Somebody's Got To Say It...

There’s something happening in Gospel Music that’s been going on for many years that has managed to “fly under the radar”, because those who travel, sing, and record the greatest, most powerful music in the world have always feared confronting it “head-on”. No one wants to be offensive, or controversial, but at the same time, apparently, everyone has been afraid to be honest with the people we sing to. However, with the ever-increasing use and popularity of computers and the internet, the time has come when somebody has to step up and say what virtually every Gospel Artist is thinking, but afraid to say… There is a very real possibility that we are just a few short years away from not being able to continue to record and produce music any longer.

I’m certain the initial responses to that statement are “WHAT? Are you serious? What are you talking about?” Those are legitimate and understandable responses, so I will attempt to explain the situation as clearly as possible, with the fewest words possible.

Most people who love to listen to Gospel music don’t know the majority of traveling Gospel Artists derive somewhere near fifty percent (50%) of their revenue from the sale of CDs, DVDs, and other recorded media. In 2008, that revenue dropped by close to twenty percent (20%), for most Artists. Most people would say that decline was a result of the slowing economy, but in reality, sales of recorded music have been slowly declining over the last five years, even when the overall economy was strong. If you don’t believe me, go to your local Christian Bookstore and ask the manager. Is the decline because fewer people are listening to Gospel Music? No. Actually, more people are listening now, than ever before. I believe the decline is a direct result of the availability of illegal copies of music easily found on the internet, as well as the availability of inexpensive equipment that allows anyone to make illegal copies of CDs in their own home.

Why are free downloading, “file sharing”, and copying illegal?

I have often said most Christians who are involved in illegal downloading, copying, and “file sharing”, don’t realize what they’re doing is stealing. Here are some facts most Gospel music lovers don’t know:

It costs thousands…even tens of thousands of dollars to produce a CD that sells for $15. That “selling” price has remained steady since the introduction of Gospel Music CDs in 1984, while the production costs have risen with inflation. To recoup the initial investment, the Artist or record company must sell several thousand, or tens of thousands of CDs before the first penny of net profit is realized. This can take several months, a year, or even longer. Today, with so much “free” music available from friends or websites, the time it takes to recoup the initial investment takes longer and longer, and in some cases, the production investment is never fully recouped and real dollars are lost. You don’t have to be a mathematical genius to figure out the Artists and record companies can’t repeat that cycle for an extended period of time without serious financial consequences.

When a Gospel Artist makes a new recording, there are costs involved that most listeners don’t know about. After the recording, or production, is finished, you add the cost of photography for the cover, the cover art, the printing of the CD booklets, the cost of manufacturing the CDs. After that, you add in the cost of marketing, required to let the public know about the new CD, the cost of mechanical royalties, and the producer royalties. When you add all that together, neither the Artist nor any record company is included in the figures. They don’t see any return on the investment until CDs are sold, and since Bookstores, other retail outlets, and “legal” online sites like iTunes and Amazon.com have to receive a percentage of the selling price to stay in business, the profit is reduced even more, which further increases the number of sold CDs required to “break even” on the original investment.

Federal Copyright Law allows someone, who purchases a CD, to make additional copies for “personal” use. That would mean one copy for the house, one for the car, and, to be honest, one for anyone who lives in your household. It doesn’t include the next-door neighbor, the friend who lives in another city, or anyone on the internet who has access to your music files through a file sharing program. Once a recording ends up in the hands of someone who lives outside your household, it is an illegal copy and the person who made it, as well as the one who receives it, is stealing. The reason is simple… the Artist doesn’t get paid for a product they produced, the record company doesn’t get paid for a product they invested in, the songwriter doesn’t get paid for their contribution to the recording, the publisher doesn’t get paid, the producer doesn’t paid…no one gets paid.

Here is an example I shared with a car dealer a couple of years ago, after he proudly told me he had found a site on the internet where he was getting our music for free:

I said “Wow, that’s pretty cool. Let me ask you something… can I drive off your lot in a new car without paying for it, keep it for a year or two, and let my friends drive it, if I promise not to sell it…only use it?” His answer was a very quick, “NO, of course not.” My response was, “Well… that was the same excuse you used to justify stealing our music. You said you were just downloading the music and making CDs for your car so you could listen to it… you weren’t selling it, so you weren’t stealing it.” I can tell you that it only took him a few seconds to figure out that what he was doing was wrong, after I had explained it to him in a way he could understand.

The bottom line is this…Gospel Artists simply can not continue to produce quality music recordings if more and more people decide to download, file share, or copy CDs without paying for them. It’s simple mathematics. It’s also easy to figure out that if the trend continues, we will begin to see Artists cut-back on their travel, make fewer recordings, and even go out of business completely in the not-so-distant future.

Now that you know the facts about stealing or illegally downloading and sharing music, you are responsible for the knowledge you’ve gained. I hope you will join us in getting the word out to your friends, and making them aware of the seriousness of this problem. I really believe if Christians know the truth, they will respond correctly.

Recorded music is one of the most effective tools available to spread the Gospel and encourage Christians. We have to work together to insure its availability for many years to come.