Gene Simmons: college kids killed music biz

[johnnie]

<snip>

IT HAS BEEN NINE YEARS SINCE WE'VE SEEN A NEW KISS ALBUM. ANY PLANS TO GET BACK INTO THE STUDIO?

The record industry is in such a mess. I called for what it was when college kids first started download music for free -- that they were crooks. I told every record label I spoke with that they just lit the fuse to their own bomb that was going to explode from under them and put them on the street.

There is nothing in me that wants to go in there and do new music. How are you going to deliver it? How are you going to get paid for it if people can just get it for free? I will be putting out a Gene Simmons box set called "Monster" -- a collection of 150 unreleased songs. KISS will have another box set of unreleased music in the next year.

The record industry doesn't have a f---ing clue how to make money. It's only their fault for letting foxes get into the henhouse and then wondering why there's no eggs or chickens. Every little college kid, every freshly-scrubbed little kid's face should have been sued off the face of the earth. They should have taken their houses and cars and nipped it right there in the beginning. Those kids are putting 100,000 to a million people out of work. How can you pick on them? They've got freckles. That's a crook. He may as well be wearing a bandit's mask.

Doesn't affect me. But imagine being a new band with dreams of getting on stage and putting out your own record. Forget it.


BUT SOME ARTISTS LIKE RADIOHEAD AND TRENT REZNOR ARE TRYING TO FIND A NEW BUSINESS MODEL.

That doesn't count. You can't pick on one person as an exception. And that's not a business model that works. I open a store and say "Come on in and pay whatever you want." Are you on f---ing crack? Do you really believe that's a business model that works?"


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071114/music_nm/kiss_dc_1;_ylt=AnRO2uhSroGXdbS9RICZ9O8E1vAI




I wonder if Gene realizes that he is one of the people who pushed the "kids" into downloading because they didn't think it was right to pay $22.95 for an album of crap with maybe one good song on it?

Gene is one of many in the group of greedy crap-dealers who helped destroy the music industry and he doesn't even know it. He even admits to it by saying he is putting out a box set of 150 Gene Simmons unreleased songs..LOL. His released songs are barely worth the money let alone 150 more that he felt wasn't worth putting on any official releases.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Gene Simmons: I killed the music biz

Okay, maybe not. But I personally think Gene Simmons sucks, and KISS is highly overrated.

[johnnie]

17. I used to like them when I was younger

And I admit to liking some of their music still, not anything since about 1979 or so. Not the best of musicians, but they were pretty entertaining.

But I have absolutely no sympathy for the music industry and record companies or people like Gene Simmons who would sell his shit if he could make a buck off of some kid.

The Internet was the best thing to happen to music and musicians and I wish I was younger today and still into playing my music as much. Today, you can control your music, book gigs, build an audience, promote gigs, sell your music and so much more without the know nothings that used to control it.

[NewJeffCT]

2. Does he want any cheese with that whine of his?

wah wah wah.

[XemaSab]

3. Not coincidentally,

I heart NIN and Radiohead. :)

[Omphaloskepsis]

4. Hmm, looks down at my defiance, ohio t-shirt that I paid 13$ for.

I downloaded their music for free from their website. I liked it and bought a shirt. A new business model might be needed.

[LeftyMom]

10. My $45 Rise Against hoodie agrees with you.

And my tshirt, and concert tickets, and the hoodie I bought flvegan...

There's a lot more money, for the band at least, in merch and live shows than in albums. And wider free distro (vital to bands that don't get much radio play) means more sales of the stuff with a real profit margin.

[SteppingRazor]

16. And in a way, so does Gene Simmons.

After all, what band on the planet has offered more merch than KISS? Christ, you can get KISS everything. It's scary.

[HughBeaumont]

27. I think Sleepytime Gorilla Museum thanks me from the bottom of their hearts.

Search for bands that are like Mr Bungle on audiogalaxy: three free songs from SGM.

This led to:

4 concerts - avg $11 a ticket
3 CDs - avg $13
2 T-shirts - $30

All told, one of my favorite bands got over $100 of my money deservedly for making killer music. Thank you, AG, for leading me to a band I would have NEVER found on the radio or MTV.

Yeah, let's go back to the 80s model, where you just bought unpreviewable and shitty music on a whim and didn't get all (or sometimes ANY) of your money back if the band sucked. Not all of us like MTV bullshit. Some of us have to dig and dig, which is why the internet is so important to music.

I think there ARE too many bands and not enough uniqueness in them, though. :hide:

[ceile]

5. Do we really care what that has-been has to say?

Maybe no one wants to buy your crap, Gene. Ever think that may be the reason?

[ElboRuum]

6. Gene Simmons isn't a musician. Never was.

He's a merchandiser and promoter, he's only said so in not so many words.

[bbernardini]

7. Four words, Gene: Music From "The Elder."

Rock didn't need downloading to kill it. Gene can do it singlehandedly.

[GCP]

8. Gene Simmons, the most repulsive has-been in rock history

:puke:

[Mad_Dem_X]

28. Amen to that

KISS was/is a monumentally overrated band, and Simmons is a total jerk.

[IndianaJones]

9. Simmons is a genius. nt.

[LeftyMom]

11. Simmons over-marketed and under-talented crap was the beginning of the end. nt

[Bombero1956]

12. second only to

Ted "I crapped my pants" Nugent. Anyone who has watched that trainwreck of a show Family Jewels knows Gene is all about the money and fuck the fans.

[wicket]

13. He got a face lift recently

I think it actually made him look worse. What a sad, tired, dried-up old coot.

[LSK]

14. yes, sue your fanbase, thats a great business model

:eyes:

[PVnRT]

15. Gene Simmons is a worthless pile of shit

He's a complete fucking whore who will gladly prostitute himself anyway for another dollar. In fact, that describes everything about KISS, the most overrated, shitty band to ever walk the face of the earth.

BTW, Gene, the only reason any woman on this planet will ever fuck you is because you're rich and famous. You got beat with the ugly stick worse than Ann Coulter.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

22. Gene Simmons and Mr. Potato Head--seperated at birth?

Discuss.

[PVnRT]

24. Don't insult Mr. Potato Head like that

[Deja Q]

44. Mr Potato-Head tastes better when baked. Gene fried himself long ago.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. Right, right.

Charging twenty bucks for a CD of crap music from an eighty year old rock n' roll clown has nothing to do with problems in the music business.

[lildreamer316]

19. REAL MUSICIANS AREN"T IN IT FOR THE MONEY. Ya dumf____.

Of course one should get some money for doing one's art...and the fans are more than glad to pay to come see you perform. I just paid an ungodly amount for two separate VH concerts,and didn't begrudge a penny. I think we spent over $700 for two people to go to two concerts...and that wasn't even the inner circle seats.

Dumbass.

[Sock Puppet]

21. ??

If being a musician is your job, then you deserve to be compensated.

Real strippers aren't in it for the money. How does that strike you?

[Deja Q]

45. And for $700, I betcha the record label got most of that.

Gene got in before the homogenized, assembly-line, carbon copy 1980s. (Okay, in the 1960s there were artists copying the Beatles, but by and large they either developed their own styles or died off 6 weeks later. These days it's the opposite; if you don't sound like everyone else you're gone 6 weeks later.) He's living in the past and trying to apply it to the present. A noble idea, but it doesn't work.

30 years ago, Gene's points might have more validity.

[ghostsofgiants]

20. Gene Simmons is the epitome of why I hate "rock stars."

[Book Lover]

23. The customers are the crook? Oh, Gene....

The *middlemen* are the crooks, Gene. You know, like you. And nice lie: Radiohead's business model is way more complex than just "download our album for whatever you feel it's worth." Concerts, merchandise (you know all about that, Mr "Now You Too can Buy A Kiss Coffin," dontcha?), appearance fees... those are part of the business model, too. But those facts would negate your rant, buddy, so you ignore them.

[redqueen]

25. GAWD how I hate that guy!

:puke:

Fuckin stupidass repuke voting assclown fugly sumbitch of an idiot. UGH!

[ghostsofgiants]

26. Oh, as an additional fuck you to Gene Simmons

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cd-sales-hit-right-note-despite-downloads/2007/04/12/1175971265506.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/piracy-not-raiding-cd-sales/2007/11/06/1194118008817.html

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2000/08/38490

Yeah, it's just as true today as it was in 2000: The RIAA and Metallica and Gene Simmons are all full of shit.

[PeaceNikki]

30. I concur. Fuck 'em in the ear!

Bastages.

[idgiehkt]

38. great links, thanks

good to know. Two of my favorite independent artists have been supporting themselves by playing gigs and CD sales for 15 and 20 years respectively. On of them has branched out into leading workshops on creativity (Christine Kane) and the other (Michelle Malone), was on the initial list of Grammy nominations for best blues album this year...I don't know if she made the final cut but I hope so. I have to wonder if Simmons is po'd because down-loading is breaking down the industry 'machine' that made him a star. His hostility toward music fans is really disgusting.

[ghostsofgiants]

42. Another good read (you may have already read it, since it is pretty infamous...)

http://www.negativland.com/albini.html

[Fire Walk With Me]

47. Whew... Thanks for that link!

People forget that it's indeed a business, and that business only exists to feed itself.

[Dukkha]

48. AND...

much to my delight

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jul/16/musicnews.music

http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2007/04/17/vinyl-is-back-honest

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/vinyls-comeback-more-than-spin/2007/07/22/1185042950416.html

[mitchum]

mitchum: Kiss killed the geek biz...

tell me, how was the traditional biting the head off of a chicken carnival geek supposed to compete with the elaborate and expensive geekshow of Kiss?

[alphafemale]

29. Gene Simmons has turned into a cranky old man.

In fact, he sounds amazing like those cranky old men ranting about "rock & roll" a generation ago.

[Bombero1956]

31. if ever there was a question as to how big an asshole

Gene Simmons has become there was his interview with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. It left no doubt.

http://www.erim.net/archives/gene-simmons-and-terry-gross-interview

[Skittles]

32. I'm glad the young folk of today are getting revenge

for all the g.d. albums I had to buy just to hear one song I liked

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

33. Of course he'd say that

Here's a guy who'd sell his own mother (decked out in full Kiss makeup, of course) if he could turn a profit on it. He's a shameless huckster, less about the music and more about marketing. Forget Kiss music, I'm sure as long as you don't make a knockoff of the new Kiss toilet seat Gene is probably shilling on his website, he couldn't give a crap.

[regularguy]

34. Yay! Gene Simmons isn't gonna make new music!

Who knew that "freshly scrubbed" (whatever the f-ck that means) college kids had houses and cars?
:wtf:

[idgiehkt]

35. well, he's a business-man

and to him it's a business. That is why he lives a lie, meaning that is why he goes out and tells the world that he has an open relationship, which I think is disrespectful to his wife (by common law at this point) and kids, when she says there is no way in hell they have an open relationship. He's a normal boring guy who probably would have been an lot happier and better being an A&R guy or a producer...wonder how he ended up being an artist anyway. The 'artist' and 'musician' part of the "business" don't seem to matter to him.

[Mojambo]

36. I wouldn't listen to his shit music if HE paid ME. n/t

[tigereye]

37. the inability of the industry to adapt to new technology "killed" the music

industry- as well as their need for control and their intransigence. Not college kids. Kids simply used the technology that was available to get what they still wanted - music.


The old model is dead, but the music industry didn't get the memo.

[idgiehkt]

39. true, and kids did this to get the music they wanted

because the machine was constantly pushing a product on them that was/is crap. I hope the end result will be that the artists don't get so royally screwed by the record companies and they get to keep more of the money they earn.

[MrScorpio]

40. Simmons cares about more about making money than about making music

That's what I took away most from his TV show

[Javaman]

41. Perhaps he's just pissed because they kids aren't downloading his crap. lol NT

[Deja Q]

43. Yes Gene, blame it on everyone else.

What a tactless, wet trollop.

Hell, who WOULD pay for his "music" anyway? Heaven's on fire, indeed...

What do executives look for? Judging by the tend of pop music, the sleazer, the better. As the decades have gone by, what is called "sleazy" has to be pushed wider.

Any creative field is the same - hard to get in, harder to stay in, it's not due to kiddies with tape recorders or broadband (or even 56k) but because artists are rarely given a chance to shine. Gene, ever hear of the phrase "starving artist"? It's far more common than you'd ever give reality to be.

And, yeah, $20 for a 10 track CD is asinine. Especially when a full feature movie, with extras, is either the same price, or commonly less. $15 or even less than that. So, Gene, your business model is screwed up. If video killed the radio star, the radio harlot costs more in necrophilia than it had ever cost to get a date when she was living.

Try to get a chance in the industry. College kids couldn't do that, but no doubt the execs were once college kids. Who probably dropped out because they saw how to make a quick buck instead of an honest one. Hmmm, the irony of the apparent similarities - how odd is that...

[LSdemocrat]

46. If not for the original Napster, I'd be a permanent radio listener instead of now buying music

Lets see, I went from 3 albums, then to Napster circa 1999, and today I've BOUGHT 30+ albums and hundreds of individual tracks. None of that would have happened if it wasn't for the original Napster allowing me to discover music I'd have otherwise never heard of.

[mikeytherat]

49. As a bassist, I just have to say that Gene Simmons is the shit

tiest bass player on the planet. When your musical peak is "Detroit Rock City," it's time to put the bass back in the case and close it forever.

mikey_the_rat

[BlueJazz]

51. Amen to That! Every Player I've ever worked with says "Simmons Sucks"

I'm a Jazz Sax Player but I take the word of other Players on how a certain Musician is, on their instrument.. (if it's not Sax) :)

[mikeytherat]

58. Check these out:

My band, SoulerCoaster:

(little live snippet - bass stuff):
http://soulercoaster.com/music/mp3/live/Funky_Stuff.mp3

(studio tracks - check out the sax solo on "Pieces")
http://soulercoaster.com/music/mp3/demo/Pick_Up_The_Pieces.mp3

http://soulercoaster.com/music/mp3/demo/To_Be_Real.mp3

mikey_the_rat

[HughBeaumont]

56. "Detroit Rock City" = Worst Bass Lick EVER.

:rofl:

Wow Gene, that sucked! He couldn't think of anything better to put there?

[SacredCow]

50. Said it before, and I'll say it again....

The record industry killed itself with greed and control-freak-dom....

Don't get me wrong- I appreciate that musicians want to get paid for their work, but as the OP mentioned $22.95 for an album of (mostly) crap is just insane. And that period when every single "new" artist was a clone of Britney Spears or Creed (hand-picked by the industry experts) made me feel totally justified in file-sharing my music. They were so damn snide about it, effectively saying "You don't know what good music is- WE do."

These days, I use iTunes and I pay for what I get- Seldom do I complain about a buck per song. I'll also browse garageband.com and the like- I've bought a number of things there; and as a bonus- I know that the actual band is getting some money from my purchase.

[rug]

52. He is the Dennis Miller of music.

[dembotoz]

53. so his industry changed, and he does not like it.

I wonder if he surfs the web with a commadore 64?

[DS1]

54. Err no, KISS made it comatose, file sharing pulled the plug

[NorthernSpy]

55. in other words, college kids are saving us from a lot of shitty music...

And for that we are truly grateful.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

57. The former Tower Records in Campbell CA is re-opening as a pet food store...

...because, as you put it, most consumers "didn't think it was right to pay $22.95 for an album of crap with maybe one good song on it."

The people who have a conscience in these matters will pay 99 cents for the one good track through iTunes.

The artists who have a conscience in these matters will stop releasing silver platters jam-packed with CRAP. Anyone remember the interviews Metallica did when "St. Anger" was released, and how they said that they deliberately left off any extended guitar solos because they'd been listening to Nickleback and they didn't have any? In other words, Metallica wanted to make a Nickleback album and have "the kids" cough up 20 bucks for it?

If the situation "doesn't affect" Gene, as he asserts, one option would be for him to STFU...but we know that will never happen.

:toast:

[leftofthedial]

59. if it was crap,

why steal it?

[Strawman]

60. I'm sure "new bands" can find creative ways to rip off fans

Cough...

[Pierre.Suave]

61. HAHAHAHAHAHA, what an asshole

You want to know what killed the music biz? Crappy musicians like Gene Simmons.

I am as hardcore a music fan as you will find, you know what? I BUY CDs, I go looking for good ones, or specific recordings and buy it.

Honestly, I don't give a rats ass if every single teeny-bopper on planet earth downloads britney spears for free, her music is shit anyway.

I subscribe to Jazz and Classical magazines and you now what trend I see? A constant stream of new artists and albums. Young artists, beautiful women that are putting out albums and making money when more "traditional" or "popular" artists cant, or when those more "popular" artists have to have a wardrobe issue to get press, these young women playing classical music, dont even have to wear skimpy clothes simply because they have TALENT...

perhaps they should blame themselves, and greedy music companies for the predicament they are in.

Edit: I just bought a Ray Charles Box Set too, Every song ever done while he was with Atlantic. Great music.