‘Exclusive albums’ can provide a ‘differentiation’ tool for Christian bookstores, says creator of Parable’s special-offer initiative

The Parable Group is evaluating the success of an exclusive album by Jeremy Camp, which was intended to help drive music sales.

Parable and EMI CMG Distribution recently released a customized CD by Camp, featuring songs that have influenced him from artists such as Audio Adrenaline, Keith Green and dcTalk.

Available only at more than 50 Parable stores and Parable’s Web site, ArtistSelect: Jeremy Camp is a 10-song album—the first CD by a well-known Christian artist featuring his favorite songs sung by other musicians.

Comparable to iTunes’ “Celebrity Playlist” and Starbucks’ “Artist’s Choice” albums, the concept is to sell pre-existing content to fans of a well-known artist for only the cost of licensing fees.

Officials for Parable and EMI CMG said the customized CD idea could generate traffic to Christian bookstores because the product would not be available at big-box stores, chains or other online retailers.

Released last August, ArtistSelect: Jeremy Camp features two of Camp’s songs as well as eight tunes performed by other artists that Camp likes, including “For the Sake of the Call” by Steven Curtis Chapman and “The Hardway (Remix)” by dcTalk. The Parable CD also features a 35-minute interview with Camp about his life and why he chose the songs he did for the album.

Bryan Ward—director of catalog development for EMI CMG who worked with Camp and Parable to put the album together—told Christian Retailing if the CD sells well, “we could branch out to Steven Curtis Chapman and Amy Grant, with the idea that we’ll release something like this six or seven months before that artist’s next studio record comes out.”

ArtistSelect: Jeremy Camp included a coupon to encourage the artist’s fans to purchase Speaking Louder Than Before (BEC Recordings/EMI CMG)—Camp’s latest studio album, which was released in November, four months after the customized CD came out. Camp also promoted his new album during the interview segment on the Parable CD.

“We thought this could be a catalog piece to not only brand Jeremy Camp, but something that we could also use in between albums in order to give the core fan another experience they could enter into,” Ward said.

The “ArtistSelect” idea came from Randy Ross, a music inventory specialist at Parable who noticed the success that Starbucks and iTunes had with customized CDs. Ross told Christian Retailing that Parable had created several customized CDs in the past, including albums from pianist Tom Howard and folk singer T.J. McCloud. He added that some of the CDs had sold 25,000 to 45,000 units.

However, Ross admitted that he was a little disappointed with sales of ArtistSelect: Jeremy Camp so far. “The disc has done OK, but not as well as we would have liked,” said Ross, who declined to release specific sales numbers.
Ross called exclusive albums more of a “differentiation” product for brick-and-mortar stores than a “revitalization” tool.

“We’d love to pursue other artists and build a line of product, but it is too early to tell,” Ross said. “With each exclusive, a group of retailers gives feedback and direction about upcoming releases. That feedback has not been gathered yet on the (ArtistSelect: Jeremy Camp) CD.”

Meanwhile, Family Christian Stores has offered free music downloads through itickets.com. The country’s largest Christian bookstore chain allowed music fans to download three new songs every Tuesday. Songs offered in November included “Mighty to Save” by Michael W. Smith from his newest album, A New Hallelujah (Reunion Records/Provident-Integrity Distribution).