the TrueFans AMP— Issue 116

“When marketing overtakes meaning, you start hollowing out the heart of your art.”
— the TrueFans AMP™

In This Issue... 15 pages (about 20ish minutes to read) You'll Get... 

• Recommends— TrueFans CONNECT™ by Paul Saunders

• Your BIZ— Beyond the Majors: Why Independence Defines the Future Condensed and adapted from Digital Music News by Ashley King

• the Greatest Singer Songwriters of All Time— James Brown: The Godfather Who Wrote the Groove

• in partnership with Carlo Kiksen and The FanBase Builder

• Feature Article— I Have Seen the Future… and It Doesn’t Work a TrueFans AMP™ Feature by John Milton Fogg

• PS from PS— Takin' a Break 

Here’s the playlist

• Recommends— TrueFans CONNECT™ by Paul Saunders

This one’s personal.

For two+ years, I’ve been living, breathing, building, breaking, fixing, testing, and re-testing what I believe is the most important breakthrough for Music Artists in decades.

It’s called TrueFans Connect™, and it’s finally ready.

I wish I could tell you it was easy. It wasn’t. From banking regulations to location tech that just wouldn’t sync, to arguments over whether “tip” was even the right word, legally— every obstacle that could appear, did. Even last week during a final test, one tiny glitch surfaced while everything else worked perfectly. (Cue forehead slap.) But that’s how real innovation happens: one solved problem at a time.

And this one? This changes everything.

Why This Matters For You
Every artist knows the moment: the set ends, the crowd feels it, and for one heartbeat everyone wants to connect. The artist gives everything— and fans want to give something back. But until now, there’s been no simple, seamless way to do it.

TrueFans Connect™ fixes that.
No app to download.
Easy QR code to scan.
No delay between love and support.

A fan goes to TrueFansConnect.com anytime during your show, and because the system knows exactly where they are, your profile appears automatically. One tap, and you’re supported— instantly. The money goes straight into your account. You keep 80%.

That’s Right Now Money.

And when that fan supports you, their name and contact stay with you— not with some platform that rents you your own audience. That’s Fans Forever.

Why I’m Recommending It (With My Whole Heart)
I’ve seen too many brilliant artists walk away because the money math didn’t work. Streaming pennies. Unpaid gigs. Endless hustle. TrueFans Connect™ changes that math— and more importantly, it changes the relationship between artist and fan.

This is the first system built FOR you, not from you.

No one’s taking your data. No one’s hoarding your earnings.

You perform. Fans connect. You get paid. Immediately.

It’s simple because the complexity is invisible. Behind that one clean URL are two years of problem-solving, partnerships, and persistence— but what you’ll feel is ease, fairness, and connection.

The Artist-First Revolution Begins Here
TrueFans Connect™ isn’t another platform promising disruption. It’s the working proof that the Artist-First Revolution is real.

Artists create the value.
Artists should keep the value.
Finally—now—they can.

If you’ve ever counted coins from a tip jar, checked a streaming dashboard with a sigh, or wondered if anyone out there really gets what you do— this is for you.

Go to TrueFansConnect.com

Sign up in minutes.
Start earning Right Now Money.
Start building Fans Forever.
It’s time. Big time. Past time.
— Paul Saunders
Founder New Music Lives™, creator of TrueFans CONNECT™

• Your BIZ— Beyond the Majors: Why Independence Defines the Future
Condensed and adapted from Digital Music News by Ashley King

For decades, “making it” meant getting signed. That shiny record deal was the Holy Grail— validation, exposure, money, maybe even fame. But that world is fast disappearing. What’s emerging in its place is something more sustainable, more transparent, and far more empowering for the people who actually create the music.

Independence isn’t an option anymore
— it’s the metric that matters.

The Indie Revolution Is Real
In 2023, independent artists, labels, and distributors generated $14 billion in revenue — accounting for 34% of global distribution and 47% of ownership in recorded music.

By 2024, independents collectively surpassed Universal Music Group, capturing a 36% market share to UMG’s 29%.

That’s not a side-hustle— it’s a power shift. 

With the right infrastructure, independents aren’t just competing with the majors — they’re leading.

Why It Matters for You
If you’re building a career outside the major-label machine, this should sound like freedom. The gatekeepers are losing their grip. The question isn’t can you go independent— it’s how well you can do it.

But independence doesn’t mean “do it all alone.”

It means owning your music, money, and fans— while using tools, data, and community to scale your success.

To win as an indie:

Transparency = Power
The old system thrived on confusion: hidden fees, delayed royalties, endless middlemen. That’s changing fast. Independent success now depends on seeing how your music performs— and how it pays.

As Ashley King reports, “For independents, transparency is paramount. Success depends on knowing exactly where money comes from, how it flows, and how to optimize every stream of revenue.”

Platforms like Revelator deliver that clarity, managing distribution, rights, and royalties in one dashboard. Artists finally get what majors guard— real-time insight and control.

Technology Levels the Field
Most musicians didn’t start playing to chase invoices. Yet without the right systems, admin becomes the enemy of artistry.

Automation and AI now let solo creators and small labels handle royalties, marketing, and analytics— instantly and accurately. That’s time back for what truly matters: creating, performing, and connecting.

This is the TrueFans AMP™ philosophy in action: technology that serves the artist, not the other way around.

The Major Label Counterattack
Majors aren’t done fighting. They’re buying indie catalogs and companies to hold their ground. But while they consolidate, independents innovate— and fans notice.

Today’s listeners value authenticity over advertising. They want connection, story, truth. That’s where indie artists win every time.

Freedom + Flexibility = Indie Advantage
Independence isn’t just a business model; it’s a creative identity. It means you decide what to make, how to release it, and how to connect.

Tools like Revelator and other emerging platforms are building a new backbone for global independence— scalable, transparent, and artist-owned. They free you from busywork while giving you the visibility to grow.

As we move toward 2026, the independent ecosystem is set to dominate. Billion-dollar indie labels are no longer fantasy— they’re happening.

The Bottom of the Bottom Line
For the first time in music history, leverage belongs to the creator.

Build your systems. Own your data. Grow your TrueFans.

Because as Ashley King writes— and we echo here loud and clear:

“Independence in the music industry isn’t optional; it’s the only metric that matters for those who want to go their own way.”

Your TrueFans AMP™ Takeaway 

Track Your Data— Own Your Destiny.
Use dashboards and royalty-tracking tools to see where every stream and sale comes from. Knowledge = negotiating power.

Automate the Admin.
Let technology handle accounting, metadata, and marketing logistics so you can focus on creativity and fans.

Build Your TrueFan Community.
Your independence is only as strong as your connection. Communicate, reward, and listen to the people who make your music possible.

__________  

About Ashley King

Ashley King is Senior Editor at Digital Music News, covering technology, artist entrepreneurship, and the future of the independent music economy.

About Digital Music News
Founded in 2007, Digital Music News (DMN) is a leading industry publication delivering data-driven reporting and analysis on streaming, royalties, rights, and music-tech innovation— helping artists, labels, and executives navigate the evolving business of music. Tap to learn more about Digital Music News.

“I’ve outdone anyone you can name— Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Strauss. Irving Berlin, he wrote 1,001 tunes. I wrote 5,500.”
— James Brown

James Brown didn’t just perform songs— he invented a new way of writing and performing them. Long before we called it “funk,” before anyone was talking about rhythm as architecture, Brown was designing the blueprint. He was a Songwriter, arranger, producer, and performer whose sense of groove reshaped the DNA of popular music— from R&B and soul to hip-hop, rock, and beyond.

For every Singer, Songwriter and Music Artist chasing their own sound today, James Brown stands as the model: write what only you can perform, and perform it like no one else could ever write.

“His performance, you just can’t get away from that. He was one-of-a-kind— an original, like a Rembrandt or Picasso.”
— Aretha Franklin

From Barnwell to the Apollo
Born May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Brown grew up in the hardest circumstances— poverty, hustling, and time spent in reform school. Music became his way out and his weapon. He began with gospel and R&B groups, eventually fronting The Famous Flames, and broke through in 1956 with “Please, Please, Please.”

That pleading, shouted, falling-to-his-knees style wasn’t an act— it was Brown’s truth made sound.

As the 1960s hit, he demanded total creative control. Writing, arranging, and producing most of his own material, Brown transformed from soul shouter to the architect of funk. His 1965 hit Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag changed everything: the downbeat— the one— became the star. Rhythm, not melody, took center stage. Every instrument, voice, and movement served that pulse.

“He was the template— if you want to know how to own a crowd, study James Brown.”
— Bruno Mars

The Writer Behind the Revolution
Brown’s songwriting process was as physical as his stage moves. He built songs by ear and feel— “Give me the beat, give me the horns, hit me on the one!”— sculpting grooves in real time with his band. The result was a string of classics that still define the sound of urban life:

I Got You (I Feel Good)— his most iconic anthem, pure distilled joy.
It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World— emotional, orchestral, confessional.
Cold Sweat— co-written with Pee Wee Ellis, considered the first true funk song.
Say It Loud— I’m Black and I’m Proud— a civil-rights anthem of pride.
The Payback— cinematic, swaggering, endlessly sampled.

His albums became rhythmic textbooks:

Live at the Apollo (1963) proved a soul concert could sell like pop.
Sex Machine (1970) and The Payback (1973) codified funk’s core.
In the Jungle Groove and Star Time revealed the depth of his vault.

“Music has to breathe and sweat. You have to play it live.”

Fire, Discipline, and the Groove
Brown’s bands were legendary: Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Bootsy Collins, Clyde Stubblefield, and more. He fined players for missed cues, demanded absolute precision, and in return gave them transcendence. His cape routine, mic-stand flips, and mid-song drops weren’t gimmicks— they were ritual. He didn’t just perform songs; he conducted them with his whole body.

And that same control defined his business. Brown owned his publishing, masters, and production— long before “artist independence” became a movement. He proved that creative control is freedom. A timeless lesson for every TrueFans artist.

Activism, Struggle & Soul Power
James Brown’s personal life was volatile— four marriages, children, financial battles, and arrests. But his social voice remained clear and fearless.

In 1968, after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Brown’s televised Boston concert helped calm potential riots. That same year, Say It Loud— I’m Black and I’m Proud became a rallying cry for a generation. His earlier Don’t Be a Drop-Out urged kids to stay in school, and I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I’ll Get It Myself) spoke to self-reliance and dignity.

He was a man of contradictions— flawed, fiery, visionary— but always driven by the belief that music could heal and empower.

“When I’m on stage, I’m trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does.”

Collaborations, Influence, and Immortality
He shared stages with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and B.B. King, but his greatest collaborator was rhythm itself. The grooves he created became the foundation for funk, disco, and hip-hop. His drum breaks are among the most sampled sounds in music history.

“James Brown, Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson, Chuck Berry … they had strong influences on a lot of people.”
— Michael Jackson

From Sly Stone to Prince, Public Enemy to Bruno Mars, every artist who’s ever hit “the one” owes him a debt. His showmanship influenced Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson; his independence inspired generations of creators to own their sound and their masters.

“I copied all his moves. Everyone did the mic trick— he did it best.”
— Mick Jagger

Brown was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s very first class, won multiple Grammys, and received the Kennedy Center Honors. But his truest recognition is in the echo of every backbeat, every shout, every syncopated horn hit still firing in clubs and studios around the world.

TrueFans AMP™ Takeaways |James Brown proved that authenticity isn’t an act— it’s architecture.

He wrote, arranged, produced, and performed his truth.

He owned his sound and his soul.

• When you write, write from your pulse.
• When you play, play from your body.
• When you record, own your masters.
• And when you step on stage— hit it on the one.

“He taught us that rhythm could be melody, that movement could be message.”
— Prince

That’s the James Brown way.

“The Godfather may rest, but his heartbeat is in every groove we play. Every ‘one’ we hit today starts where James Brown left his footprint.”

in partnership with Carlo Kiksen and The FanBase Builder

• Feature Article— I Have Seen the Future… and It Doesn’t Work
A TrueFans AMP™ Feature by John Milton Fogg

In the 1974 cult classic Zardoz, Sean Connery plays a disillusioned warrior who looks upon a future of high-tech illusions and soulless immortals and declares:

“I have seen the future… 
and it doesn’t work.”

That line keeps echoing in my mind after reading Mitch Therieau’s recent New York Times piece, “Taylor Swift Is Our Biggest Cinematic Universe. But the Magic Is Fading.”

Therieau’s analysis isn’t just about Taylor Swift— though she’s his (and our) case in point. It’s about something far larger, something we all need to pay attention to— the future of music, art, and the soul of connection between artists and their fans.

Because what’s happening to Taylor might just be a warning for us all that what's at stake here is...

Hollowing out the heart of the art

The Franchise of Everything
Therieau describes a marketing spectacle almost beyond belief: twelve orange doors installed around the world, QR codes leading to hidden YouTube Shorts, “secret messages” that spell out a clue to a Target-exclusive “summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl”— one of more than 30 variants of Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl.

Once upon a time, Taylor Swift’s marketing genius felt personal— clever, self-referential, even intimate. It was a conversation between her and her fans, encoded with winks and whispers.

Now, Therieau says, it feels mechanical. The rabbit holes lead not to revelation but to merchandise. Fans on Reddit confess they keep checking for “something magical to appear”— and nothing does.

The result? As Therieau puts it, “There was a surfeit of, to put it bluntly, creepy junk.”

And that’s where the Zardoz alarm bell rings.

When the Spectacle Swallows the Song
Therieau’s real point— and mine and yours?— is not about Swift’s success. It’s about what happens when marketing overtakes meaning.

Her new album Showgirl delivers “technically” perfect pop but, he says, its emotional texture is “flat and joyless.” The spectacle, the cinematic tie-ins, the endless “multiverse” of Easter eggs— all brilliant business moves— now risk hollowing out the heart of the art.

Swift once built worlds of inner fantasy, longing, revenge, and redemption. Her new world, Therieau argues, is all outward spectacle— a “collection of uncanny pop-banger-shaped objects.”

That phrase stopped me cold. Because that’s the future I’ve seen— and it doesn’t work.

What Shall It Profit…
Scripture framed it centuries ago:

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” — Mark 8:36

That’s not just a verse for preachers— it’s a truth every Music Artist ought to tattoo on the heart.

You can gain the world— the streams, the sales, the sponsorships, the cinematic universes— and still lose the one thing that makes you worth listening to.

And if Taylor Swift, the undisputed genius of fan connection, can start to wobble under the weight of her own empire, what does that say to the rest of us?

The TrueFans Ethos: Authenticity Over Algorithm
From the very start, TrueFans has stood for something radical and simple: 

Artists First. Connection Before Commerce.

The “1,000 True Fans” idea wasn’t about building an empire. It was about building trust— real human connection between artist and audience. You don’t need a multiverse. You need a heartbeat.

But the culture around us whispers a different promise: bigger, faster, more. More variants, more versions, more content, more posts, more drops, more “engagement.”

Until, as Therieau warns, universes “expand to the point of dissipation.” The music becomes marketing. The fan becomes data. The connection becomes a commodity.

That’s not evolution. That’s entropy.

The Warning for Working Artists
Let’s be clear: I admire Taylor Swift. She’s our generation’s masterclass in creative control, storytelling, and fan intimacy. She is the TrueFans ethos scaled to stratospheric heights.

But this moment feels like a turning point— for her, and for us.

When every artistic act becomes a marketing event, when every release needs a trailer, teaser, collectible, and cinematic counterpart— the art itself can suffocate.

What starts as clever can become compulsive. 
What begins as strategy can become a trap.

And what once made us fall in love— the why behind the work— can get lost beneath the machinery of the how.

Guarding Your Soul (and Your Sound)
So what’s the antidote?

Remember: TrueFans are not customers. They are co-creators in your journey.

Opening the Right Door
Therieau ends his piece with a haunting question about Taylor’s orange doors:

“If we ever open the door, what will be behind it?”

That’s the question every artist faces.

Behind one door is the infinite expansion of franchise— the cinematic, algorithmic, AI-driven future where art is product and connection is performance.

Behind the other is the simple, sacred space where artist and listener still meet heart-to-heart.

The first promises the world. The second... ? 

a TrueFans AMP™ Takeaway
The Warning: Marketing magic without meaning is a slow poison. It replaces intimacy with interaction and turns creation into content.

The Lesson: The moment your art starts feeling like machinery, stop. Step back. Listen.

The Challenge: Guard the heart of your art. Build connection that breathes. Refuse to sell your soul— even when the world’s ready to buy.

We’ve seen the future. And it doesn’t work— unless we make sure that we still do.

__________  

About John Fogg
John Fogg is the founding editor of the TrueFans AMP™, co-creator of New Music Lives™, and a lifelong writer, listener, and fan of great songs and the people who make them. A million-selling author (The Greatest Networker in the World), Fogg has written and coached artists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries for more than four decades. Through the TrueFans AMP™, he champions a new generation of Music Artists building sustainable careers— Making Right Now Money and having Fans Forever.

• PS from PS— Takin' a Break

If you're fearing PS withdrawal, scroll up to the • Recommends— TrueFans CONNECT™ for your hit of Paul Saunders. Poor lad's exhausted. Next issue. 

Until we speak again

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And PLEASE, if you've got any Singer Songwriter friends, pass the AMP on, because... It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time...