David Friedman Quotes

I would rather fall flat on my face than try to just make a quick dollar by making music that fits into the radio format right now. It does nothing for me.

Obviously, I would like to play to bigger audiences and have a bit more success, but not if I have to commercialize.

It's not always about huge giant commercial success. It's about art.

I don't do something because I think it will sell 30 million albums. I couldn't care less. If it sells one, it sells one.

Selling another 10 million albums is not a priority. Putting out something you're proud of is.

At the same time, I definitely want to expand my fan base but not at the expense of prostituting my music or heart.

Ain't nobody making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals.

If you were to hold me to a standard of, 'What are you doing, singing about a scratch-off ticket at your level of success?' then my music's gonna be ridiculous.

I suppose we'll make money off our album and our singles and stuff, but, like, they were made as we wanted them, exactly with what we had to say, and done exactly how we wanted them, right? And, like, we didn't put them out to make money. We put them out because we wanted to do them, do you know what I mean?

The music business is a crazy game, especially for somebody like me who is really a purist about the art. Trying to balance the pressures of commercialism, it's a tightrope. It's a fine line between sticking to your guns and insanity.

Of course, you're not making records in a vacuum. I'm not making them for myself. It would be nice if I could get more people to hear them. But if I have to sell my soul to the devil to do it, I won't.

Don't make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it's crucial to make a living, that shouldn't be your inspiration. Do it for yourself.

I've never believed in cheapening music by going according to what some people think is public taste.

I want to make music that I like; not something that I have to make because I think it's going to sell.

I'm not saying I wasn't flawed or amateurish. But you can never say I did anything to appease the music business.

Any band that is out there chasing it is doing more destruction to music then someone who is out there playing what they truly feel.

The joy of songwriting only gets messed up if you are trying to follow up a big success, or you are trying to create a hit single, or if you have conscious thoughts of a particular outcome for the music.

If any of our songs ever did make it on the top ten, I'd disband the group immediately.

I don't want to sell my soul to Hollywood - to just make run-of-the-mill stuff.

Let's not forget, art can sell. You ain't gotta front all the time on your records.

I'm just not interested in selling out to get on the charts and make people happy.

The artists in country music who stopped having hits are the ones who were led into something that wasn't them.

I've heard some people say that I'm selling out, but I'm not. If I hadn't done 'Black Radio', and just kept on doing just piano trio stuff, I wouldn't be honest with myself; I'd be doing it to please other people. That would be selling out.

Mainly, I don't like it when music is made solely to impress people or in order to please business people; it doesn't sound good to me. If you're making music in order to become famous or loved by the masses... that's not what I'm about. When somebody's making music for the wrong reasons, I hear it right away.

If people would like to come to my concerts I'd love them to come. And if they like the music that I make, I love that too. But I do not make music for other people. I make it to please myself.