Christianity & Culture with Kierstyn St. John

The Christian music industry is a corrupt monopoly

• Kierstyn St. John • Season 2 • Episode 2

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EMF (the parent company of Christian radio stations K-LOVE and Air-1) just bought out the entire network of “The Fish” Christian radio stations. In this podcast, I talk about why this is bad for the Christian music industry, why K-LOVE has contributed immensely to Christian music all sounding similar to itself, and what unique Christian artists can do to separate themselves and grow awareness for their music despite this monopoly.  

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Kierstyn St. John:

K-Love just bought all of the Phish radio stations, so basically everything in the Christian music industry is owned by like two people. Now, okay, I was just sent an article recently by a colleague in the Christian music industry. His name is Jeff McLaughlin of McLaughlin Music, and the article is called K-Love's Expansion in the Unfair Landscape of Christian Radio. Okay, full disclosure. Jeff is a Christian music promoter and has helped us personally, zoetic get our song Impostor on a bunch of Christian radio stations. He did that a couple years ago, so he knows this industry extremely well. Okay, and I'm just going to read certain parts of this article and I'm going to talk about it because I think it's very interesting. It starts off saying this in a move that signals yet another step towards consolidating power in the Christian radio world, educational Media Foundation, emf, the parent organization of K-Love and Air One, recently acquired the Fish network of radio stations from Salem Media Group for $80 million. This acquisition includes several major market stations in cities like Los Angeles, dallas, atlanta, cleveland, sacramento and Portland, as well as others across the United States. Notably, the Fish has also had a strong presence in Nashville, one of the most influential hubs for contemporary Christian music. For over 22 years, these stations served as a vital platform for CCM listeners and artists, connecting them to faith-filled programming and uplifting music. In 2024, salem Media sold the Nashville stations to EMF for $7 million. Following the sale, emf transitioned these stations to broadcast its Caleb and Air One programming, solidifying its presence in one of the most significant Christian music markets in the world. This marked the end of the Phish's storied legacy in Nashville, a move that demonstrates EMF's strategy to dominate key markets by acquiring well-established stations with substantial listener bases. Okay, so, to summarize this, emf is the parent company that owns Air One and Caleb and they just acquired the Phish network of radio One and K-Love and they just acquired the Fish network of radio stations from Salem Media Group.

Kierstyn St. John:

Now, I know about the Fish. I'm from Phoenix and I live in Phoenix and we don't have that radio station here, but, being an artist in the Christian music industry, I'm well aware of the Fish. They have prominent positions in other cities, right? And then they were just acquired by K-Love and Air One. They were acquired the Nashville branch was acquired last year for $7 million and then they just acquired everything for $80 million recently. And in my opinion, this is bad. Okay, and why is it bad? Two reasons One, because I don't know how much I actually trust K-Love, you know, and EMF, the parent company that owns them. And two, because that parent company that owns K-Love leans progressive. They lean into progressive Christianity and I don't like to overuse that word, right, I don't want to be like it's woke. You know what I mean, but I think it is important to reiterate that and to explain that.

Kierstyn St. John:

Okay, k-love has followed secular cultural trends in the past. On June 1st 2020, for instance, they posted the infamous Black Square to their Facebook page and said this K-Love stands against racism and hate. We know that God can change hearts. Let's join together in prayer for our nation. Hashtag the show must be paused. Hashtag Blackout Tuesday. Okay, again, I have nothing against standing against racism. Of course, that's great that you're doing that. It's. You know, it's probably the least controversial thing you could ever do, right? It's not that difficult to stand against racism, but it's absolutely and totally virtue signaling to a world that you want to like you. Okay, you know the Black Square, that whole deal. You know support for BLM, which we know now is quite a corrupt organization. I may do a video on that in the future, but you know that whole virtue signaling thing of all of that back in 2020, you know it shows you where the organization is at. And you know K-Love, to their credit, has not featured any openly gay artists, any openly LGBTQ artists such as like Grace Semler or something, on their platform, even though she's asked them to. And they also do include, you know, a mission, beliefs and values section on their website and in that section they say this we believe in holy Christian living, aligning our conduct with the word of God as we reflect the love and compassion of Jesus. And they quote a bunch of passages and one of them is Romans 1, 18 through 27. And the Romans 1 passage that they say there does speak against homosexual behavior. So they have included that in their beliefs, although it's, like you know, pretty hidden, not super prominent, and they did so in a much less prominent way than they did their racial views with the Black Square stuff in June of 2020. So it seems like you know they do. They are trying to play both sides of the fence. They want to be approved by the world and they also don't want to be too open about their you know, their more conservative Christian beliefs. So, even if they haven't gone fully progressive.

Kierstyn St. John:

My big worry with this is the lack of musical diversity, right with the consolidation of power in Christian radio. So K-Love Christian music, the Christian music that you find on K-Love, has a very specific sound. Okay, and I'm sure most of us remember, if we grew up in Christian music, that Air One, which is the other station that EMF now owns, they used to play almost exclusively Christian rock and metal music Back in the 2000s. That's what Air One prominently played. Now they basically play the same type of music that Caleb does. Both of these stations they basically play the same type of music that K-Love does. Like both of these stations, k-love and Air One both play the same type of music and it's a very specific sound, right?

Kierstyn St. John:

And if you're a Christian artist and you don't fall into the K-Love sound, especially if you are an independent Christian artist, it can be very, very hard to get on Caleb. You know Caleb music has a very specific type of sound and we didn't used to say that all Christian music sounded the same, because it didn't. You know, back in the 80s and back in the 90s we definitely had musical trends within Christian music, but it's only been over the last 10 and 15 years that Christian music has become so much more homogenous and it all really does sound the same. We didn't used to say that, but now it often does. And what Christian music does now is that it copies popular secular trends a few years later and it discourages creativity and innovation. So, basically, the Christian market, how it works, is it looks at secular trends that were popular, maybe you know, a few years beforehand, and then it tries to make the artists all sound like that, right, and there's an extreme consolidation of power, right. I just talked about how that happens in Christian radio. But there's also a lot of small Christian labels died during COVID is the truth of the matter and much of the power is consolidated under large Christian labels instead, like Capital Music Group and things like that.

Kierstyn St. John:

And so please don't tell me that this move, this move, you know, for EMF to acquire the fish right, consolidating a monopoly within Christian radio. Don't tell me that. Oh, this is just Christian radio. Who cares about Christian radio? It doesn't affect Spotify. So who cares? It does affect Spotify because by far the biggest Christian music Spotify playlists are either made by large Christian labels who also have monopolies within the industry and are affiliated with EMF, who, again, is that parent company of both K-Love, air One and now the Fish, or they are curated by Spotify themselves. So, again, this monopoly does extend into streaming as well. The vast majority of large Christian playlists to stream on Spotify are owned by these large labels who are in cahoots with EMF right.

Kierstyn St. John:

So it is all under kind of the same umbrella and Christian artists are pressured to have that K-love sound. And I know this firsthand because of all the pressure I've faced in my career. This has been the most pervasive and severe. Every single time I have a song that I try to get on either Christian radio or on Christian playlists, it's well, this sounds a little bit different from what else is on the playlist or what else is on Christian radio. Can you make it sound a little more K-Love-like? I've heard that throughout my entire career, incessant pressure to sound like what is on K-Love so that we can either get on K-Love or get on Spotify playlists that sound like K-Love. Okay, it has absolutely, utterly ruined and hollowed out the Christian music industry of any innovation, of any bravery to speak truth through our music, because we are all forced into this K-love box, right, and this monopoly is further consolidation of that. Going back to Jeff's excellent article, this is what he says about EMF's Christian music monopoly.

Kierstyn St. John:

Emf now holds assets exceeding 1.12 billion billion dollars. Think about that $1.12 billion is the assets that EMF, this parent company, now has. The organization generates an annual income of $247 million, with 97.6% of that revenue coming from listener-supported donations. These donations are collected largely through their biannual begathons shareathons. That's great. I love it where Caleb appeals to its middle-class donor base for support. Many of these donors earn an average of $50,000 to $75,000 a year and contribute sacrificially to what they believe is a ministry-driven mission. However, instead of prioritizing artist development, community outreach or broader opportunities in Christian radio, a significant portion of these funds go towards paying executive salaries for EMF executives as high as $500,000 annually. That's obscene, purchasing more stations to expand their network and tighten their grip on Christian Radio. The acquisition of the Fish Network, including its Nashville stations, is a prime example of EMF strategic growth. By integrating these influential stations into its operations, emf has solidified its position as the dominant force in Christian radio, leaving little room for alternative voices and smaller stations to thrive.

Kierstyn St. John:

Okay, 1.12 billion in assets. Some of these executives get half a million dollars in salary, and with money almost always comes corruption. This is why 1 Timothy 6.10 says that the love of money is the root of all evil. When you look at an organization and there's an obscene amount of money flowing in there, almost always is corruption that comes with it. So this is all super depressing, right? Is there any hope? Well, here's the deal. It's not an industry that I'd recommend going into. I'm not super optimistic about it, but I'm in it. I've chosen to go into this industry, so what is the hope that I'm giving to myself? Jeff has also helpfully outlined some options for Christian artists who don't fit into that K-Love music box. He says this there are alternatives that champion independent artists.

Kierstyn St. John:

Thankfully, there are resources and initiatives that uplift independent artists and give them the recognition they deserve. Here are three platforms making a real difference. The first is the Maximum Hits radio show Hasn't been acquired by EMF yet, thank goodness. This innovative radio show, available on Spotify, bridges the gap by playing both major label artists and incredibly talented indie artists, hosts by J Mac Jams Okay. The show combines high quality music with humorous antics and dad jokes, creating a fun and engaging listening experience. It's a platform that values diversity and talent and style, giving indie artists the exposure they often lack. Okay, I don't know a lot about this, but it's something that I'm going to look into, obviously. And then the second is christiansongwritingcom, which I have heard of.

Kierstyn St. John:

The quarterly songwriting contests at christiansongwritingcom provide a beacon of hope for emerging talent, featuring high-quality judging by Christian music professionals. These contests reward winners with valuable prizes and resources to help them grow. Quarterly winners are eligible for the prestigious Songwriter of the Year Award, which further empowers their career. This platform celebrates artistry and encourages growth for songwriters at all levels. And finally, christianradiochartcom. Unlike traditional Christian radio charts that are often dominated by major label spins, this chart focuses solely on independent artists and, fun fact, our music has charted on this multiple times. It's been great. It tracks songs based on station and playlists as across Christian radio and Spotify internationally, offering a more balanced and authentic perspective. By excluding major label artists, christianradiochartcom creates a space for new voices to shine.

Kierstyn St. John:

And if you are not a Christian musician, you know, professionally or whatever, but you are a Christian, I would encourage you to support us and unique Christian artists like us. Okay, you can find all of our music on all streaming platforms under Zoetic right, as well as people like Pablo Gonzara, pisa, you know, gabriel Bello, good friends of ours, chris McQuiston, cole McSween, gideon Roberts, people like this. They're going to be usually substantially smaller than your, than your big name Christian artists, but it's important to support them when large labels or EMF music group will not. Because here's the truth it is. It's very clicky In order to get in with that crowd.

Kierstyn St. John:

You often have to live in Nashville, which is difficult for some people like me to be able to do. You have to be young and usually physically attractive. You have to have a particular sound when you sing of your voice. It doesn't really matter how you write, because often, particularly in Nashville, there's a team of writers who will write your songs for you. Right?

Kierstyn St. John:

Songwriting skill is not valued necessarily for artists. Production skill is not that valued because they have producers there for you. What's valued is how you look and how your voice sounds, and that's just, unfortunately, how it goes. You have to conform yourself to everyone else. It does not represent the full musical diversity of the body of Christ and that, quite frankly, needs to change. And so that is going to be it for me today. I know I got passionate, I know I ranted a lot, but this is my industry, and anytime I hear stuff like this about the industry that I'm directly in, it upsets me. We serve an infinitely creative God and we should strive to reflect that in the music that we make as Christian artists. And it's really, really discouraging when there are large-scale monopolies that prevent that creativity from continuing. So that's going to be it for me today. Thank you and God bless.