I've read all of your posts (and emails) with great interest. It is always important to hear what the longtime fans and supporters are most interested in and clearly many of you still want a physical full length album release.
Let me respond...
As most of you know, the music business is shifting at warp speed toward digital music becoming the predominant form of purchasing. There are numerous reasons for this - economics, technology (itunes, ipods, iphones), ease, and supply. The big retailers drive a hard bargain with labels in terms of what the labels need to pay for price/positioning in their stores and it has become less and less cost effective for labels to spend their dollars buying positioning in a store without a massive radio hit or tour happening to support the release.
Amy is currently enjoying a very fruitful period of songwriting -- the most productive season of new music in a lot of years. But she is also in a place where she is writing for the pure joy of writing and trying to capture what compels her without worrying about radio play or touring. It is a very creative and freeing process for her. She is also working as an independent artist right now and is recording music for the first time without a label. Again, a very freeing process for her as an artist for the here and now.
Different than other albums in her past, Amy is not currently recording an "album." Instead, she is enjoying going in with different producers and exploring different sounds and paths without worrying about the cohesive whole. That is not to say she doesn't believe in the impact of a full album (she does), but after 30 years of making music she is enjoying the creative process of being in the moment and letting each song speak for itself rather than how they all fit into a whole project.
So for now, we are going to continue to release songs as they come in either singles or ep format... and those releases will be digital. But we are also working on a plan to make those releases available on vinyl and cd sooner rather than later. With artwork :)
Rather than hold on to the past, I would encourage you to embrace where Amy is creatively right now. More new Amy Grant music will be coming your way -- faster without long delays -- than you've ever known, but it might not be in the form of a full blown album.
I do not believe Amy has recorded her last album -- i think there are plenty of full length recordings in her future, but right now she wants to have fun with recording/releasing music in a new and interesting way. Enjoy the ride with us.
Jen
Let me respond...
As most of you know, the music business is shifting at warp speed toward digital music becoming the predominant form of purchasing. There are numerous reasons for this - economics, technology (itunes, ipods, iphones), ease, and supply. The big retailers drive a hard bargain with labels in terms of what the labels need to pay for price/positioning in their stores and it has become less and less cost effective for labels to spend their dollars buying positioning in a store without a massive radio hit or tour happening to support the release.
Amy is currently enjoying a very fruitful period of songwriting -- the most productive season of new music in a lot of years. But she is also in a place where she is writing for the pure joy of writing and trying to capture what compels her without worrying about radio play or touring. It is a very creative and freeing process for her. She is also working as an independent artist right now and is recording music for the first time without a label. Again, a very freeing process for her as an artist for the here and now.
Different than other albums in her past, Amy is not currently recording an "album." Instead, she is enjoying going in with different producers and exploring different sounds and paths without worrying about the cohesive whole. That is not to say she doesn't believe in the impact of a full album (she does), but after 30 years of making music she is enjoying the creative process of being in the moment and letting each song speak for itself rather than how they all fit into a whole project.
So for now, we are going to continue to release songs as they come in either singles or ep format... and those releases will be digital. But we are also working on a plan to make those releases available on vinyl and cd sooner rather than later. With artwork :)
Rather than hold on to the past, I would encourage you to embrace where Amy is creatively right now. More new Amy Grant music will be coming your way -- faster without long delays -- than you've ever known, but it might not be in the form of a full blown album.
I do not believe Amy has recorded her last album -- i think there are plenty of full length recordings in her future, but right now she wants to have fun with recording/releasing music in a new and interesting way. Enjoy the ride with us.
Jen
Hi Jen,
I am just so thrilled to have new songs from Amy and songs that are meaningful to her. To be up to date with her as an artist is fantastic.I have been praying for her that she would enjoy her writing at this moment in time and so am thrilled to hear that she is feeling really creative. I love the quality and the honesty of her latest songs - something that reveals the true Amy and has been a mark of her work throughout her career so far. Please thank her for us - and keep those songs coming! Zoex
Posted by: Zoe W | May 17, 2009 at 11:46 AM
I love the idea of more frequent digital releases. It makes me think of two things: first, how few albums Amy's been able to get released in the past decade or so (and the corporate/marketing challenges that have accompanied them); and second, how much amazing music Amy wrote and recorded during the 'Behind the Eyes' sessions compared to what was able to be fit on the 12-track CD.
The idea of Amy untethering herself from the corporate machine and releasing her music on her own terms, doing so more frequently AND without necessarily having to withhold songs simply because they aren't the right "fit" for an album sounds like a dream come true.
Don't get me wrong: I still would love to see Amy release full-length CDs in the future. She seems to be among a waning few artists who understand how to put together rich, coherent albums with little if any filler. But the 'She Colors My Day" EP and the FOA release of the unreleased 'Behind the Eyes' tracks (and, specifically, the quality of the songwriting on all those tracks) suggests that 10- to 12-song albums need no longer be the sole organizing format for Amy's music.
(That said, downloadable art and/or CD liner notes for each release would be fabu - even via iTunes download.)
Posted by: Sean | May 17, 2009 at 07:33 PM
If you have a CD burner, you can still enjoy digital music without an ipod, zune or other mp3 player. If you use Zune as your digital music store, it will burn them for you, and so will Rhapsody. I bought music digitally and made my cd's long before I finally bought my Zune.
I don't like itunes, and I avoid it. There are other digital store online that are more user friendly.
Posted by: Kenny | May 31, 2009 at 01:33 PM