Today, according to Gene Simmons, is the day the music died. In an interview with Esquire Magazine, the Kiss front man said that Rock & Roll is finally dead.
So what killed rock? According to Simmons, the music industry is just so hard to break into now that it is killing creativity. The Kiss singer believes that there is still great talent out there, but because of the way the industry works, there’s a slim chance that these artists will ever get heard.
Simmons said: “The death of rock was not a natural death … Rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed, and now it won’t, because it’s that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it.”
According to the Kiss singer, the cards are stacked against modern songwriters. Back in his day, all you needed was a little talent, a little luck, and a strong work ethic. Today, there are so many factors working against young musicians.
Simmons said: “Don’t quit your day job is a good piece of advice. When I was coming up, it was not an insurmountable mountain. Once you had a record company on your side, they would fund you, and that also meant when you toured they would give you tour support. There are still record companies, and it does apply to pop, rap, and country to an extent. But for performers who are also songwriters — the creators — for rock music, for soul, for the blues — it’s finally dead. Rock is finally dead.”
The Kiss singer also took issue with piracy. According to Simmons, today’s youth expects to get music quickly and for free. That makes it pretty hard to make a living writing songs.
Simmons 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.”
Do you agree with Gene Simmons? Is Rock & Roll dead?
The Kiss frontman does make a few good points about today’s music industry but Rock isn’t dead. The landscape is changing and musicians are finding new ways to adapt. It may be harder to get noticed today but it’s also easier than ever to create, record, and distribute music. Now if only people would pay for it…
[Image Via Wiki]
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