Christian singer Carman Licciardello has witnessed the rise and fall of Christian music from the 20th to the 21st century, and one thing he noticed is that the more society became "anti-Jesus," the harder it was to sell gospel music.
He shared a live video on his Facebook page last Sunday and answered fans' questions. One fan asked him how the scope of the music industry has changed for Christians over the years.
"My experiences before 2000, I sold a lot more records," he answered. "After 2000, it was hard to chase people down and give them away."
Carman thinks people nowadays are no longer enthusiastic about church events and concerts unlike in the past, and this is why churches have stopped offering Wednesday and Sunday night services. The Christian singer preferred the situation in the past because during those days people opened their hearts to God more.
"People just enjoyed being in and around the family of God more. And Christian music, there were more concerts, there were more things to do. There was more of a fascination of the Gospel set to music ... in the past 15 to 20 years," he said.
But now, things are different. Carman said people look down on Christian artists and call them names. "You get labelled and put into categories really fast and no one wants to get put into a category. People are afraid of Jesus, they're anti-Jesus," he said.
Personally, Carman said he does not mind being called names, just as long as he doesn't get labelled as a "Christ-a-phobe."
Still, Carman is hopeful that the music landscape will change and people will reclaim their love for God. He is actually witnessing a positive shift in the entertainment industry now that more Christian shows are making a comeback.
"I see a turnaround, I see more television networks start to come back. You can only stay away from God's Word so long, and that's what people need to thrive on. So I think the necessity for worship in Christian music is coming back," Carman said.
