Gene Simmons On Billie Eilish VS Led Zeppelin As Music Artists

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#GeneSimmons #KISS #BillieEilish #SelenaGomez #LedZeppelin #CelebrityNews #UsWeekly

[@UsWeekly]

Thoughts? 🤔

[@Smorgasbord.]

Gene's brilliant. I hope he's staying healthy.

[@flatlanderprops]

The truth is the truth and Gene is telling it how it is.

[@MrAntennaBall]

This why I prefer vinyl DJ’s over mp3 jocks. At least they have proof of purchase.

[@Reshyrah]

Gene Simmons is a corporate shill whose opinion aligns itself perfectly with an out of touch music industry that no doubt paid for him to be on this interview.

[@Reshyrah]

@@Smorgasbord. What exactly is so brilliant about insulting the very fans who made him the success he is today? 🤔

[@tommymorano7254]

Who else would come home from buying an album in the 80’s and sit down and not just listen to the album but look forward to reading the pages that would come in the album.

[@StylesLee]

Yeah! there was a passion coming home to the H-Fi Sound System, playing the Album & forever studying the band's art & lyrics. Today is Pure Loss..no heartbeat & soul...all gone

[@kipponi]

I think LPs are coming back in Britain?

[@scottykingdavid]

ALWAYS.....

[@tannertuner]

@@kipponi yeah, I don’t get the LP craze. I bought a new record player to play some of my old ones (including KISS) and even through a Bose Wave system it pales in comparison to digital media. Can’t play it in your vehicle without transferring it to digital. Can’t take it to the beach or the gym. The Walkman and cassette tapes transformed media to become mobile and we never looked back at vinyl for a reason.

[@ibanezmaestro5630]

I would do that with CD's in the 90's. Still do today. Different medium, but very much the same experience. Irreplacable.

[@Fr0styPage]

Forgot one thing. The importance of being a child and having to save for that CD or cassette tape. Proud moment when you can go in a store and buy that.

[@justinlarsen2281]

If I could do it all over again, I would have stuck with cassettes until downloads came out. Miss those things

[@craigfazekas3923]

I saved, rode my bike to the Moorestown Mall (NJ), and collected each cassette of Yes' catalogue at Woolworth's. $5. each time until I bought them all- and studied each one like I was going to school & had each one memorized....then returned for the next cassette to study on. What a time, I was 13 years old. I still love Bill Bruford & Chris Squire like brothers- my musical brothers, for sure !! 🚬😎

[@paultaylor1812]

Music LITERALLY had value, especially when CDs were dominant. You had to chose wisely how you spent your money, and so were more discerning about your musical choices. Now it's all free and very few artists could even make an album worth of good songs, especially ones that are NOT single orientated, but are still good music!

[@oatmealgenocide7270]

I fucking hated that man waste of time to deal with

[@paultaylor1812]

@@oatmealgenocide7270 People with real names and then someone with...

[@hannahmillington5781]

It's not just music, everything is now cheapened and disposable, the world doesn't treasure creativity any more

[@susanfigueroa872]

Ain't that the truth!!

[@TheLegenDacster]

Well said. Music has become four-chord repeatohell sadly!

[@seanbrennan5192]

How can it when music doesn’t cost anything to listen to and no one wants to own music anymore

[@georgehernandez2156]

Like movies. Marvel movies are all the same.

[@four-stix8633]

Good music is out there, you just have to wade thought the commercialised crap to get to it. If you can, try BBC Radio 6 music. They play some great underground stuff, especially check out Iggy Pop's show. 🙏

[@ElrohirGuitar]

The first thing you would do when you went to a friend's house was to look at their record collection, and they did the same to you. We treasured our music, the album covers and notes and talked about them when we listened to albums together. we may not have had a lot of money in those days, but we bought our albums - and still play them.

[@Droo75]

All true, but they were always overpriced and not readily accessible for everyone, thus the pirate cassette market. Most of that money went to the label. I would argue they all got too much money for what they did anyway. Times change, you must move with them. Time of the bard has come again. Want to make money, hit the road and tour. Do some work like the rest of ants. A concert ticket could once be comparable to the price of an LP. Now it’s 100 plus for the headliners. They are still living large.

[@user-dz6wg8wr1d]

@@Droo75 , you obviously didn’t grow up around that time, let me guess 20’s or younger Albums were accessible, all there was, for 50 years, then came technology It was eight tracks first, not cassettes , times changed cause of tech and the industry, not the artists But contracts from the 1990’s changed for artists and no royalties for downloaded music, they lost money And for the record Gene Simmons, in the music industry, one of the smartest players of the game if not best one, great businessman, it’s how Kiss lives large, record label doesn’t own Kiss, Gene Simmons does, characters, merchandise, music , direction of music and concerts, ANYTHING pertaining to the KISS label

[@Droo75]

@@user-dz6wg8wr1d I definitely grew up around the time Sir Presumptuous. Cassette was the birth of piracy, as was the VHS player, as were all computer games of the era, pirated until the companies failed. Gene Simmons is self important. The cost to buy an LP wasn’t cheap and only 10 % of the royalty actually made it to the artist. Often the LP would only have 3 stellar tracks if you were lucky. We have all been rung through the ringer long enough. If you want to make money as an artist, hit the road. I’m nostalgic for the time as well, but it wasn’t accessible to all. Just the facts. Today’s artists are doing just fine. Do you go to the cinema anymore?

[@hunterraoulduke]

@@Droo75 I agree that they charged to much for music, and that's why. Digital is killing it , but they been stealing music since cassette tapes. I used to have so many copied recorded cassette, and only bought the best artist or my favorites. That's how people roll, if they love it they will buy it, if they just like it then they are not willing to buy it because it cost you a lot for something you will only enjoy on rare occasions.

[@hunterraoulduke]

@@Droo75 concert is always were they money is at, but I don't think piracy is the only thing to kill it. Record company greed and control of the industry is the real culprit. The company took freedom from artist and denied true creative talent in fear of loosing money was also to blame.

[@felipedandrea124]

I'm actually impressed with Gene on this one. He didn't talk shit about everybody, quite the contrary. I'm surprised with you Gene.

[@partybusexperiance3289]

I only came here to see who he was gonna rag on. I am also surprised.

[@Salveither]

Evil Gene be like this video

[@JSchroederee]

Not really talking shit but he did comment on Lady Gaga's showmanship, which is a bit of the pot calling kettle black. Overall really a nice interview. 👍

[@dixienormus6941]

Hey was definitely eluding the fact that Billie Eilish is a talentless leech and that her brother is the creative talent. And he’s right.

[@ickymouth]

He kinda dissed a whole lot of people, he basically suggested that unless you're singing in front of dudes on guitars (mullets and face paint for bonus points) its not worth dick. That Gaga is pretty good, but do know what could make that shit pop, four more dudes! Kick rocks Grandpa

[@JimJones-gd2jy]

The sixties, seventies and eighties was absolutely musically magical . . He is absolutely right.

[@chriscunningham8703]

Not the 80's so much...... 🤢

[@MattPerrette87]

Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam weren't?

[@Danno_88]

80s was rubbish for music... It had some amazing rock/metal bands but the rest were fucking terrible!

[@pedronight2150]

90s>80s

[@joelbizzell1386]

You kids dunking on 80s just don't get it. Perhaps you don't want it.

[@meg2231]

"When you take away the value of something it becomes by definition worthless" ... that one hit me right in my gut

[@paulmontgomery9838]

and now they are taking the value of life itself. life has quickly become simon says and simon is not simple.

[@seanfaherty]

But fans pay streaming services. KZbin generates ad dollars. It's not the fans screwing the artists.

[@meg2231]

@@seanfaherty that's a good point but to be fair he seems to mainly be addressing piracy

[@meg2231]

I'm not even saying it's right or wrong to download music for free I'm just saying that what he said regarding the industry rang true to me and I had never looked at it in that light before

[@chitskirits]

"When You take away the value of something by definition becomes worthless" it's correct grammatically but it's a right out lie for the simple reason the important things in our lives you can't put a monetary value on. Unfortunately, in our political system where the dollar is our mighty God everything seems to have a price tag. We live in a sick society where spirituality is tought by "scientists" that is bad even though the Buddist monks are the happiest people alive today but it looks like even they are being "infected" by globalism

[@toddlentner1708]

Gene knows the industry. He’s spot on. The music today is upside down. Also, many of today’s artists are digitally enhanced. He’s not first musician to talk about this subject.

[@paulcowart3174]

Plus the artist doesn't have to play the song for several minutes They can take 15 seconds of a verse and chorus and regurgitate into a 5 minute song and then throw auto tune on it Not the artistry it used to be

[@cleech74]

This is a great clip. Interesting insight into the music business, and he has a wealth of knowledge & experience to draw from. For me, it’s the first time hearing him speak on the topic and in particular, the history of the music biz. Didn’t have the condescending douchebag attitude that he’s known for, which was nice to see him put his ego aside for a change.

[@tannertuner]

@@cleech74 he is an egotistical jackass, but he is also a highly intelligent and knowledgeable man who has pretty much seen it all. There are a lot of very impressive interviews he’s done. He does kind of ignore one truth about the difference in when he was coming along and now. That is because of a very different tax code, that the wealth distribution in the US was very different than today. What a single working person made then would buy a lot more than two can earn today. So the people buying his albums and concert tickets had more disposable income to spend. I’ve also seen KISS concert posters advertising tickets for like $7. That’s only $35-40 in today’s money but you can’t get nose bleed tickets to a concert now for under $100. He also kind of ignores the impact of radio. We didn’t have to buy a lot of records because we could hear it for free on radio and advertisers paid for the royalties.

[@cleech74]

@@tannertuner Thx for the addt’l insight, especially the bit about the tax code. The continued shrinking of the middle class, coupled with skyrocketing prices of tix for many forms of entertainment (live music, pro sports, etc) definitely sucks. I’ve got some old ticket stubs from the 1990’s that support your point, and it’ll likely become a bigger disparity, making it harder for those that can’t afford it to occasionally by tix to an event.

[@tannertuner]

@@cleech74 our family saw Elvis just before he died for $15/each. We still have 3 of the 4 tickets. The average Super Bowl ticket in 1980 cost $20. A big reason we saw entertainers and pro-athletes incomes grow, and ticket prices along with them, had to do with the tax cuts. In fact Reagan based his economic policy on the fact he had observed his Hollywood friend’s refusal to do more than one movie a year because nearly all the income they would make from a 2nd movie would go to taxes. He reasoned that if tax rates were lower, they would work more because they could earn more. He completely ignored how many starving actors went from waiting tables to getting movie roles because of that. Worse, he thought the same principle applied to businesses with employees.

[@StudioDaVeed]

Tom Petty for a decade or more fought for artists' rights to their art. Gene has a point on then vs now.

[@JonHop1]

You can have your "art" but I think you can easily recognize that music now has lost a lot of its "human" soul thanks to computers and technology... Auto-Tune, perfectionism... Listen to the Beatles.. Take their isolated tracks.. FULL of HUMAN mistakes.. But it is that humanity that made their music so good and great.. Now, everything is a production.. No one is involved from beginning to end on a song. Now you have a singer they look for, you have the lyricists that write the lyrics for them, you have the music producers who help create the beats, you have computer and sound engineers who edit the music into oblivion.. The song-creation process is no where near the same. Back in the day, you had your band, and you sat in the studio for weeks and months hashing out every aspect of the song together as a band. Everyone was involved in every aspect of the songs creations. This is what doomed The Beatles as they were all too involved and wanted to take the music in different directions and were in different times of their lives.

[@StudioDaVeed]

@@JonHop1 Absolutely. Supposedly even many of Eddie Van Halen's riffs were 'sculpted' by a producer. Eddie had tapes of chords and the producer stitched them together - Eddie then 'learned' the riff.

[@JonHop1]

@@StudioDaVeed Yeah the 80's were the beginning of artists having much less involvement in their own music.. The 80's were the time period music execs and studios were getting filthy rich and were starting to form a brand rather than just looking for great musicians. They would seek out people who fit their "look" and would create the music for them to perform. Technology has only made this 100x worse now because on top of the music being manufactured by a label, it is now all computerized and over-edited and produced, using computer software to fix all mistakes, make the vocals more "perfect" and robotic.. When I entered the music industry about 8 years ago, I was absolutely shocked how common it was for artists to have zero involvement in the music process. They would literally come in, have lyrics handed to them, they would coordinate how to deliver them, and that was it.. Same with bands and the actual musicians.. No one sitting down hammering out a new song they developed themselves, all just handed music they are forced to perform... It is a music factory and farm now.. Its really quite sad.

[@StudioDaVeed]

@@JonHop1 And that is why it sucks today. But the geezers in their 70s and 80s still rock on. There is a gem every once and awhile... When Gene was talking about Gaga - I had a 'flash'....too bad AC/DC couldn't have got her instead of Axl. THAT would have ROCKED.

[@noeltaylor3594]

Have you heard the commercial with " Manic Monday"? Just about 10 words, but you know the song. Prince would never have allowed that to happen.

[@INTERNETSOPHI]

“It’s called Billie Eilish but really it’s her brother”… damn he really said that shit 😂

[@wasupfool5692]

Even Billie said it was her brother that was the genius behind her music

[@mikedolan6176]

I still like having my own records. Physical copies I mean. Miss the feeling of opening up that record for the first time. Reading line notes. Looking at artwork. Now it's just a file. The nostalgia has gone. Can't believe I'm sayin this, but I agree with Gene on this. ✌🤘

[@paulcowart3174]

Plus some albums would come with posters or the album art was a poster in itself Those we're sacred times for fans

[@mikedolan6176]

@@paulcowart3174 ah yes, the good ol days

[@jameskleman5298]

U can buy records at walmart today

[@paulcowart3174]

@@mikedolan6176 Ha Ha I remember buying Alice Cooper Killers and the sleeve folded out to a poster of Alice hanging by his neck My folks must have thought I was crazy

[@mikedolan6176]

@@paulcowart3174 that's awesome. My buddy still has the massive rolling paper from Cheech and Chong's Big Bambooie

[@RCT1963]

Well we did have the Grunge scene in the early 90s, but he’s right. The last 30+ years have been barren.

[@itslikethesamebutdifferent8020]

¨Because her brother doesn’t look like Billy¨ - her brother actually looks more like an artist than Billy herself, imo.

[@ryanespinoza7297]

@1StarProductions so...grunge?

[@thatcanadian6698]

Another example of the triumph of style over substance.

[@trailerwager8850]

Oh yea

[@billwilliam9089]

People like this billy guy is why music is devalued

[@bikeknight54]

Say what you want about Kiss' music, but Gene knows the music business better than anyone. Excellent analysis.

[@redrick8900]

There are literally thousand that know it better.

[@DanielKurganov]

his analysis is stuck in the year 1999. To blame the changing music industry on some guy in his basement downloading music makes no sense. Technology changes and people follow, using the new tools that are available to them. This is not stoppable through suing the guy in the basement. Smart companies understood the shift, and changed accordingly. First there was iTunes who made it comfortable and convenient to pay for music again. Then there was Spotify, who really found the most profitable model. You can’t erase new tools by suing people. You can try to ban the tools, but then you’d have to ban the Internet (something we’re figuring out is not possible). His entire argument is nonsensical. Also, artists have way more opportunities now than people in Simmons’s time. Have you heard of Patreon? The idea that if 100 of your fans give you five dollars a month, you have some real money. There are many tools like that, not to mention the ease with which you can create your own content, do your own marketing and promotion, etc. You can learn those skills on KZbin over the weekend. I’m not saying things are easy, because with new opportunities comes a lot more competition and market saturation. There’s certainly a conversation to be had about how young musicians should go about monetizing the their creativity. However, Simmons is not at all part of that conversation. He thinks it’s the year 1999. His analysis is out of touch.

[@redrick8900]

@@DanielKurganov Work on your English.

[@DanielKurganov]

@@redrick8900 are you on medication?

[@redrick8900]

@@DanielKurganov Work on your English.

[@kensalazar5066]

"That 1st PUTZ!" Priceless! Big tech killed it and he's right , the record companies and probably musicians as well, by letting it happen.. Great interview Gene

[@cinnamonparsley6384]

Yup. Napster! He's right!! Never did Napster

[@dildonius]

Big tech? In what universe is *NAPSTER* (which no longer exists) and like The Pirate Bay """big tech"""???

[@JimJones-gd2jy]

He explained it perfectly.

[@Droo75]

Ummm, piracy is not a modern phenomenon. He is way off and out of touch.

[@jeffmonin6920]

Absolutely spot on, thoses bands Gene spoke about, their legacy will last well past their time on earth, anything bought out now will be forgotton about after about 6 months, I was glad I was born in era of records, casettes and cd's

[@gt-37guy6]

If digital media was somehow destroyed, the only source of music would be the physical records, tapes, and actual artists / musicians that know how to play the music.

[@jeffmonin6920]

@@gt-37guy6 It's a double edged sword,more artist are heard worldwide due to the ease of accessing content but the money to be made isn't there any longer

[@paultaylor1812]

@@jeffmonin6920 But apparently the greater and easier access literally falls on deaf ears and people that don't care.

[@tannertuner]

And radio.

[@tannertuner]

@@paultaylor1812 depends on the service carrying the media.

[@rickbullock4331]

He’s certainly got a point. The only thing I would disagree on is that the fox was looking at the chickens not the eggs, they may have been a side dish.

[@craigdonovan5068]

He's wrong noone I know today steals music everyone uses spotify or tidal. The record companies sold the artists down the river.

[@tannertuner]

@@craigdonovan5068 that’s who he blamed. Word for word: “I blame the record companies.”

[@tannertuner]

@@craigdonovan5068 what he is missing is that when he was becoming successful, more Americans actually had jobs that paid the bills rather than part time low wage work. You didn’t even need a high school diploma to get a job that would support a family that had benefits and money left over for savings and discretionary spending. One job paid better then than two adults can make now, with or without a college degree. So Americans then had money in their pockets to buy records and concert tickets with. Even still, we had free radio. A small percentage of everything everyone bought went to pay the artists back then because every company in America advertised on radio and that’s where a lot of royalties came from. That’s why the Billboard top 100 even exists.

[@quickstep2408]

i know, i couldn't help but facepalm at that analogy lol

[@DoctorEnigma01]

For once I agree with Gene, music was the greatest gift we ever gave ourselves and now it’s all the same watered down crap.

[@Reshyrah]

So why is that the fault of the fans? Someone explain that to me. Justify it. We're all just consumers at the end of the day, it's the music industry who have mastered these puppets.

[@Reshyrah]

@shan I'm sorry but did you just call me a "newbie?" That's hilarious 😂 lol

[@vaporman442]

There is definitely watered down crap out there-there always has been. But right now, there is probably more variety and more talent available for people who are interested than has ever been available at any point in history. Guitar virtuosos like Tosin Abasi or Tim Henson are out there creating sounds and technique no one has ever dreamed of. Quirky roots stuff like Shaky Graves and Pokey LaFarge. As Gene mentioned, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars all have depth beyond what is played on mainstream radio. We have an explosion of experimental music, prog-rock, low-fi hip hop, Avant Garde jazz, swing, funk, bluegrass. Really, anything you want to listen to. Anyone who says it isn’t out there really isn’t listening. For starters, I might suggest to check out Vulfpeck, Here Come The Mummies, Guthrie Govin, Animals as Leaders, Polyphia, Chicago Farmer, Donny McCaslin, Sungazer, Black Pumas, Pete Yorn, Henhouse Prowlers or Anya Taylor Joy as a starter of the diversity out there right now.

[@vaporman442]

@shan I believe it is you who have lost credibility. It is short-sighted to look down your nose at an artist because they are massively popular I suspect you haven’t actually listened to Billie Eilish if you don’t think her music (and her brother’s) is an example of true talent. They might not be your taste, but they are right up with any music from the 70s or 80s. Bruno Mars is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and producer. His breadth of music knowledge would rival Prince. And he writes some really catchy hooks.

[@dean2663]

Your an idiot. There is much more great music today than anytime in history. So many genres and artists. Maybe the problem is your choice of music.

[@bh8365]

As Gene talked I thought that his cadence sounded like William Shatner. Close your eyes and listen. Gene knows the music business and recognizes real talent.

[@k3digichaos]

thank Gene for Van Halen 🤘😎👍

[@justinmoore3217]

Gene also said there has been no big Legendary singer or artist in the last 30 years in one rant. You can’t believe everything he says.

[@bh8365]

@@justinmoore3217 Correct. He just seemed basically ok here.

[@thedanstack]

Gene dropping straight insightful facts from start to beginning

[@PeterTea]

A very well articulated argument. When something becomes free it literally becomes worthless.

[@yeager6882]

Its devaluation comes from the equal opportunity that technology provides, not from theft as Gene would like to believe. Entertainers don't get to have it both ways.

[@vp4744]

@@yeager6882 thanks for the reality check

[@Reshyrah]

@@yeager6882 That's the smartest comment I've read on this video so far. 👍

[@Ninjametal]

Like love, peace, understanding, and oxygen. All worthless. Hmm...wait...there may be a flaw in that reasoning

[@yeager6882]

@@Ninjametal hmm . . . Wait . . . There may be a flaw in that reasoning. There's this thing called costs. Love, peace, understanding, breathing,. Everything has a cost and nothing is free.

[@jmer3536]

Well said. No one owns an artists music anymore. When you bought a CD, Record, tape or whatever media it was on, you OWNED it and it was real thing you could see and hold. A digital download is nothing.

[@dildonius]

You know you can always just burn those digital files onto a blank CD...right? And then if you want, record that CD onto a cassette tape. Besides that, all artists sell physical CDs and vinyl and often cassettes too on either their own websites or the websites of their record label or their distributor or their labels'/distributors' parent companies (which is basically ALWAYS Warner Music Group/WMG, Sony BMG, or Universal Music Group/UMG).

[@jmer3536]

@@dildonius no FUKEN way

[@chrisbunker2117]

"I shouted out, Who killed the Kennedys......And after all, it was you and me!!!"

[@edwardbliss8931]

Since the early 2000s, the music industry has been focusing specifically on commercial pop and rap. Gone is the diversity in the charts we all enjoyed before then. Now you have an entire generation brainwashed into thinking Billie Eilish is as influential as The Beatles and Kanye West is one of the the greatest artists who ever lived. This is sad. What's also concerning is there hasn't been a backlash against the mainstream.

[@forkless]

I find this comments like these quite amusing. There seem to be quite a bit of generational music snobbery from large contingent of people on the Internet who can't even tell you what an interval is. ps. As far as KISS goes, it doesn't get more bubblegum than I Was Made For Lovin' You

[@harry.flashman]

@@forkless Chris or Willie Adler playing instruments vs Kanye and his pro tools. I'm way more impressed by the former.

[@cowtzu]

In terms of sheer volume visa vis population growth, Billie Eilish is more influential than the Beatles.

[@claytonjean6385]

@@cowtzu lmfao

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

@@harry.flashman Kanye is a keyboardist and his musical vision was great. He’s much more influential than an act like Kiss.

[@deanjoshea]

Back in the day when you would cherish your new album..love the artwork of an album..read the lyrics etc ..those were the best days ! The physical album was always like a product you could hold in your hand and feel connected to the artist! Even CDs or tapes ...but downloading is minuscule and feels worthless in itself! Nothing nicer then sliding the vinyl out of its sleeve for the first time. Picture Discs and all that good stuff!!! I still buy vinyl to this day for the above reasons! Long live music! I dearly hope someone figures it out ❤️😎🎸

[@viacrucis2509]

I had the opportunity to meet Gene when he came through Atlanta on a promotion. I was in charge of security for one function. I didn’t see him as a diva. He was not eager, but gracious.

[@vaughnslavin9784]

Gene summed up not only the music industry but our current state in the USA. People put zero value on free stuff, period. There are no new Beatles.

[@stricknine8623]

Yes, he knows what is going on. Most of the discontent he has generated has been his own marketing. He has played the overconfident guy and you win/win. Half of the people see it as being arrogant and self absorbed and half see it as a cool confidence and are able to see the facetiousness of what he says at least sometimes. He was "in the conversation" because of this. He KNEW what he was doing. Lol.

[@redrick8900]

Like there was going to be a new Beatles.

[@frankendoll1455]

Whether you like him or not...he's a smart businessman!😉 Happy Birthday Gene! 🎉

[@massapower]

EXACTLY !!

[@RigidRecords69]

Whether you like him or not...you can't disagree with what hes saying here. The music industry is DEAD.

[@massapower]

@@RigidRecords69 YUP !

[@batman1169]

He needs to learn to not belch and hide it during interviews

[@Reshyrah]

@@RigidRecords69 The music industry just needs fresh blood. Shake up the system, bring in new, inspired, passionate people on board and just maybe the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will actually get some worthy entries.

[@michaelarturo6864]

Stealing the music is wrong, but I disagree that this’s why we don’t have a new Beatles. It’s because this new culture is LAME!

[@bassage13]

Free music started with cassette tapes, not the internet. Everyone was stealing music in the 80's. Pop in a tape and record your favorite songs off the radio. Borrow your friends tape and record it with your double cassette deck. No turning back after that.

[@Jalex_Owns]

The scale isn't even comparable, not to mention the difference in quality. Recording songs off the radio or duping cassettes in your bedroom is laughable when compared to trading high quality digital copies of records with millions of other people in a matter of minutes. If cassette duping and recording radio tunes had been the turning point, we would have seen the industry shift in the 80's. We didn't. When did we see it? After Napster.

[@theidolbabblerthedailydose33]

My 22 year old just got a turntable. He now buys vinyl and understands what it used to be like to actually put on a record and listen to it while reading and looking over the artwork and whatever is written on the jacket and inside sleeve. He now sees listening to music as an experience, and not just a passing download of one song, but as an appreciation of an entire album and how the songs connect and flow.

[@James-tf8vg]

Spot on.

[@tannertuner]

How does he play it in the car? I grew up with vinyl, too. There’s a reason we left it behind.

[@ElrohirGuitar]

Sounds like he will be a happy person.

[@oldironsides4107]

Why not buy a credit? Same concept just sounds better and you can listen to it out and about. I grew up on records but if you prefer records you are a pretentious shithead. Probably wear a Monacle and try to smoke a cigar but it’s you just coughing constantly while it burns away

[@ahartley3529]

@@tannertuner - He doesn't play it in the car. He settles for a lesser quality medium given the limitations of the situation. But he CAN'T WAIT to get back to the turntable and listen to the high fidelity sound of a REAL recording. We didn't all leave it behind. You did.

[@FrogFishLeezerd]

I remember seeing videos of teenage girls literally passing out from excitement! For Elvis, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, possibly even Back Streat Boys, etc... I just don't see that level of passion in the fans anymore.

[@NotJoegoldberg]

you didn't see girls passing out for Justin Bieber and one direction?? I hate both of them but they were HUGE, Bieber still is huge he's got 85 mil monthly Spotify listeners and is no.1 but in the late 2000s and early 2010s he was crazy popular, girls were fainting in his concerts and they had to keep ambulances ready!! again, I think he sucks and is nowhere near as talented as the beatles, mj, elvis etc but his popularity and hype was insane. Even now with BTS, you can see girls going absolutely insane over them, BTS are huge right now. Obviously none of these acts are as big as the beatles, elvis or Michael. but they are easily as big as backstreet boys if not bigger. Anyways, the times have changed..I can guarantee you that if the beatles, Michael, elvis were to come out/start today even they wouldn't reach the level of popularity they did back in the old days. Why? because of over saturation and social media. Famous ppl just aren't that special anymore cuz of over saturation of music and media. Fans, instead of showing their passion in real life, show it on stan twitter and instagram now.

[@jamesrawlins735]

You never have checked out BTS and their concert reactions - or the reactions by their fans - perhaps even more rabid than Elvis (Btw I am a big BTS fan but I realize its not for everyone). Actually Kpop (Korean pop) groups tend to get heightened fan reactions

[@isopropyltoxicity]

Because everyone's too busy on their phone

[@RootzRockBand]

Hate to break it to you but those passing out girls were hired by the tavistock institute to hype up the beatles. It was an ingenious deception.

[@sickofthebs93]

No one to be excited about. It's all rehashed bs.

[@Jimmy-sb3fc]

That has to be the best Gene Simmons interview ever.

[@awesomebeard1973]

Check out the full interview with Dan Rathee. IMO, that his his best interview.

[@philweeks8459]

@@awesomebeard1973 you took the words out of my mouth. "Gene Simmons: An Intermate Interview with Dan Rather." Have tissues handy.

[@philweeks8459]

There's a Paul sit down with an American Jewish recognition group that very good, as well.

[@pattinmypubes6096]

Not really just an old man still wanting money from fans that already bought his albums 20x

[@awesomebeard1973]

@@pattinmypubes6096 justifying theft again Isreal. But not you insult the owner. Classic moral reletivism. Keep digging yourself deeper. Try that at a restaurant...this old owner wants people yo keep paying for meals when they've purchased food there like 20+ times. Lol

[@josephpretorius8607]

Hes totally right on everything he said. I buy albums from bands for 2 reasons, 1 because I like the sound of the disc vs digital downloads, but 2. If I like the album or artist enough and I think they're deserving of some money. I'm going to buy their album straight off their website. I'm going to go to their shows, and I'll buy a t-shirt. If you want to hear more of your favorite bands you gotta be willing to give up something for their entertainment or else they will die out

[@torshafranklin8546]

It's such a sad truth......... Growing up when I did was totally magical. The best music and bands ever!!!! My mom was young during the 50s and the 60s so I got all that love, and lastly, her mom, my grandma was young in the 20s and 30s and gave me the love for big band, jazz and blues. I consider myself very well rounded when it comes to great music. The stuff these days makes me angry and sad. A lot of it sounds the same to me. Rap has really gone to hell. Most of them sample music from classic artist or bands. Only a few create their own original music and even less actually play an instrument. It's tragic. It kills me when someone asks me if I've heard so and so's new song and I say "No, but I have heard a song that sampled another artist or bands music and sang or rapped over it". Smh!!!!!

[@richardhalliday6469]

I was going to skip.....then continued listening out of curiosity...and at the end realised how every word that Gene Simmons has spoken is absolutely 100% true.

[@drdellaman]

It was exciting to go to the record store, get your favorite bands new release and listen to it while checking out the artwork and liner notes of the album. Now everybody goes on a website and downloads popular songs.

[@gavburger]

My young daughter has discovered a group she likes and I thought I'd surprise her with a CD so she can have that experience - it was $49 for 8 songs and a 10 page photobook (CD sized of course). What kid can afford $50 for an album?

[@dafnam9655]

I still going to record stores, but if new releases it's from 1989 then yes

[@MrBlacksharpie]

Really glad I clicked on this. Not a big fan of Gene but he makes all the sense on this one. The problem is that kids in the 90s really didn't understand what downloading some free songs would do to the music industry and the parts that they loved about. It's really interesting to think about how much the internet and big tech has changed and ruined so many things.

[@CaseyMoo1]

Everything Gene said is spot on. As artists we continue to enhance presentation and sound with day job income; HOPING fans will have the courtesy to PAY for what we present in terms of refined finished product. Granted there is appreciation -- but that does not automatically equate to cash.. and it should.

[@reaper7264]

You can't blame fans. Technology is something you have to keep up with. Once it was possible to digitize audio there is no stopping it. It took a long time for them to figure out alternatives but even years ago people were making cassette tapes. It just got easier to do.

[@SolarSailor1967]

Metallica tried to fight file sharing of music and they were vilified for it. "How dare you expect us to pay for your work & creation, you corporate sell-outs!"

[@whatwouldhousedo5136]

My only thing about that was that Lars was a tape trader when he was a teenager- so he was doing the same thing to the bands he loved. Making free copies of band's albums to trade for other free copies from other traders.

[@SolarSailor1967]

@@whatwouldhousedo5136 that's a more complete view of it.

[@readsmith4223]

WhatWouldHouseDo bahahaha yea when Lars was a teenager tape trading didn’t destroy the industry. What a douche wad comparison, non musicians...

[@whatwouldhousedo5136]

@@readsmith4223 Try again- the point is that he is a hypocrite. Sorry if you missed that. Either it's right or it's wrong- you don't get to do something when it's convenient for you and then complain when other people do it. Was it on the same scale? Of course not, because the technology did not exist at the time. But if it had, you can bet he'd have been all over Audio Galaxy and Limewire downloading Budgie and Angelwitch albums. Not sure what that "non-musicians' comment is supposed to refer to. Have a nice day.

[@necrodamus5481]

@@readsmith4223 and believe it or not. The music industry hated tape trading and tape dubbing in the late 80's through the 90's. Back then they argued that it was killing the music industry. Then the internet happened

[@Kalprog]

How a lot of people listen to music is another issue. Do you really enjoy the compressed, tiny ear bud quality of the sound? Give me the era when bands played live together while recording, honing their skills so they could actually perform the material live without "assistance". Compensation for creating music isn't the only thing lacking today. Decent home stereo systems with full spectrum audio capabilities are a thing of the past too. A few of us still listen the way it was meant to be heard. The majority just steal for convenience. Love him or hate him I get his point.

[@markcheetah4960]

I agree, I hate tiny earbuds. I like big speaker cabinets. They're making everything smaller & smaller these days and I don't like it. They don't even sell home theater receivers anymore.

[@davidtingley9978]

The early part of shutdown I gave myself a great reminder of the superiority of hard copies. CD's are great, but one side of vinyl is the near perfect length of uninterrupted music. Stolen music in some form has been a thing as long as people have had the means to make their own copies, but the ability to store weeks of music on a computer or even a phone sometimes feels like overload,

[@jasonmullinder]

People choose to opt for tiny earbuds and bluetooth speakers. Anybody that wants a stereo with real speakers can buy one. The industry cashes in on complacency and laziness, most just go along with it.

[@varsityathlete9927]

@@markcheetah4960 what you mean they dont sell them anymore? ehh. You totally wrong on equipment, its just the stores are no longer to the same extent, but they definitely making and selling this stuff.

[@Algabatz]

When music went digital, and were readily available online, it lost it's value, even to consumers. That's why vinyl has had a resurrection. People want to hold and keep the things they buy. And vinyl is also good for the artists, since the artist's royalties are way higher than when on Spotify.

[@yowodup6094]

I agree, although CDs are still good because they don't wear out and it's a physical copy.

[@Algabatz]

@@yowodup6094 True, I was thinking of the phenomena.

[@yowodup6094]

@@Algabatz Yes true, from that point onward everything was upgraded from analog to digital.

[@paulcowart3174]

@@yowodup6094 Supposedly analog has a wider wave form than digital I've never A/B'd them though

[@Algabatz]

@@yowodup6094 Well, "upgraded", is a matter of opinion :-)

[@ExplosionChimp]

1. The record companies DID try to sue tons of people when Napster came out. Suing broke people doesn't work. 2. Who pirates music anymore? A $10 a month Spotify subscription gives you access to everything legally.

[@pgrmoja]

or use youtube and pirate the rest thats not on it, as if id actually give them 10 dollars xd

[@ExplosionChimp]

@@pgrmoja 30 cents a day to have access to basically everything recorded seems pretty reasonable to me.

[@Reed-Publications]

He makes a lot of great points about the fate of the music industry. I wish we could go back to the good old days.

[@Hoganply]

When connections were your only in. Great.

[@Hoganply]

@GuitarGeek72 If we're talking about pop, I largely agree with you, but to a point; talent still exists in abundance if you know where to look, and if you think the vast majority of pop stars aren't exceptional and don't grind just as consistently for their craft, you're deaf and/or ignorant. And that's coming from a metalhead. Today, it's still about connections, but it's shifted to include more relative directness to actual audiences, which, yes, can have bad taste. Back then a label or jockey made or broke every prospective success story. At least algorithms are comparatively unbiased and have _some_ influence on one's success nowadays.

[@somthingbrutal]

there was a lot of bad in those days to, shitty contracts that left the bands with nothing

[@RelativePitch]

The good old days were not so good. The Record industry exploited them all and the corporate suits got rich. That’s why bands had to sell merch to make money. The record companies were taking 95% of the profits off the top.

[@Hoganply]

@@RelativePitch Exactly.

[@yankee4424]

Say what you will about Gene, and there’s certainly a lot that can be said, but he is absolutely correct about everything he says in this video.

[@riverdart2068]

except zero is a concept that originated in India, the Arabs gave it the name...

[@LegionOfWeirdos]

Actually by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia about 5000 or so years ago. 🙃

[@bswihart1]

I loved going to the record store with my hard earned money and buying a new Iron maiden album, opening up, smelling it,looking at it, playing it, it was a joy!! Damn shame what all this has turned in to. I still buy today, last album was Thin lizzys Bad reputation album and I will always purchase what I want to listen to. You can call me stupid when it's all over the internet but I've got it in physical form and that to me is pretty awesome. I miss the big concerts as well, 1st show I paid money for was Kiss, good times.

[@ronthompson95]

Well said!!!

[@baldersackthethird768]

You're not stupid. People streaming something they don't own is stupid. Keep on rockin🤘

[@vincebalosky771]

Im 64 years you could not have put it better 100% true

[@vincebalosky771]

My first concert was ten years after/humble pie 1973 i was 16 years old

[@baldersackthethird768]

@@vincebalosky771 humble pie greatest 'unknown' band.

[@spiesonmars]

"Where is the next Elvis or the next Beatles?" Gene asks. Well, over 60,000 new songs are created and uploaded to Spotify daily. There is simply too much new music flooding the internet and not enough time to listen to all of it, let alone trying to find that one gem of an artist that could become the next big thing.

[@billwilliam9089]

Yup and none are original because everything has already been done.

[@jamesjblackbird]

....I think the creative spark is an energy. That some selected few where crazy enough to follow it, or (surrended to it) and where able to understand and use it. Maybe not even knowing how, just going with it, so that's why they where so drastically different from the rest. So after them, we followed that light, and now, thanks to fast spread of information, many understood how to do it too. So, the infinite force of creativity is now feeding so many more than before. (please excuse my english, not my language)

[@Jamesftd]

It's not about finding the artist, if Elvis came out today he would rise to the top. It's about having "it" and it can't be copied or forced but you know when you hear and see it. Somebody will steal the show soon.

[@colinallcars5239]

Those huge artists existed in the days when we were all force fed the same 10 bands via radio, then MTV. Today is soooo much better because the ecosystem is so much more open. People now discover the music they really like, not the force-fed corporate crap that Gene loves. Napster played a part, but the internet has opened up choice to the people while hurting the corporate shills. It’s a fantastic time to be a music fan.

[@eazyfnduzit]

@HumanGarbage because you’re biased...no offense

[@matthorner35]

In the 80s we got nostalgic and never really looked forward since.

[@edwardbliss8931]

There's a lot of throat sounds and bracelet jingling in this.

[@bobbyboykin7137]

I noticed that too, all that clanking of stuff is annoying. Does anyone actually think that crap looks good? If I had to put that shit on me Id consider it a punishment, kinda like shackles or something.

[@TheGlassjaw28]

His throat sounds are disgusting 🤮

[@gmollster]

Metallica tried their best against Napster. Everyone was mad at them for fighting. Now, Gene clearly shows why the new system doesnt work.

[@davidgessin-mccully3919]

The worst thing with the Napster and Metallica brouhaha is this quote from Lars Ulrich “Napster takes big money away from big bands.” If you’re already a big band you already have big money so why is he worried about the .35¢ he would get from a person who downloaded Kill Em All?

[@TheMacmann17]

@@davidgessin-mccully3919 it matters because it affects all of the other bands and artists who are not rich.

[@quickstep2408]

@@TheMacmann17 that sounds like self-entitlement to me. what makes these "other bands and artists" think they're even close to the same notoriety as metallica? are you saying that amateur artists really deserve thousands of dollars for their amateur work? you know how many of them they're are? the ones that make are the ones are the ones genes talking about. you have to put in the work to able to get to the point to be screwed over lol

[@davidgessin-mccully3919]

@@quickstep2408 @Donald McCaffery Actually as a matter of fact why are most independent and amateur musicians as you call them put their shit on KZbin then? I can listen to whole albums whenever I want usually posted by the band themselves from Pink Floyd to Tom Macdonald to Metallica. Oh yeah I remember now EXPOSURE. Say some kid has never heard Metallica not his type of music, he hears a song off Master of Puppets so he downloads it, finds out he likes it and purchases the other albums. It’s all about streaming now which Napster started limewire followed then artists bitched and did it themselves at least their music is getting listened to and maybe bought.

[@TheMacmann17]

@@quickstep2408 so you are saying that it’s ok to rip off bands if they are not as successful as Metallica? If amateur bands create music that people like, they should be paid accordingly. It’s called capitalism. If they suck then nobody will buy their music. Not too difficult to understand.

[@gordonpelto1069]

Giant corporations took over the music business. And they have a formula that they follow, which dumbed down music. We have zero originality left.

[@eddy71454]

Record companies have been predatory and used a formula forever but the music ideas were still expanding and growing in the 50's 60's 70's. Payola used to be a big problem where radio DJ's had to be bribed by record companies to play their music. Then the 80's came along and videos followed which really got the record companies controlling everything. When video came along it has been all down hill since. Jazz has still kept it's integrity but it has always been an outsiders music after the swing era died off.

[@mitsuomits9077]

Loved how he unexpectedly switched from his metaphor of the fox to the Titanic and it still made sensr😅 He perfectly pinpointed the issue of musicians struggling to live of their art.

[@michaelweymouth4015]

He is so right! Malcolm Gladwell summed it up that an artist needs 10,000 hours to master their craft. If they have to work to make ends meet they’ll never invest the hours to be masters. By letting them file share and give away the music. Gene nailed it. The consumers have screwed themselves out of great new music.

[@troyc4250]

Outliers was a cool read....

[@tecnica-de-voz]

his first ideas about the fingerprint of an artist were spot on. The rest is not quite the way he puts it. Yes, artists don't sell records like before, but because of the rise of the streaming platforms the chance that millions of new musicians now have to be discovered ( by fans ) on those platforms is something that was unthinkable say 30 years ago, and that is huge. The question is how that artists can capitalise that opportunity. On the other hand people are now streaming, not spending days in front of a screen downloading mp3's for free. The streaming platforms pay the artists, even if people don't like their payment policies, they do distribute royalties. So we're not quite in the wild west anymore. He is not really offering constructive solutions.I believe the musician should focus on the current landscape and make the best out of it. Have to work a day job?, Ok, but now you have software that allows you to finish songs from your bedroom instead of having to rent expensive studios and engineers. So, it's all a matter of perspective, at least in my opinion.

[@brianelkins8604]

Being discovered dosen't really matter for them if they cant make a living at it. What he is saying is absolutely right. I am a musician and people always ask me why I aint famous. I say why would I be? Their is no market for music anymore. People still do it because we enjoy it, but their is no value to it as an art anymore. I make my living as a blacksmith. Will never make it a musician because their is no it to make thanks to these people.

[@AmanOU2be]

@@brianelkins8604 If you can't make a living off of being a music artist, it means you are not getting enough people in your paid gigs. Musician's earnings have NEVER been mostly about albums and singles. It has always mainly been from ticket sales. Now, the streaming should be treated just as seriously as an old recording contract, though.

[@J77199]

@Mr. G Oversimplification. There's plenty of amazing talents who are under appreciated and under exploited for a plethora of reasons. It's naive not to realize there are still industry gatekeepers, perception issues and algorithmic irregularities that can play a key role in determining someone's "success".

[@ArtificialJetleg]

@@brianelkins8604 Why would I pay $20 for an album that has only 1 good song? That’s just being ripped off! You say, you can’t make your living out of music anymore? What do you think about coldplay? They are considered one of the biggest bands now and they started after Napster changed the game… There are tons of talented musicians out there. Does that mean all should be famous? I see lots of talented guitarists out there playing cover songs super nice. But when you hear their own songs, they are rubbish.

[@theapostrophewrecks3589]

Naw, what you have is 60k unprofessionally performed, produced and presented pieces of crap uploaded to Spotify every single day. And that’s just spotify. Who pays .00034 cents per stream. From a musician’s perspective, everything you just said garbage and the reason why we are here. Just so you know.

[@frankny4947]

You got it Gene...The music business is fucked and the music sucks

[@shinybeast8946]

Good riddance

[@celluloidtherapy5003]

As much as the “free music” crowd hates it, Gene is spot-on with his argument. Where IS the next GREAT BAND? We will never find them…

[@oldmanballer5088]

Try Rival Sons I think they have the ability to be great and they are slowly getting there. I used to think like that until I heard them.

[@michaelkeudel8770]

Try Mystery Caught in the Whirlwind of Time.

[@mickblack2800]

Try not fooling yourselves, it's all over.

[@michaelkeudel8770]

@@mickblack2800 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZyYaaRvjbaYhM0

[@celluloidtherapy5003]

I think I should have clarified my comment: I actually meant, Where is the next HUGE band? The band that can fill arenas around the world. There ARE some HUGELY talented bands out there, but there IS a reason why KISS, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc., continue to dominate the heavy metal scene. The order of things has been disrupted: gone are the bands who would have picked up the gauntlet left by the fathers of the scene. The internet was once a place full of hope, until the reality of how destructive it could, and DID ultimately become.

[@abolishwelfare]

I believe downloading and “free” music fostered the exorbitant concert ticket prices we see today. Tours used to be a promotional vehicle to raise awareness to the new album. Now, there’s no albums, so artists have to make their cheddar with tickets and merch.

[@jaycobyhyde2742]

Excellent point

[@varsityathlete9927]

It's a fact, you don't need to believe it. But its more complicated, one of the main factors is the 360 deal, that is the label takes a cut out of everything you earn. The old contracts used to be on the recordings, so the artist has the tours, the tshirts etc money. Which meant they were motivated to promote themselves by touring and that which increased record sales. Contract today, takes a cut of everything, so not only the tour money, and tshirts, but if you got a deal promoting a product, or anything you do. So ticket prices started to rocket.

[@Hassan_Omer]

He is absolutely right about piracy, this is something I realised after a decade of working as a professional musician, because when i started or chose to take music as a career i had no guidance, no government support or special programs for scholarships for doing music and then the professionals i met in this field they were all making music on pirated softwares, we downloaded all instructional material from torrentz and the albums , music , movies everything. Long story short, when i decided to make music as a career i realized i would never be able to ask my fans to not pirate my music, so 99% of the artists in my country including myself, to survive as an artist, we only rely on doing live shows or some of us have home studios where we produce TV commercials, radio jingles, record artists. But that work too comes in when you have achieve some sort of milestone. How i changed and got out of piracy is what I talk about every time i am sitting with a new talent. This is one of the major things i discuss with someone I am recording or working with and I believe that it is essential for professional artists to speak about it but they can only do so if they are clean.

[@kensalazar5066]

Was never a kiss fan, but Gene can be entertaining, great to hear him give cudos to JPP, " I'm proud to say I know Uncle Jimmy" well done Gene, you're lucky guy

[@victororo462]

Page ripped off Stairway to heaven. And they got sued for it. LOL. They ain't all that great!

[@kensalazar5066]

@@victororo462 yea, they lost not zeppelin, your embarrassing yourself!

[@kensalazar5066]

@@victororo462 watch led zeppelin vs Spirit lawsuit by Rick Beato and get musically educated

[@victororo462]

@@kensalazar5066 And just because they won on appeal, doesn't mean they didn't rip it off. If you were a musician, you would hear that it does appear to sound like it was ripped off. And just because a court rules something, especially something that they know nothing about, such as music, doesn't mean the ruling was correct. The courts do not consider killing a human fetus the same as killing a human. CLEARLY wrong!

[@kensalazar5066]

@@victororo462 stop whinning and making rediculous comparisons. Listen to a schooled and talented musician, Rick Beaton. Its sounds like ,it could have been..wtf does that say?

[@VermontPrepper]

Absolutely right. I have always said that you know the names of every member of a superstar band - Beatles, Stones, Metallica, AC/DC, Van Halen, Nirvana, Zeppelin, Rush, Motley Crue, Kiss (original members), etc - though the talent of these bands vary, their members were/are all household names at one point in history. I love the Foo Fighters but I don't know all of their names. Today rock is dead. There are zero new groups out there, and a few one offs like Gaga and Billie Ellish as Gene pointed out. I would even throw in Miley Cyrus, who could belt out rock as good as anyone out there today. It's all auto tuned so anyone can fake singing. Everything is digital, no warmth. No drummers (like me), only midi players. Bonham must be spinning in his grave.

[@TheNightOwl11683]

Rock isn't dead. It's moved overseas. There's a lot of good rock & metal bands in Europe & especially as of late coming out of Japan. The Japanese Rock & Metal scene is probably the best rock & metal scene since Los Angeles in the 80's to early 90's

[@ckmoore101]

My sophomore year in school (1983), we had "Data Processing" class (computer). We were on the Radio Shack TRS-80. As part of the grade, we had to write a BASIC program of our choosing. Mine was a simple database, of bands, and their members, along with their instrument that you could do searches against (list all guitarists, etc) To this day, I can name all the members of close to 100 different rock/punk/electronic bands from 70s-80's.

[@varsityathlete9927]

@@TheNightOwl11683 huge post punk scene too. so much great music out there, its just not hitting the charts.

[@donyoung7874]

Maybe there's an over abundance of musicians today. Anyone with a computer can be a musician or a producer, just like anyone with an iPhone is now a cinematographer or Director of Photography.

[@centaurus5676]

You must be American! Metal and Rock have never gone away in Europe!

[@boki1693]

I actually saw Gaga as a lead singer doing a Zeppelin cover on youtube before she was famous and she was pretty good.

[@RigidRecords69]

I saw her at an Iron Maiden concert in Tampa, wearing an IM t-shirt!

[@j_freed]

Check out the Metal version of Paparazzi… it sounds really cool.

[@FOH3663]

Yes, saw that a couple days ago. She killed it... a slightly reggae'fied arrangement, in a small club.

[@JoeGarchar1960]

Gene is spot on! This is why he was the brains behind marketing Kiss.

[@franklinfx]

Say you know NOTHING about Kiss without saying you know nothing about Kiss

[@JoeGarchar1960]

@@franklinfx Oh I hated Kiss in the 70s, but I know a lot about them. And I still saw them live 6 times from 75-78 and in 1983 when I was part of their sound crew and Motley Crew was opening up for them. I know one thing about Kiss...Gene was the mastermind behind marketing them and they were nice and loud in concert. You may know about Kiss, but you don't know anything about me. The problem is you don't like what Gene said about sharing files.

[@FrankValchiria]

in Italy in 96 a new cd was roughly 40000 lire which translate in 20 to 25 buck more or less. i use to make 45000 lire a day working in the weekends. record labels made too much money from the cd and paid artist very little. if they kept price lower, people would have been drawn to copied cds and tapes that cost a fraction.

[@dragon-id5uj]

"not a fan of the disco boys on the pole" says bare hairy chested man in spandex, face paint... he WAS the disco boy.

[@myob3574]

everythings been overdone so much, its not like the 60's and 70's when electric hard rock was busting out. That also plays a big part. Rap and W.A.P just doesn't have the mojo that led zep, or any of those bands had.

[@yowodup6094]

100% agree.

[@miguellee7668]

Now W.A.P I can agree on, but Rap as a whole? I have to say it has mojo, and I'm a Rock fan, but I see the quality in Rap; the problem to me with Rap is that today it is in the same situation 80s glam metal was in, and at some point, another genre is going to take over in the mainstream

[@paulcowart3174]

Not the same artistry Too much digi manipulation

[@drakilliamproductions7728]

Yes and you will always sound like other bands, music has lost it originality.

[@miguellee7668]

@@empnadajhhh9469 and what music genre hasn't gone down that same road

[@TheBrockwellBroadcastNetwork]

The most respectable and coherent interview with Gene in decades. There is true wisdom here. Listen up, kids.

[@trapezoidspangle934]

Yeah, it was particularly respectable when he hocked a loogie into his handkerchief.

[@marshalironsides8777]

As a kid I was friends with these 3 brothers. The oldest, Bill, was a child of the early 60's and owned over 3,000 albums. Everything from the Beatles to Zappa was there. It was entrancing. Bille Eilish doesn't even belong in the same paragraph as Led Zeppelin.

[@hitzncritzmobilegaming9988]

Yes she does, especially when a member of Zeppelin has said he loves her music and thinks she is the next big thing.

[@suemommie]

There are better singers out there with more talent than her that are overlooked because she is more marketable. Her whispery, mumbly thing is is a turnoff. That’s all it’s become these days. All flash, no substance.

[@suemommie]

@DnB and Psy Production agreed…. Why not promote Bishop Briggs? Alice Merton? I even remember when Nora Jones came out…. Great singer/songwriters. Elle King is fun, too but she doesn’t ‘fit’ the look….

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

@@suemommie Oh for sure, even in the mainstream she overshadows much more talented singers like Frank Ocean (He’d probably be the most famous singer in the world if he didn’t release 1 album every 5-6 years tho, but because he takes his time all his works are high quality.

[@suemommie]

@@TokyoBalletReprise agreed so many talented singers and bands out there. Just have to really look.

[@richardpeterson4955]

Gene is viciously intelligent and I met him on two separate occasions , and he was extremely kind and very grateful for his fans .. people get mad bc he hustles hard a bc a multimillionaire ..can he be a dick .yeah but who isn't sometimes...

[@dashphonemail]

He's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is...

[@hessiangardner9134]

@@dashphonemail really youre saying this Jewish born man isn't that smart lmao imagine if he was an accountant, kiss not a billion dollar name no

[@markyp1965]

Not a Kiss fan, but Gene is absolutely right in what he says about the how the music industry works now and how the value of the end result of the creative process has been diminished. As a teenager, there was a feeling of anticipation and excitement, going into a record store to buy the new single or album release of a favourite band or artist and then playing it when you got home. I’ve never subscribed to any of the music streaming services, as I’ve still like that feeling of owning a physical representation of what a band or artist has produced, albeit on CD rather than vinyl and if I download a digital version, I pay for that download.

[@SetFire2TheNightSky]

Typical Simmons lopsided nonsense. There are so many points that can be countered here. 1. He thinks that mainstream music is the only "good" music out there. When in reality, there are couintless great musicians and bands making great music the world in general will never hear due to the dinosaurs who control the music industry. Dinosaurs who have a stranglehold on who "makes it" and who doesn't. 2. He thinks that because some artists aren't "recognizable" to *_HIM,_* well they must not being recognizable to everyone else either. Not to mention, all he ever focuses on is mainstream music, as if no other types/genres of music are worthy of notice, praise and consideration. Again, a mentality that is a product of the dinosaur music industry who focuses mainly on mainstream music for the casual masses simply becasue they are the biggest purveyors of profits to these already rich and overpaid dinosaurs. 3. He thinks that there are no new bands/artists worthy of being seen as "the next big thing" due to his thinking there is no real talent out there anymore, when in reality, there is tons of talent that, again, the world will never hear/see. Why? Cause again, the dinosaurs who control the music industry have stagnated that industry which focused and keeps focusing only on a small pool of talent, mainly in either California or New York. Those were stadards set in the last century, when by now, it should be focusing on talent on a national and even international scale. 4. He thinks the fans are the "crooks" here when in reality, it's the music industry dinosaurs who have scammed and robbed artists and fans alike for decades upon decades. They're the ones that have used artists, their music and their fans to line their pockets with insane amounts of money. He makes no mention of this but, is quick to blame the fans when music "copying" and bootlegging has been rampant from the start. In the 70's and 80's when KISS came along and rose to stardom, bootlegging and cassette dubbing was *_HUGE_* and yet, the music industry was raking in billions from people buying new cassettes, CD's and even vinyl. The music industry remained alive and well. 5. He acknowledges that the music industry paid people like him millions back in the day as an advance but, they don't do that anymore. What is the real reason for this? Cause the dinosaurs who run the industry will not take a chance on something that they do not deem as "profitable" anymore. Proof that to these dinos, it's all about the money and how they can line *_THEIR_* pockets with that money. 6. He also fails to mention the fact that these Hollywood music dinos have now seen that sex is just as profitable as music, if not moreso and have made that a factor in who "makes it" and who doesn't nowadays. Yes, it was a factor in the past but now, even moreso. There have been lots of new artists within the last 20 yrs. that have "made it" not due to talent but, mostly on their looks, youth and sex appeal. All while great musicians that Simmons in his Beverly Hills mansion won't see or hear _(so he thinks talent outside CA or NY doesn't exist),_ squander their talent in rinky dink bars, clubs etc and even at times, on the streets across the country simply cause they don't have the means to go to California or New York. 7. Another convenient omission he makes is how the mainstream music industry has basically prevented new bands from making it big due to the iron fist they wield to keep bands like KISS, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, The Stones, The Beatles and countless others on profit producing pedestals for the last 40 or 50 yrs.. They know that these bands will always bring in the "big bucks" from the sea of mainstream music listening sheep so, they are hesitant, now more than ever, to allow newcomers who might decrease those profits, to get their foot in the door. It's much easier to keep milking bands like KISS and all the others that have been succesful all this time for tons of cash, than it is to allow a healthy flow of new blood that has the talent and skill but, that doesn't have the following or popularity of the masses. 8. He fails to realize how back in the day, the exposure that most people had to music was very limited to mostly what they saw or heard on the radio. *_THAT'S_* why some bands like his got to be so "big" - cause when you shove the same bands/music again and again down people's throats, without giving them another option or means to acquire or be exposed to new bands/music, they will eventually just settle for whatever they're given. When the internet came along, that ancient stranglehold that the music industry and the clowns who run it had on how people get their music was destroyed and of course, they didn't llike it. They want to have a monopoly and stranglehold on how music - specifically music that *_THEY_* promote cause they think it will be profitable - is distributed to the masses and the internet and so many other things prevent them from doing that now so they cry "Foul!". This discussion could go on and on while Simmons (as usual) will only look at bits and pieces that are convenient for him to look at, while ignoring the big picture *_AS A WHOLE._*

[@tonyincs]

Well tell us how you really feel.

[@markb6863]

Agree 100%

[@kemosabegt350geuss6]

All the greats had to overcome adversity. Many were passed over by numerous "dinosaurs". The cream will eventually rise to the top regardless of genre. Its a matter of talent and endurance. I personally was never a KISS fan but Simmons is right on about this.

[@macvena]

Hey champ, "He's" qualified to talk about music, because he is a successful musician. Who the hell are you?

[@ronchavis]

MOST MUSICIANS WITH RECORDS have always had to have a day job. Not all artists with a few great selling albums become rich. J Geils, for example, wound up running a car restoration business. Hendrix's family had to battle for years to get paid anything from record sales after Jimi's death. When I interviewed Jimi's dad in 1978, he was cutting grass for a living! Record companies traditionally rip off artists....AND composers! (Al Cleveland told me he made $400 for writing "What's Going On" because that's exactly how much the song writing mill he was part of paid at the time.) MORE...most new music sucks because nearly everything played on Radio is selected by a very tiny group of people who are little more than corporate numbers crunchers. Up until the year 1997, radio stations were mostly owned by individuals or small companies. But this is when deregulation was set into place by the FCC, which meant Corporations could own a nearly unlimited number of stations. This completely crushed the little guy, and any semblance of local "programming" and music selection. There are no new "Beatles" or "Elvis's" or "Dylans" because generally, record companies will not record artists that they think the 3 (THREE) companies that control radio will not play. Simmons makes an enormous error in blaming fans. Bootleg Video material doesn't seem to be dealing a death blow to that industry. Streaming is booming.

[@jonathanhathaway7796]

Napster devalued music. Most of my young guitar students don't know the names of songs or the artist, and definitely have never listened to a whole album by anybody. Oh well. Gene is right on the money here.

[@pattinmypubes6096]

Napster was like 20 years ago that didn't devalue music unoriginal and dull music has devauled music

[@oldironsides4107]

That’s has nothing to do with Napster. It’s literally shittunparents raising shitty kid with no attention span who are self absorbed and live on social media.

[@defhoez449]

Napster didn't devalue music....the record companies put TOO much value in it. By charging people 20+ dollars for a CD for ONE song....once the iPod came along, it was game over. People could now have thousands of songs at their fingers...skip...skip...skip in a matter of 2 secs flat. People stopped listening to entire records almost exactly 20 years ago now. The iPod came out in Oct of 2001...that was the month the record officially died.

[@bw2937]

Noooo that's not true. My generation is 'genreless' now and we are very open minded with our music (maybe not in other ways but in music definitley). I'm 17 and love everything from the Beatles and stones to Taylor Swift.

[@bw2937]

@@defhoez449 Right

[@lilyolk299]

is the audio for Genes’ phlegm & chains more prevalent than anything he’s actually saying for anyone else…?!?

[@wickedfuctup]

Yes. Listening to him blow lightly through his nose after every sentence, deviated sceptim, mucous filled throat.

[@playitstrange129]

It’s him. He’s recovering from COVID.

[@andybaldman]

I know right! Could not listen.

[@MikeTimbers]

He mentioned one, but post-88 - Amy, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kobain to name just a few. I love the acts he lauds but there have been great musicians since 88.

[@euandrecampos]

Honestly, this is a one-sided viewpoint. There have been millions of great bands who never had the opportunity simply because a a big shot from some record company decided that "such material would not be commercially viable". Even successful bands have had periods in their careers when their materials have been "repressed" by their record label to the detriment of others that they understood to be more commercially profitable. Who has never heard reports about it? So who killed the market? Today it is known for example that many radios were (and still are) paid to play certain artists repeatedly and insistently to promote them. While others barely had the opportunity to be heard. So who killed the market? And this whole issue about piracy there is a lot of cynicism and hypocrisy. I won't go into the comment further because it would be too long, but I'll cite an example. I remember that in the early 2000s after the advent of mp3 (and in my opinion formats are the real villains in this context) and napster (it was just a means) the same labels like Sony that on the one hand cried against piracy, they were the same ones that through their subsidiaries sold CD-ROM, CD-RW drivers for computers with the words on the packaging "Burn your favorite music, photos, etc on CD's". Remember, we're talking at a time when hard drives in general still didn't have very large storage capacity. So who really is the fox?

[@raypreseau2047]

You are very correct. Id like to hear you debate gene on this because its a subject with two very solid, sensitive POV

[@garricksands844]

This is a very simple argument. Would you prefer the old or current business model?

[@harseybaber]

You go, Andre! Most musicians never made anything with the old music biz model and yesterday's delivery formats - just like now. It's better now because musicians with enough drive can publish without any higher-ups dictating their choices and making terrible monetary deals, etc. Yes, the tap has been shut off but after many years of pondering what to do about it, I have concluded that there is no solution. So I press on doing exactly what I want. Life is good.

[@WGmini]

This is the most incredible interview I've ever seen.

[@CatsInHats-S.CrouchingTiger]

We need more of this! Who killed the music? 🙀🤨? 👽🦊🪳🐒🦈🐔🐣

[@pattinmypubes6096]

Not really just a old man who wants more money for old outdated art from fans who already bought 100s of kiss crap.

[@BludINFAMOUS]

..obvious that you havn't seen many then..

[@quickstep2408]

why? lol

[@redrick8900]

@@pattinmypubes6096 What's it like being that ridiculously wrong.

[@psutter5]

I have problems with Gene on ACE and Peter. Comments about David Lee Roth comparing him to older Elvis and death BUT I 100% agree with what he said here. Musicians have a hard time making a living.

[@jimhoctor2382]

ACE and Peter were the real talent in KISS.

[@KrysLynne82]

I wish I knew Gene Simmons personally. He is the real deal

[@Trinergy-Livewire]

Yes Dude! Your OWN Squeeze, bend and vibrato IS your musical voice. Gene learned something in 50 years! 😁

[@kowanmcgarry]

Everything Gene said was right and is true. Once you can steal something on the internet, it no longer has value.

[@Fractalite]

Do you use music streaming services ? Do you enjoy your streamed music any less ? Do you consider yourself a thief ?

[@baldersackthethird768]

It's not about free, it's about the over abundance. Everyone with a computer thinks they're a muso now. Too much crap to wade through.

[@kowanmcgarry]

@@baldersackthethird768 Piracy is stealing, stealing is a crime regardless if it’s in person or on the internet, it makes no difference.

[@baldersackthethird768]

@@kowanmcgarry you missed my point completely. It's not because music is being downloaded, it's because there's so much of it. Anyone can record an album at home these days. And people have more choice for entertainment eg video games, streaming entertainment etc. He keeps using piracy as a reason and it's just not true. Plus kiss write crap music no-one wants to hear anymore. He basically can't handle the fact that it's not the 70's and music isn't as important to people as it was then. Sad but true.

[@justinlarsen2281]

Charging way too much for too long for CDs is what killed it. I agree with Gene, it was great to go to record stores and discover new bands. But everytime you took a chance on something unknown it was $20+. Everyone talks about the great albums they happily paid for but I also remember all the terrible garbage I overpaid for to never listen to again

[@e.l.norton]

CDs were not that expensive. On average I paid $15 or less for CDs. Music is a product like any other. People blow ABSURD amounts of money on sneakers, clothes, electronics, etc., but $15 or $20 for an album is too much? And, as with all things, you're paying for more than the music. You're paying for the manufacturing, the marketing, the shipping, the rent for the store that sells it and all its costs, and for labor in that store, taxes, and a slew of other things. Everything in life costs. This entitled attitude that music should be given away is absurd and has poisoned the culture on every level. Gene is 100% on target. I have my music. I know what's good. But, as he said there is no more of that stuff coming. So, in the end it's the "fans"/thieves who ultimately lose out.

[@justinlarsen2281]

@@e.l.norton Yes, that's how economics works, everything had cost and worth. When the cost outweighs the worth then people look elsewhere for supply. Whether you or I like it or not, enough people thought the costs outweighed the worth. That's why people installed CD burning drives and sketchy software like lime wire and chanced ruining their family computers. Unlike sneakers and clothes CDs didn't have competition you can't just say well this Tom Petty CD is too much, I'll buy one made from another company. It was a monopoly.

[@waynesbutler7834]

Yes i remember oh so well buying a cassette just for the hit song with the rest of it crap that i over paid for and the trend continued with CDs . At least with CDs you could go direct to that hit song and repeat with the push of a button , cassettes you have to push the rewind and fast forward button till you found it while trying to drive , cassettes i am guessing had a death toll on our highways in the 70s and 80s . I remember 8 track which was even worse when it unwound ..

[@modeljetjuggernaut4864]

I agree. I think pop music ripped off a lot of people. They dug one or two songs they heard on the radio and the rest was throwaway on the albums they bought. Not as much the case with rock bands who cared about their craft - and explored different directions, improved their playing or hired new blood. As a result many great rock albums were produced. I would even say Heart had many great songs not heard on the radio.

[@joebrewer4529]

@@justinlarsen2281 yeah records are in overpriced Monopoly as well. What's your idiotic point?

[@Fractalite]

Whats he taking about ? Subscription based music streaming was completely inebitable in the same way that cable or satellite tv killed DVD sales and main stream TV and streaming companies are now king of the screens , with network produced series and movies , while cinemas are half empty . Talking about companies being to blame for not suing the first music pirates ? Sheesh that would have been like plugging the first hole with chewing gum on a sinking ship .

[@robertsexton3055]

I agree 100 % with everything Gene said ! Gaga does sing beautifully as did Amy Whinehouse . Im 58 and I listen to music 24/7 and it’s hard to find music that hits the soul like back in the day , Otis, CCR , steppenwolf, Zappa , Sabbath, kiss etc I dab in the newer stuff what do they call it alternative music but I can’t feel it . Thank you Gene for all the great music . ✊🏻

[@hungfao]

I'm pretty old but have a lot of younger friends. One day one of them hands me a disk full of music of newer artists. 'How much do I owe you?' I ask. 'Nothing', he replies, 'I just downloaded them for you'. It meant nothing for him to give me this. We were only talking the day before about how I don't really listen to anything anymore and I don't know new artists. Back in my day if you had an album of great tracks, you brought your friends over and played it for them. It was communal, a shared experience, a rite of passage....especially if they liked the album as much as you did. Then, your friends would go out and purchase their own album. There were a lot of great bands back then, a lot of competition to produce the best music to get the attention and, ultimately, the money of the fans. There was incentive. As Gene noted, that disk my friend gave me? Worthless. He dropped it off on my desk and went about his day. Maybe we could have listened to it together, debate the merit of each track, have a communal shared experience? But no. It meant nothing and he probably had a video game to get back to.

[@andrewbarker9773]

the man with the ego knows business, ain't no doubt

[@adamdacevedo]

Actually, the number system he refers to as “Arabic” originated in north India in a Hindu context. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Hindu-Arabic_numeral_system

[@baldersackthethird768]

Yep. India actually invented 0 believe it or not. I know someone will want to argue, but you're wrong😁

[@unkindestcut]

The first recorded use of "zero" was in Mesopotamia in 3 BC and made it's way from the Babylonian empire to India via Greece around the mid-5th century AD. From there it spread to Cambodia, then China, and finally the Islamic countries around the 8th century. Arab merchants found it in India and brought it to the West by the 12th century.

[@LuthorKilljoy]

It means more when you pay your hard earned money for that new album, holding it in your hands reading the lyrics and liner notes , you don't get that from down loading a song.you do that and your missing out on some really cool stuff

[@herculesbrofister265]

not really. and it's a lot of plastic waste.

[@jessty5179]

But how can The Beatles happened twice ? Who wants to rewrite "yesterday " ? Or should I remove the quotes Mr Simmons.

[@ArtificialJetleg]

The thing mr. simmons is that we used to pay (yeah, i am old enough to say it) $20 for a record that only has 1 good song on it. Doesn’t matter if you are a fan or not. We were basically being robbed. I am today an apple music client and I also buy records. But mainly I am not being robbed anymore, because I buy what I really like from the artist.

[@OutOnTheTiles]

I’d say 1958 to 1998…. It went further then 1988. But ya the music industry is dead….. has been for over 20 years now.

[@FOH3663]

Dead? No, the music industry is not dead, quite the opposite. It's thriving, ... it's just entirely different now, constantly adapting to the forces acting upon it.

[@chrisoakley5830]

I'll agree in part with the two previous comments. The music industry is completely different now from when I grew up in the 70$ & 80$. Because of technology its a completely different animal. Its not dead, if it were we wouldn't be seeing the success of Swift,Beiber, Eilish and all the rap and country music. What is dead however is Rock & Roll and to some degree pop music as we once knew it. If Rock ever makes a comeback I'll be astonished because it is dead and has been for many years now.

[@mikepratt6481]

@@chrisoakley5830 rock is only "dead" in America. There's some great stuff coming out of Europe and Japan.

[@chrisoakley5830]

@@mikepratt6481 Great news. Let me know if you ever hear it on the radio. I doubt it.

[@mikepratt6481]

@@chrisoakley5830 that's why I said it's dead in America. Rock can't get past "classic rock" stations and all the pop/hip-hop on radio.

[@IAmAndrewSwan]

With Gene talking about music now being free, its true and its sad, brands such as Spotify are known for paying their artists terribly. Do I use it? Of course, but I wish I didn't, its just easy to access having it right there on your phone. When he was talking about it, I also thought "thats where KISS would do well, thanks to all the merchandising and what not", the larger than life characters Gene, Paul, Peter and Ace created all those years ago, created amazing ideas in the merchandise sector, which is where a lot of the money that KISS would have made today would be coming from, and a lot of current artists now.

[@donyoung7874]

You "wish you didn't"? You mean you can't stop yourself from using it on principle, if nothing else?

[@hounsdjentlow3074]

Wow man, thats weak. You spend 10 pounds a month on spotify which you could use to buy a cd and you "wish you didnt". You know you could actually offer musicans a living anx real support that way which they absolutely deserve. Hope this doesnt come across rude or derogative its just i literally stopped using spotify for the exact reason that the pay artists fuck all. People need to stop being selfish by putting their own convienences first and consider how they would feel for not being paid when they go to work.

[@herculesbrofister265]

Gene's an ignorant ass boomer. Lets look at a list of modern musicians who have so far sold more total albums than kiss Rihanna Enimem Taylor swift Mariah Carey Ed sheran Justin beiber Drake Kanye west Katy perry Chris brown Bruno mars Jay z Lady gaga Lil wayne Adele Britney spears The weeknd Justin timerlake Xtina Backstreet boy Yada yada yada

[@herculesbrofister265]

Really i think he's using the "FREE MUSIC" scapegoat because no one wants to buy his lame ass music anymore. His fans are getting old and he's not creating more. Im not saying old music is bad, just kiss.

[@creamydistortion]

The bars were ripping off bands in the 90's. It's American people, not "human nature".

[@fxsteen]

Gene is spot on !!!! The music business is done... We will find a different means/ platform where we wont get ripped off!!!

[@kurtjanicki7325]

You and Gene are confusing the Record business with the Music business. Gene wants you to believe they are one and the same they are not. The MUSIC industry has been around for centuries - musicians made their $ and still do via live performance and that will continue to survive without issue. Who says the world is better with corporations controlling what you listen to? And if there are no future Beatles or Elvis - why the hell does it matter? Musicians that never had an opportunity to break the corporate bureaucracy now can be heard like never before - success doesn't have to be just for the one-percenters anymore like Gene, though success may be on a smaller scale these days. Does it suck that you can't profit as much from media sales? Of course. But if you're a musician that's worth a damn - you go out and perform live, people will buy the ticket to see you and you can do just fine.

[@fxsteen]

@@kurtjanicki7325 And never be paid what your art is worth... Yes the business has changed.... im sorry. want to get paid minimum wage for your heart and soul and music:????

[@kurtjanicki7325]

@@fxsteen I get what you are saying, but from personal experience over the past 30 years there's a huge space in between the multi-million dollar fantasy world Gene lives in and minimum wage. Most of us can make it work, it doesn't have to be feast or famine.

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

Bandcamp is that platform.

[@GG256_]

Gene makes a point, and does it without sounding bitter. He is reminiscing about a bygone age, technology evolved, commerce evolved, and so did popular music. Though I would not say music is worse than ever, I'd say people think that because it is saturated and there is *much* more of it than there has ever been. There may not be as many opportunities for "bands" anymore, (of which there are plenty great ones) which is a shame, but the individual and creators have plenty of freedom. We traded security for liberty in this case, there are pitfalls on both sides. The DAW MIDI producer is the future, Morrison knew it, Daft Punk knew it, hip hop 2000's culture made *sure of it,* and we all know it. It's not good or bad inherently.

[@MJ-tg6wb]

Gerne should start his own label in LA and sign only the "best acts" an bring back that Magic in music!!

[@rustynales6610]

Gene making more sense than ever. "One you take the value from something its my defenition, worthless. "

[@mitchfitz4259]

Love what he says about Billie Eilish and Bruno Mars. Thoughtful interview.

[@TheMasterOfShadows]

No disrespect to Gene Simmons because he's a bad ass, but he's talking out of his ass. He's protecting the business. What killed the music industry was the contracts and GREED. There have been major stars of the music industry from the 80 til now, Eminem, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift list goes on and on. But the new contracts just killed the ability to make money. You make money from playing live not CD sales, they only account for a small portion of the income due to the studio owning the rights to them. Also don't get me started on streaming income, you get holy butt plugged from that shit. If you are a solo artist, they squash your music like a bug. They will actually pay radio stations NOT to play you. Then pay to have their promoted artist played. So downloading music only hurts the big companies. Artists should play live shows and shoot for the best contract they can and not get hosed. Anyone that still thinks downloading cds hurts the artist is just misinformed or protecting big business. Kids these days don't even buy cds, they buy songs for download at $.99 or $1.99, who even owns a walkman/boombox anymore? lol

[@BBaldwin]

There is no “big business” in the record industry any longer, that’s his point-therefore, what is he “protecting”?

[@TheMasterOfShadows]

@@BBaldwin So Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group are just my imagination? Are you just plain stupid or are you just not informed at all? Do I have to explain how if he explains it correctly he could get intro trouble due to contracts, management, TV interviews, he could be black listed. Either you are hugely misinformed or are apart of the problem.

[@TheMasterOfShadows]

@@BBaldwin kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHLHYqaEqdaEa7s

[@drowningin]

I actually agree. I've been saying it since before Napster when MP3s were shared through IRC. "This is going to destroy music" and it did. "But they can make a fraction of a cent every 1,000 plays!" Yeah while bots flood the platform and just upload garbage for bot farms to cycle through. They split the pot with that? Why don't we hear great new music? We do for about a year or 2 then they go get a real job, and never develop further. Like the replacements in the 80s we maybe would of got the first album, but never gotten Let it Be, Tim, Pleased to Meet Me. If they were a modern band it would of been over 5 years before those