Key Changes: In Nashville radio, Contemporary Christian music, R&B, and hip-hop hold very different places

The music industry evolves at a dizzying pace. And I’m here to help you make sense of the “Key Changes” in these roundups of music new analysis.

There’s a good chance that you already know Nashville’s the radio capital for country music. That’s what gets the most attention, but it’s not the whole story.  

Contemporary Christian radio and hip-hop and R&B radio have their own Nashville presence, and comparing them side by side, like I’ve done in research that I presented at a recent scholarly symposium, is telling.

Christian music and R&B both have long histories here.  

Before there even was a commercial recording industry, religious publishing companies built a business printing and distributing Southern gospel songbooks. They were well-equipped to start contemporary Christian record labels that took off in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.  

When rhythm & blues was first blowing up in the late 1940s, people from all over began tuning in to Nashville station WLAC at night to hear it. And that station spurred the growth of local record labels that drew talent from the Jefferson Street scene. 

Making Noise

I have to wonder what could’ve been if Nashville didn’t abandon its R&B prospects.

By the early ‘70s, the construction of Interstate 40 had decimated Jefferson Street, WLAC had flipped to another format and years would pass before another major R&B station arrived. A hip-hop station joined it in the early 2000s. 

Around that same time, primarily white contemporary Christian music radio was blowing up and turning pop-rock-style worship songs into massive hits. And the leading networks were moving their flagship stations to middle Tennessee. The biggest one, Educational Media Foundation, brought its headquarters.  

Even Christian artists who aren’t based here make trips for the sake of strengthening relationships with the most influential network in their format. The CCM scene in your backyard is well-positioned to get its music to the world.  

That’s not the case for the artists working to build hip-hop and R&B careers in Nashville. It’s hard for them to get on the most popular commercial station in town, since its playlists are mostly programmed elsewhere.  

In my next Key Changes column, I’ll bring you analysis of some other music matters that have captured my attention.