::AT HOME::
An amazing letter from Andrew Peterson to those on his message board. I thought it would be good for you all to read it as well. Be blessed.
Hey, guys.
Someone on the message board asked about why I'm no longer with Essential Records.
Essential Records merged with Reunion records earlier this year, I'm pretty sure because of the many changes happening in the music business as a result of the millions and millions of dollars in lost revenue over illegally downloaded music. The mood in Nashville for the last couple of years has been stressful to many people, and as I've said before, pretty much everybody I know knows someone who has lost their job or called it quits in the wake of the rapid drop in record sales. Well, Provident Music Group (of which Essential and Reunion were parts) merged the two labels, and artists like Silers Bald, Paul Coleman Trio, Jill Paquette (a Canadian singer/songwriter whose record I really liked), and myself were released from our contracts.
That was (for me, at least) good news.
Essential was a fine label for the most part, and I bear no ill will towards them; in fact I thanked them. They had already passed on recording the Christmas album and had freed me from my contract to produce it myself, so when the call came that I was released due to the merger, it didn't change anything. I was already funding the recording, planning on releasing it myself, and was enjoying the freedom immensely. The only thing that changed was whether or not my next record would be available in retail stores, plus the fact that there wouldn't be a team of radio people pushing my singles (which never really bore much fruit anyway, with the exception of several very kind radio stations).
So I walked in the studio and told Ben and Andy Osenga the news and their first reaction was, "Wow. Congratulations, dude." When I told my buddy Derek Webb he said, "Man, that's great. Congratulations." Then I found out that Jill Phillips, amazingly, was no longer with her label. We congratulated each other. Then I found out the same thing about Chris Rice. Folks, things are changing in the music business, and they're changing in favor of folks like Jill, Andrew Osenga, Randall Goodgame, and myself. Hopefully the myth that being an independent artist somehow makes you sub-par, that the true mark of quality music and artistry is landing a record deal, that the only valid Christian music out there is what you hear on the radio, will slowly go the way of Beta VCR's and eight-tracks.
Many of the services for which labels existed in the first place are now met without them, like distribution (now we have our websites) and the deep pockets to pay for making quality records (I recorded my last two records on a Mac in a basement--records cost a fraction of what they used to, thanks to digital recording). About ten of my friends and I, who you may remember have called ourselves the Weaklings (in honor of the Oxford Inklings), got together to try and figure out a way to band together and beat the system. We're all independent arists with the freedom to pursue our art and our place in the Kingdom without a corporate label breathing down our necks; most importantly, we're Christians who feel called to honor our King with music that is honest, true to our art, and unaffected by the winds of CCM's need to make money. True, we have families to feed, and our hope is that there are enough of you out there who believe in good music to help support artists like Jill Phillips and her husband Andy Gullahorn, like Jeremy Casella, Eric Peters, for example--people whose artistry humbles and amazes me.
I don't know what our little group will be called (still trying to think of a cool name other than the Weaklings), or even what it'll look like in a few years, but I hope to continue to strive to make music that honors God and touches people along side artists like the ones I mentioned above, regardless of what the good people at the Christian radio station tell me I need to sound like. I hope this makes sense.
For me, it's not an outlet for rebellion or bitter resentment for the state of Christian music--I can admit I've felt those things in the past, but tonight while I type this my hope is that we would remain humble on this musical (and ultimately spiritual) journey. It's not that labels are all bad, it's just that someone has to figure out a way to let the rest of the world know that there are Christians like us out here doing our best to make good music, music that doesn't usually sound like what you hear on Christian radio (not there isn't some really good music being played out there), and music that ought to be supported by the Christian community.
That being said, Fervent Records, one of Provident's smaller labels, will be distributing my Christmas record for a few years. I still own the album, but they're kindly allowing it to make it into stores across the country, while I'll still be selling it online (and yes, that's where I'll make the profit on it that will help me pay off the debt I went into to make it, hint-hint). So for this one record I'm on a different label under the same umbrella of Provident Music Group, but my next record (hopefully early next year) will most likely be just as independent as most of my favorite singer/songwriters' cd's. I'm in good company, believe me.
Earlier today I was over at Jill Phillips's house rehearsing with her husband Andy Gullahorn for the coming fall tour (he's opening and playing with me and Ben), and she poked her head into the room and asked us if we needed anything to drink. A few minutes later their little boy Drew brought me a glass of water, and while me and Andy went over songs little Drew banged on his baby acoustic guitar and play-sang along.
We were in a room with mic stands, strange little instruments, old vinyl records hanging on the walls, and we were making music. We were singing about family, love, God, and life. I drove straight from there to Andrew Osenga's house and rehearsed with him for our show together this Saturday in Michigan, and he played me some new songs. I returned the favor. We talked about great music and how fun it's going to be to play the Christmas show this year.
I sat there on Osenga's couch thinking about how blessed I am to share my journey with such honorable people. Broken, sinful people, sure, but people who are brave enough to sing about it. People who are more concerned with truth than money. People who with the Creator's help create these little treasures called songs, and they stand with secret fear on the stage and share them with you so that you and your families can listen to them and hopefully feel less alone. We need you to stand behind people like that, because there is a need for storytellers in this dying world.
Thank you for listening, and for helping us to believe that our stories are worth telling.
AP
