Christian Radio
This one kind of goes a long with Christian Music Paradigm #2.
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of Christian radio stations. There are “AC” stations, which is your 4-chord worship stuff and your mainstream pop songs. Then there’s your “CHR” stations, which is…well…everything else. Cool? No. What’s the problem with this?
To put it simply, AC all sounds exactly a like (usually marketed as "positive, encouraging"), and CHR stations have an incredibly broad spectrum of music selections (usually marketed "encouraging music with an EDGE!"). AC sounds like they’re playing the same song over and over again with slight variations of words, while CHR is everything from RAP to Sreamo (to use an unofficial term) to any other indie vibe you can think of.
Maybe there aren’t enough fans of each different “Christian” sub-genre, so they have to lump it all into CHR. I get that. It’s still peculiar to me…and that doesn't explain to me why everything on AC stations sounds so similar. I don’t believe it’ll be that way forever. It's simply the way things are right now. Like every other pattern that needs improving, it will be rethought and changed.
Thoughts?
I wish there were more "edgy" radio stations. I feel like the "AC" stations are afraid of losing their old(er) audience, so they keep it mainstream and familiar.
ReplyDeleteFor those reasons alone, I won't listen to AC radio ---- The stations sound like they are on a mushroom high or they don't want to offend for fear that Mardel's, Hobby Lobby or the Christian Bookstore down the street won't pipe their sound into the aisles.
ReplyDeleteIt needs to go beyond the radio stations -- to the music makers and the TPTB (the powers that be) to push for acceptance and diversity on the radio --- Sadly,the radio will soon become divided like it did when I was a kid -- The "old time religion" stations with songs right from the hymnal to the "contemporary music" stations of singers not afraid to plug in a guitar and beat a drum.
If you make it, they have to play it.