This Speaks The Truth About The Music Industry (Generally Speaking)

Here.

Sinéad O'Connor Speaks The Truth

Her amazing letter to Miley Cyrus here.  She'll surely get blasted for moralizing.  I hope Katy Perry was copied on it.

Of course from a Christian perspective it doesn't go far enough, but this letter would be a great bridge to talk about the image of God instilling us with inherent value and worth.  You can't prostitute the image of God and have any soul left.  It's tragic but Sinéad is exactly right.  The music industry is laughing all the way to the bank.

(FYI:  She uses some saucy language to make her point.)

Who Killed The Music Industry?

Interesting article here detailing the changes in how the economics of music has changed radically in the last 15 years.  More changes are sure to come.

The Christian Music Industry: Should We Love It Or Leave It?

Good reflections here from Bobby Giles.

Beck 'Produces' A Genius Innovation That Appeals To The User-Generated Generation

"Loser" author, Beck, has a new idea for his latest "recording" that is quite intriguing.  I didn't get it at first but after reading the article I can how this could create quite a stir.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

How To Think Theologically About Live Music

Great post here from my friend Dustin.

The State of the Music Industry

Is Rock and Roll Over?

Interesting article here.  I would credit the internet for much of the demise that is outlined in this piece.  It's not all bad.  Just an evolution that was bound to happen at some point.  There will always be great music in the world.  It just might not come with spandex and glitter anymore (thankfully).

The Evolution of Music

(HT: Pastor Mark)

What is Up With The Music Business?

ThinkChristian.net:

Pop tart Katy Perry, who started her professional career as a contemporary Christian singer, recently made history as the first female artist to score five No. 1 hits off of a single album. The last album to do that was none other than Michael Jackson’s “Bad.” However, nearly a quarter century ago Jackson’s radio domination resulted in the sale of over 30 million copies of “Bad,” while Perry’s “Teenage Dream” hasn’t even cracked the two million mark. What has happened to the juggernaut that was the pop music business?

Much has been made of the obvious impact piracy has had on the industry. And it’s true that illegal acquisition of tunes has contributed to the reduction of what was a $17-billion annual business to something near $7 billion. But is it just piracy that is responsible for this massive decline? Or is it possible that the audience just doesn’t care as much about buying music as it once did? Maybe the mainstream wasn’t giving people what they wanted and when their market monopoly ended their customers checked out.

Read the rest.

A History of Christian Rock

This looks interesting.  Sects, Love, and Rock & Roll: My Life on Record (Experiences in Evangelicalism)

Read about this book in a short adaptation for Christianity Today.

The New Rock-Star Paradigm

The Wall Street Journal:

For a decade, analysts have been hyperventilating about the demise of the music industry. But music isn't going away. We're just moving out of the brief period—a flash in history's pan—when an artist could expect to make a living selling records alone. Music is as old as humanity itself, and just as difficult to define. It's an ephemeral, temporal and subjective experience.

For several decades, though, from about World War II until sometime in the last 10 years, the recording industry managed to successfully and profitably pin it down to a stable, if circular, definition: Music was recordings of music. Records not only made it possible for musicians to connect with listeners anywhere, at any time, but offered a discrete package for commoditization. It was the perfect bottling of lightning: A powerful experience could be packaged in plastic and then bought and sold like any other commercial product.

Then came the Internet, and in less than a decade, that system fell. With uncontrollable and infinite duplication and distribution of recordings, selling records suddenly became a lot like selling apples to people who live in orchards. In 1999, global record sales totaled $26.9 billion; in 2009, that figure, including digital purchases, which now represent 25% of sales (nearly 50% in the U.S.), is down to $17 billion. For eight of the last 10 years, the decline in revenue from record sales has gotten steeper, which is to say the business is imploding with increasing vigor.

Read the rest.

A Random Reflection on Katy Perry

I hardly ever listen to the radio anymore.  I mainly listen to classical and jazz and lots of rock when I workout.  But I still want to be up to date on what music is popular and thus I browse the iTunes top charts to see what is going on.

Today Katy Perry is leading the pack.  Her song "Teenage Dream" is the number one song on iTunes. She is an amazing singer and apart from the completely superficial picture of relationships and sex it is a perfectly crafted pop song.  Congrats to her.  This is common grace on display.  What a beautiful person with extremely unique musical abilities.

But Katy Perry grieves me.  She is is another classic example of the "sex on a plate" female musician.  Britney, Christina, Katy... and on and on. Another girl on the long list of those who embrace glorified prostitution for the sake of music sales.  Scoot your chair up to the table and consume.

I am sad for Katy. She has a fabricated image that has been created by a music industry that functions as a corporate pimp.  It will use her for profit and then cast her aside when they are done with her.

I am sad that millions of young girls who don't have a clue about sex and relationships will look to her lyrics as an example to follow.

I am sad because her song "Teenage Dream" is one of the catchiest pop tunes I have heard in a long time and I love listening to it.  I know that I am not alone here.  This song has probably already sold millions and embodied in it is view of sex and relationships that will leave so many lonely, unsatisfied, and broken.  Our idols always leave us that way.

I am sad because this song will be consumed by many too young and naive to know that it's just a lie marketed to them to make lots and lots of money.

I don't blame Katy.  This is the culture that we have created and enabled to exist.  We pay for it and we reap the carnage of it.  She is simply the next one up and more will be sure to follow.  But Katy doesn't represent the real world.  Like her song "Teenage Dream" that is all it is, a dream.  So what do we do?

Teach your kids, especially your daughters.

Live such transparent lives with those who don't know Jesus that they sense something different is going on.  I can honestly say (by God's grace alone) that I am more satisfied with and in love with my wife today after 12 years than I have ever been.  But it's no "teenage dream".  It is blood, sweat, and tears.  Sounds a lot like crucifixion doesn't it?  Yeah, nails hurt.  They hurt real bad but the resurrection that follows is sweet beyond words.

Does an onlooking world see The Gospel on display in our lives and in our relationships?   This is the only way to counter the destructive worldview that is preached from the radio waves and iTunes playlists.  Show them and tell them that only Jesus can give us more than a "teenage dream".  He gives us himself and only this will satisfy.

J. Knapp Comes Out

In this interview she addresses many things concerning her new record but also speaks publically about the same-sex relationship that she has been engaged in for many years.

Is streaming the future of music?

From BBC News:

With free, legal access to almost any music at any time, streaming services like Spotify and We7 are a dream for many music fans.

Some believe streaming will overtake downloading to become the most popular form of digital music.

But there are still big questions over whether such services can make money - and whether record labels will let them work.

Read the rest.