Richard Marx Quotes

If we waited for a hit record to tour, we would never have toured.

In 1994, I started touring again and I recorded two albums for Chesky Jazz.

Back in the day people made music to go on tour. They didn't make music to make a video.

I can't immediately get all this coverage when my record comes out. The way I sell gold and platinum records is by being on the road.

Americans work a long away ahead of themselves because of the size of the place. To make any impact at all you have to promote yourself with live performances ages before a release.

There's a big difference between doing the odd gig and actually having a record out and your name being on the ticket.

I paid my dues. I have crawled to gigs. I have served people coffee. I worked hard selling all these records out the back of my car. Girl, I'm ready to sell one the real way now.

I still enjoy performing, whether it's in front of two people or 2,000 people, but it's not fun once you leave the big show.

My most successful album happened back in the mid-'90s, pre-Internet times, with 'Songs For A Blue Guitar.' We were supported by Island Records; we toured a lot. Songs were licensed to TV commercials and movies.

The period of time between when you're done with a record and when you start touring is the worst period of a time in a musician's life.

What I normally do with recording, performing, and touring is my name. It's all on my shoulders. If it's a great show, I'm great. If it's not a great show, I'm not great.

I spent six figures of my own money to get a tour bus and do a fan tour for my second album. I surprised fans at their houses, and we'd eat food and play video games.

At the end of the day, when people say, 'Oh, she's an industry plant,' I'm like, 'No, I just have representation, like every single other artist you listen to.' I'm not the first person to get a manager.

While working for Diplomat Records, I helped several artists with their online branding and social media. Once I left the label, I worked directly with artists and noticed many artists were overlooked and underrated if they weren't in 'XXL' or 'The Source.'

Jimmy Iovine signed me personally to a million-dollar contract, and I lost my identity for a long time. That system is so predicated on making a hit, or you're out of here.

It's difficult as an artist sometimes. There's a lot of pressure when it's your first album. You want to make something that's meaningful and timeless, not something that's trendy.

I always hate starting tours, especially when it coincides with an album coming out.

With my second album, eOne Music really wanted me to rock it up a little bit.

I don't want to release a CD; I want to release the real deal, so we're just gonna take our time.

I don't like people who make records and then don't ever perform. If you are going to make a record it's important you get out there so people can see you if they want to and get to hear you if they want to.

I was at a slight disadvantage in that I had never played in bands or done any performances before, and that's just as important as writing, recording, and putting records out. It's been a lot of hard work, balanced with a lot of pinch-myself moments of touring in crazy parts of the world.

We wanted to do something different and have a surprise release. At first, naturally, the label was getting a little scared about that, because they wanna sell records, and a surprise release means it might not go as quickly.

As an artist development platform, we've proven that all the work done behind the scenes at American Idol, along with surviving the rigors of the intense live shows, can properly prepare a winner for a real-world music career opportunity.

I don't make as many records as other people do because I prefer the live side of it - and my records are so big that they keep me touring for years upon years and years.

Even when you're right in the middle of a tour and you've done 30 or 40 shows, you still get them butterflies in the stomach right before you go on stage.