We’re All In This Together

Some people ask me how and why I go on tour so much. 

How I do it has everything to do with why I do it. 

I decided a long time ago music was going to be my life.   I didn’t know how I was going to do it, I was just going to do it.  I had that hope deep down.  It’s never left me.  That hope keeps me awake at 4 a.m. on the PA turnpike. 

We are in a new musical age.  The way it’s distributed, produced, promoted, packaged and placed into the ears of the listener is ever evolving.  (Maybe that alliteration was a bit much, but you get the gist).

What will never change is the connection between artist and audience.  That is why I write songs.  I tour because I have no choice.  I have to get my songs to the people.  A 7 inch, tape cassette, CD or mp3 is not going to cut it.  I have to sing it to them.  We have to connect. 

So, here’s to another tour and to connecting with all of you.   Here’s to many more.  Thanks for listening.

For those of you who aren’t musicians, this may be a bit laborious to read through.  For those of you who are - read it and take notes. 

I love Billy Bragg.  He’s so punk rock.

 

Billy applauds MySpace change of T&C

News International-owned networking website MySpace has changed its terms and conditions after Billy withdrew his free music downloads in protest. Billy complained that the small print in MySpace’s terms and conditions gave it far too much control over any music uploaded to the site. He has now reinstated the tracks which previously appeared on his part of MySpace.

Billy said: “I am very pleased to see that MySpace have changed their terms of agreement from a declaration of their rights into a declaration of our rights as artists, making it clear that, as creators, we retain ownership of our material. Having been adopted by the biggest social networking site on the block, I hope their
recognition of the right of the artist to be sole exploiter of their own material now becomes an industry standard because there is much more at stake here than just the terms and conditions of a website.

“In the past, songwriters and performers needed a record company to manufacture, market and distribute their work, and in exchange for that, the company expected to own the rights to exploit the recordings for as long as the material was capable of earning royalties - ‘life of copyright’ in legalese – which currently means 50 years.

“I’ve always had a problem with that arrangement, arguing that the recordings I’ve made should provide my pension not that of some record company
executive. In order to achieve this, I have held on to my rights, signing licensing deals in which ownership of the records reverts to me after a stipulated period, usually ten years. I figure that if a company can’t make their money back after that time, they don’t deserve to put out my records anyway.

“Every few years, the reversion clause kicks in, my back catalogue returns to my ownership and I begin the licensing process all over again. Not only does this strengthen my hand in contract negotiations, it also allows me to take account
of new technologies in a rapidly changing industry.

“Now that the popularity of downloading has made physical manufacturing and distribution no longer necessary, the next generation of artists will not need to surrender all of their rights in order to get their music into the marketplace. It is therefore crucial that they understand, from the moment that they first post music on the internet, the importance of retaining their long term right to exploit the material that they create. This is doubly important on a networking site where many of the songs posted will be by unsigned artists. Ownership of the rights to such material is somewhat ambiguous. That’s why I hope that the groundbreaking decision of MySpace to come down on the side of the artist’s rights will be followed throughout the industry.

“I also welcome the new wording of the terms and conditions in which MySpace clarify exactly why they require specific rights and how they intend to use them.

“Again, I hope more sites follow the lead of MySpace in ensuring the use of clear and transparent language in contracts. The last thing any of us wants to see is a situation in which everyone posting a song on the site has to have a lawyer sitting next to them.

“I’m glad my music can be back here available to the community again and glad that MySpace chose to act on my concerns. In order that we might avoid any such confusion in future, can I suggest that MySpace notify its members of any changes in the terms and conditions whenever they take place.”

I got this from www.savethemusicfan.com

I might have already blogged about it, but I just read this again and you really need to check it out.

 

The passionate message of music is in the magic of the “song.” The more it’s consumed, the more it nourishes. Music is ubiquitous; it’s a utility like “water,” it’s not a pair of pants and as such we need to stop treating music like a product that needs to be controlled. My reason for agreeing to pay the legal fees of the Gruebel family is quite straightforward, to stop all litigation of music fans; the reasons are as follows:

1) The RIAA has relied on data provided by Pew Internet & American Life research to claim that the litigation is working to deter illegal file sharing, stating that broadband Internet penetration is growing faster than the measurable base of P2P file-sharers. Consequently, this litigation is forcing the music fans to use technologies that are not measurable or traceable, such as “instant messaging” and “BitTorrent,” the latter of which now accounts for somewhere between 60 to 90 percent of Internet traffic (Slyck.com Feb 7, 2006). So in fact, we are not deterring file sharing, just deterring our ability to track it and as such our chances of monetizing it.

2) Millions of Americans, including the majority of those in the music business, have shared music. This dates back to mixing one’s own cassette tapes in the 70’s. Breaking the law has never been about volume. Teenagers today are simply using the technology at hand, similar to how we did when we were teens.

3) These same file sharers are great music fans and are breaking new artists with little or no mainstream media support. For example Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens-not to mention the Arctic Monkeys in the UK-all owe thanks to this grassroots community of file sharers for the fact that they are selling hundreds of thousands of albums

4) The music market is down not due to P2P “piracy,” but for four simple reasons: a) stiff competition for the entertainment dollar with formats like video games and movies, both have much larger marketing spends; b) the replacement cycle is over-digital music does not scratch or wear out like past formats; c) one now has the ability to purchase and listen only to the great songs without filler; and d) mass-merchant retailers today carry only the current hits, with little to no catalog.

In conclusion, the RIAA’s litigation policy has no upside. It is destroying our ability to monetize the P2P market by chasing music fans even further underground. It’s hypocritical because we have shared music for decades. It distorts the focus from the real reasons for the decline in music sales. And most disturbingly, it undermines the importance of these file sharers. They represent behavioral marketing at its best and as such should be embraced, not sued.

Litigation is destructive. We are a creative community, so this approach makes no sense at all. I cannot envision any artist who I have the privilege of representing suing a fan for sharing their music.

take care…

Terry McBride
CEO Nettwerk Music Group

At 10 pm tonight, one of the songs from my first EP called ‘Stay’ will be used in the MTV show ‘Two A Days’.  This has happened before, but I’ve never known ahead of time about when the show will air.  So, if you happen to be watching listen in for an instrumental version of that song.  

I just found this on Youtube.  It’s from my show at Emmaus in Gettysburg on Saturday, Feb. 17.  Thanks, whoever captured this on video!

My friends John Mallinen, Ross and Pall Masters joined me in an unrehearsed and unbridled conclusion to my set.  I love playing music this way…with reckless abandon.  Hope you like it.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1yRO2qAMJY

 

 

This is a pretty good review from the Black Cat show on Jan. 31. The guy’s got a sense of humor, which I dig. http://www.nbc4.com/dcscene/10927813/detail.html

This is from www.pastemagazine.com Singer/songwriter Andy Zipf has been announced as the winner of the first-ever Paste/DiscRevolt/WXPN party contest, and will be performing live along with a number of other to-be-announced artists at a party sponsored by Paste on Friday, March 16th, 2007, during a certain well-known music festival in Austin, Texas. Philadelphia-based radio station WXPN will broadcast the concert live via its World Café Live program, and will feature World Café host David Dye’s interview with winner Zipf. As part of his prize package, Zipf will also receive a track on an upcoming Paste CD sampler as well as 500 free DiscRevolt cards. Check out more contest details at the DiscRevolt blog, here. Zipf has made a name for himself in recent years around the Washington, DC metro area, where he calls home. He’s built up a following not only by recording and playing live almost constantly, but also by employing some creative techniques to connect with his fan base, including an extensive fundraising effort that allowed him to record with seasoned rock producer James Barber in 2006. The Paste/DiscRevolt/WXPN contest runners up include Austin’s own Tacks, the Boy Disaster; Tin Cup Prophette (Athens, Ga.); and The New Frontiers (Dallas, Texas). DiscRevolt, launched in late 2006, aims to bridge the gap between the growing digital media industry and the desire of artists to sell and fans to own something a little more tangible than mp3 files. Instead of hawking physical CDs at live show merch tables, DiscRevolt allows artists to sell uniquely-designed plastic cards (see Zipf’s design, above) that fans can redeem online for a number of digital downloads, providing fans with the music they want in the format they prefer, with the added bonus of a collector’s item. DiscRevolt was founded by Joe Kirk, one of the co-founders of Paste.

I’m sitting in a coffeeshop with free internet in Jefferson City, Missouri.  I played last night at a place called Cherry St. Artisan in Columbia, Mo and drove about a half hour to a hotel here last night.  The downtown area reminds of me of  old town Alexandria, or Georgetown…except there is no Starbucks, Urban Outfitters, Ben & Jerry’s, Barnes and Noble and H&M.  Here’s to hoping “Jeff City”(that’s what the locals call it) keeps it’s identity for a little while. 

 A couple blogs ago, I wrote about an accident that I witnessed late on Jan. 26/early Jan. 27. 

 There is now more to the story…

 On Feb. 6, I played in Des Moines, IA at Vaudville Mews.  My friend James came to the show, and before I went on he said, “Hey, when you have a minute I’ve got a crazy story to tell you.”  I was curious, of course.  So, after putting the Andy Zipf Custom Shop up and getting settled I went back to James at the bar.  “What’s this story, man?”, I asked.

James told me he just went on vacation to some tropical place, far from Iowa.  He met a girl there from Washington, D.C. and told her about me.  I was from D.C., she was from D.C. Small world, etc. They began to write to each other after the trip was over.  Then one day, a couple of weeks ago she wrote him a text: She went to my site, found my blog and read the one about the accident on 66.  SHE KNEW THE DRIVER OF THE JEEP! His name was Kevin. 

This world seems gigantic most of the time, and it feels like we are out here all alone to fend for ourselves.  That is not true.  We are all in this together.  We have purpose.  We are not an accident.  We are connected. 

 Now, I know the name of the man whose death I witnessed. It is strange, and maybe inappropriate to write that last sentence…but that is the truth.  I wonder now, what kind of person Kevin was.  What did he love? Where did he call home?  What were his hopes and dreams? 

If you are a friend of Kevin’s,  I am sorry for your loss.  I wish I could have known him too. 

On my way to Dubuque, Ia today, Shawn and I saw some people ice fishing on the Mississippi River.  There’s no way you could drag me out there, man.  It’s so cold that the heat doesn’t even feel like it’s on in the van.  Then again we are taking in -5 degree air. That could have something to do with it. 

 Well, I’m at Miguels and I go on soon, so I’ll write more tomorrow.  Isn’t the Super Bowl tonight? Who’s in it? I heard Prince is performing.  Now that is something I’d watch. 

Shawn and I thought this would be a funny and clever way to promote the shows at UWEC this weekend. Apparently, Wisconsin does not relate to our sense of humor. I actually got in a debate with a girl about how I shouldn’t try to ban myself from anything. I had to explain to her that I wasn’t serious. Jeez. Lighten up. PETETION TO PERMENANTLY REMOVE ANDY ZIPF FROM THE UWEC CAMPUS AND TO PREVENT PERFORMANCES OF HIS MUSIC AT THE CABIN TONIGHT AT 8PM 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. SEND COMPLETED PETETIONS TO WWW.ANDYZIPF.COM