Most artists have contracts directly with the record company, and when they do music, all of their music is owned by the record company. But I did mine through a production company.
I always had this energy level that made me want to come to New York.
Only a certain number of people go to a store over the period of a year. When a person sees my record on the shelf, it eliminates someone else's record from being sold. It's about continuing to try to find new ways to sell records.
When I was recording from '70 to '82, I always played piano and laid the tracks down. But I used to talk to the other musicians while the track was playing.
The majors, they have to control the distribution, the record outlets, the radio and, in some cases, even the venues. And downloading and pirating have also put pressure on the majors.
Now I get exposure first with people directly in the clubs. This is a unique situation for me.
