Gene Simmons on the death of rock music
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 1:45 pm
“The death of rock was not a natural death. Rock did not die of old age. It was murdered,” the often outspoken 65-year-old musician and entrepreneur said. “The masses do not recognize file-sharing and downloading as stealing because there's a copy left behind for you — it's not that copy that's the problem, it's the other one that someone received but didn't pay for.”
“The problem is that nobody will pay you for the 10,000 hours you put in to create what you created. I can only imagine the frustration of all that work, and having no one value it enough to pay you for it,” Simmons continued. “It's very sad for new bands. My heart goes out to them. They just don't have a chance. If you play guitar, it's almost impossible. You're better off not even learning how to play guitar or write songs, and just singing in the shower and auditioning for ‘The X Factor.'”
Simmons further explained that he blames “white, middle and upper-middle-class young people” born in the United States for the widespread use of file sharing, a digital phenomenon that began in the late '90s with the invention of Napster.
“My sense is that file-sharing started in predominantly white, middle- and upper-middle-class young people who were native-born, who felt they were entitled to have something for free, because that's what they were used to.
If the pessimistic outlook from the leader of the KISS Army doesn't scare aspiring artists from climbing what he calls “an insurmountable mountain,” maybe his advice to them will: “Don't quit your day job.”
“The problem is that nobody will pay you for the 10,000 hours you put in to create what you created. I can only imagine the frustration of all that work, and having no one value it enough to pay you for it,” Simmons continued. “It's very sad for new bands. My heart goes out to them. They just don't have a chance. If you play guitar, it's almost impossible. You're better off not even learning how to play guitar or write songs, and just singing in the shower and auditioning for ‘The X Factor.'”
Simmons further explained that he blames “white, middle and upper-middle-class young people” born in the United States for the widespread use of file sharing, a digital phenomenon that began in the late '90s with the invention of Napster.
“My sense is that file-sharing started in predominantly white, middle- and upper-middle-class young people who were native-born, who felt they were entitled to have something for free, because that's what they were used to.
If the pessimistic outlook from the leader of the KISS Army doesn't scare aspiring artists from climbing what he calls “an insurmountable mountain,” maybe his advice to them will: “Don't quit your day job.”