Friday, October 30, 2009

please listen to my demo

I try not to be cynical when it comes to the "Worship Music Industry". I really do. But when I read things like this...well, I lose that battle.

Below is a description of an actual break-out session from an actual conference that a friend of mine recently attended. I saw the conference schedule/booklet-thingy on his table yesterday, so I picked it up and started thumbing through it. It looked pretty much like every other Christian conference I have ever attended, nothing too out of the ordinary. And then I came across this break-out session (taught by two guys...a marketing guy and an artist development guy...from a major Christian record label):

"Please Listen to My Demo"
11:30am - Room 2
Description:
How to engage and maximize a record label relationship. Walk through the process of developing your music ministry from a local to an international ministry. What you should be doing today. How to get attention. What a fan base means. The process of finding the right relationships and developing them to maximize the impact God has for your ministry.

Cynical or not, I am almost at a total loss for words. What I want to say is that anyone who walked into Room 2 at 11:30am that day should no longer be in Worship Ministry; that anyone who is concerned with those things needs to take a long look in the mirror...or maybe they need to step back from the mirror for awhile; that a record label talking about worship music is about as appropriate as Liberace talking about moderation.

That is what I want to say, however I know that I am over-reacting.

But I will say that every single sentence of their description is wrong. It is just dead wrong. And the fact that its not a joke makes me sick to my stomach.

2 comments:

michaelCODY said...

That's ridiculous. That kind of stuff ticks me off to no end. It's almost as if one is using God as a mere prop or element to gain footing into a door of 'progress'. To even consider 'getting attention' or a 'fan base' just... man! I dont' even want to know which party the fan base is meant for. I always give props to people who want to play for church until I see stuff like that and realize they're only using it as a venue or stepping-stone. Ugh!

The Anonymous Human said...

Actually, it was a pretty good class. I now have a solid fan base and great relationships with some top execs. They even taught me how to craft songs to maximize the amount of record sales that God can give me. I think you are totally looking at this the wrong way Bill. How is God supposed to use you if you aren't willing to exploit yourself for your glory? Think about it.

On a completely separate note, the word verification is "dogsies". Word.