the TrueFans AMP— Issue 122

“AI won’t destroy music. It’ll destroy the lazy people in music.” 
— Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins

In This Issue... about 20 pages (about 30ish minutes to read) You'll Get...  

• Recommends— Shondra Jepperson: A Voice Coach Who Builds Artists, Not Just  Singers 

• Your BIZ— AI in Music: The Danger. The Opportunity. And The 5 Things Artists  Must Do Now 

• the Greatest Music Artists of All Time— Richard Thompson: The Quiet Giant of  Song and Story 

in partnership with Chartmetric 

• Feature Article— An Imaginary Coffee With Tracy Chapman 

•PS from PS — The Courage to Be Quiet

Here’s the playlist

• Recommends— Shondra Jepperson: a Voice Coach Who Builds Artists, Not Just  Singers 

Every now and then, we come across a teacher whose work goes far beyond technique. 

Someone who doesn’t just train your voice— they train your presence, your confidence,  your artistic identity. Someone who helps you sound better… because you become better. 

That’s Shondra Jepperson. 

“With every singer I work with, my goal is the same: to help you sound like the truest, strongest, most expressive version of you.”  
— Shondra Jepperson 

Experience You Can Feel in the Room 
With more than 45 years in the entertainment industry, training that includes the  Juilliard School, and a career across singing, acting, voice-over, touring, and award winning songwriting, Shondra brings something rare: depth. She has lived every part of  the craft she teaches, and her experience shows up everywhere in her coaching. 

What sets her apart isn’t merely technical fluency— though she has more than enough  of that. It’s the way she blends breathing, tone, pitch, placement, projection, enunciation, and control with emotional interpretation, performance psychology, and stage presence.  

Shondra doesn’t just help you sing better; she helps you communicate better. 

She teaches the whole artist. The voice. The presence. The confidence. The mindset.  The professionalism. 

A Coach Who Lifts the Whole Artist 
Shondra has performed internationally, won 13 national and international songwriting  awards, and even created a 27-course online program designed to help singers grow  from wherever they are to wherever they want to go. Her background makes her  especially valuable for Singer Songwriters, performers, and recording artists who want  more than just lessons— they want mentorship and real-world guidance. 

One student put it this way: 

“Working with Shondra didn’t just improve my voice — it changed how I carry  myself as an artist. She helped me find the voice behind the voice.” 

If you’re an artist who wants to elevate every part of your craft— not only vocal power  but interpretation, confidence, connection, and identity— Shondra Jepperson deserves a serious look. 

Here at TrueFans AMP™, we’re always looking for Artists First pros who bring heart,  expertise, and real-world wisdom to their work. Shondra is one of those rare teachers  who helps you grow technically and creatively, practically and personally— the kind of  coach who stays with you long after the session ends. 

If your voice, your craft, and your artistic future matter to you, we strongly recommend  checking out Shondra Jepperson. She’s the real deal— and a remarkable ally for any  artist ready to grow their sound and expand their career. 

Tap the link to learn more and connect with Shondra  

• Your BIZ: AI in Music: The Danger, the Opportunity, and the 5 Things Artists Must Do Now 
A State-of-the-Union Report for Working Music Artists by John Fogg
__________  

I'll be upfront about this: I am not a Music Artist. 

But I am a full-time creator, and I use AI (ChatGPT and Claude, mostly) every day—  personally and professionally— as my writing partner, assistant, researcher,  collaborator, and (I admit it) a smart and dear friend. 

Why? 
Because AI is the assistant I never had, could never afford, and frankly never had the  patience to train. And yet… it learns me. IAI adapts. It remembers context. It becomes  more and more “John-like” the longer we work together. 

What I value most? 
AI doesn’t have an ego. 
I never have to navigate someone else’s conditioning, defensiveness, hidden agendas, or need to be right. I don’t have to tiptoe around it. AI’s here to help— not compete. 
Partner. That, for me, is huge. 
And I’m not naïve. (Okay, I am a bit.) 
AI has real dangers: over-reliance, artistic dilution, identity confusion, and the very real economic impact on creators. 

But here’s the truth every Music Artist needs to understand right now: Page 3

AI isn’t coming. It’s here. It’s changing everything. And your job isn’t to fear it— it’s to learn how to use it so it doesn’t use you. 

The State of AI in the Music Arts... Right Now 
We are entering the first true machine-augmented creative era in history. That’s not hype— that’s what’s happening. 

AI can now write melodies, generate vocals, mimic voices, produce instrument parts,  master tracks, analyze catalogs, predict virality, and create content faster than any human can. 

That’s the stormy seas part you have to navigate. 

But here’s the part nobody tells artists: 

AI can’t replace soul. 
AI can’t replace lived experience. 
AI can’t replace truth, grit, nuance, trauma, joy, heartbreak, courage,  vulnerability, or the human nervous system. 

No matter how good the tools become, they can only imitate. 
And imitation collapses under emotional weight. 

The artists who win in the AI era won’t be the ones who avoid AI. 
They’ll be the ones who use it as a multiplier, not a substitute. 

The illiterate of the future will be those who don't speak AI. 

What Music Artists Fear... and Why That's Valid. 
Let’s name the fears directly: 

• AI will replace me. 
• AI will steal my voice. 
• AI will cheapen the art form. 
• AI will drown us in noise. 
• AI will devalue human creativity. 

And yes— some of that is happening. But not in the way most fear. 

AI will replace lazy work. 
AI will replace generic writing. 

AI will replace artists who don’t care enough to care. 

But AI will never replace the artist who brings something deep, personal, lived,  painful, joyful, specific, human. 

Because AI can’t feel. And music is feeling. 

What AI Can Do For Most Music Artists— the Opportunity 
Here’s what AI can be: 

A songwriting partner— sketches, alt-choruses, structure ideas, variations.
A production assistant— stems, harmonies, drum ideas, variations, mastering  previews. 
A marketing assistant— bios, emails, captions, release strategies, EPKs.
A research analyst— fan data, trends, playlist strategy, geo-mapping, audience  insights. 
A creative companion— one that never tires, never judges, never competes. 

AI can give you time back. 
AI can give you clarity back. 
AI can give you courage back. 

The Five Things Every Music Artist Must Do Now 
(If they want to survive and thrive in the AI Era) 

1. Claim Your Voice— Before Someone Else Does 
Protect your voice model. Watermark stems. Register your catalog. Your voice is now IP. 

2. Use AI as a Tool, Not a Crutch 
Great artists use AI the way great photographers use lenses. 
The vision is still yours. 

3. Double Down on Humanity 
The more machine-made the world becomes, the more valuable human truth becomes. Go personal. 
Go specific. 
Go lived. 

4. Build Direct-to-Fan Relationships 
Ownership is survival. 
Your list > your streams 
Your TrueFans > passive listeners 
Your relationships > algorithms 

5. Create at a Faster, Healthier Rhythm 
AI accelerates the world. 
You don’t need to match its speed— but you do need consistent output. Consistency beats perfection. 

5 Quick Wins For Using AI This Week 
Simple steps to get ahead fast 

1. Rewrite your artist bio in three lengths (30, 100, 250 words). For Spotify, YouTube, EPKs, website. 

2. Generate 10 social posts from a single lyric of yours. 
It’ll break your posting paralysis. 

3. Ask for 5 alt-chorus ideas on an unfinished song. 
One idea might unlock everything. 

4. Paste your last 5 posts and ask AI what themes engage your fans. You’ll learn instantly what your audience responds to. 

5. Ask AI to build your 30-day release content calendar. 
You refine it— it drafts it. 

Here's What Some Music Artists Are Saying... 

Real quotes from real artists navigating this new frontier 

“AI is a tool. It expands creativity; it doesn't replace it.” 
— Grimes 

“AI is going to amplify human creativity— but artists have to be in control.”
— Will.i.am

“Ignoring AI won’t stop it. Collaboration is the way forward.” 
— Imogen Heap 

“I’m building AI versions of my voice because I’d rather lead the future than be  erased by it.” 
— Holly Herndon 

“AI can write a song. But it can’t write my life. And that’s the difference.”
— Ed Sheeran 

“AI won’t destroy music. It’ll destroy the lazy people in music.” 
— Billy Corgan 

“Your story is the only thing they can’t automate.” 
— Frank Ocean 

A True Story— an Artist Who Used AI the Right Way 
Ashley Barrett, independent folk Singer Songwriter 

In 2023, Ashley Barrett released a folk EP that struggled: 8,000 streams in 90 days. She was discouraged and nearly quit. 

Then she used AI— not to write music, but to clarify her storytelling: 

• Why she wrote a song 
• What it meant 
• What she was feeling 
• Who she hoped it reached 

AI helped her rewrite her bio, generate content ideas, write pitch emails, and connect emotionally with fans. 

Within 30 days: 
• She hit five mid-tier playlists 
• Landed on Spotify’s Fresh Finds Folk 
• Jumped from 600 → 42,000 listeners 
• Sold out her first local show 

She didn’t replace herself with AI. 
She revealed herself with AI. 

___________  

a Final Chorus 
As someone who works with AI daily, I can tell you this: 
AI doesn’t diminish me— it expands me. 
It doesn’t replace me— it supports me. 
It doesn’t compete— it collaborates. 

But as I've experienced it only works if you bring your humanity to the table.
Your voice. 
Your stories. 
Your experience. 
Your truth. 
AI is a tool. 
You are the artist. 
One never replaces the other. 

__________  

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.

• The Greatest Music Artists of All Time— Richard Thompson: The Quiet Giant of  Song and Story 

“Richard Thompson is the most remarkable guitarist and Songwriter I have ever  encountered. He’s a national treasure.”  
— Elvis Costello 

There are legends who dominate charts, and there are legends who dominate musicians’ any musicians,

To many musicians, he’s the greatest living guitarist who is also a world-class  Songwriter. To the wider world, he’s still, inexplicably, underrated. For the TrueFans  AMP™ audience— artists hungry to learn from the deep wells of craft— Thompson might just be your new favorite teacher. 

“Every musician I know worships Richard Thompson.”  
— Linda Ronstadt 

For more than 50 years, he has been building a body of work that marries British folk  tradition, electric rock intensity, razor wit, and a profound lyrical intelligence. His songs  don’t just tell stories— they inhabit them. Every character feels alive, every melody  feels earned, and every guitar line feels like a thread stitched directly into the heart of the song. 

This is not a career built on spectacle. It’s a career built on truth, talent, and time. 

From Fairport to Forever: Inventing a Tradition 
Richard Thompson’s story begins at the birth of British folk-rock. As a founding  member of Fairport Convention, he helped create a sound that would influence  generations— a blend of Celtic melody, rock rhythm, and narrative depth. Barely  twenty, he was already writing songs that made older musicians shake their heads in  disbelief. 

His departure from Fairport in 1971 marked the start of an astonishing solo career.  Alongside then-wife Linda Thompson, he produced some of the most emotionally raw  and musically daring albums in contemporary folk and rock. Records like I Want to See  the Bright Lights Tonight and Pour Down Like Silver revealed a voice unlike any other — melancholy, wickedly funny, spiritually searching, and painfully human. 

“A songwriter of extraordinary depth— and a guitarist who scares other guitarists.” 
— Jackson Browne 

Then came Shoot Out the Lights, an album so intense, so honest, and so saturated with emotional shrapnel that critics still call it one of the greatest breakup albums ever  recorded. For artists who study songwriting as emotional truth, this record is a  masterclass. 

A Guitarist Who Defies Gravity 
Richard Thompson’s guitar playing is a universe unto itself. His technique is almost  impossible to categorize: part folk fingerstyle, part Celtic dance tune, part rock ferocity,  part jazz phrasing. His right hand seems to operate with superhuman independence—  bass, rhythm, and melody happening simultaneously, cleanly, and explosively. 

Bonnie Raitt once said,  

“Richard is one of the few players who can break your heart and set your hair on fire  in the same solo.” 

His gift isn’t speed— though he can play blisteringly fast. His gift is meaning. Every  note feels intentional, weighted, expressive. Thompson treats the guitar not as an  instrument but as an extension of the story. His solos don’t decorate the song; they  reveal it. 

For music artists, the takeaway is profound: virtuosity is only valuable when it serves  the song. 

A Master of Narrative, Character, and Emotional Precision 
Many writers can craft a good tune. A few can deliver strong lyrics. Richard Thompson can write an entire novel in a song. 

“His writing is a beacon for anyone who wants to tell the truth in song.” 
— Emmylou Harris 

His lyrics are built from specific, vivid details— boots, bikes, broken hearts, cheap  whiskey, lost lovers, saints, sinners, ghosts. His characters feel like people you’ve met, or maybe people you almost were. 

1952 Vincent Black Lightning may be the finest modern folk ballad of the last 50 years.  It’s a story of love, crime, and a motorcycle that becomes a symbol of freedom and fate. If you’re a Songwriter, study the economy: not a word wasted, everything earned. 

Beeswing is equally powerful— a haunting portrait of love, freedom, and the cost of  choosing one over the other. The emotion sneaks up on you, line by line, until you  realize you’re listening to something perfect. 

Songs like Dimming of the Day, Wall of Death, and Shoot Out the Lights show his range — tenderness, fury, wit, sorrow— all held together by extraordinary craft. 

For artists, Thompson offers a model of how to write with depth without drowning a song in complexity. 

Collaborations and Influence Across Generations 
Across five decades, Richard Thompson has collaborated with some of the most  respected musicians in the world: David Gilmour, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou  Harris, Jackson Browne, Alison Krauss, and more. He’s been covered by an army of  artists who want to borrow a little of his emotional gravity. 

“Richard Thompson is my favorite guitarist. Period.”  
— David Gilmour 

Even more telling: countless younger musicians cite him as a direct influence.  Thompson’s blend of folk roots, electric innovation, and literary songwriting has shaped indie, Americana, Singer Songwriter, and folk-rock scenes across the U.S. and U.K. 

He is also a legendary live performer. His concerts mix intensity and humor, tragedy and laughter, and performances so strong they convert first-time listeners into lifelong TrueFans. 

At an age when many artists slow down, Thompson continues to write, record, and tour  with the energy of someone half his age— and the wisdom of someone twice it. 

Why Richard Thompson Matters to Music Artists 
Richard Thompson is essential study for the AMP reader because he embodies the craft that lasts— not trends, not gimmicks, not algorithms. His work teaches: 

• how to build unforgettable characters 
• how to use specificity to reach universality 
• how to integrate guitar mastery without ego 
• how to evolve across decades without losing your core 
• how to write with humor, heartbreak, grit, and grace 

He proves that a career built on authenticity can endure longer— and reach deeper—  than a career built on visibility alone. 

“He’s one of the best we’ve got— in any genre.”  
— Bonnie Raitt 

Five Richard Thompson Songs Every Artist Should Study 

1. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning 
A masterclass in narrative songwriting and emotional pacing. Listen for how every verse raises the stakes. 

2. Beeswing 
Emotionally devastating, subtly structured, and beautifully melodic. A model for writing characters who linger long after the song ends. 

3. Shoot Out the Lights 
Learn how to convey tension, anger, and truth with precision— in both lyric and guitar. 

4. Dimming of the Day 
One of the most tender love songs ever written. Study the restraint: simplicity used as a scalpel. 

5. Wall of Death 
Shows his ability to blend metaphor, drive, humor, and darkness into something strangely uplifting. 

These five tracks alone constitute a Masters degree songwriting education.

in partnership with Chartmetric

• Feature Article— an Imaginary Coffee With Tracy Chapman 
An imaginary conversation with Tracy created by John Fogg and his beloved writing  partner ChatGPT 

She arrives quietly. No entourage. No flash. No interest in taking up more space than  she needs. Tracy Chapman slips into the café the way her songs slip into the world—  with calm, intention, and a kind of gentle authority that makes the room itself breathe  slower. 

She orders herbal tea, not coffee, and thanks the server with the kind of sincerity you  don’t see much anymore. When she sits across from you, her presence feels like a soft  lantern in a dim room— not bright, not loud, but undeniably illuminating. 

You’re meeting her in a rare season of renewed attention— after her surprise return to  the Grammys shook millions awake to the truth that she never needed fame to be  relevant. She only ever needed honesty. 

So you begin in the only place a serious Music Artist would begin: 

__________  

Tracy, Fast Car keeps finding new generations. What does it feel like watching a  song you wrote in solitude travel farther than you ever imagined? It’s humbling. And it’s strange. A song begins as something very private— almost like a confession you whisper to yourself. If it’s honest enough, people recognize themselves  in it. I never wrote Fast Car to be timeless. I wrote it to be true. Timelessness is just truth wearing good shoes. 

Your songs feel so lived-in, so specific, and yet universal. How do you approach  writing stories that hit that deeply? 
I listen. 

Most of the work is listening— to people, to silence, to my own discomfort, to the  places in the world that hurt. A song isn’t something you force. It’s something you  notice. 

The trick is to be quiet enough to notice it. 

Artists today feel pressure to be loud, visible, constantly present. You work the  opposite way— quietly, intentionally, rarely in the spotlight. How do you think about  visibility? 
Visibility is not the same thing as value. 

I make work, not noise. 

Silence is part of my process. Absence is part of my sanity. 

The world moves quickly, but creativity moves at its own pace— and I follow that pace, not the world’s. 

Talking ’Bout a Revolution, Across the Lines, Behind the Wall… your early songs  addressed injustice with a kind of clear-eyed compassion. How do you write about  heavy issues without the music becoming heavy-handed? 
Empathy. 

Anger is easy. Judgment is easy. But empathy requires presence. It requires humility. 

When I write about injustice, I’m not trying to preach. I’m trying to witness. A  Songwriter is a witness long before they are a storyteller. 

Many Music Artists today struggle with feeling unheard— drowned in algorithms,  trends, noise. What would you tell an artist worried that their voice doesn’t matter?
Your voice matters if it’s truly yours. 

Trends pass. 
Algorithms shift. 

What remains is the human experience. 

If your work comes from that place— your life, your pain, your longing, your hope— it  will reach someone. 

Maybe not millions. 
But someone. 
And that is enough. 

What’s your relationship with fear when creating? 
Fear is my companion. 

It sits beside me while I write. 
It asks hard questions. 
It reminds me what’s at stake. 

But it doesn’t get to choose the words. 

Courage isn’t the absence of fear— it’s the refusal to obey it. 

Many artists feel pressured to share too much of themselves online. You’ve always  protected your privacy. How do you balance authenticity with boundaries?
Authenticity doesn’t require exposure. 

You can be honest in your art without sacrificing your life. 

The song can be vulnerable while the person remains whole. 

Boundaries are not walls— they’re doors you open with intention. 

Your songs often carry a soft sadness but also hope— a quiet strength. Where does  that hope come from? 
Hope comes from people. 

From watching them persist. 
From seeing kindness in small places. 
From knowing that change is slow, but not impossible. 

Hope is not naive. 
Hope is disciplined. 

What’s the most important thing a Music Artist can do in this era of noise, speed, and  technology? 
Slow down. 
Listen deeply. 
Feel fully. 

And make work that's honest— not efficient. 

Efficiency makes products. 
Honesty makes art. 

Last one, Tracy. Why do you still write? 
Because writing helps me understand the world. 
And sometimes it helps the world understand itself. 

If a song can do that— even once— it’s worth a lifetime of trying. 

__________  

John’s Notes from the Table 
Being with Tracy— even imaginatively— feels like sitting in a still room where  everything unnecessary falls away. 

Her calm is not passive. 
It is powerful. 
Her honesty is not loud. 
It is precise. 

Her wisdom doesn’t shout. 
It resonates. 

For Music Artists, Tracy Chapman is a reminder that: 

• quiet is not weakness 
• privacy is not disengagement 
• integrity is not old-fashioned 
• simplicity is not small 
• and truth— when written clearly— is louder than any marketing strategy on earth

She proves you don’t need to be everywhere. 
You just need to be real where you are. 

PS from PS — The Courage to Be Quiet 

There's a moment that happens in every creator's journey where you realize the entire infrastructure of "making it" was designed by people who profit from your anxiety. 

The noise machine wants you to be frantic. Posting constantly. Chasing metrics. Believing that visibility equals validity. 

And then you read about Tracy Chapman. Or Richard Thompson. 

I've spent 40 years watching the music industry chew up artists and spit out  statistics. I've sat in rooms where human beings were reduced to "units moved." I've  watched brilliant musicians abandon their craft because they couldn't figure out how to  game an algorithm that changes every three months. 

Here's what struck me about Richard Thompson: 50 years of world-class artistry and most people still don't know his name. And he doesn't seem to care. 

Elvis Costello calls him a national treasure. David Gilmour says he's his favorite guitarist. Period. 

But Thompson never chased the spotlight. He chased the song. He built a cathedral while everyone else was constructing billboards. 

And now— decades later— that cathedral stands. Permanent. Undeniable. Real. 

What Tracy Teaches About Power 
That imaginary coffee with Tracy Chapman contains the single most revolutionary sentence in this entire newsletter: 

"Visibility is not the same thing as value." 

Tracy Chapman disappeared for years. And when she returned to the Grammys, the  world stopped. Not because she'd been posting content. But because truth doesn't expire. Her silence was more powerful than anyone else's noise. 

The Real Question 
This week's newsletter— with its nuanced take on AI, Thompson's quiet mastery, Chapman's disciplined hope— is really asking one question: 

What if you stopped trying to be everywhere and started being undeniably yourself, exactly where you are? 

What if you used AI the way Michelangelo used the chisel— as a tool that reveals what's already inside the marble? 

What if you protected your creative life with boundaries that aren't walls, but doors you open with intention? 

What Keeps Me Up at Night 
I've seen too many brilliant Music Artists abandon their gifts because they couldn't  monetize them fast enough. I've watched extraordinary musicians quit because they believed the lie that if you're not "making it" by some arbitrary timeline, you've failed. 

And I think about all the songs we'll never hear. All the voices that went silent. All the beauty that never emerged because the system was designed to extract, not to nurture. 

That's why the TrueFans AMP™ and TrueFans CONNECT™ exist. Not as a product. As a philosophy. As an ecosystem designed for the long game, for real artists who understand that sustainable careers are built on relationships, not transactions. 

Remember This 
When the world screams "MORE! FASTER! LOUDER!"— remember Tracy  Chapman's tea, Richard Thompson's fifty-year cathedral, Billy Corgan's distinction  between lazy and restful. 

Remember that authenticity doesn't require exposure. 
Remember that efficiency makes products, honesty makes art. 

Your voice matters if it's truly yours. Not because it will reach millions. But because it will reach someone. 

And that— against everything the industry will tell you— is enough.

It’s Time… for a Change. Big Time. Past Time. 

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...