Influence of digital economy on vocal music performance of Christian musicians in Nigeria

Abstract

 This paper focuses on the influence of digital economy on vocal performance among Christian musicians. Undoubtedly, there has been a paradigm shift in the performance, production, distribution and promotion of music due to a greater reliance on the internet associated with the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the internet has promoted a greater patronage of the digital economy. Thus, the digital economy affords the Christian vocal performer a good opportunity to impact the world globally. Despite these prospects of the digital economy, some Christian vocal performers are oblivious about how to engage in it maximally while some of those involved have fallen into the pit of compromise and the dilution of the gospel message. How then does the Christian participate in the digital economy and make lasting impact while maintaining the integrity of their faith? With Femi Adedeji’s transformative musicology theory as a theoretical framework and a descriptive research design, the researchers highlight some trends in vocal performance and present an overview of the digital economy. They further discuss the influence of digital economy on vocal performance where the benefits and shortfalls are indicated. The way forward for the Christian musician in the midst of a digital economy is presented after which the paper comes to a conclusion. The researchers present among others, findings such as the place of authenticity as an idealistic goal in vocal performance, the trend of glossolalia in Christian vocal performance, opportunities for the Christian musician to perform music of other cultures with its accompanying versatility and opportunities of musical collaborations, and the use of vocal effects as a reinforcement in conveying the message of a song. With these in view, the researchers recommend that the Christian musicians should maximize the opportunities presented by the digital economy for global impact while being cautious not to jettison their faith in the process.