Jessie J Quotes

My whole team, it wasn't about putting the album out, it was about getting off the record company and going independent or going to another label. To the point we were like, 'Listen, just take 'Lasers.' You can have whatever percentage off the next ten records I do for the rest of my life. I just do not want to be here anymore.'

When it came time to be a professional rapper, I wouldn't sign anything without reading it. There was no way I was going to have people make decisions for me or wake up one day and find that I was broke because I never bothered to read a contract.

I guess I've learned that there's really no such thing as a bad label, there is only a bad contract.

There isn't a single artist out there, I'm sure, who wouldn't take the most perfect record deal. If the right record deal came along, like, the perfect deal, we'd definitely take it.

You don't want the biggest record deal as far as money goes, you just want to make sure that the people at the label really support your band and the music and stuff.

There was a bidding war between Epic Records and Jive - now RCA - which was bittersweet. Just having labels bid over me was really cool, but I ended up going with Jive because it felt better over there, and they have my favorite artists like Usher, Chris Brown, and Justin Timberlake.

I wanted out of my record deal with EMI. They wanted me to record one type of album; I wanted to record the type of music I wanted to make.

I've never gotten money from most of those records. And I made those records: In the studio, they'd just give me a bunch of words, I'd make up a song! The rhythm and everything. 'Good Golly Miss Molly'! And I didn't get a dime for it.

You just have to find a lawyer that won't let you sign certain things - and I mean the fine print, because I was gone from Phil Spector and signed with Gamble and Huff in Philadelphia, and Phil bought my record contract back from them.

With Pavement, we had no managers and never had a lawyer. We got lucky with not signing any bad deals.

You sign your life away, basically, when you sign a record deal, and if you have a platinum album, then you go back in and renegotiate.

At 18, I finally came into a relationship with a record label. My family got back on its feet. I was happy.

I got really noticed by record labels and that's how I got signed.

I wanted to play in bands and get signed by a record label and tour the world and stuff, but that never really worked out.

If we meet some people that are in love with NFG that are a major label, then we'll sign with them. If we meet people that are in love with NFG that are an independent label - and they have a plan - well, then we'll sign to them. It's completely up to us.

When I signed my first record deal, I brought it over to my lawyer to look over.

This 'Pighammer' record is supposed to be a side project. And it just so happens that at the same time I'm recording this record, our contract was up with Warner Bros., so it's time for Static-X to re-sign.

My first contract was in 1965. There were six of us in this band - my band before Deep Purple - six in the band plus management, and the entire royalty rate was three-fourths of 1 percent.

Not only was I an 'X Factor' winner that got dropped by Syco - and when that happens, you're never heard of again - but everyone thought I was a clown.

We make sure we have total artistic control with our albums. We were working with Interscope Records, and they had a hard time with us having all the control. So when we signed with Warner Bros., we told them we would be working hands-on with our producer, and they were cool with it.

When you find fame, or you get signed to a record label, it's not what you imagined - because you imagined they would have 100 percent trust or faith in you as an artist. Unfortunately, that's not really the case - it's what sells.

People thought we were crazy for starting a record company. They really thought I was shooting myself in the foot.

I just think that any person who wants music to be their career shouldn't focus on a record label. I have seen friends who sign to a label too early in their career, and they lost control over their music, and their releases were delayed or never put out.

I put a song on Soundcloud, and Annie Mac made it record of the week, and a month later, I signed my record deal.

To me, Def Jam put my career on hold. I was used to making 13-14 songs a year, and they trickled that down to nothing.