Music Precedent adds online music site

Music Precedent Ltd. in the spring launched KidTunz, which offers direct access to Christian children’s music. KidTunz operates online, www.kidtunz.com, where parents or Sunday school teachers can search for and download songs by topic, such as “sharing” or “kindness.”

Since founding Music Precedent in 1996, owners John and Pam Morton say the company’s “bread-and-butter” service has become writing and recording children’s songs for clients who use the music in combination with Sunday school lessons.

The KidTunz site has more than 750 songs available, comprising the catalogs of Music Precedent and Gospel Publishing House. Song downloads are 99 cents to $2 apiece.

“You can do a custom CD that you can play for your child, and it kind of gets them thinking about some of the higher values of humanity,” John Morton said.

Since its April launch, Morton said KidTunz has attracted 75 to 100 accounts and recorded “hundreds” of downloads. He noted that the company is just beginning to promote the site, beginning with ads in Children’s Ministry magazine.

A new offering

KidTunz is the first major addition for Music Precedent, which started in the Mortons’ Springfield home. In 2001, they moved the business to a 2,600-square-foot commercial space at 3555 S. Mentor Ave. that is complete with a recording studio.

Gospel Publishing House, an arm of Assemblies of God headquarters in Springfield, has used John Morton to write Christian children’s music for about 10 years for its Sunday school lessons, according to AG Editor Deanna Harris. Harris said that Morton has written and recorded more than 100 songs to accompany AG curriculum.

“We try to pack our songs full of content that’s meaningful,” said Morton, a piano player and 20-year music veteran with a degree from Central Bible College.

Morton enlists help from about 20 freelance songwriters and professional instrumentalists in Springfield and Branson.

Aside from Gospel Publishing House, other large clients are Standard Publishing in Cincinnati and Cook Communications Ministries in Colorado Springs, Colo. Song-writing and recording services typically cost between $500 and $1,000, Morton said.

Recording variety

Morton hasn’t written any secular music, but he said he’d be willing to try it.

His recording studio is another story. It’s hosted virtually every type of recording session, he said.

In May, for example, Pershing Middle School teacher Liz Sauer and her 26-member student jazz band rented the studio to record nine songs, which were made into a CD and sold at the school’s spring concert. Also that month, Wichita, Kan.-based Armstrong|Shank Advertising Agency leased the studio to record a radio commercial for one of its clients, Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.

Armstrong|Shank used Music Precedent’s studio because Branson-based ventriloquist Todd Oliver did voiceover for the ad, according to Mark Chamberlin, director of marketing services for Armstrong|Shank.

“The quality was very good, and what we really liked was how flexible they were,” said Chamberlin, praising Music Precedent’s technology and ability to make on-the-spot changes.

Mission ahead

Morton said he’s focused on growing KidTunz’s song catalog.

Also, to grow traffic to the site, Morton is offering incentives for teachers, choir directors and other church officials. The program basically gives participants 10 percent back on purchases to use on additional song downloads or other rewards.

He’s also using KidTunz to generate charitable dollars. Customers can direct Music Precedent to donate 10 percent of each sale to one of four charities: Pregnancy Care Center in Springfield; Nile Valley Academy, a school for youth in Sudan; Children’s Ministries University Online, a resource for Sunday school teachers; and Mission Courageous: Stepping Into India, a Cook Communications Ministries operation that sends Bibles to India.[[In-content Ad]]