--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When some early Tom Waits demos were…" description: "\"“When some early Tom Waits demos were released against his wishes in the early 1990s, he is supposed to have said: ‘Demo tapes are like baby pictures, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/kirk-lake-254060_song_when-some-early-tom-waits-demos-were-rel_2578206.jpg" --- # When some early Tom Waits demos were released against his… ![“When some early Tom Waits demos were released against his wishes in the early 1990s, he is supposed to have said: ‘Demo tapes are like baby pictures, everybody’s got them, you just don’t want them passed around.” quote by Kirk Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/kirk-lake-254060_song_when-some-early-tom-waits-demos-were-rel_2578206.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/kirk-lake-254060_song_when-some-early-tom-waits-demos-were-rel_2578206.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/kirk-lake-254060_song_when-some-early-tom-waits-demos-were-rel_2578206.jpg) > ““When some early Tom Waits demos were released against his wishes in the early 1990s, he is supposed to have said: ‘Demo tapes are like baby pictures, everybody’s got them, you just don’t want them passed around.”” Kirk Lake ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Demo tapes are like baby pictures: everyone has them, but people often don't want them shared. **In simple terms:** Demo recordings are private, like baby photos. Key Takeaway Respect privacy of early creative work. Themes music privacy creativity artifacts sharing Mood humorous reflective cautious Type music:true privacy:true creativity:true artifacts:true sharing:true When to use this quote - record label negotiations - artist interviews - fan forums - archival projects - legal discussions Key Concepts intellectual property artist vulnerability early drafts Questions to Reflect On - When should early works be made public? - What value do demo recordings hold? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize about artist preferences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [I used to make demo tapes with cats that rocked with Russell Simmons and people like that. The history goes so far back; I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/i-used-to-make-demo-tapes-with-cats-that-rocked-with-russell-simmons/) Gza > [If people are really excited about their music, and that's their primary motivation, then that comes through in demo tapes. That's the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-ginn/if-people-are-really-excited-about-their-music-and-that-s-their/) [Greg Ginn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-ginn/) > [I'd been trying to do this since I was 15, sending out the demo tapes and doing all the things that everyone told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-hart/i-d-been-trying-to-do-this-since-i-was-15-sending-out-the-demo-tapes/) [Beth Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-hart/) > [They wanted to hear more, so thats what motivated me to keep doing it. I got in the studio. Ive been through so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludacris/they-wanted-to-hear-more-so-thats-what-motivated-me-to-keep-doing-it/) [Ludacris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludacris/) > [I started off doing street team work for No Limit and Def Jam. I was the waterboy, the scrub. I was passing out demo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/i-started-off-doing-street-team-work-for-no-limit-and-def-jam-i-was/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [At fourteen, I started sending out demo tapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ll-cool-j/at-fourteen-i-started-sending-out-demo-tapes/) [LL Cool J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ll-cool-j/) > [In 1980, I moved to Chicago, and I recorded demo tapes for my friends' bands, and in 1981, the first Big Black record -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-albini/in-1980-i-moved-to-chicago-and-i-recorded-demo-tapes-for-my-friends/) [Steve Albini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-albini/) > [Opinions are like demo tapes. I don't want to hear yours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/opinions-are-like-demo-tapes-i-don-t-want-to-hear-yours/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [“Like one of his heroes, Tom Waits, whenever Yorke feels like his songwriting is getting too comfortable or stale, he’ll pick up an instrument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/like-one-of-his-heroes-tom-waits-whenever-yorke-feels-like-his/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [What else don’t women like besides the Three Stooges? Tom Waits. Being hurt physically or emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klausner/what-else-don-t-women-like-besides-the-three-stooges-tom-waits-being/) [Julie Klausner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klausner/) > [The first time I heard Tom Waits, it was like everything just flipped. It was just this fascination with him. My cousin showed me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hozier/the-first-time-i-heard-tom-waits-it-was-like-everything-just-flipped/) [Hozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hozier/) > [I would just think that I would remember modeling for the cover of an album with Tom Waits, who I've always loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-peterson/i-would-just-think-that-i-would-remember-modeling-for-the-cover-of-an/) [Cassandra Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-peterson/) > [One of the things that's kind of persistent is that I am the model on the cover of Tom Waits' album, Small Change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-peterson/one-of-the-things-that-s-kind-of-persistent-is-that-i-am-the-model-on/) [Cassandra Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-peterson/) > [When I'm in the car sometimes it's like, 'Yeah, man, just put on the pop music.' You know what I mean? I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-greenfield/when-i-m-in-the-car-sometimes-it-s-like-yeah-man-just-put-on-the-pop/) [Max Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-greenfield/) ## More Song quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [ “Downloading's the same as what I used to do. I used to tape the charts of the songs I liked \[off the radio\]. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gallagher/downloading-s-the-same-as-what-i-used-to-do-i-used-to-tape-the-charts/) [Liam Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gallagher/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. 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