c. 1996 Religion News Service

(RNS)-Three years ago, leaders in the growing Christian music industry boldly predicted that gospel would follow in the bootsteps of country, emerging from the shadows to become a major pop genre.

But today, gospel still accounts for only 3 percent of America’s $12 billion music industry, just slightly ahead of classical music.

Next Thursday’s 27th annual Dove Awards broadcast is the Gospel Music Association’s yearly chance to parade contemporary Christian recording artists like Michael W. Smith, dc Talk and BeBe and CeCe Winans before a nationwide television audience. The event (April 25), staged at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, airs at 8 p.m. Central Time on the Family Channel, Faith & Values Channel and the Family Net TV networks.

But despite the popularity of such high-profile Christian artists, most gospel acts continue to be known more among the faithful than in mainstream music circles.”What all of this tells us is that it is probably going to take a lot longer to achieve (broad market success) … than we thought,”said Bruce Koblish, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association.”There is a tremendous amount of education that needs to take place in the general market. In many cases, we’re still dealing with people’s perceptions of what religious music is all about. Some people think it’s all inspirational music (that) is stacked in some little bin in the back of the store.” Earlier this decade, many industry insiders said Christian music was headed straight for the big time. They were buoyed by the chart-topping success of Amy Grant’s”Baby, Baby,”the acquisition of Christian record companies by major mainstream labels (EMI acquired Sparrow, BMG acquired Reunion), and the growing interest by mainstream retailers like Target.

To be sure, Christian music has made significant gains. Record producers report increased sales in mainstream outlets, and artists have received more coverage from mainstream media.

A recent survey by the Gospel Music Association said”gospel music is growing at a faster rate than any other major form of popular music,”with retail sales up an average of 22 percent annually since 1991.

At the same time, the survey said,”rock, pop, urban, country and rap have seen annual growth rates of 5 percent or below.” More than three-fourths of all Christian music is still sold through thousands of Christian bookstores. In September, Billboard, the major music industry trade publication, began using Christian retail figures in its weekly Top 200 Albums chart, meaning that dozens of Christian artists (including Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Jars of Clay and Petra) have appeared on Billboard’s influential tally.

Nonetheless, Christian music executives, citing the 3 percent share of total industry sales, say they are disappointed that the genre has not been able to break out into the broader consumer market in a big way as they had hoped.”There’s a lot of change going on in our industry right now,”said Glenn Wagner, director of marketing for Integrity Music.”There’s so much stuff out there for consumers to choose from, and it takes so much energy to get your message out to them.” In some ways, the Christian music industry’s problems are no different than those suffered by the mainstream industry: Sales are flat, according to a February report by the Recording Industry Association of America; profit margins are slim; and young consumers are spending increasing amounts of their leisure time and dollars on their computers, playing with CD-ROMS or roaming the Internet. Meanwhile, record clubs are hurting retail sales with”10 for the price of one”promotions.

But some of the Christian music industry’s challenges are unique. Take, for example, the industry’s concern that its artists’ lives mirror the traditional morality they sing about. Gospel superstar Sandi Patty had an extramarital affair with a singer, whom she later married after divorcing her first husband. Because of Patty’s confessed”sinful choices,”Word Records declined to release her completed Christmas album, which had been expected to be among the biggest sellers of 1995.

In addition, many radio stations that once played Christian music have converted to a talk format, leaving Christian music without major radio outlets in Los Angeles and a number of other cities.

Plus, some industry leaders suggest the Christian retail market is tapped out. Terry Hemmings, president and CEO of Reunion Records, says today’s Christian music superstars do well to sell half a million records through Christian stores. That’s half of what Amy Grant sold in that market with her 1982 release”Age to Age.””I think we might be at a saturation point,”says Hemmings.

Bill Hearn, president and CEO of EMI Christian Music Group, an umbrella organization that includes the Sparrow and StarSong labels and Chordant Distribution, which distributes another five labels, agrees.”During the fall of 1995 we had record-breaking sales,”says Hearn.”But last fall we shipped an enormous amount of product into Christian bookstores-far more than we ever did before-but that has created a returns issue for us. Returns (of unsold merchandise from stores) are heavier than we’ve ever experienced.” Bill Anderson, president of the Colorado Springs-based Christian Booksellers Association, says he’s heard conflicting reports of boom and bust from Christian retailers, for whom music comprises about 16 percent of retail sales.”There’s no clear trend, but this may be a period of adjustment for particular labels,”says Anderson.

Reunion’s Hemmings says the industry is at a crossroads.”We need to evaluate what’s the mission of our industry,”he says.”Is it to make more music for the Christian subculture, which seems to be saturated to some degree right now? Or are we trying to reach the general market? This is a tough time to do it.” Koblish says the market is changing rapidly, and will continue to do so for some time. But he’s optimistic that Christian music will be able to weather the storm.”The entertainment industry has always done well, even during bad times,”says Koblish.”People are looking for hope, and the message of Christ in our music is what more and more people will need. And Lord willing, we will be able to survive the up-and-down trends a little better and give them the music they need.”

MJP END RABEY