Contemporary Christian Music 2000 - 2007 - news, timeline, events, artists, songs, links

• Bob MacKenzie dies at age 62 and is inducted into the GMA Hall of Fame. MacKenzie, a Gospel music legend, Christian music executive and producer, motivated many artists, writers and industry folks.

2000

• Amy Grant marries country music artist Vince Gill.

• Michael English is charged by Nashville police with illegally obtaining prescription drugs.

2001

• Paul Mickelson, arranger, conductor, producer, former Christian record company executive for Supreme Productions, Word Records and RCA Victor, and organist for the Billy Graham Crusades from 1950 to 1957, passes away suddenly at age 73.

2001

• The Benson Music Group is shut down by Provident Music because of financial problems as a new-artist label. Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing is not affected.

2002

• The sale of Word Entertainment by Gaylord Entertainment to Warner Music Group for $84.1 million in cash is finalized in January .

• Mike Curb, founder and chairman of Curb Records, is named by Warner Music Group as a partner, and chairman in a non-executive capacity of Word Entertainment

2003

• Jaci Velasquez marries Darren Potuck.

• Glen Campbell, 67, is arrested by Phoenix police in November and charged with driving under the influence and hit and run.

2003

• The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business is established at Belmont University in Nashville. Jim Van Hook, former CEO and Chairman of the Provident Music Group, is named as the college’s first dean.

2004

• Glen Campbell pleads guilty to DUI and hit and run and spends 10 nights in Maricopa County’s outdoor jail, giving a free concert to inmates on his last day served.

• Jaci Velasquez starts her own Christian record company, Apostrophe Records.

2004

• Warner Music Group is acquired from Time Warner by a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. in March for about $2.6 billion in cash. The Warner Music Group includes Word Entertainment.

• Jim Van Hook is named CEO and Chairman of Word Entertainment in November.

2004

• Sony BMG Music Entertainment is formed with the merger of the music businesses of Sony and Bertelsmann A.G. Provident Music Group is a part of Sony BMG.

2005

• Word Entertainment acquires Spirit-Led Records which includes Fervent Records.

• Jaci Velasquez’s marraige of less than 2 years ends in divorce.

2006

• John W Peterson, who wrote more than 1,000 Christian songs and 35 cantatas, passes away September 20, 2006 at age 84.

• Gary Chapman, Christian recording artist and songwriter, is arrested by Nashville Metro police and charged with DUI in September.

2007

• The Gospel Music Association (GMA) 2007 Industry Overview reports that Christian/Gospel music sales reached almost $700 million in 2006. Christian/Gospel album sales represented 6.75% of all album sales for the year.

2007

• In March, Internet radio webcasters protest new $500 per channel minimum music royalties set by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) of the Library of Congress for the period 2006-2010. After a write-in campaign to Congress, the Internet Radio Equality Act is introduced to roll back royalty rates, but stalls in House and Senate committees.

2007

The Curb Music & Entertainment Learning Lab opens at Baylor University’s Business Schlool in August for those majoring in Music and Entertainment Marketing. It’s decor and design honors Waco as the birthplace of Word Records, and includes the history of CCM, gold records, and other memorabilia. Dr. Kirk Wakefield is Chair of the Marketing Department and leads the new program.

2007

EMI Group plc agrees to a take over by Maltby Limited, a company formed at the direction of Terra Firma Capital Partners, a private equity group with offices in London and Frankfurt, for $4.8 billion. EMI Christian Music Group is a part of EMI.

2007

• In August, SoundExchange , the organization set up by the RIAA to collect and distribute royalties to record companies, and the Digital Media Association (DiMA), representing webcasters, reach an agreement to cap the $500 per channel or station minimum music royalty at $50,000 per service. SoundExchange also offered small webcasters a discounted rate agreement through 2010.

2007

Jarrell McCracken, the founder of Word Records in 1951, passed away November 7th, 2007 in Waco, Texas. He was 79.

McCracken, a Baylor University graduate, was a 23 year old sportscaster at KWTX in Waco when he recorded a play-by-play description with sound effects called "The Game of Life" -- Word's first record.

2008

Larry Norman - Only Visiting This Planet

Larry Norman passed away February 24th at age 60 in Salem, Oregon . His recording of “Upon This Rock”, released by Capitol Records in 1969, was the first Christian rock album.

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