change // Joshua Wagner Online

Catalysts: The Web is Changing the Music Business

May 19, 2009 | Music | Technology

Was on ChurchCrunch and I saw this post on the Catalyst Music Project. I got all excited about it.

[ Catalyst Music Project | Aaron Keyes from Catalyst on Vimeo ].

So here’s the deal. The music industry is changing. No, it already has changed. Not everyone knows it yet.

The Web is empowering the artists and the listeners. People who would have never made it into the mainstream 20 years ago can make a living. And people can find just that right band even if their taste is a little off the beaten path.

Pandora gave me a band I would have never found otherwise. (It’s Tokyo Rose, if you’re wondering) I bought a few songs from iTunes once I found them. It was awesome!

We need to take heed, my friends! The change is upon us! Okay, all poetic verbage aside, there are awesome ideas just waiting to be used.

What will the future be? How has the web changed music for you?

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Technology and the Future

April 7, 2009 | Technology

I sat down and watched Michael Hyatt’s presentation at O’Reilly Tools of Change Publishing Conference on “Blogging as a Tool of Change.” If you haven’t watched it, you should. And it got me thinking on how we use all this new tech.

One thing that he said in the presentation really struck me. “You’re not going to find the future unless you engage it.” That seems so simple, but so elusive. We can’t sit on the sidelines and expect to leverage these new technologies for our own good.

Change will come. It always has and always will. If you want to be a part of the change, you need to be involved. Get dirty with it, try it out. I have been finding out lately that the more tools I try, the more incredible the landscape becomes. I see more opportunities and think of more ideas.

And make no mistake, the future is on the internet.

Just a few thoughts today.

Posted via web from On Life, Stories, and Music

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The Way We’ve Always Done It: Words Not to Live By

February 1, 2009 | Church | Music

So here’s the deal. If, in order to explain why you’re doing something, you say “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it,” then you are in trouble.

Case in point: the music industry. We’ve always sold physical copies and been able to control their copying to our liking. That’s how we’ll approach digital transmissions. Result: RIAA as attack dog, proper digital legislation is not around, and the consumers are leaving.

Case in point: the church. We’ve always done service this way, with these songs, at these times. Why change to anything else? Result: churches are losing members and not reaching out to a new generation of believers.

Obviously there is more to both of the points above, and I’m really, really oversimplifying things.

But here’s the point: If we are to survive in a new age, we need to reevaluate our methods.

This is, again, not to say that old methods are bad. I don’t believe physical copies of music will ever truly dissappear. There will always be some people (probably like me) who like to have a CD, an album, a whatever of their favorite band. And churches have always (I think) sung songs together as a group. They probably always will. But in order to survive and remain viable, we must always reevaluate the methods to see if they are still optimal. If you find that your current methods are falling behind, then you must adapt. There is no other option. Your choices are change and grow, or remain and die.

Changing your methods can be hard. If it wasn’t, we’d all be doing it constantly. But we cannot end up looking back saying “If only we had changed.” If we do, we’ll end up trying to sell papers to people who don’t need them anymore because they get the news online. Or on their iPhone or BlackBerry. Or on the next cool toy. If you do successfully change (especially before the rest), you will be prepared for the future.

Just watch out for the next big shift, so you don’t get caught behind the rest!

Posted via web from On Life, Stories, and Music

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The Church and Art

January 23, 2009 | Art | Church

I recently watched this video a few days ago and it got me thinking.

We as a church body have gotten behind when it comes to art.

When was the last time you heard of an awesome piece of music that moved the genre in a brand new direction? When did you last see a painting that pushed the way people painted?

As a body of artists, it feels as if we have become followers. In music, we have Christian versions of almost every kind of music. Rock, Rap, R&B, Pop, Urban, Country; you name it, we probably have it. This is good, and we should express the Gospel message and Christian ideals in these forms. Yet, when I hear a band or artist with a new sound I’ve never heard before, it’s not a Christian artist. Why is that?

Now, granted, I have a few Christian groups on my playlist that I can’t compare to anyone else. Anberlin, for example, I love, and I just can’t seem to put them with anyone else. The Classic Crime, while they don’t call themselves a Christian band, have decidedly Christian overtones, and are on Tooth and Nail, which carries mostly Christian artists. These guys have brilliant writing, in my opinion. The exception that make the rule, I guess.

Here’s the point: We as Christians carry with us the greatest news of all time, we know the God of the universe and can speak with him every day, yet we generally only follow others in their artistic methods?

This just feels odd to me. If we truly know God, shouldn’t we be able to find new awesome ways to glorify Him? Should we not be leading as well as following?

I am a Christian artist myself, as I have said a few times on this blog. I don’t have the answers. But as a Christian and an artist, I want to be moving in a new direction. My influences are all evident in my art, so in some ways I will always be following them. My goal is to create something new that no one has quite heard before. I may never get there, but I’m sure going to try.

I want to see all Christian artists doing something a little different. I want to see the church become a center of another arts movement. I want God’s glory shown in different ways than just what’s already been done before.

Does any one else feel this way? Got any cool Christian art to share? Leave a comment, let me know.

Posted via web from On Life, Stories, and Music

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