Integra Interactive's myMEDIA BurnBar in-store burning system reached a milestone June 6 with more than 2 million discs created. Featuring one of the world's largest catalogs of Christian media content for digital sales, the kiosks are located in more than 450 Christian retail stores, including all LifeWay Christian Stores and Mardel Christian and Education stores, company officials said.

Since the launch of the service on May 29, 2007, the BurnBar has sold more than $20 million of music, audiobooks and video games at retail.

Integra Chief Innovation Officer David Amster said it took three years and nine months to reach the 1 million mark, while second million was achieved in significantly less time, two years and three months.

"Over the years, we have seen nearly 200 stores close that used myMEDIA BurnBar, and still we have been able to grow the sales," he said. "Through the first five months of 2013, year-over-year sales are up 6%."

For the first time, sales of custom playlist discs?ala carte songs?have been even with full album recordings. Custom playlist discs have been more popular in three of the last four months, Amster said.

Integra is currently beta-testing in several stores a 4.0 version of the BurnBar, "which is a complexly new shopper-user interface," company officials said. New features include one-touch viewing of all songs available from the artist/group across all albums; playlist starters, collections of songs on a common theme or occasion; global search to show all content across music and video by a specific artist/group; and the option to buy songs as MP3s, which are delivered to the purchaser via email download link.

"We've long known that a large number of shoppers were creating a playlist CD just to buy the songs and then rip them digitally at home," Amster said. "This improvement will be met with great enthusiasm and we anticipate increased purchasing of songs."

To learn more about myMEDIA BurnBar, visit www.integrainteractive.net.

In a major victory for Hobby Lobby Stores, a federal appeals court today reversed a lower-court ruling that had rejected the arts-and-crafts chain's request for temporary protection in its abortion-pill mandate case.

The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling sends the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, which had earlier ruled against the chain’s request for an exemption. 

Christians continue to embrace computer tablets and e-readers, but Christian retailers "could be cut out of the digital picture without strategic efforts," according to a new CBA-commissioned research by the Barna Group.

Conducted in May, the Christian Retail: The Rise of E-Reading study showed that one in four Christians use an e-reader or mobile tablet for reading purposes, with pastors leading the way. From 2010 to 2012, pastors' use of e-readers has tripled from 14% to 44%. Last year's Barna study for CBA found similar results in terms of e-reader or tablet use by Christians.

The latest research revealed that the biggest demographic of Christian retail shoppers are Busters, ages 30 to 48, and Boomers, ages 49 to 67. The Mosaic generation, ages 18 to 29, is only half as likely to shop in Christian stores and only one-fourth as likely to be monthly shoppers.

The wide-ranging study also found that the biggest reason Christians retail shoppers cited for shopping at Christian stores rather than online was selection (29%), followed by cost and convenience. Nearly one-fourth (21%) of Christians indicated that they shop at Christian stores because they love the ethos of the staff and store, and they want to support the ministry. Christian retail shoppers spend more time in weekly reading (three hours) in both print and digital formats than non-Christian-retail consumers (two hours).

"The digital revolution is changing the way people find, shop for and purchase products," said Barna President David Kinnaman. "It also means the advantage of wide selection is neutralized for physical retailers, since innumerable products are available online. For Christian bookstores, this means that the value proposition of great selection will not be sufficient for the longterm.

"The nature of Twitter and Facebook is making it easier for consumers to interact directly with authors, leaders and influencers," he added. "Retailers, who have traditionally served as connectors of Christians to content, could be increasingly cut out of the picture without strategic efforts to become more integral to the digital future. In short, social media is like a backstage pass to authors, so retailers have to be increasingly aware of the changing expectations related to access."

To learn more about the report, visit www.barna.org.

New York Times best-selling author Karen Kingsbury has signed a major licensing partnership with DaySpring. The card and gift line, featuring Kingsbury and her daughter, Kelsey Kupecky, will be released next spring.

"The line will be called 'Karen Kingsbury: Possibilities' and will feature more than 50 products inspired by her novels, including seasonal and special-occasion greeting cards, journals, mugs, calendars, office and desk accessories and home decor products," said Kingsbury's longtime agent, Rick Christian, president of Alive Communications. "They will be sold in some 3,500 outlets, including Wal-Mart, grocery stores and Hallmark shops."

Kingsbury has long envisioned a creative partnership with her daughter in developing products that encourage women at home and work.

"Kelsey and I are beyond thrilled," Kingsbury said of the deal with the Hallmark subsidiary.

James Barnett, president of DaySpring, added: "Karen has a huge presence in the marketplace and touches so many hearts with her writing and speaking. She is known for unforgettable characters and compelling storytelling. We are very pleased to be working together."

The 2013 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) concluded yesterday in St. Louis after three days of networking, order-writing and fellowship.

Professional attendance was down 15% to 1,485 buyers with more than 3,700 total. International attendance also dropped, decreasing 21% to 288 from 57 countries.

George Thomsen, who came to the event as CBA board president, but also as a church bookstore manager, said he was "very positive about the show."

"To me, people seem upbeat," he added. "It seems like what we've seen the last few years, the people that are here are here for the long haul, and they know that our economy and the industry that we work in is different than it used to be. They've accepted it, and we just keep on moving on, so they're upbeat."

CBA President Curtis Riskey also was positive about the overall event, held June 23-26 at the America's Center Convention Complex.

"The people that I spoke with were encouraged, and that's really our goal," he said. "Our goal is to educate and encourage, inspire. I think we did that with a number of things. I think the worship service, Worship Him, was fantastic. I really think the show continued on that plane and was very positive. I was excited about some of the new things that we're doing."

Sunday night's Worship Him event brought together Max Lucado and recording artists Steven Curtis Chapman and Laura Story in a night of inspiration and encouragement that was also open to the public. The event highlighted a partnership wherein Christian stores will participate in the fall launch of an exclusive ministry outreach Bible for Salvation Army clients.

Riskey also observed that "with everyone who's represented here, it reminds me that ICRS remains the apex of the industry, where all who have the common mission to distribute Christian resources come together to celebrate what God's doing in their lives, ministries and businesses."

This year, ICRS continued its focus begun last year on authors connecting with retailers for co-marketing initiatives. Events included an author boot camp; a fiction product event that highlighted opportunity categories, such as young adult; Author Avenue, a special area for book signing and meet-and-greets; and meetings and award events from Christian Retailing, American Christian Fiction Writers, Christian Authors Network and American Writers and Speakers Association, among others.

"It's been good show, and we've enjoyed our time," Ohio retailer Eli Hochstetler said.

"ICRS has been an incredible encouragement this year as once again buyers and sellers have been given an opportunity to be connected at a relational level," said Eddie Nostrand, president of Spirit & Truth Christian Jewelry Designs. "It's about exalting Jesus through the distribution of God-glorifying products for the purpose of spreading the gospel."

Sharon Dumas, a new product provider, said she believes she was here at God's appointed and anointed time.

"CBA, SuzyQ and Shoppes that Poppe have given me a vision for what I need to do," Dumas said. "What an honor and privilege to meet so many and be connected with fellow believers in such short order."

ICRS 2014 will be June 22-25 in Atlanta.

The movie Acts of God won two Crown Awards in the Best Picture and Best Drama over $250,000 categories earlier this month during the International Christian Video Media Conference.

The City on a Hill Productions film, about six people who must battle God and each other through the death of a child, was honored during the conference, held June 18-21 in St. Louis.

The Letter Writer (Bridgestone Multimedia Group ) won the Best Drama Under $250,000 category, while Foolishness (EchoLight Studios) was honored as the Best Evangelistic Film.

Vision Video won two Crown Awards in the Best Documentary Under $50,000 category for When Morning Breaks and Captivated for the Best Documentary Over $50,000.

The Crown Awards are designed to recognize excellence in production and content of films and DVDs that are created to reflect faith-based values. The awards began around 1973 as a way for distributors to honor the work of film/TV producers. International Christian Video Media is an international consortium of producers and distributors in faith-based visual media.

See a complete listing of the winners at www.icvm.com.

Book Fun Magazine and DeeperCalling Media have announced a co-marketing agreement designed to increase the exposure of both companies' advertising campaigns.

Effective immediately, Book Fun will manage product featured on DeeperCalling's bookseller webstores and bookseller email campaigns. Under the agreement, Book Fun and DeeperCalling will provide "a one-stop solution that enables publishers to reach avid book readers and online shoppers," company officials said.

Products will be showcased in Book Fun, the publication of Christian Book Lovers, and DeeperCalling's webstore platform?used by Christian retailers nationwide for online shopping and email marketing.

Book Fun becomes the official magazine of DeeperCalling, and the publication will be promoted online and via email?increasing its reach. In return, DeeperCalling will become the official retailer partner of Book Fun.

"The magazine currently goes out to 62,000, and this partnership is a match made in heaven," said Book Club Network CEO Fred St Laurent. "We believe the combined efforts of our two organizations will help authors and publishers as well as give our readers access to quality books and other products at competitive prices."

DeeperCalling CEO Bill Goodyear added: "This agreement allows publishers to advertise product releases across an extensive network of Christian bookstores both online and via email. It is a natural extension of Book Fun Magazine's goal?to reach readers with product information and reviews."

Vist www.deepercalling.com for more information on DeeperCalling Media and www.bookfunmagazine.com for more information on Book Fun.