AS B.C.-produced independent music continues to grow, new labels are springing up to accommodate the artists.

Level

Chris Michel runs Langley-based Level Records, along with musician Iain Lovatt, and a 'silent partner.'

Business, he says, "is really good right now. It's the best time for indie labels, ever."

B.C., he says, "has got the best market in Canada. There's a really cool fan base for indie Christian music."

Asked what has created that fan base, he says artists "have marketing tools which have never been available before, to create demand for their product. Things like Worship Invasion have also helped."

A flexible approach has also helped Level attract talent. "Artists aren't signed exclusively to us. We have the right to distribute their material. We'd love to see what we do with their music take them to the next step. The coolest thing about this is that we're able to facilitate this for other people.

"Our motivation is that we really believe in all the artists we work with. We love to work with great Christian music."

Level artists include Sheree Plett, Anna Vandas, Chris Janzen, Luke Nielsen, Ken and Tracy Rahn and Eisenhower.

Contact: 604-725-6539 or LevelRecords.ca.

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ION

Marc Pusch, head of ION (Inside Out Network), describes the enterprise as "a new non-profit entity focused on connecting a global worship community."

ION offers music exclusively devoted to that purpose, featuring artists such as Andy Park, Brian Doerksen, Diane Rademaker and David Ruis.

All over the planet, Pusch says, "there are worshipers who understand that worship is more than songs and CDs . . . We try to express worship from our heart so that our words and actions have integrity. Then our entire lives become an offering - whether we sing, dance, paint, heal the sick, feed the hungry, befriend the marginalized or take out the trash. It's how we show that we love him - from the inside out."

He adds: "We're not as concerned with how our worship looks or what it sounds like, what denomination or ministry we belong to, or which country we live in or language we speak. We're far more concerned with worship that is real, honest and pleasing to God."

These principles, he says, guide ION's choice of artists. "We want to contribute resources to the Church that reflect the common heart of this [worship] community.

Contact: ionworship.org.

July 2007