Who says that there isn’t such thing as a free lunch?  House of Heroes is giving away a free download of their new song “Independence Day for a Petty Thief.”

Ok, well there is a catch.  In order to download the song, you MUST have a Twitter account that you are willing to allow the band to access.  Once you agree to the terms, the band will instantly send out a Tweet to your network, alerting them of the free offer.

If that doesn’t sound too invasive to you, click here to access the free download.

Other artists feel that “leaking” an album can lead to good things.  That must be why you can listen to Born Again, the brand new album from the Newsboys in its entirety online.

To listen in its entirety, click here.

BREAKING NEWS:  Avalon members Greg and Janna Long have accepted positions as Worship Leaders with Woodlands Church, located outside of Houston, TX.

Avalon has been through a lot of changes in recent years (ie: the departure of Melissa Greene, Jody McBrayer, Michael Passons, Cherie Adams, and Nikki Hassman), but fans will be happy to know that Greg and Janna will continue with the group.

Clear Channel, the nation’s largest broadcasting company, is featuring Skillet on their iheartradio website.  Check them out as the “Featured Rock Artist” here.

The Winter Jam concert tour, conceived by Newsong around 1995, will hitting the road in about two months, bring with them Third Day, Newsboys, Fireflight, Tenth Avenue North, Newsong, Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre, and Revive.  Tony Nolan will handle the speaking aspects of the show.

1/8/2010 in CHATTANOOGA, TN at McKenzie Arena
1/9/2010 in FAYETTEVILLE, NC at Crown Arena
1/10/2010 in CHARLOTTE, NC at Time Warner Cable Arena
1/15/2010 in JACKSONVILLE, FL at Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
1/16/2010 in TAMPA, FL at St. Pete Times Forum
1/17/2010 in DULUTH, GA at Arena at Gwinnett Center
1/22/2010 in ST. CHARLES, MO at Family Arena
1/23/2010 in CHAMPAIGN, IL at Assembly Hall
1/24/2010 in DES MOINES, IA at Veterans Memorial Auditorium
1/28/2010 in READING, PA at The Sovereign Center
1/29/2010 in CLEVELAND, OH at The Wolstein Center
1/30/2010 in UNIVERSITY PARK, PA at Bryce Jordan Center
1/31/2010 in NORFOLK, VA at Scope Arena
2/4/2010 in CINCINNATI, OH at Cincinnati Gardens
2/5/2010 in COLUMBUS, OH at Schottenstein Center
2/6/2010 in GREENSBORO, NC at Greensboro Coliseum
2/11/2010 in AUGUSTA, GA at James Brown Arena
2/12/2010 in MOBILE, AL at USA Mitchell Center
2/13/2010 in GREENVILLE, SC at BI-LO Center
2/14/2010 in NORTH CHARLESTON, SC at North Charleston Coliseum
2/18/2010 in ROANOKE, VA at Roanoke Civic Center
2/19/2010 in COLUMBIA, SC at Colonial Life Arena
2/20/2010 in CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA at John Paul Jones Arena
2/21/2010 in NASHVILLE, TN at The Sommet Center
2/25/2010 in TULSA, OK at BOK Center
2/26/2010 in DALLAS, TX at American Airlines Center
2/28/2010 in KANSAS CITY, MO at The Sprint Center
2/27/2010 in OKLAHOMA CITY, OK at The Ford Center
3/4/2010 in MACON, GA at Macon Coliseum
3/5/2010 in TALLAHASSEE, FL at Leon County Civic Center
3/6/2010 in KNOXVILLE, TN at Thompson-Boling Arena
3/7/2010 in MEMPHIS, TN at FedEx Forum
3/11/2010 in FORT WAYNE, IN at Allen County Memorial Coliseum
3/12/2010 in MOLINE, IL at iWireless Center
3/13/2010 in LEXINGTON, KY at Rupp Arena
3/14/2010 in BIRMINGHAM, AL at BJCC Arena
3/18/2010 in TUPELO, MS at BancorpSouth Center
3/19/2010 in LITTLE ROCK, AR at Verizon Arena
3/20/2010 in BOSSIER CITY, LA at CenturyTel Center
3/21/2010 in VALLEY CENTER, KS at Intrust Bank Arena
3/25/2010 in GRAND RAPIDS, MI at Van Andel Arena
3/26/2010 in YPSILANTI, MI at EMU Convocation Center
3/27/2010 in NORMAL, IL at Redbird Arena
3/28/2010 in LOUISVILLE, KY at Freedom Hall

Complete event information is available at http://www.jamtour.com/.

As previously reported on CMDish.com, Jennifer Knapp is back and ready to drop a new record early 2010.

If you’re located near Nashville, be sure to mark down November 18th on your calendar.  She’s set to perform at the Belcourt Theatre and you have to check her out.  Find more details on the show here.

Joy Electric is back with a new studio album due out tomorrow (11/3/09) that will feature a cover of ”Viva La Vida,” made famous by Coldplay.

Check out the song now on JE’s MySpace page.

While you’re there, you’ve got to take a look at this blog entry on how she announced it to the world.  Very cute.

The comings and goings of Christian radio isn’t something that we typically report on, as there are already a number of blogs and websites out there dedicated to that sector of the Christian music industry. However, CMDish.com thought this piece of news was too important to pass up.

To the dismay of some listeners, The River 102.3 (KPEZ-FM), an Austin TX based Christian AC radio station, which is owned by media conglomerate Clear Channel Communications, recently introduced mainstream titles into their lineup.

Yes.com, which tracks radio station airplay in many markets across the country, revealed that one particular hour of programming on The River was only about 40% Christian:

Jeff Johnson – Ruin Me
3 Doors Down – Here Without You
Third Day – Born Again
Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape (w/ Akon)
Rush Of Fools – Can’t Get Away
Miley Cyrus – The Climb
Five For Fighting – Superman
Satellites & Sirens – Take Me Back
Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway
Rascal Flatts – Life Is A Highway
Third Day – Revelation
Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
(Source: Yes.com, 10/28/09 — 5am-6a)

In an interview with CMDish.com, The River Program Director, Gary Walsh said that the decision to add mainstream music to the station’s playlist was a mutual and local decision and that Clear Channel didn’t shove the idea down their throat.

“I have worked for a good number of radio companies over my years in this business and none have been more supportive than Clear Channel. The decision to move into a more mainstream approach was not ordered by, hinted at or even talked about by Clear Channel. This company has done nothing but support us and try to help in any way possible,” said Walsh.

So where did this very unconventional idea come from and why?

Over the years, Christian radio stations have picked up borderline crossover mainstream acts like The Fray, Carrie Underwood, and Lifehouse — but to actually play blantantly mainstream acts like Kelly Clarkson and Gwen Stefani is very rare with large market Christian stations.

Naturally, when we first heard of what was happening at The River, we figured that ratings were down and Clear Channel wanted to make a quick buck without changing formats.

However, according to Walsh, The River has amazingly already captured nearly 80% of the Christian audience in the Austin market. However, their mission is to reach all families in Austin, not just those who consider themselves to be Christians.

Method to reach Unbelievers? Spin Mainstream Music

The River performed an ‘unofficial’ research project with their audience and found out that there was “three times as much interest and passion for artists like Colbie Caillat and Taylor Swift than Third Day and Casting Crowns,” said Walsh. Walsh continued, “If the general market and even our Christian listening audience are more passionate about mainstream music than what we are playing, it only makes sense to give them what they are passionate about. We can expect these people to come to us, or we can pack up our Christian world view and traditional family values and go to them.”

Local reaction? Walsh has fielded about 35-40 phone calls and emails and when explained, “at least 95% respond with ‘Oh, okay. Makes sense.’ Only a few are upset, explained Walsh.”

Arbitron, the company that ranks ratings in the Austin market, reveals that the The River ranked Top 15 with 12 years of age and older last spring. We’ll just have to wait and see if this number continue to grow.

What do you think?

Should a Christian radio station play mainstream music? Post a comment and let us know!

Jadyn Maria. Does the name ring a bell?

Maria jumped into the CCM scene when she performed guest vocals with Jody McBrayer on the song “Never Alone (iTunes)” The single, which was featured on a duet album entitled “It Takes 2,” received a fair amount of radio airplay on Christian AC and Christian Top 40 radio stations.

According to a long forgotten artist bio that CMDish.com uncovered online via her management company’s website, Maria was signed to a record deal at age 16 and was set to release a cd project in 2004. While singing at a wedding, Maria was connected with Troy VanLiere, manager of the group NewSong, who connected Maria to Sparrow Records. In 2004 alone, Maria toured before 100,000 people, sharing the stage with acts like Jump5 and Relient K.

Eventually, Maria was invited to join the R&B group GRITS in covering U2′s “With or Without You (iTunes)” It was an experience that Maria enjoyed, according to an interview with blogger Clayton Perry. “I was honored to do something a little bit different with it and to be a part of a project like that,” said Maria.

Maria’s own studio album was set to be released in 2004, but when an ad agency who represented the Herbal Essences shampoo campaign saw Maria’s “beauty, talent and wholesomeness,” the breaks were applied. In conjunction with the Herbal Essences campaign, Maria sang a song entitled “Rock You Senseless,” which can be heard on You Tube.

Unfortunately, Maria’s 2004 album never came to be and Maria disappeared into the abyss.

(Pictured Right: Maria at what we believe to be age 19. Photo courtesy William Morris Agency)

Jadyn Maria Resurfaces

And this time, she’s working a new angle in the music industry: Mainstream Pop.

Fast forward 2008.

Former Christian Music B-Lister Katy Hudson turned Katy Perry shocked the CCM world with her release of the song “Ur So Gay.” Come to find out, Perry and Maria are actually rather good friends, to the point that Maria appeared as one of the bridesmaids in the music video for Perry’s single, “Hot N Cold.”

In 2008, Maria moved to Atlanta, was signed to R&B singer Ne-Yo’s label, Compound Entertainment, and began working on her first, or second album, depending on how you look at it.

According to Ne-Yo, Maria has a, “A sweet tone, a gorgeous smile, a bubbly yet strong persona—not to mention a rather strong pen game—made Jadyn Maria just what I was looking for. It’s these attributes that will also make her a name you will remember.”

What’s to come for Maria?

An album entitled “Mans World,” is slated for a December 29th release. A few singles from the album are already available for purchase via iTunes, including her first radio single, “Good Girls Like Bad Boys,” (YouTube – iTunes), which could be considered scandalous to the ears of Christian radio listeners.

From the little that we’ve heard from her new album, the lyrics are sexually suggestive but very typical of pop music these days. However, just about all of the interviews that we’ve sorted through featuring quotes from Maria don’t seem to indiciate that she has given up her Christian upbringing. Maria is upfront about her time in the CCM bubble and seems to have no regrets.

We’re predicting big things in Jadyn Maria’s future, especially given the financial backings of Ne-Yo and his record label, Compound Entertainment.

Be sure to bookmark CMDish.com, as we’ll be sure to keep the Jadyn Maria coverage coming, as we get closer to her December 29th album release.