Novum Records can trace its beginnings back to Eucharistic adoration, according to its founder, Will Hickl.
“There was a moment of prayer where God clearly said to me … ‘I want you to start a band,'” Hickl told Our Sunday Visitor. “A week later, I go to adoration and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m setting aside this whole hour to start writing music.'”
“About 55 minutes in,” he said, “I was like, ‘All right God, I’m only here for five more minutes, so if you want to help out –‘ and then, before I could even finish that thought, I got slapped with an idea.”
That idea became a demo, or draft of a song, that led him to connect with Mason Shirley, who later became co-owner of Novum Records.
Novum Records, which calls itself the “world’s biggest Catholic record label,” began more than a decade ago, in 2013, as a small independent label. Online, they feature 11 different signed artists or groups of artists who span a variety of genres, from contemporary Christian and praise and worship music to rock, folk and indie. The label promises to empower artists while connecting them to a community of support. They offer help with songwriting, recording, mixing, art direction and distribution while embracing the unique gifts and calling of each artist.
Today, Novum Records is part of a larger “Novum” family that includes Novum Publishing, the Novum Collective band (a band of signed Novum Records artists) and the Novum band (a duo made up of Eric Wilkes and Hickl).
Drawing from a personal passion
Since his experience in adoration, Hickl — a husband, father, worship leader, producer, songwriter, DJ, author and software professional — has enabled artists to create hundreds of songs. Earlier this year, the record label also celebrated after its music appeared on a Lenten playlist by Hallow, the Catholic prayer app. Today, Hickl says, Novum Records has more than 500 songs in its catalog and more than 130 releases.
The song that first came to him in adoration, called “Free,” now appears in two Novum Records albums.
“God had given me just that one thing I needed to get me to the next thing,” Hickl said, describing how he moved toward Novum Records step by step.
Hickl has always had a passion for music. He grew up listening to music constantly and learned the basics in middle school orchestra. He participated in choir in high school and in college began playing the piano. Then he started leading worship.
Hickl said he began to combine his love for music and his love for technology by dabbling in different recording software. He dreamed about starting a live production company, he said, but God had other plans.
Redefining Catholic music
As Hickl started the band that led to the creation of Novum Records, he began reading music business books.
“I essentially set up this infrastructure with a publishing company that also served as the label,” he said.
A few months after the release of an album, one of the bandmates connected Hickl with a friend who needed help with her music. She became the label’s first signed artist. Then, more artists started seeking Hickl’s help.
“God knew what he was doing, because I fell in love with the whole thing,” Hickl said.
While Novum Records attracts many worship leaders and contemporary Christian music artists, the label embraces different genres, he said.
“It’s like, ‘Hey, if you’re Catholic and you love your faith and that’s informing your creative process, this is the space for you,'” Hickl said. “We have multiple genres coming out of the label — even myself, I’m making more electronic pop.”
At another point, he cited one of his recent songs, “Into Your Arms,” involving Novum Publishing.
Hickl added: “We want to redefine what is Catholic music, what is Catholic culture.”
Seeing an artist’s heart
Along the way, Hickl has discovered a passion for mentoring other artists.
“I never would have imagined when I started how alive I would feel running a label,” he said. “I really love the whole aspect of pouring into people and journeying with them.”
“It’s so exciting to me when I meet a new artist … and just to explore like, ‘OK, what’s inside your heart? What’s the treasure that lives within you — and how can we help you bring that out?'”
Instead of controlling artists’ output or aiming to make a profit, Novum Records wants to focus on the art, he said.
“At least for the artists, having their authentic moments of prayer, having their authentic journeys of creation, and not feeling the need to, ‘Let’s make noise and let’s try to make as much money as possible,'” he said.
Hearing from an artist
One of the artists with Novum Records, Cristina Bernal, called her experience with them “really beautiful.” Bernal entered the music industry as a teenager with a record deal with Universal Blackground Records. Today, she focuses on praise and worship, liturgical and contemporary Christian music, and she has a new album coming out in August with music for the Mass.
“The biggest difference has really been just that feeling of … I’m being served even though I’ve come to serve with my gift,” Bernal told Our Sunday Visitor. “It’s like this mutual service going on between the label and myself and both of us using our gifts to come together to serve the Church and all of God’s people.”
She also spoke about the community aspect, with Novum Records artists attending yearly retreats and staying in touch with one another. Bernal, who is a part of Novum Collective, called their latest song, “Back to Your Heart,” a team effort.
Investing in the future
Looking forward, Hickl wants to invest in the next generation of artists — artists of all genres, from around the world. Hickl shared that a new artist from Austria is about to sign with the label and that he’s also talking to artists in other countries.
“We’re really passionate,” he said, “about what we can do to fill the Church with songs that are new, that are fresh, that are Catholic.”
