LP Quotes

Major labels act as banks in terms of how they produce and release your album. No major label is really good or bad; they just 100 per cent operate as a business, which makes sense... no hard feelings.

One not-to-be-mentioned major said they would sign me if I worked with a team of songwriters to help me finish songs, ha! Of course, in hindsight, I should've done it just to see what that would have been like.

I think that there will always be artists out there who think they need to sign a major label deal in order to be successful. And that machine is what is going to work for them - there's tons of examples of pop stars who need that machine.

They're hit writers. They're gonna write me a hit whether I wanted it or not you know? I could have put out a single a year ago with the Neptunes and maybe been writing now on top but that was not the path that I chose.

Record companies worrying more about market share than developing artists - I hear there was a time when if your first record didn't sell 8m copies, you were still given a chance to grow as a songwriter.

I'm really excited because Interscope is really focused on artists. They've been working side by side with me creatively and allowing me to make a lot of the creative decisions, which you don't always hear about. That's why I didn't want to sign originally with a major label.

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.

I'm kind of a little allergic to that whole, 'Let's go to L.A. and write a bunch of hits.'

Berry Gordy discovered more superstars than anyone I know. I grew up in that environment, and I know you can develop talent and market it.

I got to meet Kanye West because we were shopping my artist deal, and I was interested in his label. When I met him, I played him all the records I had. He introduced me to Rihanna, and she recorded and cut some of those records.

Signing with Sony/ATV was life changing for me.

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 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.

I'm really happy with Elektra, I don't have anything bad to say about them at all. I always knew a major label was the right place for me to be. I never really had an opportunity to go to an independent label anyway.

I don't believe in the philosophy of stumbling across hit records.

Artist development is something that I've been passionate about from my days at Uptown and Motown Records.

If you're part of a record company, you're a manufactured product. It doesn't mean that you're not talented.

It's not like it used to be where everybody has a record company to belong to.

Motown's policy was to build one act at a time or their favorites.

If I was rich enough, I would love to launch my own record label. I would love to try and give all my musically talented friends a start in the industry.

If you're a pop singer, you don't need to evolve. You just get a set together, have some hit songs and play them over and over.

So it was out of necessity that Blackheart was born. I think it's great that now, 25 years later, we're not only putting out our own music, but are able to put out music by other bands. That's really exciting for us.

Well, I tried to get a record deal in 1966 or '67, and everyone thought I was too eclectic.

I'm confident being at Universal, which is a great home for me, 'cause they understand what I'm trying to do.