Josh Homme Quotes

I never had to ask Def Jam for anything.

I never, ever had it in my mind that I wanted to be in the record industry, because I still contend that the record industry is an insidious affair. It's this terrible collision between art and commerce, and it will always be that way.

You can now be a master of your own destiny. I'm not sure why you would sign up with a record label.

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.

Doing things in my day was simple: you either signed to a big label or you signed to a very small label, and you worked with that one, and then they eventually signed you on to a big one.

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

I was with PolyGram; that was the big label that I was with for the longest, like 12 years.

Shoot, there's a committee to tell you everything at a record label. You definitely have to know who you are if you want to look like you at the end of the process. We've all seen people get record contracts, and by the time they're spit out by the machine, we don't even recognize them.

A lot of things encouraged me to start my label. I think it's very important for an artist to know how many records they've sold and where they've sold. I know that I have never been treated the way I'm supposed to be treated - like an artist. That's why I do things for myself. I feel like I'm a free man.

I'm pushing ahead on my own - you no longer need a large record company to make you a star.

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 rarely get money out of labels, except for when they open up a budget for a project. Other than that, it's a do-or-die type thing.

You don't need a record company to turn you into anything.

It's been awesome going indie. I don't need to be on a major label. I love not having to walk into a specific radio person's office to try to convince someone to play my songs. At the end of the day, it's more work, but I've discovered that I like to get my hands dirty.

When you get a record deal, you got to be pretty headstrong, know your direction.

I have my own label and I'm my first artist.

At the end of the day, I earn a living by creating music and not sharing it with anyone because I am my own master. I know my worth.

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.

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.

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.

Getting a record deal is a meaningless thing now.

I had to get out of my record deal that I signed with my previous band and get a full solo record deal going so, with all of the paperwork that, that entails it did take a while.

I can't tell you how freeing it is to have my own label. For the first time in my career, I have total control.

The new independent spirit at Warner Music is a perfect fit for a stand-alone label like Maverick.

This is a very screwed-up business. Record labels don't sign a lot of bands these days. We just want to find a home and stay there and make records and do our thing and not have to look over our shoulder.