When you get a song placed with two of the top stars in the world, like Rihanna and Eminem, especially as a new writer, they're gonna take a huge chunk of your publishing. That's just the way the business is. I'm not complaining.
Songwriters, you have to work - you have to wait for residuals. You have to pray that the song's going to be a hit. And then a year later, you might get a check.
The reason I do interviews is because I'm protecting my songs.
I'm delighted about the track's success in the sports world, but the frustrating thing is, I don't think I got rich on it. The labels and publishers did very cheap deals on our songs.
I originally passed on 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head' in 1969, so they gave it to B.J. Thomas.
I would make far more money if every song were my own, but I don't write to fill up the album with my songs.
Mostly I've never let record companies become involved with my music, which was a very smart thing that my first manager Dave Robinson did, to keep them out of it.
There's not one Tin Pan Alley song on my record.
There was a period when I wrote in Nashville for Maverick and then Warner/Chappell, and it was interesting.
I rarely have any contact with the artists who cover my songs.
There's never been a song that I just wrote and tried to send to an artist.
Honestly, when I got to Hollywood I was trying to sell my songs.
Just because my song was being played on the radio didn't mean I had a load of money. You don't get royalties overnight.
I have a 200-song catalogue in the streets and I never got any money off that.
I didn't really know you could make a living in songwriting. I was just very fortunate to have the opportunity to play a few songs for a guy there named Jimmy Ritchey. Through that meeting, I met another couple guys and ended up getting a publishing deal in Nashville.
With Joe Walsh, that was kind of random. I'd written 'Hi-Roller Baby' for myself while I was at Island/Def Jam; literally, four years later, it got cut. Songs can be around for a long time.
