Troy Carter Quotes

Even though I've been reasonably well known for quite a long time, I still can't get a record on daytime radio or on MTV.

I don't get the airplay that one in my position deserves. 'Twist and Shout' gets more airplay than 'The Twist,' and that's not right.

I don't make music for the radio. And when I was being played on the radio a lot, I didn't.

But I also think it's up to the fan base to call in the radio stations and demand that the more mature artists be played as well.

I'm wide open and will entertain anything anybody has to say, but if it's MTV and radio, well, they're great things, but can't be the only thing. I don't know that it would work even for the Beatles.

In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any more records. That was it, period.

We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge.

When I started playing music, people weren't selling 5 million records. That was not the standard; that was not the focus.

I enjoy music that is commercial. I think that in order for music to be heard in a lot of different situations, you have to always consider that. Commercial music, for the most part, is popular music, and you always have to keep that in mind. It's not so much financial as making sure it gets the shot and is heard on the radio.

I listen to my old records and I think, 'How did I ever get on the radio?'

The new age disc jockeys and program directors have accepted me as a new age artist, along with Shadowfax and the rest, and they're playing my songs.

What Nirvana's success means is that certain radio stations now have their ear more cocked to bands like us; they're more open to playing more stuff.

Social media being used to discover new artists is great. There's not a barrier to enter the industry. People can just post music and share it. And if it's good enough, and people like it, it will grow.

I couldn't get my album played over the so-called smooth jazz stations. Jazz stations would not play it. You don't always know who you're making that soul connection with.

Commercial music, for the most part, is popular music and you always have to keep that in mind.

When I put out 'Video Games' in May 2011, it was a 5:25-minute love song; I was surprised when a lot of people said they were listening to it. I was surprised when it went to the radio, without me even knowing how something like that even happens!

We used to call it recurrent airplay when someone had a hit.

Also there's two sides of it, I mean, a band like us, at our level and the way we have to promote ourselves and usually radio just completely turns their back on us, at the same time I think Mp3s help promote us somewhat, spreading the word about the album and stuff.

My retirement, back in 1976, began as a one-year boycott to challenge the media on that question. I refused to return until the media, and radio stations in particular, got a hold on identifiably Canadian songs.

The music industry is saying, This is the format, and if you'll fit into this format, you can be on radio, and if radio will play you, MTV will expose you, and MTV will expose you, we'll sell records.

Music changes every three months. There's always new artists coming out. There's always new sounds. There is always a new hit coming out. You gotta stay relevant as much as you can and feed your fans as much as you can.

I know that starting out as a young band, it's really easy to get lost with bands that sound the same or with the plethora of music that's out there.

If your music is great, you will have fans, not because you have spent time chatting on social media.

There is a lot of music in the world that I love that does not always get the appropriate exposure.

YouTube is an amazing platform for young musicians - although it's harder to get noticed now that everyone is on it.