Geoff Downes Quotes

I made an enormous amount of money in the record business as a result of owning so much of what I was doing... I owned all those albums and continued to own my catalog.

Every time I release an album my old record company releases another one.

The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, these are just some of the people who threatened to sue if we used their songs.

Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it.

If somebody makes a record, no matter how many years later it's released, they or their families should be entitled to the proceeds.

Because I don't believe music can be free unless it has something to be free from.

One of the reasons I started Tzadik, which is my own label, is to keep things in print. I got tired of labels dropping things out of print when they don't sell.

I would never put my songs in a commercial.

When I was releasing EPs by myself, I was generating royalties. And when I signed, I thought I'd put those royalties into other artists. And interestingly, streaming is most of the income for those artists.

When a record co. finds a guy now, they want to own everything. They want to own the rights to market that person's particular name. They want a piece of the action all the way through.

I got into a conversation with EMI, and they said they were very interested in releasing the song because it was such a huge hit online. RCA and Universal were also very interested, but EMI were the best team, so I decided to sign with them. I got my deal because 'Silly Boy' leaked, so obviously now I'm very happy about what happened!

If you have a song that you think sounds like another song you should contact the publishing company and say I have a song here, let's cut a deal that lets everyone walk away feeling good.

One of the biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, 'Wait - you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it?'

It's nice if people ask to use your song. You have to make a decision as an artist how you feel about that.

I haven't really been recording in the last several years. I haven't wanted to. And even though I had to deal with Sony and now I'm on Universal again, I will probably put out a new record soon.

Favored Nations is a long-term commitment. Our hope is that those who are passionate about real musicianship will want to hear and own most of our albums. We will set out to attain the same direct relationship with our customers that we have with our artists.

I certainly wouldn't want a song that I'd already written to be used on a commercial. That seems strange.

You sign your life away, basically, when you sign a record deal, and if you have a platinum album, then you go back in and renegotiate.

I've copyrighted 3,000 songs.

I like the old days when, if I wrote a song and I recorded it, it didn't mean somebody else couldn't record it.

With Ghost Tunes, you just try to do what's right. And what's right is whatever the copyright owner wants to do with their music, they do it.

Only I hold the right to all my songs.

I was worried Microsoft would take my music. But ultimately I talked to the lawyers and I still own it.

Giving a record company an album is like giving a gangster your baby or something.

I'm the only artist who got paid by Puff, like really, really, paid.