Reformation
I’ve been thinking lately and I believe we are in a time of reformation, but this time it is a music reformation. I’m not referring to some little “indie uprising, I’m talking about big time “Martin Luther” type of reformation. Luther’s reformation was about how the established church in 1517 had a religious stranglehold on how people were able to communicate with God. Commoners were taught they could not receive forgiveness of their (already forgiven by God ) sins unless the church granted them an “indulgence”. Indulgences replaced the severe penances of the early church, or, to express it more exactly, they replaced the shortening of those penances that was allowed at the intercession of those imprisoned and those awaiting martyrdom for the faith. And, because of that, there were issues of control. Churches controlled people through fear, manipulation, and knowing everyone’s dirty laundry which they could use as ammunition for torture and killing.
Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church, which served as a notice board for university-related announcements. These were points for debate that criticized the Church and the Pope. The most controversial points centered on the practice of selling indulgences and the Church’s policy on Purgatory. His thesis basically stated, “what if commoners didn’t need the “man” in order to be forgiven of their already forgiven sins? Of course, the “man” didn’t take kindly to losing control of the people. Loss of control meant loss of revenue, loss of influence, loss of power over the people. Martin Luther was excommunicated by the church for his outrageous claims and could no longer be in their parade. However, he did not suffer the same fate as the men who influenced him. They were burned at the stake.
It is interesting to note that there had been unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity (1378–1416), which had excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church. But it wasn’t until the invention of the printing press that widespread information and Martin Luther’s dissemination about the manipulative practices of the church could reach people. Luther’s 95 Theses were quickly translated from Latin into German, printed, and widely copied, making the controversy one of the first in history to be aided by the printing press. Within two weeks, the theses had spread throughout Germany; within two months throughout Europe. That was lightning fast at that time! Isn’t it interesting that TECHNOLOGY played a major role in the reformation?
Fast forward about 500 years…
Just 10-15 years ago, labels and distribution companies they owned were the only way for musicians to reach the masses. Radio was the vehicle labels used to introduce new artists, and the labels owned those as well. It was quite the monopoly. Artists had to practically sell their souls to be “stars.” Labels had the upper hand over the artists and could hold their songs hostage if the artist did not do what the label told them to do. Business practices were based on mafia models, with corruption, greed, lust, and ego controlling their M.O. And then there is the secular music industry:)
Nowadays, record labels have lost control over the distribution channel, and their cash cow, aka the CD is going the way of the dinosaur. With the invention of the internet, mp3, itunes, ipods, portable players, cell phones that can play music, etc….we are now in a time where it is a singles driven market. And that is bad news for labels. Labels survived on robbing Peter to pay Paul. Cash flow was how they stayed in biz, along with questionable accounting practices and creative hiding of revenues. Profit per customer has decreased more than 90%, as people cherry pick singles and create their own playlists. And that has cut the head off of Peter. Paul is going broke!
On the other side of the coin, musicians can go right to the people and sell their music. People can decide who they like, without the filter of the execs in suits. Labels are quickly reinventing themselves, trying to find ways to extract more money out of artists still on their rosters. Artists are foolishly signing deals with touring companies, grabbing millions while they can, all the while knowing the death of the music industry is coming soon. These deals are only being offered to artists who are at the highest levels of popularity and who are a proven brand. Touring companies are foolishly signing artists to hundred million dollar deals or more in a high stakes gamble that bets people will keep attending concerts at $100 or more ticket prices and keep buying CDs and more than 1 song from a project. I would not want to be a shareholder in Live Nation!
So, what about this musical reformation? My opinion is it hasn’t really happened yet. Yes, things are changing, but there still needs to be more change of heart among musicians and artists. Many are still of the mindset that the industry is going to come like a knight in shining armor to save them from indie hell. For the most part, those days are over. The industry is in a state of chaos, they are like Paul, running around with their head cut off. They are still running, but their blood pressure is dropping rapidly, and soon, they will drop to their knees and then die.
Here is what will cause reformation in the Christian music scene. When artists come together and share their knowledge, help one another in their missions, support one another by praying for one another, this will be the catalyst for change. The last barrier to reformation is dying to self. It is time to be leaders, not followers!
We are seeing the start of this in our Indieheaven organization. Behind the scenes, on our Indieheaven Network, our members are coming together, slowly. Some are being reformed. See, this really isn’t about the Christian Music industry being reformed, it’s about each chosen minstrel being reformed, being saved again. This time from themselves.
This is the reformation I’m talking about!
So true! I think we Indie Artists should write our own “95 Thesis”!!!