FREE DEREK WEBB! DEREK WEBB to give away MOCKINGBIRD CD
08/10/2006
FREE DEREK WEBB! DEREK WEBB to give away MOCKINGBIRD CD!
INO Records’ critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Derek Webb is announcing a new way to own his brilliantly-reviewed and controversial album, Mockingbird: he is giving it away! Starting September 1st Webb will launch www.freederekwebb.com a place where anyone can go online and not just hear, but actually download, keep, and share Mockingbird completely for free!
“Derek has always been an innovator and forward thinker in his life, songwriting and musical endeavors, and this FREE DEREK WEBB campaign is an example of such creativity, commented INO Records’ President Jeff Moseley. “We fully support Derek and this brave idea and are looking forward to watching fans react to his efforts.”
Mockingbird tackles many sensitive issues including poverty, war, and the basic ethics by which we live and deal with others in a raw way that has made some people uncomfortable. But that’s okay with Webb. “I’m not trying to push buttons or make people upset, he says. “I’m just trying to be as honest as I can. Even if people don’t agree, I hope they’ll listen. I’ve found music has been an exceptional means by which to get this potentially difficult conversation going, and this is certainly an important moment for dialogue amongst people who disagree about how to best love and take care of people, to get into the nuances of the issues. We hope this bold campaign will provide a jumping off point for conversations about all of these issues, and communicate my commitment to playing my part in starting them. For more on Webb and these issues, check out the recent cover story of Relevant magazine at www.relevantmagazine.com.
Adds Webb about the inspiration for the campaign, “One of the things that excites me most about the future of our business is how easy it is becoming to deliver music to people who want to hear it, remarked Webb. “I heard a story once about Keith Green caring so much that people were able to hear and engage with his music that he gave it away for free, which was a very difficult and expensive thing to do at that time. It’s actually never been as simple as it is today to connect music with music fans, and I want people to have a chance to listen to Mockingbird and engage in the conversation.
Since Mockingbird’s release last December, Webb has had a wade array of people applauding his effort:
“Derek Webb is one of the most important artists of our time and Mockingbird is his most important record to date. He is becoming our Woody Guthrie.” –Donald Miller, author
“Webb climbs another level in the pantheon of Christian music…his songwriting cuts to the quick an demands a response that may not be easy. Webb is a reluctant prophet whose message is not a comfortable one but painfully necessary. –Relevant Magazine
“Derek Webb has crafted one of the most relevant and theologically informed records to emerge from Jesusland in recent memory. On Mockingbird, Webb reorients CCM from the standard, glib praisefare to charged religious protest. With lines like “peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication,” Webb proclaims an altogether radicalorthodoxy. Though earthy, brooding songwriting, the Nashvegas resident hints at other nonconformist, spiritually minded troubadours like Joseph Arthur and Sufjan Stevens. Amidst a national landscape of increasing religious herd mentality, the stern shepherding of Webb’s protest songs is both welcome and needed. – PASTE magazine
“I love Derek Webb’s CD, Mockingbird - everything about it…. It’s rich and tasteful from beginning to end. A lot of us have been waiting for a “someday” and “someone” - when a committed Christian musician would start to lead in the areas of social justice and peace and break ranks with the domesticated muzak that so often passes for “Christian music.” Derek is exactly the kind of artist we’ve been waiting for. — Brian McLaren, author/activist (anewkindofchristian.com)
For more information, log onto www.derekwebb.com or www.freederekwebb.com