Tony Cummings charts the headspinning history of Herald Records/Word (UK)/Nelson Word/Word Entertainment/Authentic Music and quizzed Authentic Music's Gareth Russell

At Authentic, we also feel called to support those artists who are communicating a Christian message through their songs, but performing to those who do not yet know Jesus. I think it is very easy for us to create a Christian ghetto and it is important for all of us as an industry to support those who are week in week out speaking directly to those who need to hear the Good News.

Tony: The UK scene still seems dominated by worship music with little else selling in appreciable quantities. Is this your viewpoint?

Gareth: Worship music has always been the key genre for our industry and in many ways I think it should be. At Authentic we are blessed to work with a number of worship writers, like Hillsong, Matthew Macaulay, Abundant Life and Planetshakers. However, we also feel it important to support those artists who would not see themselves as "worship" acts, but do feel a calling to write songs about life from a Christian viewpoint.

Recently we developed a new label called The Stereo Tree, which will provide those bands who are Christian, but not writing songs for congregational worship, a platform to get their music to their target audience. It means that we will be using very different techniques to those used historically to impact the music industry with faith centred music.

Tony: Presumably you were very disappointed to lose the Movation/The Message Trust catalogue to ICC/Elevation. Was that inevitable with the departure of David Bruce and his long term relationship with Zarc Porter and Mark Pennells?

Gareth: The relationship between Authentic and Movation has always been a good one. We have enjoyed great success with The Tribe, thebandwithnoname, and more recently tbc. When I arrived back at Authentic, it came at a time when the contract term had expired and Mark, Zarc, and I had to discuss how we would proceed in the future. The discussions we had were frank and honest and I appreciated the integrity with which Mark and Zarc conducted themselves. In the end it was by mutual agreement that we parted ways and I wish them every success in their new partnership with ICC.

Tony: One of the things Authentic have been praised for in the past is developing new youth orientated acts like Phatfish and thebandwithnoname. It seems you still have that commitment, what with the Gentlemen and this new band we are beginning to hear about, Portland. Tell me something about those acts and how they fit into the Authentic sales strategy.

Gareth: As I mentioned previously, we have had some big decisions to make recently. One has been, should we continue to develop acts who are not worship writers, but have a heart for God and for getting their music to those who need to hear a message of hope.

The decision was made to create The Stereo Tree and to continue supporting those acts on the Authentic label. At present we have two acts signed to The Stereo Tree - The Gentlemen and Portland. Both of these acts play in the pubs and clubs, as well as churches and festivals. The Gentlemen (four lads from Sheffield) are the first to release an album and we have been really encouraged by the response, from the general music industry, the Christian music industry and from the fans. We had our first play on Radio 2, with Terry Wogan playing "I'm Not Leaving" and the music video is going for adds in the next few weeks. It will continue to be a steady process and we are not expecting a number 1 straight away, but we are realigning the way we approach these types of projects and hope that it will provide a more stable foundation for the future.

Portland are another exciting act. Three guys from Birmingham who create stunning melodies. The first time we heard their demo, we were blown away. We asked Dan Wheeler to produce the album and when the finished tracks arrived (via Kipper) we knew we were on to something good. Again, it may take time to break these guys into the mainstream, but they have also been played on Radio 2, with Bob Harris picking up on one of the tracks via a contact of his at Abbey Road. Everyone who has heard the album (These Broken Hands) has loved it, so we are really looking forward to the release in June.

On the Authentic label, we also have acts like Shell Perris, Matthew Macaulay, Philippa Hanna, and Phatfish. All of these guys have a real calling to the church and write songs with that audience in mind - and this is no less important in our eyes. It was important for us to distinguish between the acts pushing for mainstream and those more focused on the church - hence the creation of a new label - but we feel called to supporting both and exposing more and more young people (and not so young people) to their music.

Tony: Is illegal downloading a big problem for Authentic?

Gareth: This is difficult to measure. What I can say is that legal downloading is one of our key growth areas and I think it is important we continue to develop this channel. I am sure illegal downloads have had some impact, but it is now a fact of life, so we have to build a sustainable business model that works despite that issue.

Tony: Authentic has had a long term working relationship with Hillsong. Is that likely to continue?