September 7, 2009
Christian Music Market Share
So I’ve made some comments about Christian radio, and it’s about time that I try to back it up with some market analysis. You might remember me saying that Christian music is 34% Casting Crowns, 33% Third Day, and 33% Chris Tomlin. I went on WayFM.com and captured what 88.7 Nashville was playing throughout the day for about 24-26 hours, give or take.
Here we have the top 10 (out of 165) songs played during August 27, 2009 with a few hours into August 28. TobyMac seems to be ruling the airspace with a whopping 9 songs played in one day with his “City On Our Knees” accounting for 3 of those plays with 4 other songs accounting for the other 6 plays. That’s impressive… like Kelly Clarkson impressive. In fact, “City On Our Knees” is a pretty good song that shows tobyMac’s response to the changing trends of Rap/Hip-Hop with him utilizing digitized voice enhancers (that work wonders with his voice), so now he can sing more instead of rapping or doing his famous dc Talk whisper-singing. Tenth Avenue North is in a close second place with 8 plays divided between 3 songs their hit “By Your Side” getting 5 plays. While Third Day and Chris Tomlin made the Top 10, Casting Crowns did not make the cut (top 20 instead). Casting Crowns didn’t even make the top 20 in songs that got played, they were only played 3 times in a day.
- The Top Ten song played during August 27, 2009
Britt Nicole’s
“The Lost Get Found” and FM Static’s “Take Me As I Am” are the most played songs on the radio during a typical day with 6 plays each. FM Static’s popularity is surprising since virtually nothing was played from their 2nd album despite having a sold first album. Certainly Thousand Foot Krutch’s popularity has helped Trevor gain support for his side project’s 3rd album.
Third Day and Chris Tomlin have a presence with “Born Again” getting 5 plays and “Sing Sing Sing” getting 3 plays. Now with 165 songs played, these top 20 songs account for 79 songs (48%). While the Top 10 Artists that get played account for 63 songs (38%). While there is overlapping here, this is really significant because only 16 songs got played once which means that 10% of the music played on the radio only played one time, and this includes Jars of Clay’s “Love Song for a Savior”, and nothing from their album that they released this year.
So, while I almost always hear a Casting Crowns song on the radio during the hour that I drive, I most just have awesome timing. While I have about the same probability of hearing a tobyMac song as I do someone who only gets played once a day.
So there it is. In other news, Relient K’s Forget and Not Slow Down is hitting shelves October 6th and their new song under the same title can be heard at their myspace. As far as Derek Webb’s new record Stockholm Syndrome, guys I’m just not a fan. Yes it’s different from his usual blend of white guy with guitar, but he is still pointing fingers but now he openly cusses in his music which is either cool or the worst thing ever depending how you stand on the issue. Despite his music being different and his words being stronger, to me it’s still pretty typical of his newer music. If only some band could come along and break the spell of the typical… that would be sweet.
June 14, 2009
1995?
In anticipation for a move, I’ve allowed myself to go without an internet connection for a few, maybe 3 weeks or so. I didn’t think it would be that tough because I’ve never completely relied on facebook as a means for communication, and if I don’t complain about Christian music the world will still go on. Needless to say it felt like living in pre-internet dominant life… like 1995. Oddly enough I did find myself watching movies on VHS, a correlation or just an unwillingness to purchase Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on DVD? So as far as I can tell from my drive from Knoxville to Nashville and from Nashville to Atlanta, not much has changed in CCM. I did hear a few unheard before (by me) songs in Nashville which is encouraging, but I don’t recall if they were good.
So is there any good CCM out there? You tell me.
I’ve been in Atlanta since Wednesday, and I won’t be leaving until this coming Friday. I’m never in a car, and so I’m not in a radio friendly environment. Oddly enough I’ve been dwelling on some songs by Chris Tomlin and Casting Crowns. If you have read nearly anything I have written, then you have a decent chance of knowing that I am not a fan; however, I do respect their ministry and them as artists. I find myself singing their songs in my head, which has to be better than the many terrible alternatives that my mind could be thinking of. They’re causing me to dwell on whatever is pure, noble, etc. So they are fulfilling their purpose of singing a song that keeps me focused on Christ… and I honestly did not see that one coming. Props.
Derek Webb could have released his album by this point online, and I would not have known (due to the offlining). I have heard some buzz that we can expect something more substantial by early July. Relient K should be contributing some new sweet sounds in October.
Meanwhile I came across a video from Derek Webb that I is applicable to the purpose of this blog, see below.
A good friend of mine recommended John Mark McMillan. JMM is an unsigned artist, but he sounds similar to Matt Kearney. Click his name to go to his Myspace. I found him very relaxing and fun, but I’ll try to give him a more detailed review in the future.
Some fun experiences today: Chatting with an executive of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Let me just say that there seemed to be a thousand Presbies flocking at the hotel here for the Big Tent Conference. Now when I kick it Presbyterian, I try to kick it PCA, but that’s not what this story is about. We had an interesting conversation about doctrine and how some denominations and churches miss the point of focusing on Jesus. I wish this conversation could be had with the executives of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Congregational Church, the United Methodist Church, the Church of Christ (but we’d probably argue more about Christian music), etc. Possibly, if this conversation about focusing on Christ could be had with those that lead the organizations that govern the churches, it could trickle down into the churches and we could be more like what the Apostles established and less like what our non biblical traditions/limitations dictate. Now I’m not saying our conversation is going to reform the PCUSA, but if we aren’t talking about Jesus then we are probably just wasting our breath.
Christian Music Review 