Contemporary Christian Music

Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM) is a somewhat outdated term originally used in the 1970s to describe a new form of pop/rock music that was lyrically based in the Christian faith. This music had its roots in "Jesus Music", which sprung from the hippie Jesus Movement of the early 70s. Artists such as 2nd Chapter of Acts, Love Song, Barry McGuire, and Larry Norman were making folky pop music about their faith in Jesus.

Partly due to a separatist attitude, and also due to the fact that finding mainstream radio play would be quite difficult, an entire Christian music industry soon sprang up, with Christian-only artists, record labels, radio stations, and record stores. By the 1980s, CCM was a very large and lucrative music industry, with artists such as Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith selling millions of records.

Over time, however, many Christian artists opposed the idea of a separate Christian music "ghetto" and began working outside the confines of the Nashville, Tennessee-based CCM industry. This attitude was pioneered by rock band U2 in the early 1980s, when they dodged the CCM industry altogether and signed with mainstream label Island Records. In addition, there were far more styles of Christian music appearing, such as Christian hip hop, punk, alternative, and metal. By the 1990s, artists such as the Lost Dogs, Starflyer 59, Vigilantes of Love, and Joy Electric were rebelling against the stereotypes of the CCM industry and creating compellingly original music.

Today, the term "CCM" generally refers to music produced by the Nashville-based CCM industry (see Billboard Magazine's Hot Christian Tracks chart [1]). However, many Christian artists are now finding success in the mainstream music industry, such as P.O.D., Switchfoot, and MxPx.

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01/21/08 03:14 AM