--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never written one note or word of…" description: "\"I've never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.\" — Brian Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/brian-wilson-8420_making-money_i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-m_3055705.jpg" --- # I've never written one note or word of music simply… ![“I've never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.” quote by Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/brian-wilson-8420_making-money_i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-m_3055705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/brian-wilson-8420_making-money_i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-m_3055705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/brian-wilson-8420_making-money_i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-m_3055705.jpg) > “I've never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.” [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He avoids composing music solely for profit, valuing artistic integrity over commercial gain **In simple terms:** He won’t write music just for money Key Takeaway Prioritize creative authenticity over profit Themes artistic integrity commercialism creativity Mood reflective determined Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting - personal projects - independent releases - budget constraints Key Concepts music industry artistic motivation financial pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure success beyond money? - What compromises are acceptable for artistic goals? A Different Perspective May limit financial opportunities if not balanced with market realities ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The computer on the desk of the student in school knows no history. It is not like a book, worn at the edges by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-esolen/the-computer-on-the-desk-of-the-student-in-school-knows-no-history-it/) [Anthony M. Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-m-esolen/) > [The name of the human who is written in this note shall die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsugumi-ohba/the-name-of-the-human-who-is-written-in-this-note-shall-die/) [Tsugumi Ohba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsugumi-ohba/) > [“In a world of digital copies, remaining a hand-written note, a poetry lulled in an orchard of His Grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debatrayee-banerjee/in-a-world-of-digital-copies-remaining-a-hand-written-note-a-poetry/) [Debatrayee Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debatrayee-banerjee/) > [I have never written a note I didn't mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-satie/i-have-never-written-a-note-i-didn-t-mean/) [Erik Satie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-satie/) > [I like all kinds of music. But I simply love romantic songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanishk-bagchi/i-like-all-kinds-of-music-but-i-simply-love-romantic-songs/) [Tanishk Bagchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanishk-bagchi/) > [Reggae music isn't 'right now music,' it's simply 'music' - music that touches your spirit and keeps you dancing can never be outdated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedella-marley/reggae-music-isn-t-right-now-music-it-s-simply-music-music-that/) [Cedella Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedella-marley/) > [Music then is simply the result of the effects of Love on rhythm and harmony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/music-then-is-simply-the-result-of-the-effects-of-love-on-rhythm-and/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You don't need to be a performer in order to dive into the sensory experience of music. Simply get as close as you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-hahn/you-don-t-need-to-be-a-performer-in-order-to-dive-into-the-sensory/) [Hilary Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-hahn/) > [I came through folk music simply because it was easy to get into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-came-through-folk-music-simply-because-it-was-easy-to-get-into-it/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I discovered that the most interesting music of all was made by simply lining the loops in unison, and letting them slowly shift out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-discovered-that-the-most-interesting-music-of-all-was-made-by/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [Music is not simply an orchestration of something, but it's also not something as trivial as honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hunger/music-is-not-simply-an-orchestration-of-something-but-it-s-also-not/) [Sophie Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hunger/) > [I've always loved music, very simply, as a vehicle to express myself and that hasn't changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-coverdale/i-ve-always-loved-music-very-simply-as-a-vehicle-to-express-myself/) [David Coverdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-coverdale/) > [“Music doesn't get in. Music is already in. Music simply uncovers what is there, makes you feel emotions that you didn't necessarily know you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/music-doesn-t-get-in-music-is-already-in-music-simply-uncovers-what/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Half the stuff I've written was written when I was half asleep watching the David Letterman show when some boring actress was on talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/half-the-stuff-i-ve-written-was-written-when-i-was-half-asleep/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) ## More by Brian Wilson > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [“Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you'll suck forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/beware-the-lollipop-of-mediocrity-lick-it-once-and-you-ll-suck-forever/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [The idea of taking a song, envisioning the overall sound in my head and then bringing the arrangement to life in the studio...well, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/the-idea-of-taking-a-song-envisioning-the-overall-sound-in-my-head/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I listen to oldies but goodies stations, '60s and '70s music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-listen-to-oldies-but-goodies-stations-60s-and-70s-music/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [You're called a genius by people, and then your whole life you become the part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/you-re-called-a-genius-by-people-and-then-your-whole-life-you-become/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [“I believe that music is God’s voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-believe-that-music-is-god-s-voice/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I met Paul in 1967, Ringo in 1985, and I saw George Harrison in a nightclub somewhere in L. A. I never met John.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-met-paul-in-1967-ringo-in-1985-and-i-saw-george-harrison-in-a/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [All of the artists did such a beautiful job I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honored that 'God Only Knows' was chosen. 'God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/all-of-the-artists-did-such-a-beautiful-job-i-can-t-thank-them-enough/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I would listen to Little Richard and Fats Domino and Chuck Berry, and I would listen to how they played their riffs, and after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-would-listen-to-little-richard-and-fats-domino-and-chuck-berry-and/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [You say how you feel, and songs don't lie. Songs are the most honest form of human expression there is--there's nothing that lies about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/you-say-how-you-feel-and-songs-don-t-lie-songs-are-the-most-honest/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [My brother Carl taught me how to play bass. I'm a self-taught keyboard player, though - I figured out our harmonies at the piano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/my-brother-carl-taught-me-how-to-play-bass-i-m-a-self-taught-keyboard/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [Freedom and Liberty cannot exist without Individual Responsibilty. Failure to exercise Individual Responsibilty forfeits your right to self-governance and delivers it to Government which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/freedom-and-liberty-cannot-exist-without-individual-responsibilty/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [There's no outdoing The Beatles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/there-s-no-outdoing-the-beatles/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I'm just a shy and retreating kind of person. Sometimes I get in a real talkative mood - but not very often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-m-just-a-shy-and-retreating-kind-of-person-sometimes-i-get-in-a/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [Being single is like liking a Phil Spector record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/being-single-is-like-liking-a-phil-spector-record/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) [Explore all 81 Brian Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) ## More Making money quotes > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [Ninety nine per cent of the time, for anyone who wins or makes money, it makes them happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-blessed/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-time-for-anyone-who-wins-or-makes-money/) [Brian Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-blessed/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [Nigel Farage has spent his entire political career making money from dog whistle politics. If there's a dog whistle to be blown, he'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humza-yousaf/nigel-farage-has-spent-his-entire-political-career-making-money-from/) [Humza Yousaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humza-yousaf/) > [Making money isn't the backbone of our guiding purpose; it is the by-product of our guiding purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/making-money-isn-t-the-backbone-of-our-guiding-purpose-it-is-the-by/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-doe/innocent-is-that-supposed-to-be-funny-an-obese-man-a-disgusting-man/) [John Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-doe/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The impresario function is about intervening with the company's more administrative management structure. It is about trying to establish a sense of boundaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-impresario-function-is-about-intervening-with-the-company-s-more/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [In the Machine Age, the company itself became a machine - a machine for making money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/in-the-machine-age-the-company-itself-became-a-machine-a-machine-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [It's silly to have as one's sole object in life just making money, accumulating wealth. I work because I enjoy what I'm doing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/it-s-silly-to-have-as-one-s-sole-object-in-life-just-making-money/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [I'm loving life, making money doing what I love to do, making good money and living comfortably. I drive a corvette and live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-drake/i-m-loving-life-making-money-doing-what-i-love-to-do-making-good/) [Eli Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-drake/) [Browse all 1,765 Making money quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-music-simply-because-i-think/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Making money" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-music-simply-because-i-think/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/brian-wilson-8420_making-money_i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-m_3055705.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/brian-wilson-8420_making-money_i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-m_3055705.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/brian-wilson-8420_making-money_i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-m_3055705.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.” — Brian Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brian Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've never written one note or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-music-simply-because-i-think/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-ve-never-written-one-note-or-word-of-music-simply-because-i-think/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```