| Written by David Wang, The Catholic Register,
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Views : 690  |
Happy New Year. Hopefully, we’ve all survived the hectic holidays and managed to experience the true meaning of Christmas. I am sure that many of you have received the gift of music and are greatly enjoying listening. Maybe, some of the artists are the Catholic artists. Unfortunately, I just received the list of Canada’s top Christian music albums for 2007 and not a single Catholic artist was on the list. Over this year, we might be able to change that.
This year will continue the shift of this column from reviewing predominantly Evangelical Christian recordings to more Catholic recordings. I am very excited about several new initiatives that have recently been started for Catholic artists. World Youth Day in Australia and the Eucharistic Congress in Quebec in June bring new opportunities for exposure for our artists.
One interesting item that has come up during my conversations with Catholic artists is that downloads are starting to comprise a larger percentage of their product sales. Although CD sales still form the bulk of revenue, there is definitely a trend among the youth towards downloading music versus buying CDs.
In the Catholic music scene, it becomes even more important for the parents and priests to start to take a role. Parents can go to sites like www.Catholicmusicnetwork.com, www.itunes.com or www.phatmass.com to purchase legal downloads from Catholic artists. Priests can encourage their youth groups to move away from only using Evangelical Christian resources and shift towards Catholic musicians. Parishes can put on Catholic music retreats, such as those put on by the Mary, Mother of God parish in Oakville, where the youth are energized by highly entertaining rock and rap music. Dioceses that have youth events should book professional quality Catholic artists such as those put on in the diocese of Saskatoon through the Rock the Mount weekends.
There are so many other small things that can be done to help Catholic musicians. In my parish in Kitchener, we sell Mark Mallet and my band Critical Mass CDs after Mass. The parish also greatly supported Critical Mass by selling out a concert. Consider inviting a Catholic artist to put on a concert.
If you are thinking of buying a gift for a First Communion or Confirmation, music makes a splendid gift. There are several Catholic artists who are available at any Christian bookstore. These include Rachael Lampa, Janelle, Ceili Rain, John Michael Talbot and Mars Ill. The Gift of God CD compilation will become more popular as the event it is supporting, the 2008 Eucharistic Congress, draws nearer.
The Catholic music industry is still in its infancy but there is reason for great hope. May this year be one full of blessings.
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