The Christian Band's Fork in the Road

There was this die-hard metal head I was an acquaintance with back in high school. One day in the cafeteria, I noticed and commented on the fact that I really liked his shirt promoting hard rock group P.O.D. (Payable on Death). On this day, he mentioned that he really liked their songs and looked forward to seeing them on that summer's Ozzfest tour. That next fall, upon the start of school yet again, I caught up with him yet again, asking if he had heard the band's Satellite album, which had just released at the time.

"Dude, I don't listen to that f*****g s**t anymore, man!" the classmate responded, explaining that he once really loved them, until that past summer. Although his sudden love turned hate was not on a count of seeing the band live with the annual touring metal festival. It was, rather, because he was walking around the local mall one day, and spotted POD shirts, posters, CDs for sale, and displays in plain view inside of one of the town's Bible bookstores.

I noticed something of the same caliber occurring when I attended a Skillet concert in my hometown of Spokane, with opening band Decypher Down. Walking in, everybody looked excited to see a band of whom they purchased all of their CDs and/or heard them on the local "secular" rock and roll station. Once in, one view from the bar gave the view of several curious fraternity members and other more "alternative" dressed folk wondering as to why a great chunk of the audience, ready to mosh, scream their lungs out and jump up and down, were donning Christian and Jesus-related tee shirts; the kind sold at Bible bookstores. Soon enough, their questions would be answered, but it was anything but what some wanted to hear.

Decypher Down took the stage first, playing their song, "Break Free," which, both times I've seen them perform, always gets the audience rowdy. Most in the audience had never heard of Decypher Down and, accordingly, thought they were just another up-and-coming hard rock band who had been played a few times a week on Rock 94 �, Spokane's full time "modern/hard" rock station. The next song, however, the group's front man stood up to the microphone declaring that, "No matter what you have on your plate right now, whether it's a relationship problem or a bad habit, God can help you out!" It was this, amongst several other references to the Christian religion and the "healing power of God," both during Decypher Down and Skillet's sets that I saw, first hand, turned off a great portion of the audience who weren't there in their Bible bookstore tee shirts because they won tickets off of Spirit FM, the city's Evangelical-based franchise-owned for-profit Christian Station.

That night, on the way home, I kept on thinking of how, as a Christian band, writing positive songs about the triumphs and tribulations of leading a Christian lifestyle and the praise and worship of the Lord, only to witness something like I saw when I went to the Skillet show must be especially disheartening. Here are fans who like your music enough to pay 20 bucks to go see you perform live, then go home pissed off because they didn't realize that you were "that way;" an expression I've heard a couple of times in response to my wearing Mercy Me and Newsboys shirts to work the morning after seeing them live. But on the other hand, the marketing plan that bands such as POD, Skillet, Decypher Down, The Fray, The Red and an increasing number of other acts, which have been labeled "Christian Rock" by the mainstream press, put them at risk of having such experiences inflicted on them. However, such a marketing approach, as opposed to the other kind available to "faithful" artists has its advantages as well. Allow me to explain.

When a band forms and opts for lyrics delving into spirituality, the healing power of Jesus, the Bible and other "holy themes" as opposed to, say, money, loose women, the club, alcohol and offing someone wearing the wrong-colored bandanna, two options open up for such an act upon being discovered by someone in the business who wants to bring their music to a much wider audience. These two options are the "Christian Market Deal" and the "General Market Deal," which some may refer to as the "Secular Market Deal."

The Christian deal is the path that big name acts such as The News Boys, Barlowgirl, DC Talk (also the same route that former member TobyMac took after his first group disbanded), Casting Crowns and Avalon have opted for. To anyone who knows anything about said artists, then it is well known that each of these have sold records in the seven and eight figures, have played several sold out shows and mammoth festivals and have rabid fans all over the world. And the thing is that some of these only have released a small handful of records. Barlowgirl, for example, has only released three records and upon the release of its most recent album, How Can We Be Silent, the release has peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Top 200 chart (8/11/07); something the vast majority of commercially viable bands only dream of.

In a lot of respects, for an artist who sells their music strictly under the "Christian" umbrella, landing a Christian Market deal is like finding the Holy Grail. This is primarily because of two things; the magnitude of the fan base the act gains instant exposure to and all of the doors to exposure that fly wide open. It is estimated that there are just shy of 225 million Christians in the United States, making up about 85 percent of our population, counting all denominations and non-denominational believers. Christians also make up the vast majority of the populations in countries such as the Phillippines, Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, all variations of Christian music make up for approximately seven percent of the entire tally of all annual American music sales.

So, what does this mean? To get signed to a Christian label and sign a Christian marketing deal is to throw yourself into the shopping bags of a devout built-in audience who are not only hungry for Godly and good music which is free from risqu� themes and objectionable language and which encourages a positive lifestyle, whatever that may be, but also who have a large amount of disposable income. Furthermore, if your band gets signed to a Christian label, your music, overnight, becomes ubiquitous via Christian radio stations all over the country, satellite radio networks and Gospel Music Channel, which is the MTV of the sacred world. You, straight out of the box, will be opening for mega stars within the Christian world and, within a couple of years, will be playing sets at Christian festivals such as the Creation Fest, which are attended by six-figure numbers of Christian media consumers who dig music of all styles but with inspirational lyrics. Such a deal has the potential to send you playing sold-out arenas, being nominated for and winning Dove (Gospel Music Association) or even Grammy awards and going platinum within five to ten years. Bottom line; such a deal takes the guess work out of the business side of making music.

Of course, as with science, for every action there is an equal opposite reaction. While the Christian only has a lot of pros, there are some serious drawbacks which, in some ways, could put a lid on your overall potential as not just a Christian artist, but an artist in general. As mentioned prior, Christian music makes up seven percent of the entire tally of music sold in any given year. This isn't bad, though consider that today, half of all CDs sold are from the world of rap and about half of that percentage makes up all general rock sales. By signing on to a strictly Christian deal, a group is, for the most part, shutting themselves out of opportunities to tap into these other quite lucrative markets.

In addition, remember the story of the metal head class mate I knew in high school and what I saw while attending the Skillet/Decypher Down show? It might come as a surprise to some, but there is an entire community of people in our society who think just like those I highlighted. By signing a Christian marketing deal, your exposure is there; catering to the devout, evangelical market. However, such a label puts a stigma on your act which acts as a red flag telling non-believers that you don't want them. It also scares away the rest of the population and, in return, shuts your act out from acquiring fans. Instead, you're stuck making music which serves only to, for lack of a better expression, preach to the choir.

To avoid the stigma and open themselves up to a much wider audience, other bands may take the other approach; a General Market deal. An increasing number of artists of faith have opted for such an option and have found much success in the process, including MXPX, Relient K, The Fray, Payable on Death and Red. Such an approach is great, because you're exposing yourself to those who aren't necessarily hunting for message music, but crave particular musical stylings. For instance, many pop punkers who dig groups such as Green Day, Good Charlotte and Simple plan quickly lapped up faithful artists MXPX and Relient K. Both groups also have had several stints on big name tours such as the annual Vans Warped Tour. Not to mention, POD played on the Ozzfest tour, acquiring a new breed of head banging fans into their fold.

Much wider exposure is a great thing for acquiring fans of all walks of life. However, unlike the Christian deal, which takes all of the guess work out of the business side of making music, a band's chances of getting up to the potential magnitude as with a Christian deal after signing a General Market deal are slim and none. Yes, one will find themselves open for all the world to see on culture-shaping outlets such as MTV and VH1, but the hey day, if ever, doesn't come without countless instances of playing to crowds of two to three people and being booed off stage. In other words, with a General market deal, your music is mixed in with the rest of the heap; a sewing needle at the bottom of the musical haystack. With a Christian deal, however, if an act doesn't care about the stigma and some of the other cons, such one puts your act at the front of the line and from the bargain bin to the featured "hot" CD store end caps.

In conclusion, an artist of faith, upon being discovered has a very daunting decision to make; preach to the choir, or go on the mission to win over a very cynical mass audience. Each one holds hefty pros and cons. However, perhaps, the ability to overcome the cons, may be in God's hands.