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I’m sure I’ll be in the minority here, but I’ll be very disappointed if Derek’s big issue is the use of the “s” word. I’m not necessarily opposed to hearing the “s” word in a song, but I feel like many use it as a status symbol of their “edgy-ness”. It feels very artificial to me. I’ve already read tweets and blogs telling Derek to “keep it real” or stating that simply because the label is against it, the album must be awesome. People gravitate towards that anti-establishment stuff and thrive on it. That concerns me greatly. Counter-culture doesn’t automatically equal “awesomeness” in my book.

The bible warns against us using vulgarity, and like it or not, that word is vulgar in our society. Don’t get me wrong, I occasionally cuss too, but it’s usually out of a lack of self-control – not a conscious usage to get my point across. That said, I’ll hold my final judgement until I hear the word in the context of the song, but for now, I just dont’ have a good feeling about this…

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I’ve been a fan of the direction that Derek has been heading and believe his heart is in the right place so I’m likely to buy this album, controversy or no controversy, and believe that the Derek is pushing up against something here for the right reasons.

I’d rather err on the side of giving Derek the benefit of the doubt instead of a company who feels that it’s bottom line might be affected by the release of a particular song.

i’m going to have to say that i’ll give derek the benfit of the doubt, too. i haven’t bought every album, but i like what he’s saying. i also doubt that derek would put his neck out there because of one word. from the email, i gathered that the company had lots of problems with lots of songs, with one song that pushed them over the edge. i don’t think this a censorship of a word issue as much as it is a censorship of content, which is worth putting your neck out for.

Is it really that the record label’s worried about their bottom line or are they taking an ethical stand? I’m not sure its clear yet… INO’s been a pretty respectable label so far…

btw, I do own all of Derek’s records and do consider myself a fan of his music.

I can see both sides. I love Webb’s stuff, because it feels genuine, and smells real. But I’m also a parent who doesn’t appreciate it when music by someone who loves God throws a cuss word out there just cause they felt like they needed to be “gritty”. If it is a mature theme…no problem. If it is a cuss word, maybe they can make a Wal-Mart version.

I can understand why a Christian label would need to have boundaries on these issues. I think that they should let him release it independently and support him without any fallout on their organization. Although this could also mean that they would not get any $$$ out of it either. I would have no problem buying it. I have plenty of music that is much worse I am sure. And Christians love U2′s new album and they use the s-word on it.

walmart version? no thanks. if there’s one thing worse than putting the s word in a song it’s shopping at walmart.

But seriously, what word should he substitute? crap? poop? No.2? really unfortunate stuff? none of those really have the same meaning.

No one has mentioned that rhyming can be extremely important when writing a song. I’m sure that’s the reason he had to use the word.

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Artist v. label. I thought they were supposed to work together. Iron should sharpen iron. I can’t wait to read more to discover if this is a genuine complaint or another ego tiff.

I hope that management and A&R haven’t lost sight of the goal: making the best music. Always subjective, I know.

I hope that Derek hasn’t lost sight of how his label SHOULD be working in his best interest.

I love Derek’s music, especially his involvement with THE VOICE Bible translation.

I don’t get it. What “s” word?

i wouldn’t let my kids say that or listen to it…i probably will…ready tripp crosby on cussing…http://trippcrosby.com/?p=737 “Cussing, A Self Convo” Funny, yet smart…

I hesitate to comment, because we probably don’t know enough yet, but IF this is true it would be very disappointing to me for a couple of reasons.

1. I don’t understand the infatuation with middle school cuss words by Christians. Newsflash, the fact that you can drink beer and cuss is not as cool as you think. The world has been doing that for years they are not impressed. I for one am over it.

2. I don’t want my daughter or son to “give a shit”, I want them to love Jesus. I think that if shock jock is what we are going for then lets cuss in our sermons and cuss in our books and cuss in our songs (in fact forget the “s” word lets drop the “f-bomb” it’s much more effective for shock), if we want to give Jesus fame I am just not sure that’s the best way.

3. The Publisher is always made the enemy. Why don’t they get a say? They have fronted a tremendous amount of money and their brand into their artists. If they don’t want to be associated with the message they have every right to not publish the album and once it’s under contract and recorded they belong to them. If I keep my advance my publisher owns my books…that seems right to me.

I hope Derek can explain better soon. I hope my rant is out of context. But since he threw this out there he has opened himself to conjecture which is so dangerous. Hopefully this will be about the chord structure or something.

Derek is a master of marketing and look at all the folks already talking about his new controversial record. Coincidence? I wouldn’t be so sure.

He can use other words than using the word itself. For me, when I say the word, even it if it conveys a rather “good” point, it seems that I am violating something inside of me. Derek’s a good lyricist and he can do away with using other words which can be more powerful than just plainly using the s-word. I am not too fast to opine on this one as I have read the lyrics yet. We’ll see then if there is really something bad with how the word was used in the song.

Is this really the biggest controversy we can find? Do we really believe that with all this world has going on in it that “shit” is a deal breaker? Being puritan makes nothing of your relationship of Christ. After all, most muslims are much more strict from a “religious” sense of the word. Yet this same label would consider them heathens. At what point have we lost the essence of what Christianity is?

I think that the word “shit” could definitely be a deal-breaker, but I also think that a song that might possibly talk about publicly and maybe even possibly loudly opening its arms to ALL members of the world (even gay ones…I’m looking at you, Westboro) could be a deal-breaker. I know that through his twitter updates, he was talking about a song that dealt specifically with the church mentioned above. This issue makes me sick.

I just sent this message to INO Records…

To Whom It May Concern:

Hello! I want to start out this message by applauding INO Records. For years, this record label has stuck its neck out and put the talented and life-changing Derek Webb accessible to millions of people everywhere. I am one of those people. I reached a point in my life about four years ago where I felt like I had to choose between God or life. Those two things do not seem like they would be conflicting aspects, but they were for a young, 21-year-old gay man. Derek Webb’s music inspired me to believe that I could live and believe in God/Jesus Christ. He didn’t just sing a song that conveniently had the word “God” or “Jesus” in it with a nice beat that doesn’t open up the listener to think. Derek’s music speaks of the doctrines of God and Jesus Christ with mentioning or not mentioning those specific names, but guess what? He makes the listener deeply and truly think about aspects of life through different eyes that we have been looking through for years, decades, centuries, millenniums. From war to suicide to poverty to abortion to something that would seem so simple like love, through his music, Derek Webb helped me come back to God and Christ. Now, I am hearing that his music cannot be heard.

Whatever the circumstances might be with this record, please re-consider and make this one open to the public. In 50 years, you will be known as the record label that took the biggest chance on Derek Webb and, when it seemed like the “right” or “popular” thing to do, you stuck your necks out even farther for him. Derek wrote, “I am a whore / I do confess / I put you on just like a wedding dress / And I run down the aisle / I run down the aisle / I’m a prodigal with no way home / I put you on just like a ring of gold / And I run down the aisle / I run down the aisle”. Those words are very appropriate for this situation, and I pray that you seriously sit and think about those thought-provoking lyrics.

Sincerely,
Shawn

if it is merely the use of one word the label considers “profane” or “unacceptable” then they should be willing to either stick with their artist and release his material or let him out of his contract so that he can release his art through another source.

the use of any single word would not be a deal breaker for me as a consumer. if the label is concerned about sales of their product being limited because Christian book-stores won’t carry the product then they need to realize cd sales AND Christian bookstores are on the decline. Most of Derek’s fan base is devoted enough and savvy enough to download the album, or find it at the local target, or best buy, or another online source.

IMHO

Sounds like the e-mail was a great marketing idea… people are already hyped up about his new album and want to hear the “edginess.”

christians censoring christians over words that normal people use with ease. you can’t pay for entertainment like this.

this is an obvious marketing ploy by an opportunistic and uncreative man. actual creative people are not dealing with the issue of whether the word “shit” or “damn” should be used. they are seeking innovative and personal meaning and expression through sound, vision and spoken word. this story clearly shows that very little if any of this is taking place at any level of popular “christian” art. but to be fair to the artist, it seems his growth has been stunted by his community and now he is forced to endure such lowly concerns.

the intended shock value is obvious and it is working well for our “edgy” artist. a testament to the uptight, backwards, unimportant and irrelevant values of today’s christians on both sides of the fundamentalist fence.

I think jumping on one blogger’s idea that the issue may be with a single word is, perhaps, a bit premature since we have NO other information regarding this than what is in Derek’s rather vague e-mail. It is a viable theory but it is only a theory and has no grounding in fact at this time.

I would find it hard to believe that the decision by the label not to include “shit” in a song would cause Derek to risk screwing things up with them entirely, but I could be wrong too. I guess we will all just have to wait and see!

This is unfortunate. I don’t know Derek personally, however it has always seemed his heart is in the right place. It’s unfortunate a label would put up a stink about something as small as using the word shit in a song. Christians most times fail to see the big picture. Christian labels are more corrupt than secular labels. I hope Derek keeps writing from his heart, and doesn’t let this garbage hold him down. I’ve stopped listening to most Christian artists simply because every song sounds the same and there is a lacking of any creativity. Oh well…

“Christian labels are more corrupt than secular labels.”

You say this as if it comes to you as a surprise. You say this as if secular society generally produces more corruption than Christian society. If that is your insinuation then I, as a secularist, find the insinuation VERY offensive. Not only is it offensive, it is plain wrong. There is no better source of corruption & hypocrisy (in America) than in the far-right social conservative movement.

However, you are spot on about the lack of creativity in “Christian pop/rock”.

focus on the word and you miss the message of the song. I write and I don't use words casually, there is purpose and intention behind every word.

"I'm sure I'll be in the minority here, but I'll be very disappointed if Derek's big issue is the use of the "s" word. I'm not necessarily opposed to hearing the "s" word in a song, but I feel like many use it as a status symbol of their "edgy-ness". It feels very artificial to me. I've already read tweets and blogs telling Derek to "keep it real" or stating that simply because the label is against it, the album must be awesome. People gravitate towards that anti-establishment stuff and thrive on it. That concerns me greatly. Counter-culture doesn't automatically equal "awesomeness" in my book.

The bible warns against us using vulgarity, and like it or not, that word is vulgar in our society. Don't get me wrong, I occasionally cuss too, but it's usually out of a lack of self-control – not a conscious usage to get my point across. That said, I'll hold my final judgement until I hear the word in the context of the song, but for now, I just dont' have a good feeling about this…"

Wow..a mature statement. I couldn't agree more. I'm, personally, sick of the "hey I'm a REAL Christian. I don't judge. I'm cool if you cuss, drink, sleep around, just love people, bro". It's not about using (or not using) a certain word on a given moment. It's more about the nature in which such an act originates. I feel that all too often things like this are just based on immaturity. Jesus loves me…I can "cuss" and you can't say anything to me or you are "judging' me. Grow up and think about the big picture. Life's more than your freedom in Christ.