Quotes from Jack Conte

In YouTube's early days, my band Pomplamoose was making a living by releasing videos on it, which drove iTunes sales. And because YouTube was small enough, our videos would bubble to the top and new fans could discover us.

On the Internet, it's not just content that's king. It's regular content. But models like Kickstarter don't work for regular content. And the advertising you earn on YouTube is nice, but it doesn't seem to assign the appropriate value for the amount of work and passion that goes into certain types of content.

One lesson I learned with Pomplamoose is that there will always be haters. Part of achieving some level of success is learning to tune out the rage.

I loved the 'Sister Act 2' soundtrack.

I've always felt like I'm on the outside of the music industry.

Artists don't have to starve any more.

There's no reason to abuse the people who give you your monthly pay check.

I really like incorporating noise music into pop.

Taking occasional risks, I'm a strong proponent of that.

I love music with a violence and a fury that feels unqualified.

Art is one of those few legal monopolies. If you want to listen to Prince, Mick Jagger doesn't do. Nothing else in the world can satisfy that urge. It's not replaceable, it's not hot swappable. It's not a commodity.

We built Patreon to be an open, flexible platform. It's a tool. Why shouldn't we open it up to people who find utility in it?

It's so embarrassing to just not feel valued as a creative person.

I'm not an entrepreneur.

I spent three months working on music videos, working eighteen-hour days, put it out, got half-a-million views... and got a check in the mail for a couple hundred bucks.

People are not machines. And we have to respect that.