God Rock, Inc. : the business of niche music / Andrew Mall.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mall, Andrew, 1978- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Contemporary Christian music--United States--History and criticism.

Contemporary Christian music.

Contemporary Christian music--United States--Marketing.

Market segmentation--United States.

Market segmentation.

Rock music--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Rock music.

Sound recording industry--United States--History.

Sound recording industry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (322 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2021]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Popular music in the twenty-first century is increasingly divided into niche markets. How do fans, musicians, and music industry executives define their markets’ boundaries? What happens when musicians cross those boundaries? What can Christian music teach us about commercial popular music? In God Rock, Inc., Andrew Mall considers the aesthetic, commercial, ethical, and social boundaries of Christian popular music, from the late 1960s, when it emerged, through the 2010s. Drawing on ethnographic research, historical archives, interviews with music industry executives, and critical analyses of recordings, concerts, and music festival performances, Mall explores the tensions that have shaped this evolving market and frames broader questions about commerce, ethics, resistance, and crossover in music that defines itself as outside the mainstream.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Playlists

Introduction: Popular Music, Markets, Margins, and the Curious Case of Christian Music

PART ONE. CHRISTIAN MUSIC: AN INDUSTRY AND ITS HISTORY

1 “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?”

2 The Great Adventure

3 A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?

4 “Find a Way”

PART TWO. NICHE MUSIC MARKETS: ETHICS, PROFITS, AND RISK

5 Music to Raise the Dead

6 Lost in the Sound of Separation

7 From Margins to Mainstreams and Back

Conclusion: The Stability of Risk and the Risk of Stability

Appendix 1. Discographies

Appendix 2. Pop Singles with Christian References (1957–70)

Appendix 3. Major Christian Record Labels and Subsidiaries

Appendix 4. Successful 1990s-Era Pop Singers’ Albums

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780520974784

0520974786

OCLC:

1229160874