--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An artist in 2014 who is thinking about…" description: "\"An artist in 2014 who is thinking about album sales is either sadly deluded or has to make so many commercial compromises that it sort of takes the joy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/moby-549_albums_an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about_301000.png" --- # An artist in 2014 who is thinking about album sales is… ![“An artist in 2014 who is thinking about album sales is either sadly deluded or has to make so many commercial compromises that it sort of takes the joy out of making music.” quote by Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/moby-549_albums_an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about_301000.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/moby-549_albums_an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about_301000.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/moby-549_albums_an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about_301000.png) > “An artist in 2014 who is thinking about album sales is either sadly deluded or has to make so many commercial compromises that it sort of takes the joy out of making music.” [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on sales in art leads to compromise, diminishing creative joy and authenticity. **In simple terms:** Sales focus erodes artistic joy. Key Takeaway Prioritize creative integrity over commercial pressure. Themes art music authenticity Mood candid critical Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - album production - songwriting - live performance - marketing strategy Key Concepts commercial compromise creative joy artist mindset Questions to Reflect On - Is artistic joy worth sacrificing for profit? - How to balance authenticity with market demands? A Different Perspective Commercial success may be necessary for sustainability, creating tension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Albums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/albums/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Making Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-music/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I give you everything you want as an artist, for so long. Consistency. Wordplay. Wittiness. You can check the checklist. Only thing I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jadakiss/i-give-you-everything-you-want-as-an-artist-for-so-long-consistency/) [Jadakiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jadakiss/) > [I don't do albums for album sales. I just do it as a conversation piece and a business card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/statik-selektah/i-don-t-do-albums-for-album-sales-i-just-do-it-as-a-conversation/) [Statik Selektah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/statik-selektah/) > [When you have a very hot single there is no reason why it can't drive album sales. People fall off and come back on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-guarini/when-you-have-a-very-hot-single-there-is-no-reason-why-it-can-t-drive/) [Justin Guarini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-guarini/) > [Kids are taking music for free all the time. They have Spotify, Pandora... The record companies aren't making the kind of music that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-d-lee/kids-are-taking-music-for-free-all-the-time-they-have-spotify-pandora/) [Malcolm D. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-d-lee/) > [ I received an award for 25 million in \[album\] sales the night before the bus accident \[in 1990\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/i-received-an-award-for-25-million-in-album-sales-the-night-before/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [I have very mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I’m concerned that the rampant downloading of my copyright-protected material over the Internet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/i-have-very-mixed-feelings-about-it-on-one-hand-i-m-concerned-that/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [Success has a lot to do with luck, but it also involves a lot of real hard work. The thing about success is you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-cantrell/success-has-a-lot-to-do-with-luck-but-it-also-involves-a-lot-of-real/) [Jerry Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-cantrell/) > [I'm envious of 'Glee' - artists turned their libraries over for free because they knew it would lead to album sales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-f-goldberg/i-m-envious-of-glee-artists-turned-their-libraries-over-for-free/) [Adam F. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-f-goldberg/) > [If you submit to the ocean, you drown. If you try to control the ocean, then you're deluded. You learn how to live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-restall-orr/if-you-submit-to-the-ocean-you-drown-if-you-try-to-control-the-ocean/) [Emma Restall Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-restall-orr/) > [“It is Nature that causes all movement. Deluded by the ego, the fool harbors the perception that says "I did it".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veda-vyasa/it-is-nature-that-causes-all-movement-deluded-by-the-ego-the-fool/) Veda Vyasa > [The world being illusive, one must be deluded in some way if one is to triumph in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-world-being-illusive-one-must-be-deluded-in-some-way-if-one-is-to/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Do not be deluded by the abstract word Freedom. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/do-not-be-deluded-by-the-abstract-word-freedom-whose-freedom-not-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I suppose I really seemed mad, then; but it was only through the awfulness of having said nothing but the truth, and being thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-suppose-i-really-seemed-mad-then-but-it-was-only-through-the/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Men are constantly attracted and deluded by two opposite charms: the charm of competence which is engendered by mathematics and everything akin to mathematics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/men-are-constantly-attracted-and-deluded-by-two-opposite-charms-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) ## More by Moby > [If Nirvana had remained a small, underground punk rock band, Kurt Cobain would still be alive. And he'd probably be living in Seattle, getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/if-nirvana-had-remained-a-small-underground-punk-rock-band-kurt/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [A great song is a great song, whether it's on vinyl or CD or cassette or reel to reel or mp3. Then again, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/a-great-song-is-a-great-song-whether-it-s-on-vinyl-or-cd-or-cassette/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [When I dj at big venues I try to play tracks that I would want to hear if I were e'd up in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-i-dj-at-big-venues-i-try-to-play-tracks-that-i-would-want-to/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [The good thing about not being drop-dead gorgeous is that as time passes, I don't have much to worry about. I have friends who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/the-good-thing-about-not-being-drop-dead-gorgeous-is-that-as-time/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [When you look at the consequences of climate change, at rainforest deforestation, at antibiotic resistance, these are not necessarily political issues, but rather issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-you-look-at-the-consequences-of-climate-change-at-rainforest/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [What I love about making albums in the 21st century is that so few people buy albums! I can make an album without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/what-i-love-about-making-albums-in-the-21st-century-is-that-so-few/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Factory-farm lobbyists are so powerful and so well funded and they do everything in their power to hide the truth about farming. They keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/factory-farm-lobbyists-are-so-powerful-and-so-well-funded-and-they-do/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [What makes me feel old is having no hair on the top of my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/what-makes-me-feel-old-is-having-no-hair-on-the-top-of-my-head/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Up until I started working with him, I had thought that music was a nice thing that I enjoyed and liked making, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/up-until-i-started-working-with-him-i-had-thought-that-music-was-a/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I'm obsessed with politics, and I talk about it any chance I can get. I have strong opinions about how the world should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-m-obsessed-with-politics-and-i-talk-about-it-any-chance-i-can-get-i/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [As I wake its kaleidoscopic mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/as-i-wake-its-kaleidoscopic-mind/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Even love is goin' 'round. You can't ignore what is goin' 'round](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/even-love-is-goin-round-you-can-t-ignore-what-is-goin-round/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [“I had an epiphany a few years ago when I was out at a celebrity party and it suddenly dawned on me that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-had-an-epiphany-a-few-years-ago-when-i-was-out-at-a-celebrity-party/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I see 'Ahab's Wife' as offering an alternative vision to](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-see-ahab-s-wife-as-offering-an-alternative-vision-to/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I think that, for a lot of us, the closer we get to showing people who we really are, that's where we feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-think-that-for-a-lot-of-us-the-closer-we-get-to-showing-people-who/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) [Explore all 483 Moby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) ## More Albums quotes > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [It's been really fun to see with each album when I change to see the fans of the show emulate my style and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/it-s-been-really-fun-to-see-with-each-album-when-i-change-to-see-the/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [The weird thing was that Soft Cell was supposed to have come and gone before I started the album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/the-weird-thing-was-that-soft-cell-was-supposed-to-have-come-and-gone/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) > [I believe in full albums, and whatever comes out of those full albums will come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-ricch/i-believe-in-full-albums-and-whatever-comes-out-of-those-full-albums/) [Roddy Ricch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-ricch/) > [Doing my own album provided me the opportunity to say whatever I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-marx/doing-my-own-album-provided-me-the-opportunity-to-say-whatever-i/) [Richard Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-marx/) > [The album is a definite departure. I haven't written original material before, except for one song on my first album, but Elvis and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-krall/the-album-is-a-definite-departure-i-haven-t-written-original-material/) [Diana Krall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-krall/) > [I never do any album to beat it. I do it to extend it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-never-do-any-album-to-beat-it-i-do-it-to-extend-it/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [I love Katy Perry! She gave me a song for my second album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/i-love-katy-perry-she-gave-me-a-song-for-my-second-album/) [Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/) > [If you're going to reach for it, reach all the way for it. Albums like 'Purple Rain' and 'Thriller' and those kind of records,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-sitek/if-you-re-going-to-reach-for-it-reach-all-the-way-for-it-albums-like/) [Dave Sitek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-sitek/) > [I'll put out an album, and people review it, and some people love it, and some people tear it apart. By nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/i-ll-put-out-an-album-and-people-review-it-and-some-people-love-it/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) > [I've been connected to the most culturally important albums of the past four years, the most influential artists of the past ten years. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-ve-been-connected-to-the-most-culturally-important-albums-of-the/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [George Winston piano albums have been my go-to since junior high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sacca/george-winston-piano-albums-have-been-my-go-to-since-junior-high/) [Chris Sacca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sacca/) > [Someone told me once that Lucinda Williams takes six years between albums, and that's what stuck to me; it's like, you really are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/someone-told-me-once-that-lucinda-williams-takes-six-years-between/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50,000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-knopfler/now-i-m-having-to-live-with-sales-of-around-50-000-per-album-but-i-m/) [David Knopfler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-knopfler/) [Browse all 2,275 Albums quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/albums/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An artist in 2014 who is thinking about album sales is either sadly deluded or has to make so many commercial compromises that it sort of takes the joy out of making music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Moby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about-album-sales-is-either-sadly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Albums" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about-album-sales-is-either-sadly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/moby-549_albums_an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about_301000.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/moby-549_albums_an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about_301000.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/moby-549_albums_an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about_301000.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An artist in 2014 who is thinking about album sales is either sadly deluded or has to make so many…” — Moby", "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": "Moby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An artist in 2014 who is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about-album-sales-is-either-sadly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about-album-sales-is-either-sadly/#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 } } ] } ```