In the spirit of the season, guys-with-guitars Aaron Shust and Brandon Heath are making available free downloads of new yuletide songs they've recorded. Shust is offering his take on the holiday classic "O Come O Come Emmanuel," which you can download by going here. Meanwhile, Heath penned a new song, "Glorious, Wonderful, Emmanuel," which can be obtained at this link.

Former dc Talker tobyMac recently celebrated the RIAA Gold certification of his first two solo albums, Momentum and Welcome to Diverse City, for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies each. The artist is also putting the finishing touches on Portable Sounds, which is currently scheduled for a February 20 release. Additionally, expect tobyMac to headline his own tour beginning March 8 alongside Thousand Foot Krutch, Building 429, and Family Force 5.

Singer/songwriter Derek Webb logged over 80,000 free downloads of his latest album, Mockingbird, as a result of the novel FreeDerekWebb.com campaign. The initiative invited music fans of all persuasions to download the album at no cost, in hopes of igniting discussion around the issues the album highlighted, including poverty, war, and ethics. In the meantime, Webb is hard at work on his next studio album, set for release in May.

Universal Music Group is making inroads into Christian music with the launch of Universal Music Christian Group (UMCG). The company's flagship release is the gospel debut from R&B veteran Patti LaBelle, whose The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle hit stores on November 21. Future releases include new and archival collections from legends such as Mahalia Jackson, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Al Green, Dixie Hummingbirds, Willie Nelson, and Loretta Lynn, among other new artists.

Gospel luminary Kirk Franklin appears on Interpretations, a tribute album celebrating the legacy of R&B powerhouse Earth, Wind & Fire. Franklin's version of the classic "September" is the first single from the set, which also includes contributions from Chaka Khan, Musiq, Meshell Ndegeocello, Angie Stone, Lalah Hathaway, and others. The album will be available February 13 on the resurrected Stax label, now an imprint of Concord Records.

Max Siegel, longtime music business executive and president of Sony-BMG's Zomba Gospel, exited his post in the company for a position as president of global operations for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Under Siegel's management, Zomba Gospel—which includes Verity and GospoCentric Records—has become the genre's top label, spearheading the careers of Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, John P. Kee, Donald Lawrence, and Fred Hammond, among countless others.

Newcomers Echoing Angels have set a January 30 release date for You Alone, their debut album for INO Records. The band recently wrapped a promotional trek that took them to over 30 radio stations all over the country, as well as key festivals such as Atlanta Fest in their hometown and Rock the Universe in Orlando. For more information, visit their website or MySpace page.

© Andree Farias, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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