Patty Larkin on stealing from your favorite songwriters, 2002

It’s a known fact: Amateurs borrow, but masters steal. When someone asks me where my inspiration comes from, I tell them it comes from what I hear and love, from other artists. In the past I have admired certain songwriters so much (Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones, to name two) that I had to ban them from my stereo. Everything I was working on would sound like warmed-over versions of their songs. My process is still influenced by what I hear and like, but now it’s more like osmosis than conscious imitation. My mind pinpoints what is unique or special and files it away somewhere.... I am trying to create the feeling that someone else’s songs give me when I listen to them.

From the book The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording, and Business

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