Graham Nash Quotes

You know, I didn't have enough money to quit my day job... the myth of the major label deal. Nowadays, you have a tour bus and a stylist and all this stuff. But back then, no way.

I was always looking to record, but how much I actually pursued it was another thing. The major labels weren't that interested in me, and the smaller labels didn't have any money to do anything.

You rarely get money out of labels, except for when they open up a budget for a project. Other than that, it's a do-or-die type thing.

Even at my biggest, I want to be writing for other artists. Even at my peak - the highest I can be as an artist - I always want to be keeping my creative juices flowing, keeping money in the bank, putting my intellectual property out there.

When I was young, I was offered my first recording contract in 1971 and was offered quite a bit of money if I would change my character and be a '70s version of Cher.

Drake was a fan before a friend. He already was a Cash Money millionaire. When opportunity came, maybe we put the most on the table. That was my thinking because I just thought that this was a very talented young man. We saw a future with him, so it was about him being comfortable.

In the history of pop music, a lot of great records cost an enormous amount of money. There used to be a time where people that had means to experiment would do it, you know?

I'm not going to go to a producer that's going to take me in a studio and charge me my whole budget and give me a fake head nod. I'm just trying to make good music. I appreciate everybody that's supporting me.

Nowadays you need so much money to be able to launch a new artist, notably in America; you would hardly believe the sums involved.

I've made money, and I've been ripped off. I've had creative freedom, and I've been pressured to make hits. I have dealt with diva behavior from crazy musicians, and I have seen genius records by wonderful artists get completely ignored. I love music. I always will.

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.

I had already been making music for my whole high school life, and '10 Day,' which took me a whole year to finish, was about working with a lot of different producers and learning all of the aspects about being a rapper, from shows to recording to studio etiquette to marketing.

Bob Hurwitz, the president of Nonesuch, the company that releases my records, is a mentor. He taught me how to assemble a script to record an album.

Eighty per cent of my time is spent on paperwork, hiring musicians, putting bands together, setting up concerts, and 20 per cent is spent on the music. That's the part that you really enjoy, but you can't afford to spend 80 per cent on your music; otherwise, it's not going to happen.

I make a lot of money off featuring, doing songs with up-and-coming artists. I can charge someone $10,000 to $15,000 to do one song.

I love doing third albums. A group makes its first album, and then the record company rushes them into the studio to make their second album. After that, they go, 'Whoa, wait a second.' They get a little more confident. They step back and say, 'Okay, now we're gonna do it.'

The record companies don't give you a chance, like in the old days when they went, 'Here's a pile of money. Go make a good record!'

When we got with Dallas Austin, he was just getting on. He was kinda like the fourth member of TLC.

I'm not just going to get a deal; I'm going to get the deal. And in my deal I got by signing with No I.D. to Def Jam, I got full creative control, the money was great, the contract was good, and I got to create the album that I wanted.

There were a few labels scouting me, but I felt like G.O.O.D. had my best interest at heart. They gave me the freedom to really do what I want, which is to expand my brand, make great music, and find ways to elevate my sound.

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.

'TTM' started off being a feature. A producer wanted me to just hop on the beat, like a Diplo type of thing. When I recorded the song, I liked it a lot, and I figured, instead of them paying me to do this, I'd rather just use this for my project, and we can just get money together.

I wanted to break into producing, so I would peddle my tracks and beats to labels. I always heard the same thing: They liked the music, but it didn't fit any of the artists on their roster.

My manager, my band members, we're all good friends. You need that because a lot of times an artist will be so sheltered he will lose touch with what the fans want.

Making records is hard work.