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It's like half the campaign of selling a record is trying to convince people that you're an artist. Well, I am an artist. This is what I do.

You want to sell records, but if you want to call yourself an artist, your job is how you express yourself.

I was an artist, I was executive producer on my first album, so I've always had to manage both. I couldn't get a record deal. It wasn't by choice - I couldn't get a record deal, so I had to figure it out.

At the end of the day, if you don't have a record contract, a studio or a guitar, you can still write songs. You're still an artist. That's something no one can take away.

I don't think you need a record deal to write songs. You don't need any other reason than you want to do it. It's a far cry from why some people do music today. They make it to order, which is pretty horrible.

The biggest difference between me and other artists out there is that they'll put anything out to sell a record or sell a ticket.

That's my favorite subject because it really levels the playing field for artists these days. You don't have to sell out to the record company. You don't have to get a five hundred thousand dollars, or whatever, and pay them back for the rest of your life to record a record.

Record contracts are just like - I'm gonna say the word - slavery. I would tell any young artist... don't sign.

I had a very unusual contract. Most artists actually pay for their record dates and it comes out of their royalties. I paid for nothing.