Paul McCartney Quotes

I just want to make music that people hear, and I'm not ashamed of that.

I know that when I make a record like The Delivery Man as a contrast to even Il Sogno, this is going to reach a wider audience, because it communicates in that very direct way.

If you don't write good music, people aren't going to listen to anything you say.

No one told me I had to make something that would sell, but I personally want everyone to like my music.

I think I made records, since early on, that people wanted to listen to.

I don't think you're selling out by allowing the masses to love your art. The only curse is that, when you get so big, sometimes people forget to look at the music.

I just want to make music people like.

If people really like your music but you're not selling so many records, I don't think it really matters.

I think any artist wants their artist to be seen and appreciated and enjoyed by as many people as possible.

I can reach the mass audience if I come from different perspectives on every song.

I'm not a household word. The climate for original music is always a bit difficult.

There are certainly good examples of incredibly brilliant, beautiful music that has been made commercially available and sold everywhere. But I would say that, for the most part, quantity certainly does not speak well for quality.

A lot of bad music sells a million copies; I don't think it's a good litmus test for whether things are going well.

I never really think so much about commercial success; I usually just think about records that move me, and 'Baby Got Back' was one that moved me.

Music is so hard. It's a struggle to get people to care. It's hard to make an impact in today's world because people aren't buying records anymore.

A lot of pop music is based on trying to make people remember it so that they'll buy it. To me, it was not about that.

It's more important for me to have a good record with good music and be part of a movie that's good and where the music is used in a really great way. That's the important thing. The other stuff you want to say about it, I don't care.

I follow a simple formula when I compose. I ask myself, 'What would the audience want to hear?' and 'Why would they buy my CDs?' And the process of answering these questions through music follows. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it backfires.

I decided I was just going to sing the type of songs I gravitated toward and inspired me and moved me. I was going to let the people whose job it was to decide what places to put it, and let them do that. I'll stick to the singing part.

You don't make solo albums to have hits.

People send me songs all the time that are literally no-brainer hits... but for me, I'm an artist because I'm a writer.

I have to write pretty songs; that's what gets them on the charts.

If you're thinking about making a hit song, and you think I want everybody in the world to love it, then you kind of make it up, and you do it.

What my whole object was is not to really sell records. I was trying to sell songs.

We make our own music, and the songs appeal to the public well, and the public likes them.