--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imitation is being rewarded. They're…" description: "\"Imitation is being rewarded. They're learning that if you fit right in the mold, you get rewarded. Music is no longer a form of expression - it's a mea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-watt-32686_expression_imitation-is-being-rewarded-they-re-lear_1244005.jpg" --- # Imitation is being rewarded. They're learning that if you… ![“Imitation is being rewarded. They're learning that if you fit right in the mold, you get rewarded. Music is no longer a form of expression - it's a means to a lifestyle.” quote by Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-watt-32686_expression_imitation-is-being-rewarded-they-re-lear_1244005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-watt-32686_expression_imitation-is-being-rewarded-they-re-lear_1244005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-watt-32686_expression_imitation-is-being-rewarded-they-re-lear_1244005.jpg) > “Imitation is being rewarded. They're learning that if you fit right in the mold, you get rewarded. Music is no longer a form of expression - it's a means to a lifestyle.” [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conformity is rewarded, turning music into a lifestyle rather than pure expression. **In simple terms:** Music is now about fitting in, not expressing. Key Takeaway Question the status quo. Themes conformity music culture expression Mood critical reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - music industry - creative work - personal expression Key Concepts social pressure authenticity Questions to Reflect On - Are you creating for yourself or for approval? - How can you reclaim authentic expression? A Different Perspective Reward systems can stifle originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Lifestyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [“Music is no longer tasted it is swallowed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/music-is-no-longer-tasted-it-is-swallowed/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Alternative music is no longer alternative once it’s in the mainstream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/alternative-music-is-no-longer-alternative-once-it-s-in-the-mainstream/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [“It’s significant that we’ve been building musical instruments more than twice as long as we’ve been brewing alcohol. In The Origins of Music, published…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-evans/it-s-significant-that-we-ve-been-building-musical-instruments-more/) [Robert Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-evans/) > [Singing is a trick to get people to listen to music for longer than they would ordinarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/singing-is-a-trick-to-get-people-to-listen-to-music-for-longer-than/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I've been making Bass Communion music longer than any kind of other music. I don't know if you picked up a copy of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wilson/i-ve-been-making-bass-communion-music-longer-than-any-kind-of-other/) [Steven Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wilson/) > [Perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-perlman/perhaps-our-task-in-this-shaky-fast-changing-bewildering-world-in/) [Itzhak Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/itzhak-perlman/) > [It's very nice to see when somebody who wanted to work hard and is willing to put the work in gets rewarded for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-lendl/it-s-very-nice-to-see-when-somebody-who-wanted-to-work-hard-and-is/) [Ivan Lendl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-lendl/) > [“It’s like I did something really god damn fucking virtuous in a past life to be rewarded with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigal-ehrlich/it-s-like-i-did-something-really-god-damn-fucking-virtuous-in-a-past/) [Sigal Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigal-ehrlich/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [I think efforts sometimes don't get rewarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-seung-gi/i-think-efforts-sometimes-don-t-get-rewarded/) [Lee Seung-gi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-seung-gi/) > [I get rewarded virtually every day with something amazing to see - whether it's a new shot, a miniature sweater, someone who's figured out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-selick/i-get-rewarded-virtually-every-day-with-something-amazing-to-see/) [Henry Selick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-selick/) > [I'm an idealist. You do things your way well enough, for long enough, you'll get rewarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-zayn/i-m-an-idealist-you-do-things-your-way-well-enough-for-long-enough/) [Sami Zayn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-zayn/) > [It's not like basketball, football or rugby, where they judge you on potential. In this sport it's about 'what have you done lately' -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-blaydes/it-s-not-like-basketball-football-or-rugby-where-they-judge-you-on/) [Curtis Blaydes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-blaydes/) > [The things that get rewarded, get done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leboeuf/the-things-that-get-rewarded-get-done/) [Michael LeBoeuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leboeuf/) > [When fans know they are being rewarded, they are more engaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamillionaire/when-fans-know-they-are-being-rewarded-they-are-more-engaged/) [Chamillionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamillionaire/) ## More by Mike Watt > [I want to be a student for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/i-want-to-be-a-student-for-life/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [The only thing new is you finding out about something. Like nothing's really new, but you reinvent it for yourself and find your inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/the-only-thing-new-is-you-finding-out-about-something-like-nothing-s/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [Baby boomers selling your rumors of their history, forcein' youth away from the truth of what's real today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/baby-boomers-selling-your-rumors-of-their-history-forcein-youth-away/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [The engine room really is a metaphor for my head, and all the things bangin' around, and I think I share that with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/the-engine-room-really-is-a-metaphor-for-my-head-and-all-the-things/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [You need bad things to make good things. It’s like with farming— if you want to grow a good crop, you need a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/you-need-bad-things-to-make-good-things-it-s-like-with-farming-if-you/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [You know there was always a confusion that punk was a style of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/you-know-there-was-always-a-confusion-that-punk-was-a-style-of-music/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [These hurts I have are my fault but I'm sure gonna learn from it and hopefully anyone reading this will too. The lesson: stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/these-hurts-i-have-are-my-fault-but-i-m-sure-gonna-learn-from-it-and/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [Life is definitely not a rehearsal, this is it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/life-is-definitely-not-a-rehearsal-this-is-it/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [I think punk rock, especially for me, was a big middle finger to this whole talent thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/i-think-punk-rock-especially-for-me-was-a-big-middle-finger-to-this/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [Punk is not really a style of music. It was more like a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/punk-is-not-really-a-style-of-music-it-was-more-like-a-state-of-mind/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [Some things never die, and they often get way better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/some-things-never-die-and-they-often-get-way-better/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [There was a thing during those times in the '80s where it was like Sex Pistols then Nirvana and nothing in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/there-was-a-thing-during-those-times-in-the-80s-where-it-was-like-sex/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [I have a little name. That's why people can remember it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/i-have-a-little-name-that-s-why-people-can-remember-it/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) > [I wanna try and stay a student for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-watt/i-wanna-try-and-stay-a-student-for-life/) [Mike Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) [Explore all 15 Mike Watt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-watt/) ## More Expression quotes > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Our fashion for us, it's an expression; first of all of life, I put all of myself in my fashion. Sometimes it's good, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/our-fashion-for-us-it-s-an-expression-first-of-all-of-life-i-put-all/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Early experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/early-experience-shapes-the-structure-and-function-of-the-brain-this/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. Since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/singing-has-always-seemed-to-me-the-most-perfect-means-of-expression/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nick looked vaguely homicidal, but that was sort of his default expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/nick-looked-vaguely-homicidal-but-that-was-sort-of-his-default/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [They are the gateway for our modern esthetic development, the prophets of the new time. They are most of all, the primitives of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/they-are-the-gateway-for-our-modern-esthetic-development-the-prophets/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [The mountain receives our expressions and becomes part of us; we imprint our memories upon it and trust it with out dearest divisions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/the-mountain-receives-our-expressions-and-becomes-part-of-us-we/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [In science, the most exciting expression isn’t ‘Eureka!’ It’s ‘Huh?’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hawley/in-science-the-most-exciting-expression-isn-t-eureka-it-s-huh/) Michael Hawley > [A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/a-commitment-to-lifelong-learning-is-a-natural-expression-of-the/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 5,024 Expression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imitation is being rewarded. 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