Holy crap. I can't believe I just typed those words. But his recent remarks on the state of music and the music industry in the latest issue of Esquire magazine is right on the money, in my opinion. The "Rock is Dead" angle is getting lots of play as the headline tease, but it's hard to argue with this observation:
"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. And I'm not slamming The X Factor, or pop singers. But where's the next Bob Dylan? Where's the next Beatles? Where are the songwriters? Where are the creators?"
Simply put, they are nowhere to be found. We've regressed to a weird mutation of the 1950s, when singles were king and people learned of the "next big thing" in music from television shows — only MP3 downloads have become the seven-inch single you had to have, and Ed Sullivan has been replaced by the likes of "American Idol." Radio has been usurped by a "subscription model," designed to play you what you want to hear (why not just make a playlist?), and YouTube has become a generation's "go-to" outlet to discover new music. Jeez. And I thought MTV was lame. Community radio is dead: there's no need to tune in and hear what's coming to town when the local market is now global.
That's sad.
I also agree with Simmons that the music business is, by and large, dead. The internet leveled that playing field a long time ago, but it's been a mixed bag since. The good news is that any artist anywhere can put out their music on their own and get paid. The downside? File sharing is a big one. And you've no doubt heard from one of the many artists railing against Pandora, Spotify and iTunes that they are not getting paid fairly.
But back to the point at hand: THE MUSIC. Simmons partly lays the blame on the dearth of iconic artists on the "national pysche" and a lack of "patriotism." Here, I diverge a bit with Gene's interpretation. I think it's much more likely that the "on-demand, MTV jump-cut, internet, ADD generations Y and Z" simply do not dare — or care — to be great. It's too much hard work and takes too long. Better to take that 30 second shot of glory on "American Idol" than learn your craft. But if you've ever seen the reject reels, it's a whole lot more Milli Vanilli than Willie Nelson.
Gene Simmons has been in the news a lot lately for saying stupid stuff. Not so this time and, while it's hard to get past the accompanying picture of Gene (what the hell is going on with that hair?), it's worth a read. Don't forget: his band is one of the all-time disposable bands. Going on FORTY years now...
Read it here.
#GeneSimmons #KISS #ESQUIRE #RockIsDead #musicindustry #musicbusiness
- AMB Blog's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
