Wednesday
Nov302005
christian radio, part deux
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 at 01:08AM
Thanks everybody for jumping into the discussion from last night's post. The comments section is strong right there, and I love that. There have been some good thoughts and it's keeping me thinking. It's good for me.
So here's a continuation of the question based on a lot of your comments. Many of you said that you've stopped listening to christian radio, if you ever did. For the record, I am squarely in your camp there. So how do you find out about music from believers trapped in this industry? You found me, so you heard about us somewhere. Are there good alternate ways of finding music to encourage your faith? Are there places that could be good? To further dive in: do you look to resources outside of your community for development and encouragement in your faith, and if so, where and why? Sheer curiosity is asking, so feel free to take this wherever you desire.
Two quick side notes:
1. I am playing upright bass on Andy P's christmas tour for a song or two, something I haven't done since college, and I'm loving it. The tour starts Thursday, dates are over here <---, and you need to come see the show. Rehearsal was AMAZING today. I love playing these songs.
2. Jeff Irwin, who played bass on AP's Far Country tour as well as the bulk of my new record, just had a baby Saturday, a month earlier than due. Their baby boy, Israel, is healthy but tiny (4 lbs, 9 ozs) and his wife Amy is recovering well. He's having to travel a bit this season, and there is still healing and much rest needed, so you can keep them in your prayers.
So, yeah, feel free to keep the discussion going, and let me know your thoughts on this subject. It's great to hear from people who don't deal with this stuff for their livelihood, and I'm learning a lot from you guys. Take care, sleep well and I'll try to write more tomorrow.
So here's a continuation of the question based on a lot of your comments. Many of you said that you've stopped listening to christian radio, if you ever did. For the record, I am squarely in your camp there. So how do you find out about music from believers trapped in this industry? You found me, so you heard about us somewhere. Are there good alternate ways of finding music to encourage your faith? Are there places that could be good? To further dive in: do you look to resources outside of your community for development and encouragement in your faith, and if so, where and why? Sheer curiosity is asking, so feel free to take this wherever you desire.
Two quick side notes:
1. I am playing upright bass on Andy P's christmas tour for a song or two, something I haven't done since college, and I'm loving it. The tour starts Thursday, dates are over here <---, and you need to come see the show. Rehearsal was AMAZING today. I love playing these songs.
2. Jeff Irwin, who played bass on AP's Far Country tour as well as the bulk of my new record, just had a baby Saturday, a month earlier than due. Their baby boy, Israel, is healthy but tiny (4 lbs, 9 ozs) and his wife Amy is recovering well. He's having to travel a bit this season, and there is still healing and much rest needed, so you can keep them in your prayers.
So, yeah, feel free to keep the discussion going, and let me know your thoughts on this subject. It's great to hear from people who don't deal with this stuff for their livelihood, and I'm learning a lot from you guys. Take care, sleep well and I'll try to write more tomorrow.
Reader Comments (34)
Speaking of good music....Over on the Normals Message Board there is a rumor of a new CD pending. Is that true? Has anyone else heard about that? How bout it Andy?
I think Kutless is the best band on earth. They are so original and cute.
NO Doubt! And their worship album is soooooo good. I mean like...I've never heard "Better is One Day" with such depth. Or maybe they just over compensate with lots of distortion. Kutless Bites!!!!
i have found that the best way to find new Christian music is to follow the links on the websites of artists i like. i think Christian radio is on the same level as most other stations out there. every station has the same crappy songs they play over and over. i not only stopped listening to Christian radio, i have stopped listening to radio. you guys who are lookinh for something new should check out the new Sam Ashworth album. WOW! that guy is great! he reminds me of elliott Smith a bit. also Elliot Smith deserves a listen, he was not a Christian, but a good writer none the less.
Andrew, can't wait to see you all tonight in Omaha! I'm really hoping to hear some of your own songs, but I'm not sure that's gonna happen. Seeing you play the upright bass will suffice, I guess, if it must. You are the man, though, and I appreciate your heart and your faith and all that you put into your music. Props to you. Keep it coming.
I quit listening to Christian radio about 10 years ago. The majority of it seemed to me to be over-produced and very cheesy. I was also annoyed by the commercialism of the monster station I was listening to (I live in the Dallas area...hint hint). I hadn't listened to Christian music in a loooong time until last spring. I kind of "network" to find Christian artists...I found you and some others through Cason Cooley, and I've been turned on to several by you, and the network continues. And there are a few websites I check (grassroots music, etc).
I've worked in radio for about a year now. The one thing I've learned is that it's almost completely people driven. It does what the people want. Requests make a difference. It may make music snobs mad but the reason that "I can only imagine" and "If we are the Body" were played every two seconds was because people asked for them to be played that much. And since the listeners are the ones paying the bills at most christian stations, there's not a whole lot you can do.
I found Andy's music through the "Apron full of stians" single being on the radio, and I've been a huge fan ever since. I also found Shaded Red through "Red Revolution" being played on christian radio, and I do miss them.
It seems that the complaints of most folks shouldn't just be directed at christian radio, it should be directed at all radio. It's all the same formula, and the same sound right now. And as far as I can tell there are two choices: give up on it all together, which now with the IPod is an entirely viable option, or enact a change. and the way to do that is to support radio stations that are doing it differently. Listen to and respond to stations that give independent artists spins whther its though a special show or in the regular playlist. Write the PDs and MDs and request indie artists, and/or thank them for playing them in the first place. Case and point:
My station that I work for, Love 89 in Knoxville (www.love89.org), has given me an hour on sunday nights to play local and indie artists, this has allowed me to introduce our listeners to people like Greg Adkins and Andy. And it's been very well recived so far (We started the show 4 weeks ago), so much so that we are thinking of either expanding the show or including some of the better tracks in light rotation to see what happens. And the only reason that's happened is because of the great response we've gotten through our listeners on email or the comment line.
So all I'm saying is that maybe we souldn't give up on it yet, just a thought.
[...] A post by Steven Russell directing me to a couple of posts by Andrew Osenga — one about Christian radio, and one about contemporary Christian music in general — got me to thinking. [...]
First post, so bear with a little rambling...
Re: the commericals on our local station in Columbus, OH (104.9 WCVO) - the station does bill itself as "listener supported," but also doesn't shy away from the fact that they sell airtime to businesses in the aea. They aren't disguised as "sponsorships" - they're ads. They come right out and admit that the listener support goes a great way toward paying the bills, but ads make up the rest of their operating costs.
As for paying the artists (discussed on the other threads), I didn't realize they could minimize or completely cut out those costs. Seems incredibly unfair. And if they don't have to pay for the usage rights, how come I don't hear a wider variety of of artists? You can't get away from Jeremy Camp or Third Day for more than 25 minutes at the most. (No complaints against either artist, mind you - I just crave a bit o variety.) Case in point: Jeremy Camp played here Nov. 20, and they threw him into an incredibly heavy rotation about 4 weeks before to drum up interest (a saturation that hasn't stopped yet); when Caedmon's played here on Oct. 7, you had to struggle to get the air talent to play something from them and plug the show.
And great idea from KrisL1982 above - so nice that your station would devote a portion of its available airtime to share new artists with its listeners. I'll be taking your idea to our local PD and see what his thoughts are (luckily, he goes to my church).
Anyway, more later...