Bill Conti Quotes

Music is all about wanting to be better at it.

My goal was never to sell many records.

Success and the art of making music are two different things for me.

I just want to make art that connects with people and moves them on an emotional level. Any time I can put out music and place a story behind it and have people watch it and go, 'Wow, I was affected by that,' to me, feels like I've done my job.

Since music has never had a Rembrandt, we have remained nothing more than musicians.

One does not devote one's life in art to shock an audience.

It's not about me, it's about the music. I don't do this because I want to be a star. I don't do this because I want to make a lot of money.

Some people become artists for whatever reasons. Some of it's frivolous. And I don't think there should be any shame on that, but I think there comes a point in life where you want to offer more.

I've never been in this business to make money. I've always been in it to make good music.

I've tried to avoid the rock & roll highway and have taken the scenic route. I think all the guys have been more concerned with the music and the band's legacy than with the commercial aspects of life.

I want to create music that moves me, not just music that is going to get me famous or make someone at a label happy.

As an artist, you have to do what you feel passionate about. It has to be something you can connect with.

If you get to participate with a group of artists and make something that's really truthful, that's about the highest you can go, in my opinion.

Whenever any person in the creative field does a film, they think it is going to be of good quality or this is something people will like. The intention is always positive.

As long as I'm still growing as a musician, it keeps me inspired.

It's definitely a joy when you make a record to know you are doing it for the right reasons: You want to do it and that you think you have something valid to offer.

I want to do music, and I want that to be the highlight of everything that I do. I want that at the forefront.

When you start to think of the arts as not this thing that is going to get you somewhere in terms of becoming an artist or becoming famous or whatever it is that people do, but rather a way of making being in the world not just bearable, but fascinating, then it starts to get interesting again.

We don't play to be seen. I'm addicted to music, not audiences.

The arts are not a way to make a living.

I've never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.

Just do exactly what it is that makes you want to do what you do. The stuff I listen to in my private collection, it's what moves me, makes me want to play. I want to make other people feel like I feel when I listen to that music. Whether other people like it or criticize it - even if there's only 10 people on the planet that love it, you're touching 10 people that way.

Art for art's sake makes no more sense than gin for gin's sake.

... a canvas that I have covered is worth more than a blank canvas. My pretensions go no further; that is my right to paint, my reason for painting.

We care if people like what we did. If you're just making records for yourself, why put them out and do all these interviews and do touring? I'm a huge music fan, and this is what I do with my artistic time. It's all I really do, except hang out with my family. I value human relationships, and it's a way for me to interact with the world and feel like I'm part of something.