I was a James Brown junkie as a kid.

Find your passion, and it's no longer work.

You always have to know when to bow out. You bow out while you are on top.

I am a record executive and I shall be right there in your face with my records.

I had the chance to work with Michael Jackson who was as brilliant as they come.

I've always viewed myself as a behind-the-scenes person rather than in front of the camera.

It's really only all about music. It's not like a big rocket scientist kind of philosophy or anything.

Im one of those foolish people who believe the glory days of the record industry arent behind us. Theyre actually ahead of us.

I live for opening doors for the young generation of creators. If we do nothing else with our success, let's open up some doors.

I'm one of those foolish people who believe the glory days of the record industry aren't behind us. They're actually ahead of us.

I think of myself as a producer who tries to bring the best out of everyone, whether that be an artist, songwriter or a publicist.

Popular music has always been rooted in the blues, whether it's Adele or Led Zeppelin or Sam Cooke. It's just the beat that changes.

Acting lessons teach you to really listen to what the other person is saying because in acting it's all about responding to the lines.

World events can shape culture. Music is either a soundtrack for or a narration of changing times. And who knows how that's going to go?

Everything starts and ends with the song, and working with writers and really learning their process and craft was an invaluable experience.

Any vehicle that conveys great songs and the ability to perform them, whether it's 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys or One Direction, is all good.

Modern music and artistry would look and sound completely different if not for the groundbreaking contributions Michael Jackson gifted to the world.

The kids I talk to are convinced their generation will make the best music. And the greatest artists have yet to be discovered. I walk around with that thought every day.

I have little children, 5 1/2 and 1 1/2, and I thought I should document my life, because by the time they're in the mid-20s, they'll be able to say, 'This is what he did.'

When I'm hiring someone I look for magic and a spark. Little things that intuitively give me a gut feeling that this person will go to the ends of the earth to accomplish the task at hand.

I'm not a good Samaritan, I'm a businessman... The goal is to read and react. If we sign an artist that has potential for a shelf life way out in the distance, then we'll stay. But if not, then we won't.

The deepest and most sincere feeling I get is when I meet an artist and they have that steel in their eyes and they have that fire and that passion and all they want is to be a star and to hear themselves on the radio.

Listen, we're still selling stardom. That doesn't go away because MTV decides they can't play videos or they want to program themselves more as a traditional T.V. station. Vevo and YouTube are like MTV online, and on demand.

I'm personally looking for artists that are along the lines of today's pop stars. Whether it be a Rihanna or a Justin Bieber or a Kanye West or a Beyonce or a Lady Gaga, I'm looking for talent that's like that, that's what I love.

There are no more heroes in America. Because of the Internet, heroism has become momentary and within seconds someone who we should be thinking about will be replaced in people's minds with news that Beyonce lip-synched at the inauguration.

Trust is a big word for me. Loyalty and trust, for me, are everything. It's the core of what I'm about and what the people around me hopefully are about. It's a certain thing that gives you a sense of security. It's the biggest factor in everything I do.

We don't sign an artist to fill a void, ever. I'll never find a Taylor Swift. You can't find a new Madonna, you cannot find a Prince, a Bob Marley, a John Lennon. You won't find another Kanye West. We simply deal with people as they walk in, and we say we either love them or we don't.

You need to know what makes artists tick. Having been through the process myself as a musician, since I was an early teen, gave me an advantage - understanding them from their point of view, because it's about them, it's not about you - it's their vision and what they're capable of achieving, and you're the conduit.

It's hard to predict and to say what goes on inside the minds of an artist, but that's what makes them an artist. That sense of creativity. That thing that makes them tick is probably the very thing that pushes them to the extremes that sometimes can cause, you know, fatalities and things that, you know, that end up not being good.

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