Clive Davis’ Best Quotes From the ‘Billboard’ Archives
Categoria: Musica
From 2000 and beyond, the music mogul has always shared what's on his mind, whether revealing the one performance that changed his life or the artist he always hoped would attend his pre-Grammy gala.
Por Billboard | 23/06/2026
Billboard has been covering and interviewing the late Clive Davis since the 1960s, near the start of his storied career — resulting in no shortage of incredible insight from the highly-influential executive. Whether he was sharing his thoughts on the current state of the industry or foreseeing its future, Davis was always willing to let us in on what he was thinking — or more often than not, plotting. Below, revisit some of his best quotes dating back to 2000, at which point he was already 40 years into his career. On His Start In the Music Business From a May 2000 Q&A celebrating Arista’s 25th anniversary, while Davis was still president “It was all fate. There was to be an opening that was to be filled from the Roseman Colin law firm. It was an unusual opportunity for someone three years into practice. I was given an opportunity to join the legal department of Columbia Records and then be chief attorney within a year. This happened out of the blue. It was nothing that was thought of, nothing planned. It was just an unusual opportunity that, when Harvey Schein, who had come from the Roseman firm as well and was to make his mark in the international sector for many years at Columbia Records, offered me that job. So I had no grand design. I just took it because it seemed like a strong career opportunity, and I had no idea where it was going to lead me.” On His Approach To Starting New Ventures From a September 2000 news article announcing a joint venture between Davis’ J Records and Wyclef Jeans’ Clef records “I never deal with quotas… I’ll go where reaction and instinct take me.” On Embracing New Technology From a February 2005 interview ahead of the 47th Grammy Awards, where BMG artists Usher and Alicia Keys were nominated eight times each “I concentrate, for one, on the music. It’s all in the creativity of trying to come up with new, talented artists, and breaking them is what has been so gratifying for us… As far as technology goes, as long as we are vigilant in the enforcement of our rights, the digital revolution is only going to take music to a great audience in the future, and I’m all in favor of that.” On Investing in the Music Industry’s Future Leaders From a May 2007 commentary in Billboard about his first class of graduates from the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music “In short, my idea was to create a unique educational platform for future generations of creative entrepreneurs in popular music. In 2003, we officially opened the doors to the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music… This May, the program graduated its first group of students… I invite you to turn your attention to this first class of graduates and to future ones. As they enter the work force, I encourage you, our music industry, to embrace them and consider them part of our rich and exciting community.” On If a Grammy Win Matters From a February 2008 interview on how Grammy awards can fuel album sales