The Fall and the Rise of the Music Industry
[Read Luke 2:21-40]
By ReAsOn DiSciPLe
The Fall
In this message there is one thought that stuck out the most in this passage in Luke 2. And the thought that I was lead by the Spirit of God to take and reveal the revelation I got says this:
“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this Child [Jesus Christ—the Head and the BODY functioning as ONE unit] is set for the FALL [Gk: ‘a crash, i.e. downfall (literally or figuratively):--fall.’—Anything built on sand (like the Music Industry MUST FALL] and RISING AGAIN [Gk: ‘a standing up again, i.e. (literally) a resurrection from death, a (moral) recovery (of spiritual truth):--raised to life again, resurrection, rise from the dead, that should rise, rising again.’—The resurrection of the Tabernacle of David built on the foundational Rock of Christ and His Teachings] of many in Israel [The CHURCH IS the NEW Spiritual Israel ‘… as many as walk according to THIS rule (this principle truth that says you are a NEW creation IN CHRIST), peace be ON THEM, and mercy, and upon the (NEW, SPIRITUAL) Israel of God.’ (Gal. 6:16)]; and FOR A SIGN which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword [the Word of God] shall pierce through thy [Mary’s symbolic for New Jerusalem—‘the mother of us all’ (Gal. 4:26)] own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35).
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Though I have never taught in a hip-hop context from this verse, I have, however, taught on this subject. If you have ever read my book in eBook format called, The ‘MC’ – Part 4 The Davidical Pattern for Hip-Hop in The Church, I cover in chapter 4 in the section called “The Fall of Music” in more detail of this subject. I started by using a quote from Jesus when He said,
“And every one that hears these sayings [teachings] of Mine [Jesus], and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; AND IT FELL: AND GREAT WAS THE FALL OF IT.” (Matthew 7:26-27).
“And he [the angel] cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN, and is become the habitation [LIVING PLACE] of devils [Gk: '(to DISTRIBUTE FORTUNES). A demon or supernatural spirit (of a bad nature):--devil'], and the hold [Gk: 'Cage, hold, prison, imprisonment, ward, watch'] of every foul [impure, filthy] spirit [demon], and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird [demon]. For ALL NATIONS have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings[ruling leaders on all levels] of the earth [built ON SAND] have committed fornication with her, and the merchants [Gk: 'A (wholesale) tradesman:--merchant, businessmen'] of the earth are WAXED RICH [Gk: 'To be (or become) wealthy (literally or figuratively):--be increased with goods, (be made, wax) rich'] through the abundance of her delicacies [luxury]. And the VOICE OF HARPERS [Gk: 'A lyre-singer (lyre-player), i.e. harpist:--harper'], and MUSICIANS [IF YOU MAKE ANY KIND OF MUSIC YOU FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY], and OF PIPERS, and TRUMPETERS, SHALL BE HEARD NO MORE AT ALL IN THEE; and NO CRAFTSMAN [Gk: 'An artisan; figuratively a founder (Creator):--builder, craftsman'], of WHATSOEVER CRAFT [Gk: 'Art (as productive), i.e. (specifically) a trade, or (generally) skill:--art, craft, occupation'] HE BE, shall be found ANY MORE in thee; and THE SOUND of a millstone SHALL BE HEARD NO MORE AT ALL in thee; and the light [holy Spirit] of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the VOICE of the bridegroom [The Word of God--Jesus] and [the voice] of the bride [the Church of God--and body of Christ] SHALL BE HEARD NO MORE AT ALL in thee: for thy merchants [in our subject and context would include the RECORD EXECUTIVES] were the great men [Gk: 'Grandees (a man of great rank or eminence):--great men, lords'] of the earth; for by thy sorceries [Gk: 'Medication ("pharmacy"), i.e. (by extension) magic (literal or figurative):--sorcery, witchcraft, DRUGS'] were ALL NATIONS deceived.” (Revelation 18:2-3, 22-23).
“We talked a little bit about the whole Tupac and Biggie–East Coat/West Coast beef already. I want to go back to that for a moment.
I truly believe that that’s when hip-hop died. I believe that if these two were alive today some of these so called “hot rappers” wouldn’t be where they at right now. Some of these new dudes just stepped into a void or into these guys’ shoes and couldn’t fill it. They some how, like the Pied Piper, played the right note and got the people to follow like rats. The music industry was changed. The people started dancing more.
The movers and shakers in hip-hop started to regulate (control) the music with hope that what happen with Big and Pac wouldn’t happen again. Then 50 Cent came out and the Ja Rule beef popped off. The minister Louis Farrakhan had to step in.
But the overall music got worst. Not just in hip-hop. I’m hearing this complaint from all genres. And let me be abundantly clear, this is not a case of us older listeners hating on the next generation’s music. We all agree that the music is bad. No one is looking to buy whole albums and waste their hard earned money (especially in the middle of a recession) for two or three “decent” songs.
Let’s be real for a minute. Is today’s music getting better? Look, I’ve been listening to the mainstream and the underground and even in the underground where the music is much better; it’s still not 1998 to 2007 great.
Then what came next was the digital era of the Internet. WOW! I say it again. WOW! I don’t think record companies saw that coming. And if they did they were so not prepared for that flood. They built their money houses (called Record labels) right on the sand and they are paying for it just trying to keep up.
Poor websites like Napster and Lime Wire never had a chance. The record companies were out for blood, weren’t they?”
And I think the major reason behind the fall of the music industry was not just “wack music”. It’s bad business!
When I say bad business I mean morally corrupt record labels. Do not get me wrong, making money is obviously one of the major factors of what a business is, but that’s after the fact that meeting people’s needs.
You have to have a balance of helping your employees (especially the artist), meeting the needs of customers (the fans), becoming profitable (the business side, and making GREAT product (the awesome and creative process of making the music). And of course there are other things like marketing and promotions and booking shows, etc.
I believe the purpose of business is two-fold and that is you have to see it as a ministry, and you have to see the profits as an opportunity to help more people.
When the people on a record label (from the top down and back up) get greedy and start making music that makes the most money (though it might not benefit the listener) is wrong. We all know that famous Scripture that says,
“But godliness with contentment IS GREAT GAIN [Gk: ‘money-getting (acquisition):--gain’]. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment [clothes] let us be therewith content. But they that will [desire to] be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into MANY foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love [LUST] of money IS a root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with MANY sorrows.” (1st Timothy 6:6-10).
Do you really want to know what happen to the music industry? They got greedy, dumbed-down the music, to make more money, and the quality of music and artist when down and became commercial in its approach. That’s what happened! Then some “Batman” vigilantes did something about it and said, “The music is not worth paying for. I will create a website and program that will allow music lovers to download and swap music for free without paying for this crap on the radio that they play every two minutes!” And the rest as you say is history.
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