What It Would Take For Gene Simmons To Sell KISS Catalog

What It Would Take For Gene Simmons To Sell KISS Catalog
Jamiecat*, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have both hinted that they are open to selling the KISS’ back catalog. Bruce Springsteen, Motley Crue, Neil Young and Bob Dylan have all sold the rights to their music recently. Investors have jumped at opportunities to purchase song catalogs under the speculation that song rights will be highly lucrative in the future with the rise in streaming revenues. Song rights can generate money for investors for up to 70 years after a musician’s death.

“Springsteen just sold for $500 million and what you get is the music, not the imagery. I’ve never seen a Springsteen cartoon, comic book, or action figures. KISS is the only one. So what you’re buying into — if anyone does the right price — you’re into buying the imagery that has stood the test of time. Our analogy is Santa Claus/Superman: imagery that is trademarked so that no one can reproduce. And no other musical act has that.”

Gene Simmons

In a recent interview with A Journal Of Musical Things, Gene Simmons answered a question on what it would take for KISS to sell its catalog. “How much have you got? Bob Dylan sold his stuff for $300-400 million. The problem — and I love the guy and worship the ground he walks on — but (his music) isn’t going to mean a lot to a 20-year-old. They don’t care about ‘The Times They Are A-Changin”, ‘Maggie’s Farm’ — they just don’t. Very few pieces of music stand the test of time. What KISS has that no other musical entity has is trademarks. Our faces are bigger than the music, bigger than anything. Springsteen just sold for $500 million and what you get is the music, not the imagery. I’ve never seen a Springsteen cartoon, comic book, or action figures. KISS is the only one. So what you’re buying into — if anyone does the right price — you’re into buying the imagery that has stood the test of time. Our analogy is Santa Claus/Superman: imagery that is trademarked so that no one can reproduce. And no other musical act has that.”

Paul Stanley had previously commented on the subject with Ultimate Classic Rock. “As far as I know, we only get one trip on this earth, and you can’t take it with you, so I totally get it,” he said. “If there’s money to be had and it’s going to make your life better, then why not? It’s a different business model, but it makes total sense … At some point in your career, you look at what you’ve created and what it’s worth. Artists do that; it’s what painting’s about. You don’t stash your artwork — you sell it.”

B.J. LISKO
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