Kelsey Kramer McGinnis

There was this moment in the 2000s where you had Christian bands that were making a lot of inroads in alternative rock music.

And those scenes were really closely tied together.

But we didn't have streaming yet.

So this is the first time post-streaming we've had this moment of breakthrough for Christian music into the mainstream.

And we're seeing a lot more data about that than we have been in the past.

I would say the other thing that's different about this moment is that this is happening at a time when contemporary worship music specifically is having a moment where

not just the pop-styled Christian music.

So in the past, it's been Amy Grant succeeding in being a pop star who is Christian, or Switchfoot succeeding in being a rock star that is also Christian.

But now it's worship music specifically, which is a very specific kind of CCM, music that is designed and envisioned and marketed as music for use by congregations.

Yeah.

Gotcha.

You might sing this music.

And so Brandon Lake, who is this Christian artist who's kind of had this explosion all of a sudden through these collaborations, he is a worship pastor at a church in South Carolina.

And that, I think, is unique about this moment.

There is this figure who is seen as almost like treating his audience as a congregation.

And offering them this kind of very direct spiritual encouragement.

And I don't really know what the exact why is, but for some reason, audiences are responding to that kind of message and to this

faith-flavored music in an interesting way right now.

And he is not the only one.

Well, when we talk about the reasons why CCM and gospel have historically been divided into different categories –