Hillsong has been a blessing in my Christian walk and in that of millions others. I’d pay more to see them than any secular band.
The Gaithers are not exactly non profit either.
Or you could just stay away from mega-Christianity altogether and “go to Him outside the camp.”
So THEY'RE the ones who wrecked my church service.
what’s the difference between ‘a decent’ profit and ‘a maximization’ of profit? is there a formula for it or is it what you decide? How much does it cost to put on the concert? Does the band keep the money for them selves or do they donate it to charities or efforts that help the Kingdom? There seems to be a lot we don’t know about what this group does with its money. It seems that should be between them and The Lord.
The only non-profit “famous” Christian artist I’ve ever heard of was Rich Mullins.
This was his practice: The profits from his tours and the sale of each album were entrusted to his church, which divided it up, paid Mullins the average salary in the U.S. for that year, and gave the rest to charity.
He was a wealthy man, and he had no idea what kind of wealth his songs, song rights (dozens of artists recorded his songs), and albums generated. He didn’t want to know.
I believe the best Christian songwriter at present, who writes and sings songs, in the Rich Mullins style, is Andrew Peterson. Check him out on youtube if you’ve never heard his songs.
I used to wonder about Father John Corapi. He gave amazing, spirit filled and orthodox conferences. Then he sold the tapes and videos at exhorbitant prices. I always thought if he was truly a man of God he would sell them for cost just to get the Word out. I don’t know if he started out as one, but he ended up being a fraud and left the priesthood.
I started playing bass in 1998. I cut my teeth covering their stuff. It made me a much better player because it is difficult (I played 5 string from the start). I eventually became worship leader.
I still have recordings I got of Limewire that I used to practice. I listen to them sometimes and, though they are pretty good stuff, I enjoy all genre’s of music except rap/hip hop. I also believe there are two types of Christian music: worship and performance. They did blur the lines with their music though.
All that said, when I go to a music “concert”, I don’t go to overtly “worship the Lord”. I go to listen to good music. This is true if it is classical, rock, pop or “Christian” - though Michael W. Smith pulled off a pretty good worship concert in his Worship DVD.
If I paid money to see Hillsongs, it would not be to worship. It would be to enjoy good music performed by talented and skilled musicians. Frankly, when they put the overt worship stuff in it they are not really getting my emotional buy in. And I don’t want the worship part to be emotional anyway. It is better than that.
BTW, the reason I became worship leader at my church was that the whole band quit to join a different church where they would have a bigger crowd.
Yeah. Me too. It’s why I didn’t go with them.
But He does care how money is made in His name.
40 bucks for a band tee shirt and this author is complaining? That seems right in line with any shirt from Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister. I guess this author needs to get a grip on reality.
I would strenuously object if they would charge these prices at the regular meeting of the body of Christ, a church worship service. I object when tapes, tee shirts and other stuff are sold on Sunday in a church.
But, frankly, I cannot at all find anything wrong with what they did. Who are you to set a valuation on something that belongs to them? No one forces you to buy a tee shirt. It isn’t required by God and so they are not hindering you in your walk with the Lord. They think their stuff is worth the prices they’ve set. You don’t. Then, negotiate or don’t buy.
I don’t see why they should charge less because of their religion. Are they being charged less because of it? Did the Bowl give them a discount? Are the roadies cheaper? Are the hotels cheaper? Gas for the bus less? The fact is tours are incredibly expensive affairs, a lot of the inflated cost is paying for what it takes to put the show on. And yes there’s some profit taking from the captive audience, but it’s not like anybody is forced to buy these things, they can stay home and listen to the albums, they can go to the show and not buy shirts. It’s silly to say “well you guys are religious you should charge less”, they’re still a business and need to run that way.