During the past three months over 80,000 people in more than 6,800 US cities (cities including Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago amongst the top 10) in all 50 states and over 170 countries around the world visited freederekwebb.com and downloaded Derek Webb’s critically acclaimed CD Mockingbird as a part of his bold freederekwebb.com campaign, where anyone could go online, download and share Mockingbird completely for free. In addition, more than 325,000 emails were sent out inviting friends to do the same.

Audiences at Webb’s concerts also grew throughout the past few months, nearly double his normal turn out in several cities, and in addition to their presence, Webb’s goal of engaging them in conversation regarding the issues presented in the songs on Mockingbird became a reality. Mockingbird tackles many sensitive issues including poverty, war, and the basic ethics by which we live and deal with others.

“This has certainly been an unexpected and overwhelming response to what started as little more than a grand experiment, remarked Webb. “I can't thank everyone enough for participating with us in this and I certainly hope they're enjoying the songs on Mockingbird. I can't stress enough how urgent it is that people from all backgrounds and ideological persuasions join in meaningful dialogue about what it means to truly care for our neighbors and just who those neighbors are. I can only hope that freederekwebb.com has played even a small role in starting a few of those discussions. I hope to see many of you on the road and in the marketplace, and to join with you in this continuing conversation."

Due to the buzz FreeDerekWebb.com generated, media nationwide picked up on the story, including The LA Times, Billboard, CCM, The Tennessean, NPR, Burnlounge magazine, MTV’s URGE site and more.

Webb is now preparing to record songs for his next studio project, scheduled for release in May 2007.