Artist Empowerment Quotes

Sometimes being an actor is being a song in someone else's mixtape, so I really understand why more and more actors are making films of their own.

The record business is changing a lot, and I don't think to the detriment of music - I think, if anything, it's helping music. It's to the detriment of the business in some aspects. In many ways, you might say this is not the time to be going back to the majors, it's the time to be leaving them, which is a good point.

I made it easier for many artists to play in certain areas.

I'm excited to be launching D'Leon Records to support other young talent in their development. I have been very fortunate to have been able to break through and succeed in this tough industry, and this is one of my ways of giving back.

I've learned over the years that the best way to develop as an artist is to make things. So I tell young artists it's not enough to be an actor anymore, you have to be a filmmaker/writer/director. There's no excuse for waiting around for a job. You have to be active and make things.

I think we have to bottom out. When the studios jump out of the ring, perhaps the artist can get back in.

The music business is a place where the artists are all treated like we're working for the people who are working for us. That can obviously be exaggerated when you're a female.

Things have changed. I almost feel like it's more adaptable, and you can decide your own career now. I feel artists have so much more of a voice and so much more power now. It's really inspiring to see how a lot of the young artists use their platforms.

You have laws to protect oil men, so why not artists?

The frustrating part of being an artist is that I can do a whole interview, and all most people are going to see is the headlines. As artists, we should be able to write our own headlines.

There won't ever be a mass-market record industry again, and that's fine with me because that industry didn't operate for the benefit of the musicians or the audience, the only classes of people I care about.

Ultimately, our goal is to provide all artists with the opportunity to make a living on MySpace.

We have to show support for artists who are trying to own things for themselves.

I became tired of submitting my art to a panel of corporate strategists who decide if it meets their standard of what gets into stores or not. It was quite simple for me: they act like judge and jury of my art, and that is unacceptable. I wanted to give it right to the public.

I walked into Relativity Records as a musician who could not be taken advantage of. That's why I wound up owning all my own publishing and making a deal that was quite advantageous for a new solo artist. But I really didn't think of myself as an entrepreneur.

Now, you can just get a laptop, get some software, put a microphone on it and make a record. You have to know how to do it. It does help if you've had 35 or 40 years of experience in the studio. But, it still levels the playing field so artists can record their own stuff.

Rappers have traditionally put products in songs, and it's been products that don't put anything back into our community.

Well, since I produce and pay for my own albums, it is the ultimate freedom.

Everything Ticketmaster stands for is what we're fighting against. They're just a small cog in a machine where the artist is at the bottom.

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.

The business side of film has goofed up so many things, but even that's changing. It happened to the music industry and now it's happening to the film studios. It's crazy what's going on. But artists should have control of their work; especially if, as I always say, you never turn down a good idea and never take a bad idea.

Actually, I don't think there's anyone that represents the artists, except the artists themselves.

I understand that music is a business, but for people who have control of their stuff, like little Taylor and other artists, I think you'll find them standing up for their music every chance they get.

Record companies would rather you stay dumb, not even think of it as a business, so they can either rip you off or get you out of the way in five years to make way for the new groups.

Finally I'd found this way where I didn't need a record label; I didn't need to wait for some phone call to tell me, 'Go and do it'. It's like, I'm going to get up with a bag of CDs and an amp and my guitar and make it happen for myself. That was such a liberating feeling, and I think it was the start of everything.