Charles Bradley Quotes

I did my thing with Jive. I was a national recording artist, but I had run into a wall.

It's frustrating actually, the time involved in getting something released these days. My new CD has actually been finished for a year. It's only now that it's being released.

After we wrote The Wreckoning, our record label did listen.

In 1999, I just came out of putting out the song 'Vivrant Thing' and 'Breathe and Stop' off the 'Amplified' album. Clive Davis signed me to Arista.

As an artist development platform, we've proven that all the work done behind the scenes at American Idol, along with surviving the rigors of the intense live shows, can properly prepare a winner for a real-world music career opportunity.

I was signed to A&M, I was signed to Lou Adler, who had a company within a company, which was A&M Records, and everything - James Taylor, Rita Coolidge, Carole King - I worked on all of that stuff.

We had an EP out and all of a sudden we find record companies are interested in us, and we're thinking, 'Oh, that's really nice, but we don't think we're ready for it.'

So there was a way for you to get promoted and survive as an artist without worrying about AM radio hits.

When I made my first album, there was no indication that anybody other than my parents were going to buy it.

I would love to continue working behind the scenes in music - to produce and manage up-and-coming musical talent would be a dream!

I remember telling the head of Warner Brothers that if they'd just make a video for 'Ol' Red'... and if it didn't work, they could drop me from the label.

After two years in the songwriting world, I wrote 'All About That Bass.' L.A. Reid heard it and signed me as an artist.

I think that there will always be artists out there who think they need to sign a major label deal in order to be successful. And that machine is what is going to work for them - there's tons of examples of pop stars who need that machine.

I was signed at 19 years old to a major label, and dropped by the time I was 22.

I took temp jobs, recorded a demo in the evenings and eventually shopped a record deal. All I knew was that I wanted to write songs; thankfully, I also got to sing them.

I was with PolyGram; that was the big label that I was with for the longest, like 12 years.

I'm hoping to become a recording artist and make albums and go on tour.

My record label is treating me like I'm a new artist, which is exciting after all this time.

I got a record deal with Sony, and I really just put acting aside. But it's a love.

I haven't really been recording in the last several years. I haven't wanted to. And even though I had to deal with Sony and now I'm on Universal again, I will probably put out a new record soon.

There's probably a bunch of Power Stripe floating through the Def Jam offices right now.

If you had ever heard my album you would know that I could never consider the music business!

If you want to put out a million CDs and sell them and get them played on the radio, and even videos, or whatever, if that still exists, that kind of muscle can only come from a label like Columbia.

I've never had a relationship with a record executive. I always went to the record company by someone that liked my playing. Then they would get fired, and I'd be left with the record company. And then - because they got fired - the record company wouldn't do anything for me.

When I came into the music, I was forced to be a CEO. I was forced to be an entrepreneur; I was forced to... because I was looking for a deal. I didn't have this grand scheme of starting a record company and then morphing into a clothing empire.