Max Martin Quotes

And frankly, when I made that record, hit songs were not what I was trying to achieve.

Other artists, they write 13 songs, and hopefully one or two of them are successful singles. And the other 11, for the most part, are filler.

Of course, I want to sell records, and of course I want to get played on radio, but it has to be about making the record that I'm proud of.

I know when I've written a good song when I can imagine the video. If I can't imagine the video straight away, I'm not gonna put it on my album.

I write the songs and hand it over to the world and see what happens. But the things that I've written for people that have been hits, I don't know that I would have directed them in the right path, but they definitely wound up on the right path.

You don't just go to the studio and say, 'I'm going to write a hit.' It becomes a hit when people like your compositions.

I don't like working with hitmakers. I don't want hits! You're not even allowed to say that word around me.

I'm not trying to say I'm this artist who is all artsy and that I only write music for myself, because I don't. I write music for other people to enjoy, so I think about if it'd be an idea someone else would like.

I think when people make a record with a goal in mind - like taking it to the next level or making them seem more mature - that gets in the way of writing great songs.

I had my whole life to write a bunch of crappy songs and then play them in front of people and think, 'All right, that one out of these seven is really good; it's a keeper.' But on this second album, to be honest, I probably wrote about 50 songs where I was just trying to write a hit.

To me, I don't care if I co-write or if I write alone. If it's a great song and it makes it to the record, then that's what is supposed to come, you know what I mean.

I wrote 'Don't Stop' just like I wrote 'Pumped Up Kicks' - I didn't try to make either a hit. I just wanted to write a song I liked.

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.

I think it's down to our songs - we've always made sure every song on every album works.

When you finish a song, your first thought is going to be, 'Is this song a hit?' I hate that we think that way, because it kind of takes a little bit of the meaning out of the songs that are being written, but you're definitely going to think, 'Can this song be put on the radio?'

I think the work process' - composers do not get enough time to make a good song. That's the one thing which needs to be changed.

I think it's exciting because it pushes you harder to write a great song. Even for established artists, it has to be really good now because people have so many other options.

'Reflection' and 'Going Nowhere' would've been great singles because that's the exact sound that we wanted to achieve.

When you write songs, you have to like them yourself first, but then you have to make everyone else like them, because you can force them to play it, but you can't force them to like it.

Music is my main goal, but I'm not going to rush a record out. There are so many actors who have come out with albums these days. I don't want to do it because it's the thing to do. I want to wait until the time is right.

I wouldn't consciously pursue trying to make something for the charts. It's just not in my scope now. I'd rather stick needles in my eyes.

I've had offers to sign a record deal, but the people I've talked to have wanted to package me and have me meet with songwriters who've written stuff for Whitney Houston, that sort of thing. That's not at all my style.

I have a very solo career. I only write with people that I really adore.

Sea Change was so specific. From the beginning it was set what it was going to be. All the other ideas that I had at the time I had to put to the side.

I talked to the record company about what I had in mind. They said they wanted something lush. I figured the best thing to do was let them hear what I had in mind.