Gene Simmons Blames Young Fans For Death of Rock

KISS co-founder and rock legend Gene Simmons has never been one to mince his words. He has always had strong opinions about the economy, rock stars’ lifestyles, and the music industry.

In a recent interview Simmons doubled down on his claim that ‘Rock is dead’, blaming young rock music enthusiasts and online streaming platforms.

‘Rock Is Dead’

Gene Simmons first declared rock to be “finally dead” in 2014, during an interview conducted by his son. The KISS bassist accused record labels of failing to adequately support rock artists.

In another interview in January, Simmons told the news source that “rock is dead” because new acts hadn’t “taken the time to create glamour, excitement and epic stuff”.

His statement was: “The culprits are the young fans. You killed the thing that you love. Because as soon as streaming came in, you took away a chance for the new great bands who are there in the shadows, who can’t quit their day job because you can’t make a dime putting your music out there, because when you download stuff, it’s one-hundredth or one-thousandth of one penny. And so you’ve gotta have millions to millions, and even billions of downloads before you can make a few grand.

Simmons added; “And the fans have killed that thing. So the business is dead, and that means that the next Beatles or the next whoever is never gonna get the chance that we did. We had record companies that gave us millions of dollars so we can make records and tour, and not worry about a nine-to-five. Because when you’re worried about nine-to-five, you don’t have the time to sit there and devote to your art, whatever that is.”

Dogecoin, G2, And Clean Living

Gene Simmons, now 71, has told in several interviews the secret to his energy is living that not-so-rock-n-roll lifestyle. “I’m 71, come into the ring with me. I’ll show you what this guy can do. I’m 71 because I’ve never used drugs or booze.”, he said in an interview. The bassist has also admitted to treating himself to cakes, pasta and the occasional hamburger.

On Saturday, Simmons joined Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg in tweeting about dogecoin, a cryptocurrency. The rock star said that he jumped into the crypto scene three months ago and that he studied Satoshi Nakamoto and the digital asset economy. When asked why it took him so long, Simmons explained that it takes some time for the older generations to get it sometimes, and oftentimes they never truly understand.

Gene Simmons also announced a partnership with iconic guitar brand Gibson to launch new guitar and bass collections. Simmons said, “I have been designing and trademarking bass guitars for decades, and when I heard Gibson’s vision and learned about their creative process, it just made sense for us to join forces to take things to the next level.”

By: Anjana Sathyanarayan