www.andrewmackay.net:

Music publishers want Apple to pay more. Not more per song, but for more things per song (in the end adding up to more per song, so I guess it’s all the same, right?) They’re arguing that in addition to paying a royalty when someone buys a song, Apple should also pay when someone downloads a movie or tv show in which the song is played, when someone samples a track, and when someone streams radio through Itunes.

Here’s the deal: I understand that in the past, these folks made their money by figuring out how many different ways they could charge for the same transaction.What they need to understand is that if they want to make money in the economy we now live in, they’ve got to create new things to charge for, not new ways to charge for the same stuff.

Take, as an example, Derek Webb’s latest album launch (note: I still haven’t heard this album. This is simply a discussion of the business wisdom behind it). You can go to a store and buy it, probably for somewhere between 12.99 and 24.99, depending on the store. His label will get paid, and will eventually pay him a pittance.

You can also go to his store. He offers six different ways to buy his new album. There’s a digital download for 7.99, there are options if you want to pay a little more (15.99 gets you a documentary, ringtones, desktop backgrounds, etc, along with the album, and there’s a $60.00 package that comes with the digital copy, two physical copies of the album, the documentary DVD, a t-shirt, and participation in song selection for a cover album). Derek has gone the extra mile to be accessible to every fan possible. Don’t have much cash? Buy the digital download, hear the music, and hopefully love it. Have money and love the artist? Get all the extras.

And, he’s already seeding the concept of his next project. People are going to help him select songs to cover. He’ll then record the covers and put together the album. And then he’ll sell it.

Think about that whole process. What are the chances that someone having invested their time into selecting the songs would turn around and not buy the resulting album? Those people are going to buy. So, Derek builds community, gives his fans a chance to buy extras, and guarantees that his next project (side-project, most likely) will have guaranteed buyers. It’s brilliant!

He’s likely going to make more doing it this way than if he sat back and tried to figure out how to bill the establishment for it three times.

All that to say, the economy has changed. Music publishers, take the warning. Help your people to understand how to sell in this economy. Can you make money in this economy? Absolutely. You just can’t do it the way you used to.

Don Miller is this guy. He’s a writer, and he writes mostly about real life. You could call it memoir, but that’s not all he writes. His most famous-est book of all was a little one called Blue Like Jazz. It ended up on the New York Times Best Sellers list. It was clever. I laughed. I cried. I read it about seven times. I made my friends read it, too.

Since Blue Like Jazz, I’ve read a couple of Don’s other books (Through Painted Deserts, To Own A Dragon). They’ve been good, but … well, he felt kind of forced. It was good, but it wasn’t epic like Blue Like Jazz. I didn’t feel what the narrative voice felt. I’ve also disagreed with some of Don’s personal decisions and wondered about his theology. The thing is, when he’s on, he’s one of the best Christian writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Or maybe, he’s one of the easiest to connect with of any Christian writer I’ve ever read. What’s more… Don’s books aren’t heavy on theology. Don himself may not be either. But, he has been theologically beneficial to me.

I had the pleasure of listening to him at the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College in… ’04 I think. Maybe ’05. I remember him talking about calvinism and saying “Okay, so man is totally depraved… so what? What does that practically mean in your life?” It was the question I needed to hear. I needed someone to remind me, that day, that the “so what” was as important as the “what.”

A few weeks ago, Thomas Nelson was offering review copies of Don’s newest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to read his new book and review it for you guys, so I promptly volunteered too.

A Million Miles feels like Blue Like Jazz, grown up. Don is growing up himself, dealing with different things now than he was seven or eight years ago. Bigger things. He is again personally revealing, profound, and challenging. He admits to struggling with continuing his writing career. A big theme of this book is “living better stories,” and he draws at length off the experience of writing a screenplay from, of all things, Blue Like Jazz.

For you Christian music aficionados, it will be of note that Steven Taylor is one of the men Don writes the screenplay with. Steven Taylor was a Christian rocker in the 80s. He made one of my favorite live albums of all time (Liver) and also ran a record label in the late 90s/early 00s called Squint Entertainment. It was home to Sixpence None the Richer. Reading the version of him that Don puts on paper was particularly fun for me, since I’ve been a fan of his for a long time.

Anyway, back to the book. I’d encourage you to pick up a copy. It’ll make you think in a lot of good ways. I was left thinking about the story I’m living; whether it needs some editing. I also laughed. A lot. My wife would set down her book every once in a while and say, honey… what’s so funny? I’d read her the relevant portion, she’d chuckle and go back to reading.

It also had some tear-jerking moments. Don recounts his own pain unflinchingly. He also communicates the pain of his friends in a remarkably empathetic way. He obviously has a great love for the people who are important to him, not just as characters but as friends.

It’s not the longest book. In an age where attention spans are short, A Million Miles is easy to recommend, because it won’t drag. But, I was left wishing for more and you might be too.

You can find Donald Miller on the internet at www.donmilleris.com and on twitter at @donmilleris. You can buy his new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years at Amazon.com.

And, if you have my copy of Blue Like Jazz… could I get it back? Thanks!

I had a wonderful weekend with a bunch of Canadians. See, I live in wild, wonderful West Virginia, but I’m from Ontario. I was blessed to have my mom, her sister and brother-in-law, and her parents here for a few days. It wasn’t long enough, but it was a real blessing.

Having family together, drinking entirely too much coffee (or tea, or pepsi), sitting around having long talks, these are things that make life good. It’s also fun to watch as my family (my wife and child) integrate with my family (extended), and as that whole group further integrates with my wife’s family. It’s just neat.

The Lord has certainly blessed me through my family. And I know that’s not the case for everyone. So this morning, I’m counting my blessings.

And tripping, oh my! I’ve had the chance now to watch several preseason hockey games, and I’m about as excited as I can get. My Maple Leafs look better and better, Rebecca’s Penguins still look phenomenal, and Philadelphia doesn’t look all that great. What more could I ask for?

Hockey is a funny game. Occasionally, especially here in the south, I get asked how I can possibly enjoy a game with that much violence. It’s a legitimate question, and I won’t reply with the trite “It’s all part of the game” that I hear the broadcasters defend it with.

Instead, I’ll say, I don’t watch it for that. I’m into hockey for the talent it displays, the speed, the passing, the unbelievable acrobatics of the goaltenders, and the even more unbelievable acrobatics of Sidney Crosby putting it past the goaltenders (Side question: is there a starting goaltender in the NHL that Sid hasn’t scored on at this point?). It is a great game. I see the physical violence (by which I refer to things like cross checks, elbows, tripping, holding… I see body checks as not violence, but strategy) as an unfortunate part of a game that is otherwise the best sport to watch.

As far as body checks go, it’s kind of like tackling in football… the point isn’t the hit, the point is stopping the progress of the opposing player. A well-timed body check frees up the puck, starts an odd-man rush the other way, and contributes to a goal. It’s strategy.

So, there you have it, my take on violence in hockey. By the way, get rid of the little dirty stuff (cross checks, holding, tripping), and I bet you’ll find that the fighting goes right with it, by and large. It just wouldn’t be necessary.

I think that everyone has something that they love that other people have a hard time understanding. Case in point: my wife and I had a discussion recently as I was getting ready to spend roughly 13 hours babysitting a pork roast on the grill. She didn’t understand the sense of doing it that way. She’s right, too, there are easier ways to roast a pork shoulder.

But, I love the process. I love the science of it, I love the challenge, I love the pay off of having spent hours on something and having it turn out well.

It did, too. It was delicious. Well worth waking up every couple of hours through the night, and then checking it every couple of hours through the day until it was ready. Sometimes you do things, I guess, just because you love the process, not because it’s the most expedient or easiest.

Ostensibly, this blog was started as part of my 500 word a day discipline challenge. Unfortunately, this blog has continued long after the 500 word a day challenge fell to the wayside. But the words are starting to flow through my veins again.

So, this is not an open committment or anything, rather it’s me thinking out loud. What sort of tricks can I play on myself to keep up the effort?

It’s a funny thing–a little bit of accountability can go a long way, but a little too much can demotivate me. I guess the challenge will be figuring out how to walk that line. You spouses of writers take note… We all wish we didn’t have to lean on you, but we do. We love you though, and we hope it pays off as much as you do.

I was sitting recently, listening to Derek Webb’s album She Must and Shall Go Free. It’s an album. It has great individual songs on it, but it is a cohesive unit, 11 or 12 (I can’t remember) songs that form a flow of thought. It’s a wonderful thing. Caedmon’s Call’s 40 Acres feels like this (as does Share the Well), Andrew Peterson’s Love and Thunder feels this way, and the best example (in my favorites) is Rich Mullins’s A Liturgy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band.

I love listening to albums that are albums. MP3 players, Itunes, winamp, and all those other convenient things with those shuffle buttons have kind of ruined albums for us. We hear whatever song randomly comes next (or, in the case of Itunes new Genius function, whatever song they think sounds good to follow up the song you’re listening to). We don’t usually sit down to listen through an album; we let music be the background we do things to, and we don’t exactly catch any continuity.

So, sometime this week, turn off the shuffle feature and listen to an album. You might find that the artist put some thought into the direction that the songs take you. That’s the sort of stuff that makes an album worth paying for.

Matt was right. Matt, if you’re reading this, you’re right. If you’re not reading it, I’ll tell you next time we talk on the phone.

About a week ago, my little brother called me from the bookstore. We’ve been doing a better job at random calls lately, and it’s fun. I miss him, he’s a great friend. Anyway, he was looking for something to read. He came upon Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and I said, “Oh, I want to read that!” He bought it and called me a couple days later.

If I recall correctly, his review was essentially: “The only good parts were the parts Jane Austen wrote. They added zombies, killing, and overt sexual innuendo. It all felt tacked on and needless.”

I found it in our library (Support your librarians! They put up with more crap than you can imagine!) and got it out to read it and see what I thought.

Matt was right. I don’t often say that because I don’t want him to get high on his horse, but, boy, was he right. It’s just not very good. You’ve heard of addition by subtraction? This feels like subtraction by addition. The story is worse. The clever parts were Jane Austen’s anyway.

Sorry we let them do that to your work Jane. We’ll get them one day. Probably in the zombie apocalypse.

I have a son. He is 17 months old. I did not know this until recently, but it turns out that this is a really fun time in the life of a little boy. Everything he gets to do is a learning experience — even spilling one hundred cheerios on the floor (and saying “Cheroos” while doing it). He’s developing concepts, and not always developing them right. It’s a lot of fun, for example, to watch him get to the end of the board book, where they have two boards glued together for the back cover. He insists that its broken. How does he express this? By putting his hands to his head to indicate, from a song his mom taught him, “Broke his head.”  Yep… that’s our concept of broken.

Anyway, getting to observe this little boy (currently on the floor, pointing at the  spot on his finger that he managed to cut on something, and saying “ow!”) is an absolutely wonderful experience. Life changing. Perspective granting. He makes Mondays well worth the effort.

It’s been quite the off season in hockey. Especially if you live in Phoenix, Arizona. See, there’s a hockey team in Phoenix (the coyotes). Go figure… a hockey team in a desert. It hasn’t be going so hot for the coyotes lately. Low attendance, a terrible team… pretty much the only thing they’ve got going for them is their coach, Wayne Gretzky. The Wayne Gretzky. But, Gretz hasn’t been doing so hot either.

So, after the season ended, the owner in Phoenix declared bankruptcy. Real quick like, this guy called Jim Balsillie makes a bid for the team that is a whole huge chunk of change more than anyone would pay in their right mind.

Why? Oh, this guy has history with the NHL. He wants to move an existing NHL team to Hamilton, Ontario. That’d be a good business move, but part of the history is that the NHL wants nothing to do with Balsillie.

Would you believe that this thing is still ongoing? Yep… sure is. There’s a judge trying to figure out of Balsillie can buy the team in spite of the NHL’s hatred for him.

Drama, drama, drama. To make matters worse, Coach Gretz didn’t show up to start training camp.

Oy vey. Can’t wait for either the Pens or the Leafs to meet up with the folks from Phoenix. Those guys will be so discouraged by all the mess, they might not even tie their skates.