Money talks

“When I first set up the business I took a big financial hit, and didn’t pay myself anything for the first six months. I didn’t even have the money for a coffee or odd meal out. I relied on the support of my parents who were thankfully there for me”. Harpreet Kaur (pictured), winner of The Apprentice, on starting her dessert business, quoted in The Sunday Times

“There is nothing I should like better than to be able to write altogether gratis, but in the present state of things such a thing would be difficult for a German, or much more an Austrian artist! Only London could make one so fat, that one would be able afterwards to resist in Germany, or rather here, the leanest bits.” Ludwig van Beethoven complains about pay in a recently unearthed letter, quoted in The Times

“You can get a judgement or you can have a settlement and [when] you know you’re in the right, then you can’t settle just out of principle.You can’t settle. Our royalties were frozen and we were given two options and we chose the option that was integral to us.” Singer Ed Sheeran says principle not money was the main factor in his copyright case, quoted on BBC News

“If money motivated me I wouldn’t be here… you’ve got to have something in the right ballpark, but I’m not coin-operated.” Centrica’s chief executive Chris O’Shea, quoted in The Times

“I later took my car for an MOT and got a very worried call from the garage. ‘There’s 50 grand cash in your glovebox, mate.’ ‘Don’t worry, it’s all fake,’ I replied, before realising this probably didn’t help.” Filmmaker Chris Atkins on what happened after recreating the scene when the KLF burned £1m, quoted in The Guardian