Christian, Gospel Music Industries Rely on Past Favorites in 2005
While Christian and Gospel music sales had soared in 2004 as the sixth most popular genre, according to Nielsen SoundScan’s Year-end report, the industry saw little breakthrough in 2005 with success reliant upon existing major artists.
While Christian and Gospel music sales had soared in 2004 as the sixth most popular genre, according to Nielsen SoundScan’s Year-end report, the industry saw little breakthrough in 2005 with success reliant upon existing major artists.
"Sales on the whole [industry were] down double digits over 2004," said Provident Music Group President and CEO Terry Hemmings, according to Billboard. “Catalog and middle tier records are soft, and new artist development is a struggle.”
Christian and Gospel labels saw strong sales this past year from perennial favorites, including Third Day, Kirk Franklin and CeCe Winans. The music industry has, however, yet to thrive on new artists and a wider fan base.
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"This business thrives on new breakthroughs and we have not had [a major] one since Casting Crowns debuted in 2003," said Hemmings.
The Gospel industry took in greater sales than the contemporary Christian community, according to EMI Gospel VP/GM Larry Blackwell.
Overall sales, however, "took releases from nearly every major artist this year - Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, CeCe Winans, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin - to accomplish that," he said.
"For me the story is how we effectively develop new artists so we don't have to depend on release schedules to drive sales."
Overall album sales in the music industry fell 7.2 percent from 2004 to 618.9 million units, the lowest since 1996, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which measures point-of-sale purchases across the nation.
Still, there were some breakthrough Christian and Gospel artists in 2005. BarlowGirl, Kierra "KiKi" Sheard and Building 429 have made number one hits and garnered several award nominations.
KiKi has been nominated for three 2006 Stellar Awards including Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year. Billboard Magazine selected her as one of the "Faces To Watch 30 Under 30: Top Young Acts and Executives."
