$40 for an alleluia
while lounging about the living room of our enormous hotel quarters (see laura's blog) this past weekend, we dove into a conversation of the exorbitantly high ticket prices for concerts. but here's what i found most interesting (and forgive me, erin, laura, and jen, for not remembering which of you brought it up): why do we pay to go to a "worship" concert? third day and david crowder are currently touring and charging $40 a head. i never really thought anything of it until now. and i'm not talking about caedmon's call type bands that are "christian-themed." i'm talking about the full-out, leading-worship, bring-you-closer-to-god-through-emotional-sing-song bands (i honestly don't mean that as an attack). is it right to charge people to invite them to experience god like that?
i don't know. thoughts?
and in other news, i was on the ccm site to research ticket prices for other worship bands and came across this t-shirt from second coming clothing. i honestly have to wonder who their audience is. because situated right below the thumbnail of that t-shirt was a photo of their ladies' short-sleeve denim shirt.but really, if you want to get onboard with second coming clothing and "wear the mission," make sure you check out their other t-shirt options with such "hot" sellers like Bloodwiser ("the wise men knew his blood's for you"), BrokeBack on the Mountain, and NBC - Nothing But Christ.
oh, lord. help us.
posted by Mary @ 1:03 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
I think the worship band prices can get a bit much, but I also think that they have to make a living and pay for their equipment, venue, etc. I'm not really against it.
yeah, that's what i was thinking, that they have to make a living ... but what does that mean? they choose to make a living writing worship songs to draw closer to god and then charge people for it?
i mean, it seems like one thing to be a worship leader at a church and commit to those people, to lead them in song, to lead them to a place to hear god, but is it necessary for them to go on the road if they discover they're just that good?
aren't there lots of people who could be great if given an opportunity? do we have to set only a few people up as uber-successful worship folks and then sing all their songs? can we write our own? can we encourage our local body of believers to test the depths of their own creativity?
again, just thoughts ... thanks for sharing yours.
These are good questions and also look how quickly I am responding. My question would be do you have the same questions for those who preach at conferences? Or authors of any 'Christian' books? $40 does seem like a lot but also the cost seems to be less of an issue than should people take this sort of thing on the road at all. It seems to be much the same thing as recording and distributing CDs. On the otherhand I think Christians should encourage the arts everywhere and challenge gifted people to use what they have been given to point people to God, even if they are not as good as those with a recording contract.
those are fair questions. adam, i appreciate your comment, "Ought not we spend our money in things that enhance our spirit?"
i've definitely been to my fair share of "worshipesque" concerts. and seeing delirious was honestly worth every penny to me.
and jon, i guess i just look at music and speaking differently. maybe because i've spent so much time studying rhetoric, it's easy for me to see how different every speech/talk looks. and it's not often, in my experience, that i've run across a speaker giving the same exact speech as another speaker.
but in music - especially because it requires us to sing along, i guess? - i feel worship leaders pick the same songs and sing those. i kind of wish they'd test the limits of their own creativity. that's what i appreciate paying for, i guess.
not that there's even anything new under the sun. but ... oh, i guess, i don't even know what i'm trying to say.
guess i just wish people in our own communities would step forward and be bold enough to shake things up so we all don't have to buy the same exact worship cds, books, and on and on.
and at the center, the intent to love the church. if i'm in an arts community with someone who shares a story they've poured themselevs into, i don't care if it's gonna sell a million copies. but i'm happy to read it and hear the person behind it, in it, through it. and be able to connect and love them better.
i'm totally off topic now. sorry.
I know I'm cynical.. but I think part of the "success" of bands like David Crowder or the myriad of other worship musicians is comercial in nature. This is the United States--we are reckless consumers and generally obsessed with celebrity--there is a big market for this stuff.
I guess we can argue that there is something more "sacred" or edifying about paying $40 for a worship concert compared to buying a sweater or something, but is it worthwhile to pay $40 for a Christian-themed concert (like Caedmon's Call or Jars of Clay) compared to seeing David Crowder? Where do we draw the line?
I am not really making a point, just putting more questions out there I guess. I also think it's a stretch to say that little of that $40 per ticket isn't going into some particular person's pocket. Again, cynical, but I think it's quite likely that someone here is making big money. If Christian music weren't a huge market where some people were making a ton of money, it wouldn't look so much like the mainstream music industry, save the music. I mean, every mainstream marketing technique in the book has a CCM counterpart. Maybe that's fine, but I think someone (or a group of people) is making tons of money off of all this stuff. That's why we're paying $40 per ticket, less than big mainstream stars, but a lot more than a lot of other artists as well.
simply because no one else has mentioned it, i feel compelled to share that i find second coming clothing appalling! is there some unwritten rule in the Christian tshirt business that dictates every shirt design must be reactionary and merely an exploitation of something in mainstream culture? (the 10 commandments broke back on the mountain? give me a break!) somehow i don't think vindictive, mocking, and "clever" in one's own eyes mark the kind of "attitudes" Christians are called to wear, er, have.
maybe this ship has sailed, but i'll chime in anyway...
i guess the whole ticket price thing doesn't bug me nearly as much as certain other factors. i guess i sort of see the old supply and demand economy ruling over that. i'm also pretty sure that the "artists" (a term i unfortunately need to use very loosely) don't set the ticket prices. the management companies do that, and they are businesses working hard to make a profit.
with that said, i think the whole system is ugly and corrupt. someone should write an expose called, "the profit driven church?" i would buy it...but not at a christian bookstore. they operate on the same principles. (by the way: does anyone else remember jared's pledge to urinate on the floor of the family bookstore if they displayed and sold a book about the two missionaries held hostage in afghanistan? for the record, he has not yet fulfilled this promise.)
gosh, talk about digression. anyway, my point is this. if an artist writes and performs good music, or an author writes a good book, i want to experience it. commericializing and profitting off recycled praise songs? i think i'll pass on that one. hey, and if we all pass on it, maybe they'll start actually creating something off value.
i went to cornerstone last summer to experience the ultimate in grassroots christian artistry. instead i watched 264 scion & narnia commercials. my advice, find the true artists and support them, talk about them, buy their stuff (yeah, i know), and be inspired by their spirit. that's the only way i know we can bring down the system.
i'll amen that synopsis, cory.
Okay, here's the real answer. The US is a market economy. Supply & Demand rule the country. As long as people pay that price, they will continue to charge that price. If it brings in a full house, it is the easiest way to limit the number of people flooding in to see the show without having to read essays about who deserves to see it most. Plus, in the end, they might make a little coin to cover their overhead, feed their children, and perhaps take a little time off to record an album or two.
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