Why the Next Christian Breakout May Not Come From Christian Radio
Discovery moved. The infrastructure has not finished noticing.
For decades the path was legible: label interest, radio single, format saturation, touring. Every step had a gatekeeper and every gatekeeper had a taste.
Jamie MacDonald's “Left It In The River” did not require that path. Neither did Forrest Frank's catalogue, Gui Brazil's, or most of what Josiah Queen has released.
What the old system was good at
Consistency and career length. Radio built catalogues because it needed artists who could deliver another single next year. The current system is far better at making a song enormous and far worse at making a career.
What follows
The interesting artists to watch are the ones building direct relationships with listeners while the old infrastructure is still useful. Sons Of Sunday and Megan Woods are close enough to both worlds to show how the handoff works.
