On Hillsong’s continued reign over the Australian contemporary congregational song genre

Authors

  • Daniel Thornton Alphacrucis College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/prbt.v17i2.30963

Keywords:

Contemporary worship music, praise and worship, congregational song, Christian Copyright Licensing

Abstract

Australia’s popular music charts are not dominated by Australian music. However, in the popular music subgenre, contemporary congregational songs, a single Australian producer has a disproportionately high chart presence compared to international producers: Hillsong Music. This article offers an exploration of and explanation for this anomaly. It examines the extra musical and musical/lyrical components contributing to Hillsong Music’s dominance in the field based on a music semiological approach. Comparisons are made with the international competition within the genre, based on church usage. Finally, this article proposes ways of understanding Hillsong Music within the context of the contemporary congregational song genre both nationally and globally.

Author Biography

  • Daniel Thornton, Alphacrucis College

    Daniel Thornton is the Director of Learning and Teaching, and the Head of Department, Music and Creative Arts, Alphacrucis College, NSW. His PhD thesis, ‘Exploring the Contemporary Congregational Song Genre: Texts, Practice, and Industry’ is the culmination of over 20 years of professional practice as a composer, performer, and ordained worship minister.

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Published

2017-03-03

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Thornton, D. (2017). On Hillsong’s continued reign over the Australian contemporary congregational song genre. Perfect Beat, 17(2), 164-182. https://doi.org/10.1558/prbt.v17i2.30963