Welcome to the music world! Christian music songs have been around for centuries. But latterly, it hasn’t received as much attention as it should. While the world focuses on modern techno music, millions of people still need church music to enjoy on Sundays.

Furthermore, Christian music is a massive opportunity for artists. While everyone else is focusing on conventional pop and hip-hop, there’s an underserved market here.

So, why is gospel music the next big opportunity for many artists? Here’s our two cents:

Growing Demand

Contrary to popular opinion, there is growing demand for Christian music songs. The industry is seeing steady growth from events like New Wine and Soul Survivor, and the associated musicians who created the sound tracks for those events. While Hillsong started the modern Christian music revival, there’s still a need for new talent to come through and change things.

Only in the last few years, more people living in countries like the USA, Canada, and the UK have started moving back toward their Christian roots. Many of these countries are talking about “revivals,” which naturally increases demand for more Christian music.

Even app stores, like Apple Music, are reporting growing trends in the segment. More people want worship songs they can listen to on the way to work or sing along to on Sundays.

Dedicated Fanbase

The dedicated and passionate fanbase is another reason why artists should explore the possibility of getting into Christian music. Christians often see their faith as the center of their lives and the reason for their existence, so it is hard to find followers who believe in what they’re singing about more intensely.

Many Christians will actively support artists and bands they think will push their cause forward. Those offering modern music or new styles with biblically-informed lyrics are most likely to succeed with specific target audiences.

With that said, you still need to be mindful of scripture. Songs you write for baptists will be quite different from those for Catholics. Therefore, always run your work by theologians and people who understand what each sect believes and how to appeal to them.

Creative Freedom

Despite this, the level of creative freedom you have as an artist writing and composing Christian music is quite substantial. The church, in many ways, is just as varied as modern pop music, providing outlets for artists of almost every kind.

For example, you can get into pop-infused worship songs, which are the most common at the large event gatherings. However, easy-listening indie Christian folk is also taking off, and more people are trying to explore it.

POD started the trend for Christian heavy metal back in the mid-2000s with their debut album, Alive, and other copycat bands followed them. Christian hip-hop is also taking off, with many artists using biblical texts to inform clever lyrics.

Underserved Mainstream Crossover

Another reason artists should get into Christian music songs production is the underserved mainstream crossover potential. Many religious artists remain strictly within the genre, without ever breaking out and trying to get into something new. In the eyes of the music industry professionals, this is a lost opportunity. Bands with pre-existing audiences are far more likely to break into the mainstream.

The best example of this from the 1990s is Amy Grant. She started writing strictly worship music, but then branched out into pop and folk without losing her Christian roots. All her songs remained positive.

British legend Cliff Richard took an even more meandering approach. He produced pop music for most of his career, but then inserted religious music during the 1980s and in 2000 with his Millennium Prayer. These additions reminded everyone that he was still in the business of producing Christian music, even if it wasn’t detectable in all his productions.

Industry Support

Finally, you might want to get into the Christian music space as an artist because of the strong industry support. Headlining at a conventional music event is virtually impossible without prior fame, but it is far more straightforward at religious concerts. These range in size from small to large and have dedicated audiences.

Recently, the Lifest and Creation Festival have been the most popular. However, you can also get air time on Christian radio stations if you produce recorded music to a high quality that makes for easy listening. These platforms provide exposure to the audiences you want to appeal to, encouraging them to purchase your work.

Just be careful when it comes to licensing. Churches don’t like it when you insist on royalties for playing their music, so you’ll need to find other ways to monetize.

[All images were downloaded from unsplash]