Derek Sivers

MusicThoughts update : inspiring quotes for music-makers

2009-06-09

Musicians, producers, artists, and engineers, check out the newest update of MusicThoughts.

Since I was 18, I’d always save inspiring quotes about making music from interviews with my heroes.

Any time I was feeling stuck on a new song, disappointed by my career, or lost perspective on a studio mixdown, I’d lay down and read slowly through these favorite quotes.

Stuck on some lyrics, trying too hard to accurately express something, a Brian Eno quote let me be less specific, and more evocative.

Almost everything John Cage said would make me look at a dilemma in a new way.

Feeling I couldn’t match up to a great start, a Picasso quote was a great reminder that feeling is universal.

When I was trying to finish my album, but just not satisfied, it was reassuring to know that neither was John Lennon, and his records turned out OK.

Then there’s that Kurt Vonnegut quote which applies to so many things in life.

In 1999, I made MusicThoughts.com as a place for everyone to share their inspiring quotes about making music, or to turn to in those moments when they’re in need of new inspiration.

In 2008, I decided I wanted all of my future websites to be multi-lingual, so I thought MusicThoughts would be a great place to start. I hired translators to translate all the quotes into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese. I also hired three different webdesigners to make it look better.

Now I’ve approved hundreds of new quotes submitted by others, paid the translators to translate them into all 10 languages, and updated the site again.

Go to MusicThoughts.com Enjoy!