Michael Rapino Quotes

Our goal is to continue to be a global consolidator of the live music business.

The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, these are just some of the people who threatened to sue if we used their songs.

We're in conversations with brands worldwide for a variety of artists every day.

I used to work at a label. I used to be a publicist. I used to be at a management company.

We are a business, and you do a little of what you think's right, pay your bills, and attract... a single record attracts attention to your concerts and your albums.

When I was 17-years-old, I was in the music business.

I left the entertainment industry part of my life behind in 1983, when we decided not to work with major record companies anymore.

When Pandora doesn't pay, and bars don't pay, and weddings don't pay, and nobody buys CDs or shirts or concert tickets or lessons, then the musician can't make a living making music.

Mostly I've never let record companies become involved with my music, which was a very smart thing that my first manager Dave Robinson did, to keep them out of it.

My original idea was to produce and not make records myself.

The hits I had in the '80s - I made those deals directly with American companies.

The record company stay out of my way. Whenever the record is finished, they take it.

I certainly don't want to be a record label guy.

I have been skeptical and not trusting of traditional models of the entertainment industry. I never got a manager.

My function at Verve was that of a genuine producer in artists and repertoire.

We'll look at a bunch of deals that are being offered to us, and we decide where to go and continue on I guess. It's not too early to start considering our options with other labels.

I love producing. I have been producing some acts and starting a label.

If you have good songs and a real desire to make music, the next thing to do, instead of approach record companies, is to get yourself a really good manager because then it allows you to focus on your profession of being a musician. Then they can focus on the darker art of the record label and the music industry.

So you have to just be really careful and make sure that when a deal comes along, that it's like the right deal for you... not necessarily the most money, because you have to pay the record label that back in like record sales and stuff.

I love TV. I love being behind the scenes on a TV show but there's something about, I don't know there's something very special when you've signed an artist and that first record comes in and it's a good record. It is an indescribable feeling.

I decided to combine my musical background, business education and creative abilities - and go into the record business.

As an independent artist, you're always figuring out how you're going to fund your next album.

I've been part of running a label since I was a kid, so I understand how it works. But the more and more I learn about it, the less and less interested I am in it.

Music and the music business are two different things.

I do work a lot. I mean, most of my income, I would say, comes from live performances. And then you've got publishing, you've got record royalties.