--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When no one's buying your records, it's…" description: "\"When no one's buying your records, it's easy to justify selling a song. But once you start selling records, you can't really justify having two songs i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/patrick-carney-19765_buying_when-no-one-s-buying-your-records-it-s-e_2491430.png" --- # When no one's buying your records, it's easy to justify… ![“When no one's buying your records, it's easy to justify selling a song. But once you start selling records, you can't really justify having two songs in Cadillac commercials. It looks greedy. And it is greedy. This whole music thing should be about music.” quote by Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/patrick-carney-19765_buying_when-no-one-s-buying-your-records-it-s-e_2491430.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/patrick-carney-19765_buying_when-no-one-s-buying-your-records-it-s-e_2491430.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/patrick-carney-19765_buying_when-no-one-s-buying-your-records-it-s-e_2491430.png) > “When no one's buying your records, it's easy to justify selling a song. But once you start selling records, you can't really justify having two songs in Cadillac commercials. It looks greedy. And it is greedy. This whole music thing should be about music.” [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When you profit from music, you may rationalize compromising artistic integrity, but it reveals greed and shifts focus from art to commerce. **In simple terms:** Money can corrupt artistic motives. Key Takeaway Prioritize art over profit. Themes integrity commercialism art greed Mood conflicted reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - musician - record label - advertising - personal branding Key Concepts ethical compromise artistic integrity industry pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance financial needs with artistic values? - What limits would you set on commercial collaborations? A Different Perspective It may be hard to resist lucrative deals that conflict with values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [Basically, I didn't want to sing anything for the sake of singing it. There were some songs where I really wailed, but because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-tveit/basically-i-didn-t-want-to-sing-anything-for-the-sake-of-singing-it/) [Aaron Tveit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-tveit/) > [So many things for me are unfortunate in the commercialization of something that is special. It's like when Led Zeppelin appears in Cadillac commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/so-many-things-for-me-are-unfortunate-in-the-commercialization-of/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [The wonderful thing about having your songs on the radio is that people are going to go out to your concerts and buy your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcguinn/the-wonderful-thing-about-having-your-songs-on-the-radio-is-that/) [Roger McGuinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcguinn/) > [When we were writing for Panic whether we knew it or not, having that name over the songs we were trying to do made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-ross/when-we-were-writing-for-panic-whether-we-knew-it-or-not-having-that/) [Ryan Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-ross/) > [I like having songs that go from the personal to the kind of inter-relational, universal, because everything comes back to micro/macro and everything's tied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/i-like-having-songs-that-go-from-the-personal-to-the-kind-of-inter/) [Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/) > [It's like these songs are your babies and you don't want anybody to think your babies are ugly! 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I don't seek out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/i-m-trying-to-separate-myself-from-other-people-by-having-songs-that/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) > [My little brother and I took piano lessons at a young age and played music together later on in life just to play around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/my-little-brother-and-i-took-piano-lessons-at-a-young-age-and-played/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) > [We really like having songs where we think the arrangement is just as important as the melodies, even though they're typically not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-shadows/we-really-like-having-songs-where-we-think-the-arrangement-is-just-as/) [M. Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-shadows/) > [It's fun having songs about parties and gigolos, but I really wanted to use my music as a form of art. 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Friday's in New Jersey than tool around at a place that sells $40 cheeseburgers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/i-d-literally-rather-hang-out-at-the-t-g-i-friday-s-in-new-jersey/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [In theory, when you're working with a record label, you're just borrowing their money. And that's basically how the record industry works, right? It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/in-theory-when-you-re-working-with-a-record-label-you-re-just/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [The owner of Spotify is worth something like 3 billion dollars ... he's richer than Paul McCartney and he's 30 and he's never written a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/the-owner-of-spotify-is-worth-something-like-3-billion-dollars-he-s/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [ \[Justin Bieber\]'s rich, right? 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The same people that get driven crazy by hip hop are the same people that probably listen to the type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/well-you-know-what-the-same-people-that-get-driven-crazy-by-hip-hop/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [There is so much good music in the U.S. and there is just a small section that gets recognised at the Grammys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/there-is-so-much-good-music-in-the-u-s-and-there-is-just-a-small/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [And once the music is out there, when you're selling a record and selling music and people are going to do whatever they want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/and-once-the-music-is-out-there-when-you-re-selling-a-record-and/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [I was real into Devo, Pavement, Captain Beefheart, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/i-was-real-into-devo-pavement-captain-beefheart-and-the-jon-spencer/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [As soon as you start mixing up politics and some sort of ethical code in music, you've got it all wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carney/as-soon-as-you-start-mixing-up-politics-and-some-sort-of-ethical-code/) [Patrick Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carney/) > [I wasn't raised super-poor, but my parents got divorced, and my mother didn't have much money. 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