It started with whispers last week that the board of the Gospel Music Association might be closing its doors. Just whispers, that is, until someone with inside knowledge tweeted that GMA was considering closing its doors and asked if this was the end of Christian music.
Immediately, the internet lit up like a Christmas tree with speculation about everything from the GMA’s financial problems to lawsuits from former GMA staffers to the total demise of the organization.
No one in GMA will confirm the rumors on the record, although sources close to GMA tell me that indeed there was a board meeting scheduled to vote on whether or not to close the doors on the organization.
But when it became public, GMA apparently decided to rethink that option. (More than one person used the word “backpeddling.”) Officially, the organization is continuing forward and considering ways to best serve its membership, and there’s no reason not to believe that’s true.
Whether the rumors were true or not, GMA still has to deal with several problems:

1) Debt. With debt of about $800,000, GMA is still scrambling to pay the bills. They did raise $350,000 with the “Concert of the Decade/Save The GMA” event, and they’ve launched an online auction of autographed memorabilia to help raise more money.
That the GMA is in financial straits shouldn’t necessarily be taken as a criticism of the organization. The economy has taken its toll on everyone; declining membership and significantly decreased attendance at GMA Week 2009 have surely exacerbated the problem. When you fork out big bucks to put on an event, for example, and attendance is significantly lower than expected, you end up with a deficit. That kind of deficit doesn’t happen overnight and it won’t be cleared up overnight.
2) A growing rift in the industry. GMA Week is the annual industry event that brings together artists, industry professionals, radio professionals, artist hopefuls, and media for networking, showcases and informational tracks.
In a September article in Christian Retailing, Ed Leonard, president of Daywind Music Group and new chairman of the GMA board of directors, said there was a 20% drop in GMA registrations this year.
That’s because earlier this year, the Christian Music Broadcasters and GMA had a falling out, and the radio folks skipped GMA 2009 and held their own event later in the summer, Momentum.
If the radio folks decide to forego GMA Week in 2010, it would mean serious changes for the event. In fact, GMA Week 2009 was allegedly on the chopping block at one time earlier this year. There’s no guarantee it’ll happen in 2010.
Numerous industry insiders have also referred to the GMA board as “elitists”, citing the $1,000 a plate dinner as just further proof of the growing divide between the commercial aspect of Christian music and the ministry.
Those complaints and disagreements only continue to divide the GMA and split resources.
3) Declining GMA membership. In the same Christian Retailing article, Leonard also said that GMA memberships currently number about 3,000, down from a high of 4,000.
One problem may be that GMA membership doesn’t offer something of value to the majority of the industry. Yes, GMA does fantastic things for Christian music, from GMA Week to the Dove Awards. But there’s no real incentive for artists (or even media folks like me) to join GMA, except to vote for the Doves. A member discount on registration for GMA week or Immerse is nice, but in a struggling economy may still not be enough to enable some artists to attend.
4) GMA is out of touch with Christian music fans. Take a look at the items up for auction on the GMA online fundraiser. Coffee with Amy Grant. Recording with Michael W. Smith. (In fact, a lot of stuff from Michael W. Smith). There are only a handful of more … hip … artists: autographed drum head from BarlowGirl, skate deck from Decyfer Down, some CDs from Phil Wickham, Disciple, The Afters, Derek Webb. You want bids? Where is recording time with Skillet? How about coffee with Todd Agnew? (Now there’s an item worth bidding on; an hour chatting about the Bible with Todd Agnew will have your head spinning for days.) Or coffee <a href="with Derek Webb; let him tell you himself why he decided to use the word sh*t in a song. Where’s Flyleaf? Kutless? Thousand Foot Krutch? Third Day? Mary Mary? Israel Houghton? Jeremy Camp? Anyone hot right now?
At the risk of hurting feelings, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant, while obviously legends in the industry and respected artists, may not be the hottest draws for 21st century Christian music fans.
5) The changing face of Christian music. Christian music doesn’t fit into a neat little box anymore and it isn’t staying quietly inside the subculture. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to define what exactly Christian music is; as result GMA simply may not be able to serve the entire industry. There are artists who are doing ministry; there are Christians involved in mainstream music that doesn’t involve spirituality at all. There is a broad range of artists in between. As one industry professional told me, “When Hawk Nelson is covering Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ at a Christian music festival, I’m thinking, ‘What in the world does that have to do with Jesus and/or ministry?'” It’s difficult for one organization to meet the needs of both ends of the spectrum.
So what would the impact be on Christian music if GMA really did close its doors?
Some think it would be a good thing. One industry insider suggests, “Disband the elitist board and everyone with an elitist attitude. They have forgotten how to fish and don’t want to get dirty anymore. Hand them all a pole and a can of worms and let them start over the right.”
On the other hand, there is definitely a need for a governing body to organize events like GMA Week and the Doves. Those don’t happen for free; there are expenses involved and with declining membership and attendance, it’s difficult to say how GMA can resolve their current financial problems while moving forward with industry events. It would be a shame if the Doves came to an end.
So what’s a Christian music artist or professional to do?
Support the organizations that best serve their needs. There are lots of events and groups that reach small niche groups within the industry. One radio professional suggests The Christian Radio Resource Coalition (CRRC), describing it as “a body of people supporting the advance of the Gospel through music, pooling the resources of many to share the vision of ONE!”
Niche organizations like IndieHeaven.com or Indie Extreme are great resources for indie artists.
GMA still holds events like Immerse (formerly GMA in the Rockies) for aspiring artists and although there’s no official word, for now GMA 2010 is still on. And I recently learned about the ministry Porter’s Call that offer free counseling and support for artists.
But most importantly, pray for the industry and the artists and professionals involved in bringing the Gospel of Jesus to the world through music, that they would remain faithful to that calling and responsible in their business dealings.
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