Balthazar Getty Quotes

In my opinion, you just have to make the music. Make the music and work as hard as you can to get it out there.

There are people who are genetically made to start record labels, and I'm not one of those people. People just have it in their blood and are good at it. Corey Rusk from Touch and Go and Ian MacKaye. These are people who have made their own labels.

I paid my dues. I have crawled to gigs. I have served people coffee. I worked hard selling all these records out the back of my car. Girl, I'm ready to sell one the real way now.

There's timing. And then there's also certain people at the record company who worked incredibly hard and were incredibly enthusiastic about what I was doing.

To be in the music industry, to be in any kind of entertainment industry, you really, really have to be passionate about it and love it and persevere, because if that passion isn't there, it's easy to give up. If you really want it, the ambition is there, it'll come. It's definitely harder work than some people think.

Doin' music, musicians and artists, we have the advantage of doin' something that is our passion. At the same time it's fun, and it's like a dream to other people, and live off it, feed yourself off of it. 'Cause it's hard, you know what I"m sayin'? You really gotta grind and you really gotta love and enjoy what you do, if you're gonna make it. 'Cause if you don't believe in yourself, if you don't got people believin' in you, people aren't gonna buy it.

I've been doing my record label for 15 years called Dim Mak. I started my label when I was 19 in '96. I started putting out an eclectic roster of artists. In 2003, we found a band called Bloc Party, and in 2004, we started getting remixes for Bloc Party, and at the same time I was throwing Dim Mak parties in Los Angeles.

I practice and work hard at my music, but I'm not saving lives here.

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

The most important thing is to be passionate and ready to accept the pains that sometimes go along with the business.

Nobody's going to sell 10 million records by not working hard.

I was never in the business of trying to put my name out there - I was really focused on music and records and being in the studio.

Success comes to those who dedicate everything to their passion in life. To be successful, it is also very important to be humble and never let fame or money travel to your head.

I always tell people that the music industry may be frustrating sometimes, but the singing never gets old. It's something I grew up doing, and I take the bitter with the sweet.

The truth is an artist like me who doesn't get the type of promotion that we see more commercial artists receive, and especially in this climate of the music business, you have to be creative about how you promote yourself.

Americans work a long away ahead of themselves because of the size of the place. To make any impact at all you have to promote yourself with live performances ages before a release.

I tried to bang down a lot of doors but Virgin were the only label who believed in what I was doing. I ended up with the label that understood what I was trying to do.

Lots of people, from what I can see, just want to get into the music business for the glamour of it. But there isn't any, really. It's so up and down this industry, but if you really love it, nothing can stop you.

When I first started out in the music industry and went to Elektra Records, I didn't go to be an artist, I went to get a record label started. And they said in order to have a label deal, I had to be an artist - so that's what I did.

I started my own record label.

I would say I am an ordinary bowler but one with a really big heart, and that's what has stood me in good stead in all these years.

The only warning I'd give is - make sure you are strong enough and committed enough in your business pursuits. It is commitment and belief, not just the bottom line, that should drive you.

It's hard to tell with these Internet startups if they're really interested in building companies or if they're just interested in the money. I can tell you, though: If they don't really want to build a company, they won't luck into it. That's because it's so hard that if you don't have a passion, you'll give up.

I will be developing artists for my new label. The rest is in God's Hands.

I was always taught as a kid that if there's anything you want in life, you've got to work towards it. I guess that sort of stayed with me, really. But also, for me, from the time I was, like, 10 years old, all I ever wanted to do was be in a band and make music.