I saw something really cool today. I saw something that I don't think has ever happened before in the short but over 30 year history of the contemporary Christian music industry. I saw a letter written by the CEO of Wind-Up Records. In it he authorized the return of all Evanescence product from Christian radio and retail, making provision for refunds and other redemptive-oriented offers to those in these sectors of business.
Those kids in Evanescence -- God bless 'em (they're allowed to be passionate, young, enthusiastic and opinionated). They made it clear that they'd rather not be associated with or labeled as a Christian rock band, thus making it somewhat awkward to sell or push their art within the parameters of this subculture called "Christian." Rather than letting the situation get any worse, and rather than muddying up the relationships that other artists on the record label enjoy (12 Stones and Big Dismal, to name two), Wind-Up has chosen to pull Evanescence from this business relationship.
Sure, it was a wise move. Sure, it makes sense in the long run to cut their losses here and secure the future. But cut through all the suspicion and jaded mistrust and you'll find a company that stood up and made a tough decision in the face of financial consequences. Have you ever bounced a check? Have you ever owned a lemonade stand that got someone sick and had to refund everyone's money? Have you ever worked for a company that announced a recall or a "no questions" return/refund? We're talking big fat hassles here. It is no small thing to step up to the plate, allow mud to be slung in your eyes, and face the music of angry and disgruntled customers -- smiling and standing on the platform that they are "right" and you are "wrong." Make no mistake about it -- you can try to balance these details out with a lot of "but's" and "however's" and question the motives all you want -- what Wind-Up did in this situation was a big-time humbling experience in doing the "right thing."
I don't notice big companies making decisions in this manner every day. This gets my attention. We may all forget that this ever happened in a few months from now, but maybe right now we should stop and pause. Reflect. Maybe even applaud out loud with no explanation in a public place. Somewhere in New York a human member of a multi-million dollar corporation did something significant. I think that's cool.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at April 15, 2003 02:15 PM