then exploded into the mainstream with "The Reason Why I Sing." After this success, the CCM market quickly embraced him as one of their own and he got distributed by Word.

Two other great examples of this are Sixpence None the Richer and Jars of Clay. I remember when both of those bands used to open up for my band (Christafari). They were by no means considered headlining acts until they had mainstream hits that landed them on movie soundtracks. Once this happened CCM came running with open arms. I found it interesting that Sixpence's album that boasted the mega hit single "Kiss Me" had been out in the CCM industry for over 2 years before it really broke. Yet you rarely heard about it and few wrote about it. The album and band were all but forgotten until their single hit the secular charts. Then there was a huge buzz about the NEW Sixpence album. Yet this supposed "new" artist had been touring the CCM circuit for years with little recognition. There are a lot of fair-weather friends in Nashville--P.O.D could easily write a book about this!

Although there is no formula for being a Star in the CCM industry, it seems that the way to become one is to be on a major label or do something so big outside of the industry that you demand recognition inside of it. There is one more thing that does concern me: I don't think that being a "star" is a biblical concept or a position that Christians should fight to put themselves into.

D) What is the nature & purpose of CCM?

"CCM" by definition is Contemporary Christian Music. Yet it seems today that most CCM music is far from contemporary. It is my understanding that contemporary means "pop" or "popular". It should define "What is happening NOW." Yet a lot of CCM music is what was happening on inspirational stations in the 80's. I feel we should change the title to "adult contemporary Christian music" or better yet "inspirational Christian music". We should leave the term CCM for what is truly contemporary according to the world. A great example of this is hip hop. Urban music as a whole (rap, R&B, etc..) is probably the greatest seller in the US general market, yet it is largely ignored by virtually everyone in the CCM industry. Sure there are a few token artists here and there, but as a whole the major labels who control the industry choose to define their sound by your typical white country boy that plays the guitar or piano- the guy that every Mom wants their daughter to marry.

Don't get me wrong, I am not out to bash CCM, there has been some positive forward momentum recently in the industry. Artists like Sixpence, the Gospel Gangstas, Kirk Franklin and Christafari (I had to put that in there) have helped reshape the sound and the vision of CCM in the last few years. However, it seems to me that the greatest achievements in this industry are the underground independent releases that truly have their finger on the pulse of what God is doing in the here and now. Sadly, most people will probably never get a chance to hear these artists because they are not big players on a big label with a million dollar marketing campaign. I wish the music could be judged solely by its sound, artistry, and ministry--not its label imprint.

Probably the greatest loss in the CCM industry in the past few years has been all of the secular buy-outs. Virtually every major label and distributor in this industry has been bought out by a larger secular company. This has drastically changed the face of this industry and effected every aspect of the market. The emphasis has quickly shifted from souls to sales. Choices are guided by the dollar and not always by the Spirit. This is very dangerous. Ultimately, CCM needs prayers and a major revival.

E) What is My Ultimate Goal in CCM Performance

With our label, Lion of Zion entertainment, we have set out to "reach the world through world music." Some would consider it edu-tainment since one of our goals is to educate this industry about reggae and world music. We want to broaden the narrow walls of CCM to fit all races and music from all nations. The secular industry has done this with Urban, Latin, and Reggae (Bob Marley, Sean Paul, Shaggy and Wayne Wonder). Why can't we do the same? I believe God wants us to have a global perspective regarding Christianity. Up until now the industry has recorded their music in Nashville Tennessee and then sent it off to the rest of the world telling them that this is what Christian music sounds like. When are we going to let these countries record their indigenous music and send it to us--further broadening our perspective of what God is doing in the rest of the world? This is my goal. This is one of the many reasons why I play, perform and produce Christian reggae with the band Christafari. I hope that my message can edify the Christians and evangelize the world over the infectious reggae rhythms of Jamaica.

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