Lee Ranaldo Quotes

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.

My songs don't play on pop radio; they play on black radio.

When I hear other artists talk, they talk about 'How come radio's not playing my song?' Well, you have to look at it under a microscope and know that each station is just trying to do what's right for their market, and it's scary for a radio station to add a song that they don't know how well it's gonna do for them.

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.

Before, I was more concerned with getting on the radio, like many young artists.

It's such a cycle. You'll see a rapper drop a song, and next thing you know, he's gone.

The pop world has really opened its doors.

But in those days - in the mid-'50s, early '60s - there was less than 300 radio stations that were playing country music and a lot of that wasn't full time.

I'm one of those firm believers that good music will prevail.

Nirvana was pop. You can have distorted guitars and people say it's alternative, but you can't break out of pop music's constructs and still get extensive radio play and media coverage.

But these days, I get a lot more attention and airplay from the Adult Contemporary and country radio stations, and I feel comfortable saying I'm a part of that.

MTV definitely has the effect of narrowing the range of music that hits the mainstream. On the other hand, isn't that the effect of television in general?

The tough thing about radio is I've met a lot of people in it who like my music. But it's hard for them to figure out how to play what they like when there's somebody up above them yelling 'you have to play this.'

Instrumental music is increasingly marginalized and there's just no outlet, there's no venue for it, in terms of media.

If 'Life in Marvelous Times' can't get on the radio, then I don't need to be on the radio.

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

I get tired of people trying to dog out the radio for not playing this or that. There are lots of people who like what they play - otherwise, they wouldn't play it.

I was frustrated in the past, like, 'Wow, why do they have to throw me in the R&B urban adult contemporary lane?' 'Woman' was a no. 1 hit at Urban AC, so there's no disrespect to that lane. But did it get a fair shot at urban radio? No, I don't think so.

For songs to be big, I don't think there's a certain formula to it.

I feel like when I came in the game, I was more focused on like, 'yo how many times can I get on the radio?'

Anything can become a big tune in Scandinavia because people decide what they want to listen to. So I think that's very motivating because songwriters can really think outside the box. A great song - whether or not it's radio-friendly - can really blow up here.

It's not difficult getting into the charts in Sweden. It's a very different musical climate, and in a very good way, I think, because artists like Jose Gonzalez or The Knife can actually get on the charts.

I was asked, 'Why do you think the male 'X Factor' winners haven't been successful in the past?' And I said, 'Because obviously the body of work that they've brought out wasn't good enough,' and that was it.

There was a time when radio stations wouldn't play Gaga's music because it was considered dance. Outside of live performances, the Internet became our primary tool to help people discover her music.

Social media can sometimes influence the charts, but I think that only great music makes it to the top. The good songs make it.