Joe Satriani Quotes

I'm not just going to get a deal; I'm going to get the deal. And in my deal I got by signing with No I.D. to Def Jam, I got full creative control, the money was great, the contract was good, and I got to create the album that I wanted.

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.

I did actually have a deal with Columbia, but it became increasingly clear to me after signing with them that they didn't know what to do with me and I didn't know what to do for them, so we agreed to go our separate ways.

I started my own record label.

It turns out that Donald Trump has been very good at buying low and selling high, and it helps account for his amazing business success.

I'm really excited because Interscope is really focused on artists. They've been working side by side with me creatively and allowing me to make a lot of the creative decisions, which you don't always hear about. That's why I didn't want to sign originally with a major label.

If you're on an indie label, you're not getting enough money. And if you're on a major, you're not getting enough support.

I've been an educator all my life pretty much. It's important as a manager and also as a record label, to educate your artists on public speaking, how to build that connection, how to communicate effectively, to have a general working knowledge of the music industry.

I just wanted to have my own dynasty. I wanted my own Cash Money or Roc-A-Fella. Outside of that, I also wanted my own media company.

I'm no dummy. I have a good sense of the business end of this game.

I became an entrepreneur as a child. I liked the art of the deal whether I was mowing lawns or selling candy or promoting clubs at the age of 16. I understood early on the importance of knowing my numbers and surrounding myself with the best people.

If you look at companies like Twitter, Google, all these companies started with ideas and then everybody used it. In my world, people don't think like that. Rappers chase the next check. They become a slave to labels and eventually that money starts shrinking.

I want to have a publishing company and a record label, and I want to manage five artists... eventually.

Because I was independent for such a long time, and I was always just feeding my fans - every month, I'd be giving them something new. So I had to adjust to the process of making a record. And after signing with a label, there are just certain things you can't do anymore. It was frustrating at first, but as the months went by, I got used to it.

After I made 'Oh Carolina' in the 1990s, the record company wanted me to copy that sound, and I refused.

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.

As an actor, you're not a person; you're a product, a commodity. It's about money. Your job is about making money for other people. At some point, you learn how to be on the other side of that table. You write, direct, produce, and create opportunity for yourself. Then you start to make money for yourself.

Jimmy Iovine, he pretty much started off as an engineer and a producer, and then he started up a label. Then he built his label to have big artists like Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. Then he started up a headphone company and made it a billion dollar business. He's a genius to me.

As it turns out, I can see I'm quite a business-minded person as I've developed.

I've never conformed to what my record label has said and, yes, that has meant that it's been a long journey for me.

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.

Success came to me in my late 20s. I started touring when I was a teenager, so I had already seen the good, the bad, and the ugly side of the music business. Plus, setting up my own record company taught me a lot.

With the first album, there was a lot of angst. I was very naive. I thought I was on top of the whole thing, but I really didn't know what I was getting into.

I did sign to Ruthless Records, but they didn't really support me.

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.