Jesus Music- Commercialization, Commodification, and Concealment in the Christian Entertainment Business (feat. Zach Simms)

The word “sing” appears in the Bible over 400 times, and at least 50 of those are commands for followers of Jesus to sing. In Colossians 3:16, believers are commanded to, “sing to God with gratitude from the heart” and to sing to each other, teaching and admonishing through “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs”. It’s clear from the Bible that God desires for His people to sing- both to Him and to each other. But what happens when that experience of connecting with God and other believers through music gets commodified and turned into a product to be bought and sold?

Total sales from the Christian music industry are more than a half billion US dollars annually. Christian/Gospel music is considered one of the fastest growing areas in recorded music history, with more than 1,400 radio stations and 80 million listeners. Even mainstream brands such as Pepsi MidAmerica, Cracker Barrel, Allstate, NASCAR and McDonald’s, among others, have aligned with Gospel/Christian artists, releases and festivals and events to promote their brands.

It’s clear that there’s money to be made in Christian music and entertainment. But at what cost to the Christian message? And what about the artists, producers, and writers that help create that music? Are they all, truly “Christian”- or are they simply pandering to a carefully selected demographic through setting clean, positive, nonspecific, and formulaic jargon to modern music?

Is the music promoting an authentic lifestyle of radical surrender to Christ as King, or is it simply giving us a soundtrack to a life of safe, comfortable, consumerism with a little Jesus sprinkled on top?