Ashton Shepherd Quotes

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 produce the records. I don't hand over control to some really expensive producer who then talks to the record company and then tries to bend me to their will - for commercial purposes.

I am not going to be dictated to by fans, certainly. I am dictated enough to by my record company to last me a million years.

In my music career, I never was interested in working and writing and creating songs based on what kind of rewards I could receive in return - a hit song, per se, is what most contemporary artists have to deal with when they deal with a label.

You can be more creative when you're not feeling like a slave. When you're on a record label, they have you like that.

The reason I never wanted to sign with a big label was because I didn't want no one telling me how to make my music.

They told me that they are starting a classic label, and wanted me to be the first artist. So I signed, and am producing myself, and writing my own music, but I'm their first artist on their classic label. And I have creative control.

I didn't want to be on a major label. I wanted all the attention and the noise to go away because I wanted to be something a little bit more substantial.

You want to sell records, but if you want to call yourself an artist, your job is how you express yourself.

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

We kind of reached this point in life where we don't really want to put out anything just to put something out. We really don't want it to be like, 'Two years are up. You've had your break; now do another record and get it out there.'

You wait all your life to be signed by a major label, and then when they sign you, they don't want you to do what you want to do.

My dream is to do whatever I want without any interference from the record company.

In music industry they always want you to write something like the one that was popular. And that's something you kind of have to just - sometimes you just say yes to people, like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure," and then you just write the one you want to write.

Roadrunner wanted to make Born in the Flood the next Nickelback, but I didn't want to be that. I didn't want to be a huge rock star playing songs I didn't like. I didn't want to be stuck playing 'Anthem,' the song everybody liked but I didn't want to put on the record, for the next five years.

Do not let any record company disturb your creative flow. You are not writing for the record company. You're writing for the public.

I suddenly realized that in order to do what I wanted to do, I had to become that which I hated - which is the head of a record company or a digital media conglomerate - and just do whatever you want.

We try and stay out of the corporate side of it. The band has never compromised. At some point in our career we could have made a certain type of record and sold millions of units, as they are called.

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 have just enough people paying attention that I have the freedom to be in charge. And I have a great record company - Nonesuch understands what I'm about.

I just write songs and hope that they do well. I'm sure there is some pressure from someone at the label, but I'd rather keep away from it.

When you're on the pop treadmill, you don't always feel that cool because you have to do things to promote the record that aren't necessarily your environment.

I don't really set out to please anybody, and I don't think I ever have. I have occasionally been encouraged to try to write something specifically for the purpose of releasing it as a single to get radio play. Those are not my best songs, as a rule.

I wanted to put out a solo record because I was stuck on a major label and sick of it.

It's typical of record companies. They sign you because you're unique, and then they want to put you in a mold so they can sell records.