0:01 The mistake that most Christians make
0:03 about the Christian music industry is
0:05 that it's separate from the regular
0:07 music industry when that can't be
0:08 farther from the truth. In fact, the
0:10 vast majority of the Christian music
0:12 industry's market share is controlled by
0:14 labels owned by the top three major
0:16 global music conglomerates. Universal
0:18 Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment,
0:21 and Warner Music Group. These three
0:22 conglomerates own both the biggest
0:24 Christian music labels and the biggest
0:26 secular music labels of pretty much any
0:28 genre. This means that the same major
0:30 music conglomerates that own the labels
0:32 for Chris Tomlin, Toby Mack, and Lauren
0:33 Dagel are the same ones that own the
0:36 labels for Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and
0:38 Cardi B. And this isn't just the case
0:40 with CCM alone, but it's the same with
0:42 worship music, too. Side note, CCM is a
0:44 genre that has a bunch of subg genres
0:46 underneath it. Praise and worship music
0:48 happens to be a very popular subgenre
0:50 underneath CCM. And even though there's
0:52 a lot of overlap between CCM and praise
0:54 and worship, they're technically their
0:56 own genres. There are a lot of CCM
0:57 artists that make praise and worship
0:59 songs and praise and worship artists who
1:01 make CCM songs. So, there's a lot of
1:02 blending there. And because of that, I'm
1:04 going to use the terms interchangeably.
1:06 And I will make some distinctions as
1:08 much as I can. CCM is just the whole
1:10 genre. Pop, rock, hip-hop, whatever. As
1:12 long as it's Christian, it kind of fits
1:14 there. Worship music is defined with a
1:15 purpose. [music]
1:17 Songs written to be sung in worship to
1:19 God and not just about him. Let's talk
1:28 Anytime a church wants to publicly play
1:30 licensed worship songs or display lyrics
1:32 on screens or make song sheets or stream
1:34 worship songs, every year they have to
1:36 pay for a Christian copyright licensing
1:38 international license, also known as
1:40 CCLI. It's the main license that lets
1:42 you legally use popular worship songs
1:44 during services. This includes songs
1:47 like In Christ Alone, 10,000 Reasons,
1:49 and Waymaker. And pretty much every song
1:50 from Elevation, Chris Tomlin, Bethl,
1:53 Hill Song, Phil Wickham, etc., etc. You
1:54 have to pay for them. Furthermore, when
1:57 churches pay their yearly CCLI fee,
1:59 about half the money goes back to those
2:00 three conglomerates, which are the same
2:02 corporate entities who also own the
2:04 licensing for songs such as Cardi B's
2:07 Lil Nas X Montero, Doaat Demons,
2:09 and other demonically inspired
2:10 jinglejangles. And this is why some
2:12 Christians feel like churches are
2:14 unknowingly supporting and fueling the
2:17 machine that benefits from the crap that
2:18 we try to keep from our children's ears.
2:20 Those same Christians are usually in
2:22 favor of traditional hymns because
2:24 almost no traditional hymns require a
2:26 CCLI license. Since the songs are public
2:28 domain and none of the money goes back
2:30 to the evil corporate overlords, it
2:32 seems to be a better choice. I'm sure
2:34 there's a pro-CLI license argument out
2:36 there. I'm just not aware of it. If you
2:37 want to sort that out in the comments,
2:39 feel free. But keep in mind that this is
2:41 an open-handed issue and not worth
2:44 dividing over. So don't be a jerk. [music]
2:49 Now, Google defined CCM as customer
2:52 communic. Now, Wikipedia defines CCM as
2:54 contemporary Christian music that is
2:56 lyrically focused on matters related to
2:58 the Christian faith. And it seems like
3:00 everything I research online points to
3:03 the fact that lyrical content is the
3:05 only differentiator between Christian
3:07 music and secular music, which doesn't
3:09 make sense because a lot of bands who
3:11 are considered Christian lack the
3:13 lyrical content to place them in that
3:15 category. So what ultimately happens is
3:17 we have people who say that they're
3:18 Christian. They'll play music and
3:20 somehow by default they're labeled a
3:22 Christian artist even if the lyrical
3:24 content isn't there. This happened all
3:26 the time in the '9s and the 2000s. In
3:27 fact, some of my favorite Christian
3:29 bands growing up and some of the most
3:31 popular ones had no Christian lyrical
3:33 content and yet they were build as
3:35 Christian bands. Mainly because people
3:37 didn't care about overtly Christian
3:38 lyrics. As long as the lyrics were clean
3:40 and the person singing them had a
3:41 morally upright life, then we're pretty
3:43 much good to go. This is a list of names
3:45 that help financially support the
3:46 YouTube channel over on my Patreon.
3:48 [music] And this is me showing my
3:50 gratitude. Thank you. Thank you for
3:53 making my dreams come true. Sorry.
3:55 [clears throat] Uh back to the video.
3:57 Now, I'm not trying to get into the uh
3:59 definition game here. But it's like,
4:01 what is a Christian artist?
4:03 >> A Christian artist is somebody who is a
4:05 Christian that has Christian values,
4:07 Christian ideologies, and a Christian
4:09 mission. Because as a Christian, you
4:12 want to do things that Christians do
4:14 like evangelize and point people to Christ.
4:14 Christ. >> Obviously,
4:15 >> Obviously,
4:17 >> if your mission in life is to take
4:19 something, say your art and communicate
4:21 a Christian message, then you should do
4:23 what Jesus says, right? Like share the
4:25 gospel, lead people to eternal
4:27 salvation. We should have a burden for
4:29 that as Christians. But, you know, there
4:30 are so many different Christian bands
4:32 that are like, you know, we we are a
4:34 Christian band. We're on the radio, but
4:36 we don't die on any hills. we don't
4:38 really share our theology. We don't
4:40 really talk about Christ much in our
4:41 music. And they're like, we we just want
4:43 to inspire people, you know, inspire
4:45 people to do what. I mean, if you just
4:47 want to inspire people, whatever that
4:48 means, why do you have to be on
4:50 Christian radio to do that? Just do that
4:52 in the mainstream secular space. I'm not
4:54 sure why, but there are so many
4:56 different artists who decided to go the
4:58 Christian radio route when they probably
4:59 shouldn't have. And even though we would
5:01 sing these songs and support the bands,
5:03 we would never know their theological
5:05 positions because they were so vague
5:06 about it. I'm sorry. This is the
5:08 craziest stock footage I've ever found.
5:11 I think there's so much going on here.
5:18 Okay, so I'm running out of B-roll and
5:19 now you're going to watch me make a
5:22 pizza [cough] in Runescape. Hello
5:24 everyone. Welcome to Runescape. As I was
5:26 saying, now I'm not suggesting we should
5:28 break down everybody's theological
5:30 positions before we can support them or
5:32 listen to their music, but I personally
5:34 have a problem with artists that build
5:35 these huge Christian followings and then
5:37 turn around and either don't live the
5:39 lifestyle of a Christian or mislead
5:41 hundreds of thousands of souls with
5:43 outright unbiblical statements. I know
5:45 it sounds like a crazy idea, but I think
5:47 that somebody who represents
5:48 Christianity should represent the
5:50 Christian faith accurately. Now, if you
5:52 think I'm just being a jerk because I
5:55 hate CCM. Well, you are wrong. Kind of.
5:57 I actually like and appreciate some CCM
5:58 music. And to prove it, here's my
6:01 Spotify rap for the year. You see, you
6:03 see what the number one genre is. And
6:05 let me blow your mind even further. I
6:07 was actually led to the Lord in part by
6:09 Christian radio. I was in my truck. I
6:11 turned on the radio and it just happened
6:12 to be the right song at the right time.
6:14 And it helped soften my heart toward the
6:16 Lord. And you know what? That's not that
6:18 uncommon. You know who else had this
6:20 same experience? freaking agent Cody
6:21 Banks or Malcolm from Malcolm in the
6:24 Middle, Frankie Munz, that's who. But I
6:25 was driving across the country and
6:27 everything that could possibly go wrong
6:29 was going wrong and I was like almost in
6:31 tears and the only station that would
6:34 play would was Caleb and it was like the
6:36 perfect moment and that brought me
6:38 started I started you know going to
6:40 church every Sunday and and really kind
6:42 of being involved in my faith. So my
6:44 fight is not necessarily against CCM
6:46 music. I think it should be held to a
6:47 higher standard for sure. I don't even
6:49 have a problem with secular music. My
6:51 issue is against those who pretend to be
6:53 something that they're not, use it as a
6:54 marketing attempt to build their
6:56 careers, make money off of a fan base
6:58 they don't care about, and then outgrow
6:59 them and abandon them when they get
7:01 bigger. And if you don't think that
7:03 happens all the time in the Christian
7:05 music industry only because the name
7:06 Christian is slapped onto it, then you
7:08 need to know that the guy who's been
7:09 emailing you for money is not actually
7:11 the Prince of Zimbabwe. I have a theory,
7:13 and it's not a new one. How many bands
7:15 do you think exist in the CCM world that
7:16 would not make it in the secular world?
7:18 Now, how many of those bands exist in
7:20 that [music] world simply because they
7:21 know that their audience is okay with
7:23 crappy art? You see where I'm going with
7:24 this one? That's it. That's the whole
7:27 bit for this part that just I just feel
7:28 like there's so many crappy bands in the
7:30 CCM world because they know that they
7:32 can get away with it there. Oh, and
7:33 look, the pizza's done. Let's move on to
7:40 Do you remember a hit television program
7:42 called Wife Swap? You know, the one
7:43 where husbands would swap their wives
7:45 with other husbands and the viewers at
7:47 home would watch the chaos unfold.
7:48 >> SHE'S NOT A CHRISTIAN.
7:50 >> WELL, it appears that some Christian
7:52 artists have decided to play God swap
7:53 with the dark world of heavy metal. But
7:55 instead, the chaos is only one-sided and
7:57 they never swap back. A number of the
7:59 dark and scary rock artists that our
8:01 parents warned us about have now become
8:02 born again Christians. While the number
8:04 of the safe little CCM artists our
8:06 parents made us all listen to are now
8:10 the scary ones and gay. Yeah, a lot of
8:12 them are just homosexual. Now, if you
8:15 had a time machine and went back to 1998
8:16 to specifically tell me that the
8:18 guitarist from Korn is a better
8:20 representation of Christianity than Amy
8:22 Grant, I'd call you a lying liar and
8:23 proceed to punch you in the nose for
8:25 being a dirty, rotten liar. And then I
8:26 would immediately apologize because it
8:28 turns out that that is actually true.
8:30 >> So, I met I met Christ. He's the light
8:32 of the world. He became a man, but like
8:35 his spirit, his light came into me and I
8:41 I heard an interesting theory on a
8:44 podcast called CCM in 3D where one of
8:46 the hosts proposes a theory that the CCM
8:49 genre died around 2002 and what remains
8:51 is the same sounding songs that are
8:52 vaguely influenced by the ever
8:54 dominating worship style. He says that
8:57 from 1988 to 1995, Christian radio
8:59 stations were diverse and played all
9:01 sorts of different styles of CCM, but
9:03 now that's a thing of the past. I
9:04 personally think that this is a
9:06 byproduct of algorithmic based
9:07 corporatism where the CCM radio
9:09 gatekeepers have discovered what sells
9:11 well and are not willing to risk losing
9:13 money on new or experimental sounds.
9:15 Topic choices are usually one out of the
9:18 two extremes, either sad and depressing
9:20 or unrealistically chipper and upbeat.
9:21 There's really no room for songs about
9:24 complex emotional topics about sin,
9:26 repentance, anger, or injustice. Because
9:28 those sorts of songs tend to rock the
9:29 boat, and rocking the boat doesn't make
9:31 money, does it? This is why artists
9:33 rarely die on any hills, and when they
9:34 do, they magically disappear from
9:36 Christian radio. Now, this wasn't always
9:39 the case. In fact, CCM music was built
9:41 on raw, gritty, and poetic lyricism that
9:42 cut straight to the core on difficult
9:44 issues. Take for example the lyrics from
9:47 the 1988 song Rain Dance by Resurrection
9:49 Band. talking to myself. Ideas and
9:51 images covered with dust. Memories well
9:53 wororn from constant youth, stained by
9:55 loneliness and lust. Heaping on my heart
9:58 abuse. Somebody tell me what's the use.
10:00 Or their 1991 song called Love Speak. I
10:02 can preach you until I'm blue in the
10:04 face. Judge you to death and put you in
10:06 your place. I can feed your body. Yeah.
10:08 Share the wealth and still lose my soul
10:09 to the fires of hell. Holy Soldier
10:11 boldly released one of the most
10:12 captivating songs on the horrors of
10:14 abortion titled See No Evil. And those
10:16 lyrics go like this. I float inside her
10:19 womb. Oh mother, I am coming soon.
10:21 Suddenly fear and dread when mother says
10:23 she wants me dead. It's a stark contrast
10:25 from supposed Christian bands these days
10:27 apologizing for light-hearted songs they
10:29 made 20 years ago. Most of the early CCM
10:31 artists didn't shy away from reality,
10:33 touching on themes of suffering,
10:34 domestic violence, child abuse, and
10:36 street life. They often used imagery
10:38 that would simply be too dark for
10:40 today's CCM standard. These are just a
10:41 few of the hundreds of songs from
10:43 brilliant artists that didn't hold back.
10:46 In fact, to my true CCM fans, do me a
10:47 favor and give me some of your favorite
10:49 lyrics in the comment section. I'm
10:50 willing to bet you'll include Keith
10:53 Green, Rich Mullins, Daniel Band, Larry
10:55 Norman, Daniel Amos, Petra Striper, the
10:57 77s, I can keep going. And if anybody
10:59 wants to see how significantly different
11:01 CCM was then compared to now, check out
11:03 the live version of Where Roses Grow by
11:05 Resurrection Band in 1992. The
11:07 instrumentalism, the passion, the
11:10 lyricism, top-notch. Now, FM radio is
11:11 pretty much a thing of the past, but
11:13 that's not really the case in the
11:14 Christian world. With one of the largest
11:16 Christian radio networks boasting
11:18 anywhere from 12 million to 20 million
11:20 weekly listeners, it's still a viable
11:21 platform for artists to reach new
11:23 listeners and build their music careers.
11:25 However, Christian radio has been
11:27 dominated by worship music for some time
11:29 now. While the new corporate radio songs
11:30 become more shallow, worship music
11:32 filled the vacuum, not because it's
11:34 artistically superior, but because it's
11:35 one of the few places left where
11:37 listeners feel like God is actually
11:39 being honored. But here's the irony. The
11:41 very system that flattened a CCM into
11:43 this safe algorithmic approved product
11:45 is no longer necessary. We don't need
11:47 radio gatekeepers anymore. We don't need
11:49 corporate labels deciding which theology
11:51 is market appropriate. We don't need to
11:53 sand down every rough edge to keep the
11:55 playlist placement. The internet broke
11:57 the monopoly. And quietly, outside of
11:58 Christian radio, something interesting
12:00 is happening. Independent Christian
12:02 artists are writing deeper, heavier, and
12:04 more theologically serious music again.
12:06 Not because it's profitable, but because
12:08 it's true. And this is how CCM started
12:10 in the first place. Musicians who
12:12 weren't trying to build a brand, just
12:13 trying to tell the truth and glorify God
12:15 with whatever sound they had. And the
12:17 baton was sadly dropped somewhere along
12:19 the way. But it wasn't destroyed. It's
12:20 simply just waiting for the right person
