FUTURE OF MUSIC RESEARCH
I left the meeting yesterday with a head full of facts and ideas and with a sheet of paper outlining the plan made so far by those in the Christian Music Industry and at National Council of Faith Based Youth for stopping music piracy among Christians. "Among Christians" is key too. The rest of the planet is outside our jurisdiction. (See 1 Corinthians 5)
Part of the plan is more research...and then more planning. The team assembled yesterday wants to frame the argument against music piracy, which it was decided will be called "music lifting" more often by industry folks in the future, in a "distinctively Christian" way. In other words, a campaign telling music lifters that what they're doing is illegal or that it's hurting my kids isn't what we're going for. We used the words "ethic" and "virtues" instead of "law" and "values." Laws are made by men and values change. Ethics can be faith based and virtues are attached to God's unchanging character. Distinctively Christian.
But will this Christian approach work? A team of researches will be interviewing teens to find out:
1. Will Christian youth see this as a faith moral issue?
2. Will Christian youth choose a moral action regarding downloading/file sharing that is derived from their faith?
3. Will faith motivated youth act morally regarding music downloading?
4. Will Christian youth who act out their faith morally regarding downloading/file sharing become self-motivated to apply moral decision making regarding other areas of life?
I hate to say what I think the answers are. But if I were a label president right now I'd be looking for a plan b, and maybe a new line of work. And while there was much positive to come from the meeting yesterday, there was also quite a bit of evidence that plan b will only become more and more necessary for folks in the label business in the days ahead. More on that evidence later.
Part of the plan is more research...and then more planning. The team assembled yesterday wants to frame the argument against music piracy, which it was decided will be called "music lifting" more often by industry folks in the future, in a "distinctively Christian" way. In other words, a campaign telling music lifters that what they're doing is illegal or that it's hurting my kids isn't what we're going for. We used the words "ethic" and "virtues" instead of "law" and "values." Laws are made by men and values change. Ethics can be faith based and virtues are attached to God's unchanging character. Distinctively Christian.
But will this Christian approach work? A team of researches will be interviewing teens to find out:
1. Will Christian youth see this as a faith moral issue?
2. Will Christian youth choose a moral action regarding downloading/file sharing that is derived from their faith?
3. Will faith motivated youth act morally regarding music downloading?
4. Will Christian youth who act out their faith morally regarding downloading/file sharing become self-motivated to apply moral decision making regarding other areas of life?
I hate to say what I think the answers are. But if I were a label president right now I'd be looking for a plan b, and maybe a new line of work. And while there was much positive to come from the meeting yesterday, there was also quite a bit of evidence that plan b will only become more and more necessary for folks in the label business in the days ahead. More on that evidence later.
2 Comments:
The best question my dad ever asked me was "Is your integrity worth [fill in the blank]?"
Phrased like that, it's easy to understand the high cost of "free" music. Would you trade your integrity for the ninety-nine cents that it costs to buy a song?
I've worked with youth for a while, and have had many discussions on this topic. It is sad to think that many who claim to have a faith don't see any harm in file sharing. They often don't even see it as an issue of faith, integrity, or even sin.
Post a Comment
<< Home