Let's start with a short history of sheet music...
Composers have always wanted to memorialize their compositions so that others could perform the music the way they created it. Likewise, singers and musicians have needed words and music to reproduce the works of others.
Six centuries before Christ, the Greeks invented a notation system for hymns that they carved into stone tablets. [Imagine how heavy their choir folders must have been!]
Even after Gutenberg’s debut of the movable type printing press around 1440 AD, musical manuscripts were often hand-copied. Music printing received another boost with the invention of mirror plate engraving in 1581.
Whether they labored in relative anonymity or were well-compensated by royal patrons, church music composers across the centuries have wanted their works to honor God and inspire their listeners. European classical musicians developed the modern five-line staff notation system in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In 1801, the “shaped note” music notation system was introduced and became a popular teaching method for both schools and churches in America. Shaped note songbook and hymnal sales were vigorous well into the mid-20th century. “All Day Sings” (or “All Night Sings”) became a popular means for publishers to promote new songs to the church. Interestingly, Elvis Presley’s back-up group, The Stamps Quartet, was originally founded to promote the gospel songs of the Stamps-Baxter Music Company.
By the end of the 19th century, parlor pianoswere a familiar site in the homes of middle and upper class Americans. Sheet music was everywhere — and everyone wanted to play both the “classics” and the “latest hit” songs.
America loved to sing, and the church lived to sing.
By the mid-20th century, a sprawling religious music publishing industry had evolved to meet the seemingly inexhaustible appetite for sacred music. The “Jesus Movement” of the 1970’s gave birth to the contemporary Christian music genre and the accompanying modern worship movement. The emergence of hundreds of religious radio and television shows and stations – paired with the growth of faith-based retail – created a huge market for “hit” songs by “hit” artists.
Parishioners could sing on Sunday what they heard on the radio during the week. Likewise, cassettes and CDs created unprecedented portability for consumers. Pre-recorded accompaniment tracks now allowed church singers to perform with similar (or identical) tracks their favorite artist used. Being able to actually read music was no longer required to sing in church.
In spite of the exponential growth of recorded music, music publishers began to lose a significant portion of printed music revenue due to illegal copying or simply because less churches were buying choral music and hymnals. This period saw a shift away from traditional hymns and choir music sung from sheet music toward contemporary choruses sung from lyric song-sheets or displayed from overhead projectors. This trend continues to the present day.
According to the latest National Congregations Study, from 1998 to 2012, evangelical churches in America saw a 21% reduction in the use of choirs and mainstream churches saw a 40% reduction. That said, of the 200,000 evangelical and mainline Protestant churches in North America, 35% of evangelical congregations and 37% of mainline churches continue to use choirs — a total of approximately 70,000 churches.
The establishment of Christian Copyright Licensing International in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s addressed the issue of unlicensed lyric copies. For a fee scaled to the congregation’s size, a church could purchase a blanket license to duplicate and display lyrics. Additional licenses are now available to stream and broadcast music. Member churches go online and register the songs they use so that CCLI can fairly distribute the license fees to the publishers and songwriters. CCLI also makes downloadable lead sheets and chord charts for more than 100,000 worship songs available to more than 250,000 churches worldwide on a per piece cost. For some music publishers, CCLI is now their single largest source of publishing income.
CCLI is but one online source for downloadable sheet music. There are several third-party websites serving as download clearinghouses for both secular and sacred sheet music. Many faith-based publishers have begun making some or all of their catalogs available for download, although there is great reluctance to abandon physical books, octavos, and CD tracks. Publishers are understandably hesitant to make all of their materials available digitally because of the possibility of unrestrained and illegal copying. These publishers saw how the online revolution decimated the recorded music industry over the past 15 years and are proceeding with caution.
Likewise, some church choir directors and musicians are reticent to change from familiar physical formats and adopt a “virtual” orientation toward their music.
Nonetheless, the culture at large has moved away from the ownership of physical copies of media and the downloading of digital copies to the non-ownership of music through streaming music and video services. In 2016, music streaming services claimed the largest market share of music listenership and streaming video services like NetFlix and Hulu are erasing the need to actually own videos and DVDs.
We are experiencing an unparalleled revolution in the way that music is being discovered and delivered. I believe we are beginning to see that same trend when it comes to how churches purchase sheet music.
For the past several years, many contemporary churches have adopted worship-planning software apps that allow the direct download of music charts to the mobile devices of their players and praise team singers. Obviously this works more easily when the resources are choir charts and lyrics, but some choirs have even purchased tablets for their members that allow them to sing from the full piano/vocal score.
I’m not suggesting that everyone is heading in the same direction at the same speed. Rather, I believe we’re going to see different churches determine how they want to discover, acquire, rehearse, and present their music to their unique congregations.
I also believe that we’re going to see continuing upheaval in the traditional church music publishing marketplace as publishers come to terms with what kind of music churches want and how they want it delivered.
That leads me to a final word about why Discover Worship was started and how we can serve you. As many of you know, our company was founded as Worship Today choral music subscription service in 1999 by a volunteer choir director who wanted to develop an easier and more affordable way for churches to get great choir music. We began by sending physical CDs and a reproducible magazine filled with anthems to our members ten times a year. In 2010, the decision was made to transition to an all-online environment. Seven years later, we still have a number of members who adopted what was — at the time — a pretty radical model.
What makes Discover Worship different from CCLI or any of the download music services is that churches pay one low annual price for unlimited access to all of our music. Our churches don’t pay by the piece; they pay by the year.
We are much more like NetFlix than Movies OnDemand. Instead of paying for each show watched or each song downloaded, our members have unlimited access to all 2000 of our songs. And for just $100 more, they have access to musicals, collections, orchestrations, and video accompaniment tracks.
If you’re a church that uses printed choral music for your choir or worship team, there’s simply no better value in the marketplace than Discover Worship's choral music subscription service.
What I’m saying is that — for churches that love traditional, inspirational, and contemporary choral music — Discover Worship is an easy and affordable way for you to take advantage of all the digital revolution has to offer your church.
If you’d like more information, email or call us. We’d love to help.
Simply call 1-866-859-7622 toll-free or go to our site to chat online during business hours.