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51-750: A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee every year except 2011 and 2012 when they were held in Atlanta , Georgia. The ceremonies feature live musical performances and are broadcast on TBN . The awards were established in 1969 and represent

102-526: A stigma . A 1997 study revealed that a self-identified audience of "Christian music listeners" had what was considered a lacking recognition of Christian artists. The survey was commissioned by the Christian Music Trade Association and Z Music Television . The study looked at several artists including Amy Grant , BeBe and CeCe Winans , Carman , Steven Curtis Chapman , dc Talk , Sandi Patty , and Michael W. Smith . At

153-482: A "Jesus is my boyfriend" image of God. 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 produced the Christian and secular chart hit " I Can Only Imagine ." However,

204-452: A "ghetto," meaning that the majority of artists in the industry are pigeonholed to operate solely in it. These artists are isolated from the mainstream public, to Christian media , including radio, magazines, and book stores. For many this is a conscious choice, however others, not content to stay in an isolated industry segment, attempt to "cross over" and gain acceptance in the general market. For many artists, being called Christian becomes

255-402: A category created specially for it, "Gospel Music Visual Song" in 1985. Another artist, Brian Welch , whose solo debut was released to Christian markets, found their album pulled from some Christian bookstores after the music video for "Flush" was released. The video is an interpretation of the authors personal experience with methamphetamine , before his religious conversion. At the time

306-469: A long time staple of the industry, began to gain significant market share in about the year 2000. By focusing on marketing worship music to youth culture, this genre became a growth driver despite the downturn in the general music industry. "The money is just drying up. And it's not being replaced." John W. Styll, president, Gospel Music Association and longtime CCM publisher Growth continued until about 2003, but has generally followed

357-471: A variety of musical styles including rock , pop , hip hop , country , and urban . See also: The Dove Awards were originally conceptualized by Gospel singer and songwriter Bill Gaither at a Gospel Music Association board meeting in 1968. The idea of the award being represented by a dove is credited to Gaither and the design for the award itself is credited to gospel singer Les Beasley and designer Bob McConnell. The first GMA Dove Awards were held at

408-536: Is overseen by the GMA Foundation, a "sister organization" established by the GMA to focus on gospel music history and education. In 1971, a scandal broke out over the 4th GMA Dove Awards when The Blackwood Brothers , some of whose membership was also part of the GMA leadership, won almost every award for which they were eligible, a total of nine out of fourteen awards. The group was accused of unfairly stacking

459-423: The Christian right . While in 1981 total gospel music industry revenues were approximately $ 180 million, only ten years later they would total $ 680 million, according to CCM Magazine . According to RIAA data, market share for sales of Christian music albums more than doubled between 1993 and 1997. In the 1990s the Christian music industry became the fastest growing segment of the music industry. This

510-634: The Dove Awards in 1969, which eventually expanded into an awards ceremony covering the whole of Christian music. The Dove Awards had their 50th ceremony in 2019. By 1976, the GMA was well-established, with its award show bringing recognition to Christian music. In the 1970s and 1980s, tension and conflict emerged between Southern gospel and the newer developments of Jesus music and Contemporary Christian music . Southern gospel conservatives had been resistant to racial integration , and even as they were slowly becoming more receptive to integration,

561-750: The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee in October 1969. In 1971, the awards moved to Nashville. The 3rd GMA Dove Awards of 1971 were deemed invalid due to apparent ballot stuffing by the southern gospel group the Blackwood Brothers and that year is still not considered an official awards year by the Gospel Music Association. There were no awards held in 1979 due to a decision by the Gospel Music Association to move

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612-449: The 1920s, the developing Christian music industry exhibited unique tensions between religious, musical, and commercial goals. While it was subject to the same economic and market forces as the entire music industry, the Christian subgenre was also subject to different aesthetic and social boundaries. This was often expressed as a tension between “secular” and “sacred” ideals. Recent scholarship explores why Christian music remained marginal to

663-452: The 1970s saw established corporations become involved in the Christian music market. Word Records , founded in 1951, was bought in 1976 by ABC . Other music industry giants also got involved, CBS started a short-lived Christian label, Priority Records, and MCA also fielded a label, Songbird Records, for a time. While the Jesus movement had ended by the 1980s, the Christian music industry

714-537: The 1999 Dove Awards. The rules were rescinded afterwards and many groups disqualified by the rulings in 1999 were winners in 2000. The GMA's current policy states: "From time to time, screening judges may encounter product submissions that raise questions about whether or not the product's content is appropriate for the GMA Dove Awards. To assist the judges in their determination, the GMA Board has authorized

765-623: The 43rd Dove Awards, these include: In 1998, the GMA published a new definition of gospel music. According to the definition, to be considered eligible for the Dove Awards, music was required to have lyrics that were: Prior to the definition, the only qualified music was that sold in Christian Booksellers Association affiliated stores. The new standards resulted in complaints by some fans and artists after thirteen entries were disqualified as being too secular in

816-601: 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." 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." Some critics have alleged that CCM often uses "minimal direct theology," and promotes

867-412: The Christian music industry as being committed "to the goals and strategies of the commercial marketplace – industrial growth, increased market share, and greater profits." This became more apparent in the 1980s and 1990s as the largest Christian record labels became subsidiaries of the "mainstream" labels (who are themselves owned by huge media conglomerates like Viacom and Time Warner ). Others see

918-461: The Christian right, who argue (among other things) that their image as rock stars contradict their espoused faith. One critic wrote that the marriage of secular and religious elements in "Christian music" "violates all that God has commanded in the Bible about separation ." The "ghetto" has several effects, critics point out that the audience of such artists are often already Christians, thus limiting

969-439: The Christian scene, a band must stay far, far away from that scene." Mutemath , for instance sued their record label with the goal of removing their product from the Christian market. Their first release sold almost 30,000 copies, with "bulk of sales coming from the Christian market," according to Billboard . The band had been placed in the Christian market by their record label largely because their lead singer, Paul Meany ,

1020-753: The GMA appeared on a list of organizations supporting the "Stop Online Piracy Act" ( SOPA ) before the U.S. Congress . The GMA drew criticism from Kirk Franklin after his speech at the 2019 Dove Awards, which addressed shooting bias in police violence, was censored. The GMA later issued Franklin a formal apology. Christian music industry Like its broader category, the Christian music industry consists of individuals and organizations that earn money through writing songs , producing recorded music , presenting concerts , and performances on Christian radio . The Christian market also includes some unique aspects, such as hymnal production and church music licensed for congregational singing. From its roots in

1071-680: The Jesus movement produced a large number of bands in a very short period, which the general market was unable and/or unwilling to absorb. This was in part due to a lack of appreciation for the ideology expressed by such artists. Finally, Jesus music artists tended toward mistrust of secular corporations. According to another critic, the industry in this period was defined by four characteristics: lack of audience acceptance for styles, inferior production, inefficient distribution, and lack of wide radio exposure. Petra , for instance, struggled to find an audience for their hard rock sound, partially due to limited distribution to Christian bookstores. Even so,

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1122-642: The National Quartet Convention, a convention devoted to Southern gospel that had been operating since 1956. Its founding board included Don Butler , Cecil and James Blackwood , Vestal Goodman , Charlie Lamb , Don Light , and J.D. Sumner , and its first president was Tennessee Ernie Ford . In its early years, it faced competition from the United States Gospel Music Association, a for-profit entity also focused on gospel music. It began organizing

1173-583: The Rockies) was a showcase event for aspiring (often unsigned) songwriters and artists in the Christian music industry. This event was replaced by a new event, "Immerse", in Nashville in 2009. The GMA also founded the Gospel Music Academy, which trains musicians, hosts artists-in-residence (which have included Cindy Morgan and Michael W. Smith ), and organizes seminars on issues related to

1224-401: 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 crystal meth addiction and the crazy things anyone addicted to meth will do while they're high or to get their fix. Everything the models were doing in

1275-612: The awards from autumn to spring. Every ceremony since then has been held in the spring. The first televised ceremony was the 15th GMA Dove Awards of 1984 which aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network . The awards were held in Nashville until 2011 before being presented at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta , Georgia in 2012. They returned to Nashville in 2013, and have been held at the Allen Arena on

1326-497: The campus of Lipscomb University since. Because of the large number of award categories (42 in 2012), and the desire to feature several performances by various artists, only the ones with the most popular interest are presented directly at the televised version of the award ceremony. The "General Field" includes seven awards which are not restricted by genre: Other awards are given for performances in specific genres as well as for other contributions such as artwork and video. As of

1377-420: The current downturn may have long term positive effects for the industry. John J. Thompson told Christianity Today that "The lack of monetary benefit has filtered out some of the people who should not have been doing this in the first place. If the people who are in it for the money are gone, it leaves more turf for those who had something a little bit loftier in mind." Christian music is sometimes cited as

1428-416: The development of the industry. Harder forms of Christian music, such as heavy metal , also began to gain acceptance. This is largely credited to Stryper , who had begun making inroads into the general market by 1985. Still, rock and alternative acts faced a longer battle for acceptance than contemporary acts, as the form was opposed by prominent religious leaders such as Jimmy Swaggart and others on

1479-603: The direction that the GMA was heading and a new organization, the Southern Gospel Music Association, was formed by Charles Waller. However, in 1985, this organization was absorbed by the GMA. A new, independent Southern Gospel Music Association was formed in 1995. In April of every year for several years, the GMA held GMA Week (or GMA Music Week) around Nashville , Tennessee . The week-long event includes seminars, concerts and "meet and greet" events for artists, industry workers and members of

1530-483: The following content criteria for use in these instances: 'For purposes of GMA Dove Award eligibility, the content of all entries will be based upon the historically orthodox Christian faith contained in or derived from the Holy Bible or apparently prompted and informed by a Christian world-view.'" Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association ( GMA ) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for

1581-429: The general market, was largely critiqued by mainstream media, and was often criticized for being derivative. The contemporary Christian music industry has roots in the late 1960s and early 1970s Jesus movement and its Jesus music artists. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music points out three reasons that the Christian music industry developed as a parallel structure to the general music industry. First,

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1632-566: 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 to promote their 1981 release Warrior . 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

1683-421: The impact of any supposed "evangelism." Another is that artists sometimes have trouble appealing to and maintaining both secular and religious audiences. For example: The problem, as summed by one critic, was that the music was too religious for secular audience, while simultaneously too aggressive for religious audiences. One critic describes the situation, stating that for a band "to be taken seriously outside

1734-533: The lyrics of the single, while Christian in nature, contain what one critic calls "rather vacuous theology." Sometimes "crossing over" creates ambiguity over whether an artist is Christian (a "Christian band"), 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"). Such artists are: The trend continues when examining religious videos. Many Christian bands produce videos with rotation on MTV in mind, however,

1785-654: The media. "GMA Music Week" ends with the annual GMA Dove Awards ceremony, which honors contemporary Christian and gospel music. The GMA began holding the Dove Awards in the Grand Ole Opry in the 1990s and arranged for the ceremony to be broadcast on the Family Channel , raising its public profile. Annually held in Estes Park , Colorado from 1974 to 2008, " Music in the Rockies " (formally Seminar in

1836-419: The music industry. The GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame , which was created in 1971, is dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions of individuals in all forms of gospel music. Inductees include Elvis Presley , Mahalia Jackson , Keith Green , Larry Norman , The Blackwood Brothers , The Imperials , J. D. Sumner and The Stamps , The Jordanaires and others. The Gospel Music Hall of Fame

1887-521: The new developments in Christian music resulted in Southern gospel becoming increasingly marginalized by music consumers and losing influence in the GMA. Many Southern conservatives, including members of the GMA, also disapproved of rock music and felt that the newer styles of gospel music being promoted by the GMA indicated that the organization was essentially moving into an alliance with the "enemy". The Southern gospel industry became disenchanted with

1938-443: The number of Christian albums sold, according to Soundscan numbers. This phenomenon was partially responsible for crossover successes. P.O.D. , for example, sold 1.4 million albums in 2001, although sales at Christian retail outlets accounted for only 10%. The new millennium has brought challenges for the record industry as a whole, and these have affected the Christian music industry as well. Contemporary worship music ,

1989-451: The other hand, some artists operate solely within the "ghetto" of Christian music, and find great success in doing so. 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. Both problems affected Christian labels into the 1990s. "Since people don't understand [the term] '

2040-423: The purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music . As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership comprises a network of artists, industry leaders, retail stores, radio stations, concert promoters and local churches involved with the wider Christian music industry . The GMA was founded in 1964 to promote gospel music. It was created as an extension of

2091-441: The remainder accountable through other methods, such as direct mail. At that same time, the industry was estimated to gross $ 750 million, with $ 381 million in album sales. In the late 1990s, general market retailers, especially big box stores such as Best Buy , Walmart , Target , and Blockbuster began carrying a wider selection of Christian music products. By 2000 those stores had surpassed Christian retail in terms of

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2142-490: The shelves." Classification of videos on Z Music by content 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). The conclusion was that the channel's programming was designed to make its Christian nature "apparent only to those willing to listen for it." Some critics describe

2193-428: The time of the survey, each of these artists was active in Christian music and had been so for at least nine years, was a multiple Dove Award and/or Grammy Award winner, and had albums certified Gold or higher. Even so, the survey found that the Christian music audience was no more familiar with artists in the field than they were with Hootie & The Blowfish , a popular act at that time. The study concluded that

2244-555: The trends of the larger music industry since that point. In 2009 a New York Times op-ed placed the entire music industry on a "deathwatch," pointing out that new forms of media, piracy, and new pricing options are driving gross sales down. In another example of parallelism, the Christian music industry has experienced largely the same phenomenon. In the Christian marketplace, music consumption has risen by as much as 30% since 2005, but overall album sales have dropped to about half of their 1999 levels. However, some critics point out that

2295-464: 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 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

2346-459: 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." 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 . The video received a Dove award in

2397-467: The vote through an aggressive recruitment campaign, with some industry members accusing the group of also distributing "marked ballots, gifts and free memberships." As a result of the controversy, all awards from that year were stripped and James Blackwood , a GMA board member, took responsibility for what he called "unethical behavior." The GMA has staunchly supported anti- music piracy efforts, and launched its own antipiracy campaign in 2004. In 2011,

2448-415: The word "Christian" was the problem, causing a stigma. "It's the label, not the music, that dissuades," one Christian music executive was quoted as saying, agreeing with the survey. Another aspect of the "ghetto" is that some artists have trouble gaining audience with Christians due to their non-conservative image. Stryper is a well-known example. Stryper received large amounts of criticism from groups on

2499-606: Was due to several factors, including consolidation of record labels, and independent Christian bookstores into chains. The Christian music industry began adopting SoundScan in 1995, although implementation was spotty even into the millennium. Even so, the adoption caused the visibility of Christian artists to increase significantly, and brought credibility to the industry as Christian albums became integrated into all Billboard charts . In 1985, 90% of Christian music sales originated at Christian bookstores. By 1995, that number had dropped to 64%, with general retailers taking 21%, and

2550-531: Was maturing and transforming into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. The early 1980s saw an increase Christian booksellers taking product, and an increase in sales followed, despite the recession . As a percentage of gross sales, Christian music rose from 9% in 1976 to 23% in 1985. By her 1982 release Amy Grant had saturated the Christian marketplace and made significant inroads into the general market. Sandi Patti and Michael W. Smith also gained influence within Christian music, each playing significant roles in

2601-699: Was previously with the band Earthsuit , whose only major label release was released on a Christian label . This caused the band to not get taken seriously by music critics, and by the release of their full-length album the band began expressing discontent with their situation. Meany told Tucson Weekly "...we began to see ourselves getting pigeonholed into this particular world that we weren't necessarily proud to be associated with... We're not trying to preach through our music; we don't have some kind of evangelistic agenda with what we're doing... You know, you don't want to be ashamed of your faith and your beliefs, but you don't want to be marketed by that, either." On

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