What Were the UTR Media Highlights of 2017?

For those keeping score, 2017 was a pretty monumental year for our ministry. And as we reflect on the year-gone-by, here are some of the moments, events, productions, and accomplishments that made the most memories. [This basically walks through the year in chronological order.]

SPREADING OUR CONTENT WINGS

Even though we officially cancelled production of the “Under The Radar” radio show, we brought it out of retirement in January 2017 for two bonus episodes that revealed our critics picks of the top gourmet albums and top gourmet songs of 2016. For the first time ever, we shared our Top 11 Albums countdown as a special video production called Christian Music Does NOT Suck …We’ll Prove It, which between Facebook and YouTube had over 12,000 views (our most popular new video of 2017).

WIDE EYED WONDER, GIRL

We had the pleasure of sponsoring the 2-month nationwide Wide Eyed Wonder Tour with legendary rock band The Choir. Hundreds of people picked up CDs and info about UTR and learned about our ministry for the first time. We were also able to share exclusive content with The Choir.

WILD WILD MIDWEST

In May 2017, we organized the Wild Wild Midwest Tour with John Tibbs, Jess Ray, and Taylor Leonhardt. It was a total blast to travel through 4 states with these artists, band mates, and even a volunteer roadie. At the end, we had gained several new friends, told lots of folks about UTR, collected gobs of audio and video content, and listened to hours of fantastic live music.

SAME MISSION … NEW NAME

After having our Big Next Step campaign fully funded, we were ready to make an exciting step forward. In July, we announced a new name for our organization: UTR Media. This will allow for more brand clarity and hopefully remove any potentially negative stigma with being an “under the radar” artist. Around this same time we launched our new logo and new tagline (“Rediscover your soul-connection to music”).

ESCAPE TO THE LAKE 2017

Our flagship event was an incredible experience. The live music, the community, the conversations, the joy, the sessions, the love — it’s really the Church at its finest. We agree with one attendee who called it “a life-changing week.” This year we hosted and filmed the ETTL Rich Mullins Tribute Concert (over 8k views).

MINISTRY RE-LAUNCH

By late August, we began the official creative re-launch process with a new mobile-friendly website, new video productions, new social media channels (our Big 3 are now all @utrmedia), and the launch of FIVE new podcasts. We are excited to see our ministry reach expand as we serve both artists and our community even better.

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

In November, we released our 4th compilation album of the last 12 months. It was the 2nd time in 2017 that a UTR album became the #1 overall album on NoiseTrade. Be on the lookout for a new compilation album releasing on NoiseTrade in late January.

Did you have a favorite “UTR” moment from the year 2017? Tell us below! We don’t know what the future holds, but the New Year is a time of hopeful expectation. We are excited for what God has in store for us in 2018 and we hope to be a spiritual encouragement to thousands of people. Thank you for any and all ways you team with our ministry.