Comments on: Gene Simmons shows his age (and ignorance)

Gene Simmons wants to sue college kids off the face of Earth. Don Reisinger has a few choice words for the leader of KISS.

[MariaG_2500]

Go MUSICIANS/COMPOSERS/SONGWRITERS/ENGINEERS GO! We need to tell our story wherever we can. Maybe these folks will move on from music and try to get other things for free like gasoline and leave us alone to fix our industry. Many thanks to all of you!

[The User]

My life just lost its purpose - what am I going to do without another Kiss album?

Ignorant and arrogant remarks such as one made by Gene do nothing but arouse that inner pirate in me. I do respect IR and pay for the most IR-protected goods regardless of whether a penalty for violation exists or not. However, Gene, Metallica and others just coerce me do irrational things against my principals and share and steal their stuff as much as I can. Not that I am going to listen to either, but I want to make sure I downloaded their complete discographies for FREE from Torrents. And once I download them, I will delete all the files and download them again and again.

[rockeehorror]

OK "The User".... Should I say....The Looser. I guess you're just another lunatic liberal that thinks people should be penalized because of their income. I guess you would condone stealing from a billionaires bank account.. right? What would be your answer to the judge? "He's a billionaire... now i'm going to steal more and more from his account and delete the transaction" It's people like you that make celebrities arrogant in the first place. Ya know what? Any hard working citizen that has the gumption to become wealthy DESERVES TO BE ARROGANT because they've dealt with people like you their whole lives. GET OVER IT ! ...and no... I'm not rich or famous.

[tigrzeye]

You really have to feel sorry for the music artists out there and their pitiful incomes. Not to mention the royalties they get paid just for having their songs played. Yep, Gene Simmons my heart bleeds for you poor, poor, people.

Here's a recap of 2007's top 10 highest grossing North American tours, per Pollstar:

1. The Police ($131.9 millon)

2. Kenny Chesney ($71.1 million)

3. Justin Timberlake ($70.6 million)

4. Celine Dion ($65.3 million)

5. Van Halen ($56.7 million)

6. Tim McGraw/Faith Hill ($52.3 million)

7. Rod Stewart ($49 million)

8. Genesis ($47.6 million)

9. Josh Groban ($43 million)

10. Rascal Flatts ($41.5 million)

[Relayer56]

Wow! I had to double check to believe an employee of CNET was actually the author of this article.

Yes, Gene is old.

No, nobody really wants a new release from KISS. But, in many aspects, he is right on with his complaints. He is NOT talking about suing folks doing legal downloads.

But what I really get from this article is;

1. Illegal downloading (aka, STEALING) is ok if its technically easy to do.

2. Stealing is ok if lots of people do it.

3. Stealing is ok if you think the price is higher that it should be.

4. Stealing is ok if you steal from someone who makes a lot of money (or more than you think they should)

5. Stealing is ok if you can point to someone else who is stealing more than you are.

Good job, Don.

[MariaG_2500]

Excellent point! Thank you!

[blueyes121705]

I wonder how many songs Gene's kids have illegally downloaded? That would be an interesting research study to do. Why doesn't somebody go and see how many people related to these haters of file sharing actually download things illegally. I am sure even Gene has downloaded something illegally.

[blueyes121705]

Here is a funny thing that a friend of mine and I were discussing after reading this. You have the record and movie companies ******** about downloading things illegally but you never hear from the PORN industry. Do you ever recall the media covering a story about some porn star or porn movie maker complaining about illegal downloads. Like it or not the porn industry helps drive the internet and our technology and yet they keep silent about illegal downloading. I mean when was the last time you heard your favorite porn star complain about how illegal downloading hurts them. Makes you wonder what the movie and music industry problem is?

[benjaminstraight]

What agency has the time and personnel to make a plan actionable?

[Travis_Lloyd]

Has "Mr Tongue" been smoking too much crack lately, or what?

I'm only 2 years younger than he is, have never downloaded an illegal song in my life and oh by the way, listen to the Beatles, Stones, Animals, the Who, and countless other great 60s & 70s groups; as many earlier posters have said, Simmons (not his real name by the way, if you get my drift) can KISS my ass with his ridiculous, money-grubbing, and self-serving comments.

If I want music I'll buy the CD and rip the songs, just like I always have; if I don't want to, then there's always iTunes or countless other fairly cheap (and legitimate) download services I can go to, if I must.

It's prehistoric dinosaur morons like him who only encourage those Nazis (aka the RIAA) to be the predatory a**holes that they are, and go after a bunch of punk kids who don't have a dime to their names.

The whole lot of them can eat human feces and die, for all I care!

I hope they (and especially Simmons) rot away from the veneral disease which they so richly deserve...

[quillaninc]

No, I don't really want another KISS album either, but it's not because I haven't liked their music in the past. It's because I simply can't afford to fork out around AU$30 for an album with only 2 or 3 songs I know I like because they've been released to radio/music shows. The rest? Well, it's pot luck, really, and I haven't money to waste like that.

I'm more than happy to pay for my music, provided it's something I like. I'm far more likely to pay $2 to download the songs I like from an album set I'm able to preview online, and when you think about it, if there's 15 songs to an album, hey! There's your 30 bucks!

There's another point here I've seldom seen discussed: how many readers here have paid repeatedly to update their album collections as the music format changes?

Point in case, my brother purchased several KISS records in the 70's. When the format changed to audio tape, if one wanted to be legal about it, then they went and purchased the same album, now released on tape. And then we went to CDs, and lo and behold! To listen to our favourite music on our new CD walkmans, we had to go out and get the new! digitally remastered! version.

And now we've come to mp3s, and I'm expected to pay again to get the same song I've already bought at least 3 times before? For every single song in my collection? Sure, they've had digital work done on them, and so forth, but how much extra work has Mr Simmons done since the original 1970's release, that warrants yet another royalty cheque heading his way?

Yes the record industry is dead, but the music industry thrives on. Why? Because it's smart enough to adapt.

[RobinTheBoyWonderingWTF]

Hey Don, I agree that Gene Simmons is a blow hard, and a greedy SOB! I personally could care less if he ever made another album, because I never bought one when he was doing his tongue bit in the 70s , so why would I start now? and that is me despite being a huge rock music fan. now what is the nonsense about "old" people being cranky? I am younger than him, not by a lot, but I do resent your cranky crack! got it? you young wet behind the ears whippersnapper with a blog to write, GRRRRR
:) good stuff Don!
peace!

[tvphil]

That's why I buy my music from Amazon, without DRM and rip it to whoever I want to share it with. The way it should be. I guess Ol' Gene wants to sue Amazon too!

[shagen3000]

First, if you can't pay for a CD, your life must be pretty sad. Next, I think Don and many of you whiners should do your jobs for free. You don't need any compensation. Anyone can do your jobs, so you should work for free. College kids, teens and everyone else who feels they are "entitled" to free music are actually destroying the music industry for everyone. All "experiments" with letting customers name their own price on downloads have been absolute failures (Radiohead? bundles of cash? = your salary Don? not good for a has been band even) , and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Gene has it right. Stop with the entitlement attitude and pay for your music. If you think you should be paid for your job, then pay the artists. Are the record companies greedy? Yes. Does the download crowd think they are entitled to everything for free? Yes. Sad on both counts. Also, how is the RIAA's attack on thieves hurting it by people using iTunes? People are actually paying there so I don't see the problem. The medium isn't the issue.

[bhodges00]

I agree Don when you said pretty much the artist are not giving what the fans want. Most of todays music sucks.

[abusement]

Gene's dissappointing solo album sales had nothing to do with illegal downloading. It was word of mouth that it "SUCKED" that killed his solo album. Can I say, "Gene" or does he have a copyright on that to?

[rockeehorror]

Let me ask a question to all of you that refer to Gene Simmons as ignorant. What would happen if you walked into a music store and walked out with a cd without paying for it? YOU'D BE ARRESTED IDIOTS!!! What's the difference between a cd and a downloaded file? NOTHING! The SONG is the product...NOT the physical CD. Stealing is stealing no matter what. I don't care how wealthy an artist is... It is THEIR music...period! Unfortunately, technology is so advanced that this is happening at an alarming rate. From high school to middle age adults... Millions of dollas a day are lost. Record companies are folding and new artists will never have a chance.... Wanna know why?
THE FANS F'CKED IT ALL UP! People that host these free sites should be in prison for grand larceny!

[rockeehorror]

I guess if we feel something is overpriced we have the right to steal it? That's the problem with young America. You all walk around with a sense of entitlement like the world owes you something.
I want a Viper but I think it's overpriced.... Would one of you mind stealing it for me? I support artists like NIN and Prince for thinking outside the box to create record sales. If you want to download a cd... PAY FOR IT on I-Tunes. I'm not sure if any of you numb nuts were areound when cd's first came out but they were almost $20 each. 25 years later or so, THEY COST WAY LESS!!!! Do the math with inflation. You can download a new cd on I-Tunes for like $13. Older ones aare $10 or less!!!!