True Tunes News
| Editor | John J. Thompson |
|---|---|
| Categories | Christian alternative rock |
| Frequency | Irregular |
| Circulation | 50,000 |
| Country | United States |
True Tunes News was a magazine which covered alternative Christian music.
Background
John J. Thompson founded True Tunes News out of his Wheaton, Illinois Christian record shop, True Tunes.[1] The store itself, founded in 1989, with Chris Langill, was relatively unique because it focused exclusively on alternative Christian music at a time when Christian bookstores wouldn't carry products based on rock, hip hop, or other hard forms of music.[1] In 1995 Thompson founded a live music club for Christian acts called True Tunes Upstairs.[2] In 1997 the store, magazine, and related assets were bought by the Charlottesville, VA based company Journey Communications. Journey closed the shop in early 1998 citing lagging sales due to the spread of alternative Christian music to larger retailers, and turned operations to the printed magazine and the internet.[1]
Despite competition from CCM, HM, and 7ball magazines True Tunes News was extremely successful, achieving a worldwide circulation of 50,000 issues by 1993.[3] This made it the largest Christian rock magazine by circulation, a title it held through the late 1990s.[4] In the late 1990s the magazine ran into financial trouble when several of the record labels whose advertising financed it, went defunct.[3] When it ceased publishing the editors turned to the internet for distribution, but this effort has now been disbanded.
References
- 1 2 3 Chase, John (1998-01-12). "Groundbreaking Christian music store becomes a victim of its own success". Daily Herald. p. 6.
- ↑ Edman, Catherine (1997-05-03). "Music scene perks up for Christian bands Coffeehouses give artists, fans an outlet". Daily Herald. p. 1.
- 1 2 Thompson, John J. (2000). Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll. Toronto, Ontario: ECW Press. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-55022-421-4.
- ↑ Olsen, Ted (1996-10-07). "Too holy for the world, or too worldly for the church? Christian alternative bands look for a home". Christianity Today 40 (11): 84–86. ISSN 0009-5753.