I Just Wanna Live

It’s not only a hit track from rock band Good Charlotte, it’s also not a bad line to live by.

But what if you’re 21-years-old?

Such was the case for lead vocalist, Joel Madden in 2000 when Good Charlotte kickstarted their musical career.

“You make a few bops,  you travel the world… but then what?” asks Ross Greenwood.

With constant pressure to churn out creative material, how does one turn what is creative art into a business?

Joel tells Ross he and brother Benji “were always a little entrepreneurial”.

“When you’re young, obviously less experienced and I think a bit more unconsciously creative, you’re ripping into the world and you just want to make music.

“Sustaining the life that you have to live out on the road… it’s really hard.

“With me, you get married, you have kids and your priorities shift and your focus shifts and you want to be able to build and diversify your life.”

He says his music company with Benji, MDDN, allows him to remain involved with the music business while still being home with his family.

More so, Joel explains it’s a way for him to engage with and show young artists pathways for their careers.

“What we like about having a music company is being able to help artists from an early age think entrepreneurially so that they can kind of get ahead of the curb.

“We kind of what to be the guys we wish we had met when we were 16, 17 that can help us lay out a plan.”

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