Artist Authorized

The Artist Authorized concept was a creation that came out of a brainstorm among a longtime musician named Guy Forsyth, his band mates, and other members of our team. We are all based in Austin, Texas, which is a great place to be if you like music - you can't throw a rock in this city without hitting a musician. There are literally thousands of musicians who live here, and they represent all different stages of career development - some newbies, lots of indies, and more than a handful of major rock stars.

However, there is an issue that pretty much all musicians have in common these days: we realized that in today's world, where music is readily available nearly everywhere, it's pretty much impossible for music fans to know where the music really comes from. Artists have largely lost control of how and where their music is made available. Did someone rip it illegally and then upload it for the world to steal? Did they get taken advantage of by someone in the music business who gave them a shoddy, one-sided deal and not pay them their fair share? You just never know. As a music fan, even if you really want your purchases to support the artists you enjoy, it's hard to know exactly where your dollars go.

Now there is a way. We created the Artist Authorized logo for ourselves; to put on every record we make that's on our own label, Small and Nimble Records so that our fans will be able to easily distinguish these records. In fact, we thought this might come in handy for some other artists we know (as well as those we don't) whose fans might want to be assured that their dollars are going to the right place: the artists. So we took it one step further and created this website, where musicians can get info about Artist Authorized and register themselves for a free license to use this logo to communicate to their fans which of their works are Artist Authorized.

The Artist Authorized movement is about one thing-reclaiming the direct, unfiltered relationship between the artist and fan. That relationship has always been a sacred pact in the making of music, and in the current chaotic state of the music industry, it's become submerged and stifled.

As a music fan, you should be able to vote with your dollar. Make it count the way you want it to.

As an artist, you should have a way to communicate your stamp of approval about your records to your fans.

Rock on.