Where and How To Promote as a Catholic Artist

Hello

First off I would like to introduce myself.  My name is Benjamin Brekke and I am a Catholic musician from Saint Paul, Minnesota.  My music is not meant for Mass settings but rather to encourage listeners in their faith life.  My songs are very vulnerable and honest as I use my own experiences in my faith journey to inspire those around me.  I truly feel that God has blessed me with a talent and I want to share it with as many as I can.  Please feel free to check out my music at my website:  www.benjaminbrekke.com  my music is also available on iTunes and CDBaby 

My goal is not to be famous or have this be my full time job.  However, I want to inspire others and showcase this music for those who will listen.  My question is, especially as a Catholic musician, I have hit many roadblocks.  I have been told "you are obviously very talented, but we are not sure we want to go into the Christian music direction" or "we think your music is very good but we are concerned that your content might offend some of our non-Christian customers".  Unfortunately, I have not had much luck getting concerts at Catholic churches or festivals, in fact, most church festivals seem to be stuck on the idea of jam bands instead of music that glorifies God - but thats another topic.  My music is played on the Catholic Music Express, articles in The Catholic Spirit and The National Catholic Register, a small article showcasing the kickstarter campaign I did for my album on The Catholic Playlist but I haven't been played on their program.  I have sent out emails to a number of various bloggers, CD reviewers, internet radio stations, etc.  but most of the time, I do not get a response.  I'm stuck promoting myself on Twitter and Facebook but the audience is extremely limited and most of those people already know about me.  What else can I do to get the word out about my music?  The only places I have been able to play is at local coffee shops.  Especially as a Catholic artist, I feel that I am very pigeon-holed into what I can do - even more so than a typical Christian artist would be.

Any suggestions would be very welcome,  I'm not in this to make money but rather to make enough to continue recording music and having the chance to go around the nation and share my music and story with others.

- Benjamin

Opportunities in Songwriting for the Catholic Church

Hello all. I'm Brian Tucker, a Catholic singer/songwriter from Colorado Springs, CO who has released 9 songs in the contemporary Christian style (check out my songs like We Adore You at https://hyperfollow.com/briantuckermusic or briantuckermusic.com), and I'm now transitioning to becoming a songwriter for the Church in the contemporary Christian vein and especially writing songs for the liturgy and for adoration that elevat the beauty of mass. Anyone know besides pitching songs to OCP or GIA publishers, what are some effective ways to get songs heard by other music ministers across the nation/world? Also, is anyone here a songwriter and want to collaborate on a song, or have contacts they know who can promulgate music to a wider audience? 

God Bless!

Collaboration on songs

Brian, your songs are sublime, your voice is an ointment and your soundbeds are top quality. I would be interested in collaborating with you. I could use your voice on some of my songs and hymns. Perhaps I can do some cowrites with you. Let's talk.

By the way, I was disappointed by OCP.org not accepting any of the three co-written songs I submitted a few years ago. It's a hard nut to crack.

Richard Schletty

Owner/admin:
schlettysound.com
schlettydesign.com
hungryforheaven.com
insong.org
topcatholicsongs.com

Member and tech director of mnsongwriters.org

Collaborations:
https://www.schlettysound.com/cant-let-go/
https://andrevanharen.com/the-song-the-world-is-a-scary-place-has-been-added
https://topcatholicsongs.com/our-world-so-beautiful
https://topcatholicsongs.com/gods-gift-to-all-the-world
https://topcatholicsongs.com/love-101
https://www.schlettysound.com/demos/

Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com

RE: Collaborate on Songs

Hi Richard, thanks for getting back to me, and I'm so glad you love my songs! I had the blessing of getting them produced by a local producer. And thanks for the recommendation of Tom Mohr. I'll look into that. Yeah, I didn't have luck with OCP so far, but I was blessed to get my song, We Adore You, published by GIA just very recently (See my song's page on their website as it is available for download but not print yet), so that is exciting. 

I'd be down to collaborate and definitely offer my vocals to your songs. And I like to see whether our visions align for creating music for the Church. To make it easier to collaborate, feel free to call or email me:
719-200-1273
brian.jt@hotmail.com

Collaboration

I'll be in touch, Brian. 

Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com

Seek advice from Tom Mohr

Brian, I suggest that you seek advice about self promotion from Tom Mohr. See his letters, songs and podcasts:

https://www.tommohr.com/about-5
https://topcatholicsongs.com/rising-leader-series-tom-mohr-completion
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/author-tom-mohr-launches-the-rising-leader-series-a-year-long-series-sent-to-the-next-generation-of-leaders-301453400.html

Contact me at info@topcatholicsongs.com if you would like Tom's email address.

Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com

Christian songwriters showcase

We'd love to have you come play your original songs on stage at our local Christian songwriters showcase.  We welcome Catholic songwriters and have promoted Catholics on our past compilation CD releases.. If you'd like to sample one of our shows please come to our September show:
SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE      
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26,  2 - 4 PM
Dunn Brothers Coffee
1160 County Road E West Arden Hills, MN 55112

Worshipping and spreading God's LOVE through our songs,
 ,
John Bennett  [President, Minnesota Association of Christian Songwriters]
website: http://macsmn.org
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/154727634546909/

Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Promotion of Catholic Artist

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Greg Pierson from Cincinnati. I am part of a duo called the Pierson-Young Project. My partner is Steve Young. Steve and I have known each other since we were teens in a charismatic prayer community called New Jerusalem. We played music in coffee houses and in our music ministry in NJ.  As we got older we went off to live our lives; marriage, children,
and professional careers. I am now retired but Steve is still working. Steve reached out to me in 2015 about going into the studio to make a Cd, "Hope is Alive" which we released in October of 2016.  In 2018 we released a second Cd, "May You Dwell in Unity".
There have been a lot of blessings and connections made along the way.  We have done a lot of ministry;  local catholic churches,  ecumenical events, several trips to New Mexico, and other opportunities.
  
Our objective has always been to get our music heard by as many people as possible and to help bring people to prayer, worship, and awareness. However, we have not hit the big numbers as we had hoped but we have had a big impact where we have been present. We continue to press on taking advantage of opportunities to share the message we have which is hope in the Lord and love for all people. We will be releasing a single in late October as a celebration of the  5-year anniversary of our 1st release.  After 5 years we've learned to do some things differently but we will not give up until the Lord tells us it's time to move on. 

I share this with you Benjamine to encourage you and to look for opportunities like what Richard is proposing. I hope you guys can connect. I look forward to sharing some of our music with you and hearing yours.   Hope is Alive!
Greg Pierson

 

Let's keep promoting new Catholic music

Here's another shout-out to site members and visitors. I welcome comments here about your experiences and hopes concerning promotion of new Catholic music. Are there some brilliant initiatives you've seen? Have you encountered roadblocks similar to what Benjamin Brekke describes in his lead post above? Does your heart gravitate more toward contemporary Christian music, hard rock, acoustic folk styling, multi-voice hymnody or simple traditional chant? What apps or devices do you use to listen to Catholic-Christian music? Are you are a creator or consumer of music – or both? 

Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com

Promoting Catholic Artists

Have you played at NET Ministries events? I'd like to work with you to get a youth concert series going around the Twin Cities. You have my email contact info. I know St. Matthew's, St. Michael's and Our Lady of Guadalupe will be looking at New Evangelization initiatives. They recently purchased a CCLI license. Have you submitted your songs to CCLI SongSelect? I wonder if the Knights of Columbus, (West St. Paul and/or St. Paul Councils) would be interested in sponsoring gigs where you and I would play. I could set a time for you to meet Council 4184 (of which I am a member). I'll put you in touch with a couple Catholic performers I know who play out regularly in cafes. They might be able to steer you to venues that would be tolerant a faith-based lyrics. I play guitar and sing at Masses and sacramental preparation services. Would you like to join me sometimes as part of the ensemble? I'm especialy thinking of St. Matt's on the West Side.

Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Customize This