Any Hills Alive Show Report?

[fcollazo]

Anybody have a review, photos or video of the Hills Alive Show?

[sue d.]

I'm working on it... here's one little photo:

http://tweetphoto.com/33102733

I talked with Bob, who said the crowd really seemed appreciative - they did an encore as well, so that's a good sign!

Cristian fit in wonderfully; he knew all the songs even before practicing, and did a great job.

Greg said they all just seemed to pick up where they left off, so not much practicing was even required.

Here's an interview with John about the fest from the other day:

http://bit.ly/9qhOYG

I hope to have more to report soon....

[Masada1]

Great interview with John...it is nice to see Petra start to get back some of the respect that was sorely lacking in their last few years. I think that there are so few bands doing the kind of ministry that Petra did that people are beginning to realize what they were missing.

Was very cool of him to give props to Greg Volz and I think he is dead on about the two peaks thing. Can't wait to see the rest of the photos!

[sue d.]

Here's a link to a few shots that have come my way...

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnwschlit ... veFestival#

First is the soundcheck, followed by a few concert photos. I'll be getting more....

[cvs2kids]

On a side note, I see the festival offers free admission.

That's quite a statement of the churches and organizing committee that they can do that.

[sue d.]

Yes, it's amazing. They have some great sponsors.

I've added a few more pix to the online album...

[fcollazo]

What was the set list?

[BorniX]

mnmnmn let me see

AAWYK
DANCE
I WAITED/ANCIENT OF DAYS/I WAITED
AMAZING GRACE
CREED/JUDAS KISS
RIGHT PLACE
JEKYLL AND HYDE
ROCK MEDLEY
BEYOND BELIEF
BOB SOLO
LORD I LIFT YOUR NAME..
HE CAME HE SAW...

[brent]

Yes, it's amazing. They have some great sponsors.

I've added a few more pix to the online album...

I was hangin out and chattin with the keyboardist from Chris Tomlin's band today. He was talking about how everyone in the business is going broke, because music does not get paid for and concert ticket sales do not cover expenses. It's sad that sponsors have to give away money to put on shows in Christian music. The artists no longer draw enough people with money to cover the shows. There are fewer people with money to begin with. Who knows how much longer we have until the whole thing implodes.

Pollstar is reflecting gloom and doom. The only market showing stability is the large bar/theater market.

There are new studies out now about churches, their facilities and contributions. It isn't looking good for churches. Playing music to Christians, already giving to worthy causes and obligations, is just going to get harder and harder.

[separateunion]

By "everyone in the business", do you mean CCM, or the music industry as a whole? Because I'm pretty sure we could stand to let the CCM industry die.

[Jonathan]

Do you think the economy has anything to do with the change? Or is it that anyone with a mic and a mac can release an album?

[brent]

To the last two questions, the answer would be yes.

The industry as a whole is too large. The supply is greater than the demand. There is no cost effective way to get the goods to the people. Every medium is hyper-niched now. Before we had three major networks, a handful of music programs, radio was strong. There was a guaranteed way to get to people. Now there is not. Even if you could get to people now, they don't have the money to be spending on entertainment.

CCM radio is hurting. They aren't showing up to GMA week like they were. They don't have the market share they once had. What share they did have was pretty darn small. Marketing directly to churches is a good idea, but having them promote shows is not. The industry needs to get back to large local and regional buyers, who can average out their expenses and losses. The church needs to get out of "business". Churches have helped kill the industry they like. They have driven the prices down, down, down.

In Christian music, record company presidents were putting second mortgages on their homes to finance projects they believed in. They need big money to make it work now, because credit is too hard to come by. So, we need some savvy, Christian, businessman, who is now connected with publishing, retail, etc to step up and reshape the business model. The owner of Mardel would be a great candidate.

The more I think about this, the more I get burned up.

Addendum:

I just saw this this morning and it pertains to this conversation. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-Reasons ... 3.html?x=0 Specifically this paragraph below:

"When the price of cars or sweaters or iPods declines, it's a break for consumers and a welcome sign that economic productivity is improving. That helps drive up living standards. But when the price of everything drops, it's an alarming development that portends stagnation....

If you feel like cheering, don't. The Federal Reserve, with a mandate to keep inflation in check, prefers a "Goldilocks" economy, neither too hot nor too cold, with modest growth and an annual increase in prices of 1 to 3 percent. But inflation projections for the next couple of years are now coming in lower than that, and Fed policymakers have begun to hash out what to do if overall prices actually start falling. Here's why deflation can be such a thorny problem:

Once it arrives, deflation is hard to cure. Sustained deflation can become a pernicious problem that's hard to shake even when the government attacks it, as Japan has learned over a prolonged deflationary period that began in 1991. Falling prices cut into revenue at firms that build things and provide services, so they need to cut costs to remain profitable. That usually leads to layoffs and pay cuts. When people bring home less money, they invariably feel worse off and buy less. So demand for products falls further, forcing even deeper price cuts to entice consumers. Breaking the cycle becomes a destructive game of chicken between companies and consumers, with neither willing to take the first step."

This is the music industry. Cheap product to cheap people only works for so long. There is no money coming to build studios (because the great ones are going away, because their land is more valuable now than the business), to buy gear, to pay musicians, engineers, producers, composers, management, marketing, tour support, etc, etc. Someone has to step up first to get revenues up. Nobody will.

[Jonathan]

Marketing directly to churches is a good idea, but having them promote shows is not.

Do they do a poor job, too-small venues, get distracted from (or by) promoting Jesus Christ, have an market-unfriendly reputation? I would have thought having a church as a promoter (at least as a partner, not necessarily the main vehicle) would be a big help...especially if the church is hosting and they are on the hook for costs.

[shawnpfan2010]

I think that the problem with the music industry today is that nobody knows how to prouduce good music anymore. People have gotten use to crappy music, so thats all they know how to produce. These days anybody who can scream into a mic can make a record and the producers just go with it.

Another point. Look at all the years that american idol has been on, how many people went on to really do anything? Most were one hit wonders, only a few have actually made it and if I recall 2 of them came from the great state of Oklahoma, maybe the music industry needs to come here.

Even with christian muisc, the producers just don't know what to do, the lyrics are weak, the sound is crap and the singers can't sing worth a flip, but some how they still manage to put out records. I really believe if the christian artists would stop worrying about the stage lighting and the pyro, and read their Bibles and would write songs based on scripture, I think that the sales would start to increase.

Just my 1/2 cent worth.

[brent]

I don't think this is true all the way around.

There are several indie artists that have sold over 500k CDs in two weeks to discriminating people (ie, not the pop-culture buyers). There are several prog rock indie artists that have gone platinum several times, all under the radar, and sell out arenas with 48 hours of releasing concert information on their site.

There IS good music being made. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of incredible artists who have CDs sitting in warehouses, because some marketing dipcrap decided it was not right. The top tier engineers and producers are pulling their hair out because these great projects will never see the light of day.

The problem is, few labels are RELEASING good music to the masses. The problem is, the masses are too stupid to know what good music is. Heck. Some of the uneducated, low IQ, people don't know what music is. They think rhythm and screamin' in a mic with their hand cupped over the pop-screen is music.

As the culture is dumbed down, it's expectations are lowered, and the business world happily gives them their drugs...uh, I mean music. The good stuff goes underground to the discerning, enlightened people, who understand and relate to music, instruments, acoustic spaces, arrangements, etc, etc.