I have taken taking my music to labels for years, and everyone just thought it was creepy. They thought the images with the music were weird and verging on psychotic.
Lana Del ReyWith all singers, insecurity is your best security. That’s why we’re such loud people and why we walk all funny. You think, ‚Are people interested?‘ But I think our band has something and they know we don’t just put albums out. We do think about it.
BonoWhat changed our lives forever was when Malcolm had the idea to sell rock ‚n roll records to trendy customers.
Vivienne WestwoodRock music is niche.
BonoApple has given me a platform to spread music. They’re giving us Latinos a chance to shine.
Bad BunnySay there’s a white kid who lives in a nice home, goes to an all-white school, and is pretty much having everything handed to him on a platter – for him to pick up a rap tape is incredible to me, because what that’s saying is that he’s living a fantasy life of rebellion.
EminemThere’s more good music being made now than ever before.
David ByrneMadonna and I are very different. Just saying. We’re very different. I wouldn’t make that comparison at all, and I don’t mean to disrespect Madonna: she’s a nice lady, and she’s had a fantastic, huge career – biggest pop star of all time.
Lady GagaI think the first thing you should know is that nobody in country music ‚made it‘ the same way. It’s all different. There’s no blueprint for success, and sometimes you just have to work at it.
Taylor SwiftNow I realize that from ’72 through to about ’76, I was the ultimate rock star. I couldn’t have been more rock star.
David BowieI seen a lot of artists be hot for a minute, and then that’s it, and somebody else come in.
Nipsey HussleIn 2013, the week before I dropped ‚Crenshaw,‘ ‚Complex‘ wrote an article that said that Nipsey Hussle is one of the top 25 underperforming artists. I was so offended that I responded with my own opinion about these journalists – their point of view is not validated in our culture.
Nipsey HusslePop music will never be low brow.
Lady GagaHere in England, everyone’s a pop star, innit, whereas in America they believe in the term artist.
Amy WinehouseA development deal is where they’re giving you recording time and money to record, but not promising that they’ll put an album out.
Taylor SwiftI think that when you’re making your way up in the music industry, you have all these heroes and the reasons why they are your heroes. As soon as you get into the industry, your guidelines change a little bit. For me, my heroes now are great people first and great artists second.
Taylor SwiftSurface R&B doesn’t work any more. The whole heartthrob thing, songs about unrealistic love and tearing your shirt off every show – that’s not really where it’s at any more. It’s becoming harder for those guys to sell records, and harder for them to succeed.
DrakeIn hip-hop, there’s not a lot of love. There’s not a lot of love being spread. It’s always like ‚I’m stuntin‘ on you raps, or I’m better than you raps.‘ It’s not a lot of ‚Yo man, I idolize you raps.‘
J. ColeAnd God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he’s no longer God… They’ll turn on him, and I hope he survives it.
John LennonLooking at 2014, I look back: we made more money off ‚Mailbox Money‘ than we would have made off taking an advance from anybody. We made more money letting our fans buy the stuff directly from us than what any label could have offered us.
Nipsey HussleOver the years I’ve met quite a few big rappers. Then it exploded with 50 Cent, and I did a book with him. It’s always a strange meeting of two worlds, it’s very exciting.
Robert GreeneI don’t know anything about music. In my line you don’t have to.
Elvis PresleyI want to make pop cool again, and the only way I can do that is by being ambitious and grand.
The WeekndA lot of people ask me, ‚How did you have the courage to walk up to record labels when you were 12 or 13 and jump right into the music industry?‘ It’s because I knew I could never feel the kind of rejection that I felt in middle school. Because in the music industry, if they’re gonna say no to you, at least they’re gonna be polite about it.
Taylor SwiftYou don’t hear no artists from Compton showing vulnerability.
Kendrick LamarI enjoy being involved in making the artwork for albums and stupid stuff like that.
Frank OceanMusic itself is going to become like running water or electricity. So it’s like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again. You’d better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that’s really the only unique situation that’s going to be left.
David BowieThere’s something missing in the music industry today… and it’s music. Songs you hear don’t last, it’s just product fed to you by the industry.
Jimmy BuffettI probably could have toured off ‚Trilogy‘ for the rest of my life. It definitely changed the culture. No one can do a trilogy again without thanking The Weeknd.
The WeekndI’ve had big record label presidents look me in the face and say, ‚Your music sucks, you don’t know who you are, your music is all over the place, and we don’t know how to market this stuff. Pick a lane and come back to us.‘
Bruno MarsSuper-envious of the fact that Daft Punk can wear robot helmets and be one of the most famous bands in the world, while also understanding that will never be my situation.
Frank OceanI think generally playing live is a crap idea. So much of stage work is the presentation of personality, and I’ve never been interested in that.
Brian EnoBasically, I’m one of the greatest producers ever. And I’m also one of the greatest DJs ever. And I’m also one of the best executives ever.
DJ KhaledBeing shoved into the top-40 scene was an unusual experience. It was great I’d become accessible to a huge audience but not terribly fulfilling.
David BowieWhen you’re a pop star, it’s a little conservative; you always have to stay in a box. You have fans that are five and fans that are 65; there are so many people wanting so many things.
Beyonce KnowlesI would like to do a duet with Taylor Hanson, because I have loved Hanson since I was 8.
Taylor SwiftBecause I’m not in a record deal, I don’t have to operate in an album format.
Frank OceanPeople think because I’ve got some success, I’ve made it, but in my eyes it’s like, ‚How long has Jay Z been in the business? How many albums has he got?‘ Not that I’m trying to be Jay Z, but I am trying to be around for a long time.
J. ColeWhy not invest in the future of music, instead of building fortresses to preserve its past?
David ByrneI signed up to be a musician, I want to perform, I want to sing.
Bruno MarsWith pop music, the format dictates the form to a big degree. Just think of the pop single. It has endured as a form even in the download age because bands conform to a strict format, and work, often very productively, within the parameters.
David ByrneWorking with J Balvin has undoubtedly been an unparalleled experience.
Bad BunnyAll of my records, I produced, put together completely. All of them. Maybe Drake might come with an idea, and I might finish it. You gotta remember what a producer is. Quincy Jones is a producer.
DJ KhaledTo go indie is a thing. But to put an album in the stores, you need a distribution label.
DrakeWe was able to become real successful in the mixtape space.
Nipsey HussleA lot of the records you buy, there’s nothing you can hold in your hand, it’s all 1’s and 0’s, this digital cloud floating in the ether. but with analog albums, you can hold it in your hand.
Dave GrohlI’ve copyrighted 3,000 songs.
Dolly PartonEven though I’m known as a pop musician, I have a seriousness about what I do.
Brian EnoThere was a time Michael Jackson couldn’t get his video on MTV because he was considered to be ‚urban.‘ The Michael Jackson. So I literally have to be the Michael Jackson of apparel in order to break down the doors for everyone who will come after I’m gone, after I’m dead.
Kanye WestIt must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don’t sell that many records.
Brian EnoWhen I was writing the Destiny’s Child songs, it was a big thing to be that young and taking control. And the label at the time didn’t know that we were going to be that successful, so they gave us all control. And I got used to it.
Beyonce KnowlesI still have my first paycheck. It was just, I think, a dollar or two that I got when I started as a songwriter with BMI, and I had some songs there that I had through the company, and in the mail I got this big old check for, like, a dollar and a half or something. Somebody had recorded one of my songs.
Dolly PartonI’ve noticed that when I am selling a lot of records, certain things become easier. I’m not talking about getting a table in a restaurant.
David ByrneCardi B put a lot of work in.
Nipsey HussleSongwriters, you have to work – you have to wait for residuals. You have to pray that the song’s going to be a hit. And then a year later, you might get a check.
Bruno MarsThat little Miley Cyrus… she’s like a little Elvis. The kids love her because she’s Hannah Montana, but what people don’t realize about her is she is such a fantastic singer and songwriter. She writes songs like she’s 40 years old!
Dolly PartonMusic is changing so quickly, and the landscape of the music industry itself is changing so quickly, that everything new, like Spotify, all feels to me a bit like a grand experiment.
Taylor SwiftMichael Jordan changed so much in basketball, he took his power to make a difference. It’s so much going on in music right now and somebody has to make a difference.
Kanye WestNo rapper in the world from Jay-Z to Tupac to Biggie has 100 percent love on everything they do.
J. ColeI can’t deny that label-support gave me a leg up – though not every successful artist needs it.
David Byrne