I'll research that for u so I can speak about it a little better, but until then here's my answer.
Music is probably the reason I am a muslim today actually. My ancestors in India probably would not have converted to Islam had it not been for the influence of Sufi Islam, which helped spread Islam through music.
So what christian rock is these days is somewhat the equivalent of Sufi music, except it was used as a tool to evangelise also (I dont think christian has that much of an influence on non-christians). Personally, I dont listen to Sufi music and it has never been an influence for me.
Here's what I could google up about Sufism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SufismAnd no, music is not a big part of the religion itself, though it has been used to spread the Islamic message. Many muslims actually think that music is forbidden in Islam(music that is made with modern instruments), especially the "hardcore" fundamentalist ones like the Taliban. However, this belief is unfounded and there is no sound proof of this claim in the Holy Quran.
Ofcourse there is much more depth to the issue than that, and this is precisely why I wished there was a more knowledgeable muslim on here(even a non-muslim, a certain "johnny" was able to help out

).