Meanwhile, gospel remains the only genre categorised by lyrical content, a mixed bag that ranges from praise and worship artists to hard-core metal bands. Despite its collective success, Christian music accounts for only 6 per cent of the overall music industry.
John Styll, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association, said Christian artists often feel boxed in. He added that many feel a "spiritual motivation" to push their music into other genres or "cross over."
"Because of being compelled by the gospel message, artists want their message to be heard by people who need to hear it," Styll said in a telephone interview with the National City Paper.
Jon Foreman, frontman of Switchfoot claimed in 2004 that the band do not wish to be categorised as Christian artists, saying: "Calling us 'Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them. And that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind- and that's what we want."
Styll said the digital age, in part, has grown the profile of Christian/gospel music into its current pace-setting dominance.
"So many people outside the marketplace are becoming aware of it, and I don't know how they are," he said. "But, I'm not sure if 'crossover' in the traditional sense applies in the digital world."
Although bands like Switchfoot and Mute Math have graced the stages of numerous Christian festivals in the past years, they've decline to be labelled as a 'Christian band'.
On the other hand, some artists claim to be Christian and cross over to the secular audience, reaping successful results for each market.
Christian music industry mainstay Jars of Clay pioneered the crossover path with their mainstream hit "Flood," a track from the band's self-titled platinum release in 1995. Since then, several marquee acts have followed as of late including Switchfoot, P.O.D and Mercy Me.
Jars of Clay front man Dan Haseltine admits the method was much different 10 years ago, when DJs "could champion a song".
"They would play it and their listeners would call in and enjoy it and they'd tell another DJ about it and it created a grassroots swell for the song," Haseltine said in an interview along side his band mates.
Haseltine said "Flood" jumped from city to city until it was on top of the national billboard charts. But he added that the band continues to use grassroots marketing digitally through social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.
