"I think it's wrong to put a price on an item that contains a spiritual message that came free from God. If I was doing a disco album or an instrumental album, or even if I was an entertainer who happened to be a Christian... then it would be a product. It would be my skill, my trade. But since I am foremost a minister, my music is just a tool to present the ministry."
John Styll, "Keith Green - A Non-Profit Propher?" in The heart of the matter: The best of CCM interviews, Vol. 1. ed. John Styll (Nashville: Star Song, 1991), 68.
4 comments:
Its very noble but terribly impracticaland not realistic first of all how would Christians artists and ministers eat?
Second paul spends a decent amount of time discussing this subject and makes it clear that "a workman"should be supported.
Keith Green's CD's are to this day wicked expensive.
Hi Steve,
True.
However, I found this to be an interesting take from the earlier days of the 'pop Christian' world.
What I find interesting about the Christian 'culture industry' (a term created by Theodor Adorno) is that the industry makes all the money and the artists gets little or nothing.
Today, Christian music IS a LUCRATIVE industry... and with that comes corruption. When Christian labels are being bought up by media conglomerates (e.g. Viacom, Disney, Newscorp etc.) whose bottom-line is money, it's interesting to consider how such an industry navigates between Christian ethics and the business of making money. Sadly, this navigation is more like the Titanic hitting an iceberg!
While there might be a few examples of how this works positively, I would not be surprised if it was more often NOT the case.
The reason why Keith Green CDs are so expensive these days is because artists need to distribute through these conglomerations - who hike the price so they can get rich!
Thoughts?
Steve
Thanks for KG stuff,
KG's music has influenced me more than anything else on the planet almost. I have listened to him for so long. He has also influenced me as a musician, to be very honest and real in my lyrics.
Thanks for posting,
-Sean
__________________
www.SeanDietrich.com
Thanks for KG stuff,
KG's music has influenced me more than anything else on the planet almost. I have listened to him for so long. He has also influenced me as a musician, to be very honest and real in my lyrics.
Thanks for posting,
-Sean
__________________
www.SeanDietrich.com
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