Editing Christian music industry (section)

===Downplayed religious content===<!-- Obviously, there are a great number of bands that could be listed in this section. Please try to limit these to relevant examples. -->
An early Christian record label, [[Lamb & Lion Records]] (founded by [[Pat Boone]]) reported in 1978 that it was their goal to produce crossover artists, but they were limited by lack of distribution to the secular marketplace.<ref name="ET_29_5">{{cite journal |title=H-E-R-E-S'S Christian Show Biz! |last=Hortegas |first=Steve |journal=Eternity |volume=29 |issue=5 |date=May 1978 }}</ref> Both problems affected Christian labels into the 1990s.<ref name="JoAC_15_3"/> "Since people don't understand [the term] '[[Blood of Christ|the Blood of Jesus]], '" stated a manager for Lamb & Lion, "...music that communicates must approach it another way. We've got to present a subtle but sensitive Christian message."<ref name="ET_29_5"/> Lyrics with subdued religious content have become commonplace in the industry; One critic points out that the secular hit "[[Spirit in the Sky]]" "has more explicit religious references than do many recent Christian radio hits."<ref name="BILLBOARD_G_HIST">{{Harvnb|Alfonso|2002|loc="Contemporary Christian music: A History" pp. 11–29.}}</ref>

Some critics have alleged that CCM often uses "minimal direct theology," and promotes a "Jesus is my boyfriend" image of God.<ref name="Cusic_PART4"/> Using downplayed religious content in lyrics has allowed some artists to "cross over" and make significant impact into the general market. Some Christian bands are able to do this while maintaining their identity in the Christian market. For example, [[MercyMe]], whose double platinum album ''[[Almost There (MercyMe album)|Almost There]]'' produced the Christian and secular chart hit "[[I Can Only Imagine (MercyMe song)|I Can Only Imagine]]." However, the lyrics of the single, while Christian in nature, contain what one critic calls "rather [[wiktionary:vacuous|vacuous]] theology."<ref name="JMIA"/>

Sometimes "crossing over" creates ambiguity over whether an artist is Christian (a "Christian band"),<ref name="AoR1999"/> or the artist is composed of Christians and produces music that appeals to Christian music fans but does not cater to the Christian market ("Christians in a band").<ref name="AoR1999"/> Such artists are:

*[[Chevelle (band)|Chevelle]], whose [[Point No. 1|debut album]] was released to Christian music markets, received three [[Dove Award]]s.<ref name="DOVE_CHV1">{{cite web| url=http://www.doveawards.com/history/browse.cfm?cid=32 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020106001828/http://www.doveawards.com/history/browse.cfm?cid=32 |archive-date=January 6, 2002 |title=Dove Award Recipients for Hard Music Recorded Song |publisher=[[Gospel Music Association]] |access-date=2006-11-15}}</ref><ref name="DOVE_CHV2">{{cite web |url=http://doveawards.com/history/browse.cfm?year=2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020406020434/http://doveawards.com/history/browse.cfm?year=2000 |archive-date=April 6, 2002 |title=Dove Award Recipients for Hard Music Album |publisher=Gospel Music Association |access-date=2006-11-15}}</ref> However, the band is not generally considered to be a "Christian band" today. On that topic the band states "We originally signed with [[Squint Entertainment|a record company]] that was backed by [[Word Records|Word]] (a Christian label housing [[John Tesh]] and [[Amy Grant]]), so the record was in Christian bookstores. It was really an accidental thing."
*[[Project 86]] has sometimes been labeled a "Christian band", although the band itself eschewed the label. The band considers its art to be the best conveyance of their message.<ref name="CM_Vol_52">{{cite book |last=Winters |first=Kelly |editor=Pilchak, Angela M. |title=Contemporary Musicians |series=Volume 52 |year=2005 |publisher=[[Gale Group]] |location=[[Farmington Hills, Michigan]] |issn=1044-2197 |isbn=0-7876-8065-6 |chapter=Project 86 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/contemporarymusi0000unse_f9q2/page/129 129–130] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarymusi0000unse_f9q2/page/129 }}</ref> Frontman Andrew Schwab has offered several statements on the topic. "We're not going to go in there and say 'Hey we're the Christian band. We're going to carry ourselves like a normal band. Hopefully people will like our music and investigate into the band [...] and they will learn our beliefs."<ref>{{cite news | title = Wide range of music inspires Project 86 | author = Gonzales, Ron | newspaper = [[Albuquerque Journal]] | page = 2D | date = May 28, 2004 }}</ref> "If we're playing at [[Ozzfest]] or on [[Family Values Tour|Family Values]]...," the band told ''[[7ball]]'' after the release of [[Drawing Black Lines|their second album]], "there is a greater level of tact necessary in order to reach that sort of audience."<ref name="7b_30">{{cite journal |last=Dodd |first=Jason |title=Hard and Fast |pages=51–52 |date=May–June 2000 |issue=30 |journal=[[7ball]] |issn=1082-3980 }}</ref> In a 2007 interview, Schwab further opined "We always tell people that the goal has been to just write music that we love, and write music hopefully that is challenging and inspiring to people and doesn't sound like everything else out there."<ref name = "DIBASE_2007-04-23">{{cite web | url = http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/interviews/Project862007.asp | title = I want ''Rival Factions'' | last = DiBase | first = John | publisher = Jesus Freak Hideout | date = April 23, 2007 | access-date = 2008-10-23}}</ref>
*[[Switchfoot]] is often referred to as a "Christian band", mostly due to their involvement with the Christian rock scene in their early days. But the band has always shunned this label: "For us, it's a faith, not a genre,..." says Jon Foreman. "...these songs are for everyone. Calling us 'Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them. And that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind—and that's what we want".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/01/09/switchfoot_steps_toward_stardom |title=Switchfoot steps toward stardom |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=January 9, 2004 |access-date=2006-08-09 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050123135046/http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/01/09/switchfoot_steps_toward_stardom?mode=PF |archive-date = January 23, 2005}}</ref> Duly, Foreman's lyrics steer clear of preachiness, exclusive declarations of faith, or even any mention of [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]], instead [[Social commentary|questioning the status quo]], probing [[Existentialism|existential]] issues through "[[Socratic dialogue]]"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.utahstatesman.com/media/storage/paper243/news/2004/10/13/Features/Question.And.Answer.With.Switchfoots.Jon.Foreman-751862.shtml |title=Question and Answer with Switchfoot's Jon Foreman |date=October 13, 2004 |access-date=2006-08-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130208220210/http://www.utahstatesman.com/media/storage/paper243/news/2004/10/13/Features/Question.And.Answer.With.Switchfoots.Jon.Foreman-751862.shtml |archive-date=February 8, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> in which he answers questions with more questions, exploring frustrations, or simply being inspirational. Even so, this position has not alienated their Christian fans. As in their [[Indie (music)|indie]] days, they are still distributed to Christian retail outlets through [[Sparrow Records]], featured on Christian radio and charts, and presented [[GMA Music Awards|Dove Awards]], even after having been signed to the mainstream [[Columbia Records]]. [[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] writer Andrew Beaujon takes the view that "their lyrics often have two different meanings, one meaning for a Christian audience and one meaning for the rest of us. They try to relate to two different groups of people at once".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=444350 |title=Rocking for Jesus |date=June 30, 2006 |access-date=2006-08-09 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060706140202/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=444350 |archive-date = July 6, 2006}}</ref>

====In video====
The trend continues when examining religious videos. Many Christian bands produce videos with rotation on [[MTV]] in mind, however, the images can lead to an ambiguous impression of the portrayal.

In 1982 MTV featured two videos, "Constantly Changing" and "It's Mad" (which was the first one to be featured), made by the Swedish Christian rock band [[Jerusalem (Swedish band)|Jerusalem]] to promote their 1981 release ''Warrior''.<ref name="MuLe_2_9">{{cite magazine |title=A Cable Music First? Lamb & Lion act to be seen and heard on MTV. |pages=43 |magazine=Billboard |date=November 20, 1982 |volume=88 |issue=? |publisher=[[Billboard Magazine]] }}</ref> [[DeGarmo and Key]] was the first Christian band in the US whose video appeared on MTV, made a video for their single "Six, Six, Six" off their 1984 release ''Communication''. While the video was shown on MTV for a short time, it was subsequently pulled for a scene which depicted the [[Antichrist]] engulfed in flames, which MTV described as "senseless violence."<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite journal |title=MTV Rejects DeGarmo and Key Video, Cites 'Violent' Scene |pages=3, 15 |journal=MusicLine |date=February 1985 |volume=2 |issue=9 |issn=0746-7656 |publisher=[[CCM Communications]] }}</ref> Eventually the video was re-edited for MTV—however, the unedited version continued to play in Christian bookstores and on Christian television networks, like [[Trinity Broadcasting Network|Trinity Broadcasting]].<ref name="MuLe_3_1">{{cite journal |title=DeGarmo and Key Video Airs on MTV |page=3 |journal=MusicLine |date=May 1985 |volume=3 |issue=1 |issn=0746-7656 |publisher=[[CCM Communications]] }}</ref> The video received a [[Dove Award]] in a category created especially for it, "Gospel Music Visual Song" in 1985.<ref name="MuLe_3_1"/>

Another artist, [[Brian Welch]], whose ''[[Save Me from Myself (album)|solo debut]]'' was released to Christian markets, found their album pulled from some Christian bookstores after the music video for "Flush" was released.<ref name="BrianW"/> The video is an interpretation of the authors personal experience with [[methamphetamine]], before his religious conversion. At the time the album was pulled, Brian Welsh released a statement about the visual content of the video, relating its symbolism to his personal experiences of addiction and redemption. He also issued the following statement: "The video for 'Flush' is about [[Methamphetamine|crystal meth]] addiction and the crazy things anyone addicted to meth will do while they're [[Substance intoxication|high]] or to get their fix. Everything the models were doing in the video is what I was wrapped up in while I was addicted to meth... I believe I would be dead right now if I continued using meth, but instead, I chose to [[Salvation#Christianity|surrender my life]] to Christ and die to myself so He could share His resurrection with me... There is a huge message of hope on my CD and I believe those retailers that are pulling the CD from their shelves are robbing someone spiritually by taking it off of the shelves."<ref name="BrianW">{{cite news|title=Ex-Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch defends 'controversial' video|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=105600|date=September 25, 2008|access-date=2008-11-01|work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]}}</ref>

{{Pie chart
| caption = Classification of videos on Z Music by content<ref name="PMS_S99"/>
| label1 = Ambiguously Religious
| value1 = 31
| color1 = Red
| label2 = Moderately Religious
| value2 = 52
| color2 = Blue
| label3 = Unequivocally Religious
| value3 = 17
| color3 = Green
}}

A study of visual elements of Christian music videos on [[Z Music Television]], a now defunct MTV-like channel for Christian music, found that almost one third of the channel's videos could be described as "Ambiguously Religious" at best (red area, right).<ref name="PMS_S99"/> The conclusion was that the channel's programming was designed to make its Christian nature "apparent only to those willing to listen for it."<ref name="PMS_S99">{{cite journal |last=Gow |first=Joe |date=Summer 1999 |title=Rockin', Rappin', and Religion: Programming Strategy on Z Music Television |journal=Popular Music and Society |publisher=[[Bowling Green State University]] Popular Press |issn=0300-7766 |volume=23 |issue=2 |page=17 |doi=10.1080/03007769908591730}}</ref>