This post was inspired by Preston Perry’s post on Twitter, in which he states the following:

Preston Perry on Twitter

I miss the depth that use to be in CHH. 😔

In response, many fans and artists took to the platform to discuss the state of Christian Hip-Hop. Some simply agreed, some offered artists and new releases to listen to.

In the past, Christian Hip-Hop was a church version of regular hip-hop. Those who were spiritually inclined and lyrically adept pushed songs praising Jesus over a Houston/ATL/NYC beat. Like all hip-hop, and music in general, where it originated plays a key role.

As artists gain notoriety, they gain access to new resources unavailable to them before. While this enables top-notch production, this also gives way to influences outside the chapel. A once hard hitting song about someones journey in Christ turns into a “Turn Up For Jesus” song, lacking the depth Preston is referring to.

Fourteen Eleven E.p on Twitter

@DauntingDelight @Preston_n_Perry I'd say 1) we no longer stay with the Word as long as we used to. Depth in Life (everything) can be traced bck to a solid secrete place relationship with God which reflct in our song et all. 2) our role models no longer make it look cool.

Another aspect to the state of Christian Hip-Hop is the overall New v. Old in Hip-Hop right now. Mumble rap v. emphasis rap, trap beats v. lyrical superiority, new kids v. old hats. This gives way to some of the biggest artists (ex. Kanye, Jay-Z, & KB) at odds with newer artists (ex. Future, Cardi B, & others). Some collaborate, some focus on their own spheres.

In Christian Hip-Hop specifically, there are many new artists focused on production rather than lyricism. It has blurred the line with what is Christian Hip-Hop. What older fans and older artists do not want to see is the sub-genre diluted into “mentioning Jesus a few times in an ad-lib during a beat drop.”

DILLON CHASE on Twitter

@Preston_n_Perry *starts to respond with link to project - realizes that makes me look extra thirsty* I feel you. It use to be the trend now it's the exception.

Dillon Chase put it nicely, “It used to be the trend now it’s the exception.” It used to be cool and encouraged to talk about deeper matters in a song, now much of the focus is on production and marketing.

This is not to say one way is best and all others are ruining the genre. As with everything, the more popular something gets, the more growing pains it experiences. As time goes on, expect to see more new artists being anomaly’s in the culture, but also expect some new artists now to mature into their role in culture and begin to dig deep and look high for inspiration.

What are your thoughts? Who is underrated and needs more listens? I’d love to hear! Any recommendations will be listened to and may possibly be played on the radio during “Waveform on-air,” every Friday at 4PM EST on 102.5 WIKD FM in Daytona Beach, FL and Worldwide on iHeartRadio and Shoutcast.

A Mile Wide, An Inch Deep was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Streaming is not a fad. In today’s landscape an artist has to deal with that reality. But you know that. Buying an album on iTunes is no longer the primary way to consume audio. Services like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Google Play, and Pandora have conquered the arena, and these giants aren't loosening their grasp any time soon.

The Difference

Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal all offer unlimited streams of over 40 million songs for a total of $10/month ($5/month for students).

According to Forbes, an artist who is independent and owns all rights to a given song receive a “high average” per stream payment.

An artist that does not own the rights to a given song, yet still self-publishes receives a “semi-high average” per stream payment.

The pattern goes on and on until eventually you are singing someone else song, with no rights to production, a few features, and a marketing department. Here, a stream would give the artist an abysmal payout.

Statistics show that listeners listen to about 1.7 billion hours of music per month on Spotify. Given the age of the data, let’s assume 2 billion hours a month. With “over 75 million users,” that averages to roughly 27 hours a month of listening per user, per month, or about 400 songs/month (using average 4 minute song for easy math).

In 2016, Spotify paid out $5 billion to streaming rights holders. That’s some serious sticker shock, but look at the breakdown from before.

The less people involved in a songs creation, production, release, and marketing, the more money goes directly to the artist. However, discovery rates will likely not be considerably high.

With professional audio recording, production, engineering, and features, a song will likely become more popular. Throw in a marketing and administration team, and the results could be chart-topping.

A case for more people.

Forgoing a majority of streaming profits in exchange for higher quality music and promotion may pay dividends in the long term. Discovery and good music lead to more fans, and loyal fans are a gold mine. Concert tickets, merchandise, album sales, free social media reach, the value fans add to a musician go beyond simply dollars and a body to fill an arena.

Profit margins of tours are much higher than streaming, which is why it makes sense artists are staying on the road longer. And with the addition of social media, their reach is (hypothetically) endless.

This fits in nicely with how millennials consume music. Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud serve as tools of discovery and events such as EDC, Sunset, SXSW, and Coachella attract troves of people at a substantial ticket price. It would not be surprising if several Christian Hip-Hop artists teamed up for a massive, expensive tour in the near future (think Unashamed Tour, but the size to fill sports arenas).

Whereas boomers supported artists by buying their albums, streaming has spawned a new type of monetization for artists. Some (Taylor) have resisted, but ultimately succumbed to the lower rate of streaming betting on larger audiences and more fans.

What do you think? Is this a good move for the industry, or is the resurgence of vinyl keeping hope for a return to decades past? Let us know on Twitter.

Screaming for Streaming was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Reach Records has taken 2017 by storm. With back-to-back albums, EP’s, mixtapes, and singles Reach has released a total of 100 songs to date this year. To celebrate, Reach Records released a playlist highlighting all 100. Check it out:

This increase in traction will likely carryover into the new year. With eight artists now under their belt, the rate of releases has increased with no lack of quality. The Reach team has grown in more ways, adding more interns and staff each year to provide the best resources for artists.

Reach Records on Twitter

We've officially released over 100 songs this year🎉 Celebrate with us by listening to our "Reach 100" playlist! 👇🏽 #Reach100🔮 https://t.co/jUxj03PpAu https://t.co/vwKgocKRKr

Still, major releases are being marketed by Columbia Records, since Lecrae’s signing to the label. As an independent label who pioneered mainstream Christian Hip-Hop, Reach has paved the way for other labels and independent artists to succeed. With the addition of Gawvi, Aha Gazelle, and 1K Phew Reach has commited itself to continuing the legacy of fostering the best talent in Christian Hip-Hop.

So what do you expect from the Reach camp in 2018? Let us know on Twitter.

Reach Records Hits 100 was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

2017, by any account was the year of color and retro vibes. 2016, in contrast, is characterized by hyper-realistic, artistic covers. Artists from Gawvi, to Derek Minor, to Social Club are all releasing colorful projects with a retro look.

Gawvi

Most admittedly, Gawvi released his “We Belong” album as a follow up to his “Lost in Hues.” It’s not hard to see that a theme of color inspires the artists to create his most explosive work.

With soft gradients and mixtures of warm and cold colors, it portrays a modern look while referencing retro style in the title typography and following videos.

As a personal takeaway, the reds and blues in the cover remind me of barriers Gawvi is breaking. Not only is he a devout Christian, but his label is majority Hip-Hop as he navigates the space as an Electronic / EDM artist. This may not have been the intent at all, yet art is subjective in that way.

SOCIAL CLUB on Twitter

NEW ALBUM "INTO THE NIGHT" 2.9.18 - PREORDER NEXT WEEK. SIGN UP TO https://t.co/zR6rnWVosu FOR EXCLUSIVES BEFORE THE ALBUM!!! https://t.co/NQq6ZVuzt9

Social Club

Social Club Misfits, in their new home of Capitol Records, is releasing “Into the Night” with a very, in your face, retro vibe. From the Tron-esqe grid to the outline text, Social Club is either getting ready to drop a major project or kick your butt in Galaga (or maybe both…).

It should come as no surprise as the “Pizza Party”(read: “cops”) brothers would do a throwback to classic video games. They are misfits, after all.

Derek Minor

Flat icons, sans-serif fonts, CANDYLAND! The urge to crawl in a blanket fort with a creme soda is almost too much. But in all seriousness, Derek Minor & co. have made a rainbow of colors pop in a way that enhances the music within. As most of Pro’s (ahem…Minor’s) albums are abstract, or have a hidden message, “Your Soul Must Fly” is no exception. A rocket, sun, balloon, kite, and clouds all serve as a reminder to look up on your journey of life, as it is full of color.

Byron Juane

Life in the Evening

Juane has hit the ground running as the newest recruit of Reflection Music Group. His cover for “Life in the Evening” featured a simplistic typeset, with a simple warm/cold contrast illuminating himself. All this simplicity signals there is more to come, as his explosion of content and talent is just getting started. Byron is included in this list because the use of color does not overpower the title or subject or overstimulate first-time viewers.

Honorable Mention

Of course this is a small sampling of the very complex design seen this year in music. In general, album covers are well crafted and is a product of growing popularity and larger budgets. A welcome trend as often new listeners see a album cover before they hear a song. What was your favorite album of 2017? Waveform will be giving our top 10 at the end of the year and want to hear from you! Let us know on Twitter.

Design Trends of 2017 was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When thinking about how to give back to the people who have changed lives, including mine, the first thing that came to mind was promotion.

Share! So I shared, but 1 RT wasn’t enough in my mind.

Buy! Okay, so I bought albums and went to concerts.

Support! Well, who is high quality and new?

That’s the issue I had, and as much as I wanted to volunteer my time, news can become an expensive hobby quickly.

Money

The root of all evil as they say strikes again. See, news sites need to make money. Artists want the sites reach and influence to jumpstart their career. This makes a simple contract of “you pay me and I will promote your album.” It’s a win-win, unless you are a listener. In this senario, the listener is the product. A site will sell you ads, and the artist will (hopefully) gain your attention. However, this means the attention goes to the highest bidder.

Over the years, platforms have matured and are more selective about who they choose to promote. This is a welcome change, but when starting Waveform, the goal was to be ad free and high quality while still paying writers and gaining exclusives. While still young, there is a system in place to grow, and this is the roadmap:

Week 1–2: Content is posted and locked, shared on social media, and promoted.

Week 3+: Content is unlocked and available to all for free, forever.

This enables a few things. Those who want the latest and greatest from Waveform can get it immediately, and support us and other writers by joining the Medium Membership Program. Those who do not want to join can still get 3 articles a month free (but honestly, $5 is worth it). If not, all articles will be unlocked after 2 weeks to be readable to all, member or not.

Members (and those using the 3 free/month) will be supporting Waveform, the individual writers, and future projects just by reading.

This ensures all artists get an equal footing and there is no monetary biased in our writing (personal taste will always be a bias).

As Waveform grows, we will add new writers and have more content, but for now the focus is high quality output rather than first to press or high quantity output. If you would like to support us, you can follow Waveform on Twitter (@NewWaveform) or become a writer (simply send us a DM on Twitter).

Sneak Peek: Waveform Concerts is in the works. Stay tuned.

Solving a Problem in CHH was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In the few short months since switching to Spotify, I have “discovered” 104 genres according to their 2017 Wrapped site.

I will openly admit, I did not scour the service looking for a diverse group of music. My personal tastes lead to Hip-Hop, Rap, Christian Hip-Hop, Pop, Country, and some electronic. However, the world is not so black and white. With the creation of these streaming services, more independent artists can share their passion.

So if content is king, why do we listen to labels?

In short, it’s easy. However, nothing easy is the best. Many people categorize their tastes and refuse to listen to anything else simply because of that label. Country fan? Odds are you wont like rap, and will skip a rap album if given the option.

This is played out very openly in “Christian Hip-Hop” where veterans of the genre have been vocal about shedding that genre. And it makes sense! Hip-Hop as a whole has a much larger base than Christian Hip-Hop. Even traditional Christian songs have wider appeal. The combination of “Christian” and “Rap” has ensured the church will shun it and rap fans will call it fake.

Except, it’s not.

Content wise, veterans in the Christian Hip-Hop world can compete with heavy hitters across the board. Instead of talking about drugs, sex, and money their content focuses on Christ, justice, and mercy. Slowly, more fans are starting to ignore the labels imposed on these artists and embrace the music for what it is, high quality music with a different tone.

Different is what the world needs, in the midst of chaos around the world, most everyone listens to music. The United States has long been a huge exporter of culture, especially in the form of music. A look at international music charts reveals many American artists finding worldwide recognition. So diversity in music is welcome, and in turn will help boost the industry as a whole.

The U.S. media and entertainment (M&E) industry is a $703 billion market, comprised of businesses that produce and distribute motion pictures, television programs and commercials along with streaming content, music and audio recordings, broadcast, radio, book publishing, and video games, along with ancillary services and products. The U.S. M&E market, which represents a third of the global industry, is the largest M&E market worldwide. The U.S. industry is expected to reach $804 billion by 2021, according to the Entertainment & Media Outlook by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

- SelectUSA

So in the age of technology, diversity, and instant gratification, it is time to shed one more hurdle, the genre label. Music should be criticized and consumed based off content, production, and personal taste, not prejudiced because of a “country” or “pop” label.

This makes even more sense when speaking to millennials, as many will say their music taste varies greatly. In the past, genres were important for organization of record stores and determining what radio station played a particular song. These times are now gone, as many have switched to streaming and radio has shifted to being specialized.

Technology can be a major factor in this, and indeed already has. Apple Music and Spotify both highlight their “mood” more than genre. This is the best course of action. In essence, it is a set of curated playlists specifically created for that activity. Running on a treadmill? Mozart probably isn’t the best choice. Studying for a test? Try to find music without words. Activity, or “mood” based categorization takes the prejudice out of music and gives you as a listener an opportunity to discover new music you may never have clicked on before.

This is great for the music industry and independent artists alike. The more people discover new artists, the wider the music reaches. This in turn influences future music as artists learn what sells, what is impactful, and what is the next wave in music. Music is constantly changing, and genres have not changed with it. It is time for a new way to categorize music and streaming is leading the way.

So. When and where do you listen to music? Let us know on Twitter.

“Content is King” was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Byron Juane’s first offering from the Reflection Music Group camp.

From opening rifts to curtain call, “Life in the Evening” is a solid EP which showcases Juane’s ability to reject hip-hop’s one liners in the form of a bigger message and immersive journey. Rather repetitive songs pepper the EP (in the same way pop has what seems like 30 seconds of content and 3 minutes of chorus), but still serve the greater message of the album.

In a pre-release Facebook live, Juane has genuine joy in his own music, which is immensely refreshing when rap has become a sprint rather than a marathon.

As with most Reflection releases, production takes center stage, with Cardec executive producing the EP, there is a mixtape-lite feel when listened straight through, although a shuffle will not leave the listener feeling incomplete. The title track, “Life in the Evening” features Derek Minor, a huge co-sign as Minor’s success has been astronomical (no pun intended…maybe).

Juane describes meeting Derek Minor as “low-key starstruck” moment while in Tennessee recording the EP. A whirlwind of events has been surrounding Juane in the past months as his first introduction to the Reflection Music Group team was working with Deraj on “Know That’s Me” and being invited to FlavorFest 2016. There he met Deraj again as well as RMG CEO Doc Watson. From there, the journey of ministry and music flipped into high gear, and “Life in the Evening” is that work embodied.

While there is certainly heavy hitting tracks production wise, Byron’s talents shined through in both bars and chorus. Overall, it is a first album. This sets the scene for growth and success to come and serves as a introduction to the new artists well. As time, talent, and resources grow, so will Byron. RMG has been fostering new talent under the label “RMG Amplify,” which makes Juane’s signing to the main label significant as RMG will now nurse his growth and provide events and features to grow his audience.

There is a lot of work to be done as a new artist, and Juane takes this head on, letting talent and potential shine through this oportunity. Let us know on Twitter how you liked “Life in the Morning” and who should be on the next project.

Life in the Evening was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Relentless pursuit of greatness has led to the addition of Byron Juane to the Reflection Music Group roster. Juane, a newcomer to most, is just the latest in a string of new talent flooding the hip-hop scene.

Byron Juane on Twitter

I am pleased to announce that I am signed to Reflection Music Group!!! #RMG #ReflectGod #ReflectGreatness

The label has been home to artists Derek Minor, Canon, Deraj, and Tony Tillman. In addition, Reach Records signed it’s second newcomer recently after a long hiatus from signing, signaling more labels to mentor new talent. This trend is likely to continue with new artists being signed and given label resources to hone and refine their craft as popularity and recognition rises.

Not only did Juane announce his signing today, but also a new album, “Life in the evening” due out December 1st, has been announced and promoted heavily on social media. Stay up to date here to know when to buy.

ReflectionMusicGroup on Twitter

Life in the Evening, the new project from @Kingbyron23 drops tomorrow!

A deeper trend

The subgenre affectionately known as Christian Hip-Hop has been rapidly expanding in 2017. Those who have built the genre have seen tremendous success and much deserved recognition both in awards and chart positions. This makes 2018 a prime year to pass the torch to the new wave of artists. Rapid fire releases with headliner tours are to be expected with new classics with top notch production and content.

The recording business is full of artists who don’t have deep music knowledge. So 19-year-old, North Carolina native Byron Juane raises the bar with his schooling on jazz, classical, hip hop and R&B, plus his ability to play drums, guitar, trumpet and keys.

Reflection Music Group has yet to announce any upcoming concert or tour dates for Juane, however considering his new album features artists such as Derek Minor, it will not be long before you can book a ticket and sing along to every song.

“Life in the Evening” on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Music.

A sampling of Bryon Juane music, select “show embed” to listen to “Proof” and “2 Parts”

What are your thoughts on the latest member of the RMG squad? Let us know on Twitter.

RMG is Unstoppable was originally published in Waveform on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.