crunchee Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 (edited) Hard rock band Kiss sells brand and songs for $300m (bbc.com) Older news, but still good to know about in the same context: Kiss to become 'immortal' thanks to Abba's avatar technology (bbc.com) Edited April 5 by crunchee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturber Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce919 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 they sold out a long time ago. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 46 minutes ago, bruce919 said: they sold out a long time ago. True, but now they're somebody else's 'Kash Kow'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamerhead Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 They should have franchised. There could have been a Kiss in every state - hell, every town. The Starbucks of rock'n'roll. Gene missed a dollar?? Unbelievable. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz Prof Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 (edited) At their current ages, the most likely legitimate entrepreneurial avenues they had left were logical extensions of the Kiss Koffin. I'm thinking "Kiss Khondroiton" for joint pain, "Kiss Krestor" for high "Kholesterol", "Kiss Kraftmatic" adjustable bed, "Kiss Kane" walking implement, "Kiss Kremation" services, "Kiss Kryogenics" body preservation services, etc., etc. Edited April 5 by Biz Prof 1 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 While Gene likes to appear as the businessman, Paul is the one who kept things going. If Paul thinks selling the KISS catalog is a good idea, it probably is. The KISS Kids will not be fighting over the business. Everybody will still get songwriting royalties, although it will not be much in the age of streaming music services. In the past when Gene put together a deal he would have himself contractually made a creative consultant or advisor, sometimes a paid celebrity endorser. He got a paycheck from the business in addition to part of the ownership. Whether the business venture made money or not, Gene came out ahead. Expect Gene and Paul to be working for Pophouse Entertainment. Paul said in an interview that KISS has been the most merchandised band of all time. Go to their web site and you will find dozens of T-shirt designs that are always changing. Sports teams probably envy KISS for their success. Just like the Peanuts comic strip still generates a tremendous amount of merchandising revenue nearly 25 years after Charles Schulz' death, KISS is going to be generating a lot of revenue for a few more decades. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff_hartwell Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Good for them. Hate the Game, not the Player. Gene and Paul have always needed each other for a lot of reasons. If I recall correctly, when Gene put up the very first ad looking for bandmates he stipulated members who “wanted to be rock stars” regardless of ability or talent. I def don’t knock the hustle- he never wanted to be Jaco to begin with 😂 4 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 I'm happy for them... 300 million on top of their vast wealth... I could only dream 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucSulla Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 This is Tyler Mahan Coe's, the creator of the Cocaine and Rhinestones podcast (which is incidentally the hands down best history of country music that has ever been done bar none), other podcast, Your Favorite Band Sucks. It's intentionally snarky and acerbic with a completely different vibe than the more serious C&R, and I'm guessing most of you would not like it much. -BUT- This is worth a watch because it provides a lot of insight into why this is happening and where all of this is going. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTMN Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 5 hours ago, hamerhead said: They should have franchised. There could have been a Kiss in every state - hell, every town. The Starbucks of rock'n'roll. Gene missed a dollar?? Unbelievable. This leads me to the question of KISS tribute bands. Will/can they be franchisees? Or will they get cease and desist from the new owners? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Wasn't KISS originally almost conceived with merchandising in mind? It was definitely thought up just as much as a design concept as a band. Right now prices seem to be good for this kind of "investment", so lots of aging musicians are cashing in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg G Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 This may be blasphemy here, but here goes: I don’t get Kiss, never have. I graduated HS in the mid 70’s and nobody of my age group listened to their stuff. They were hawking their Kiss Army crap back then and we found it laughable. Never took them seriously. Their demographic seemed to be really young folks back then. But many of you like them and to my surprise they inspired many a dude to pick up guitar. Not a bad thing. Whether it’s this topic or any other Kiss news, I just roll my eyes. Not a fan. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrownd Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 When I was a kid they were the previous generation's band. Yet, they have a number of great no-nonsense fist pumping songs in their catalog and people will be cranking those for a long time to come. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princeofdarkness56 Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 17 hours ago, Greg G said: This may be blasphemy here, but here goes: I don’t get Kiss, never have. I graduated HS in the mid 70’s and nobody of my age group listened to their stuff. They were hawking their Kiss Army crap back then and we found it laughable. Never took them seriously. Their demographic seemed to be really young folks back then. But many of you like them and to my surprise they inspired many a dude to pick up guitar. Not a bad thing. Whether it’s this topic or any other Kiss news, I just roll my eyes. Not a fan. Kiss first 5 studio albums are a different beast from what came after. Around 77 and the release of Love Gun things took a turn into that very commercial Kiss Army territory. But if you were lucky enough to see them live from 74 to 76 they were truly the hottest band in the land. Still had a dangerous edge to them. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 (edited) 4 hours ago, princeofdarkness56 said: But if you were lucky enough to see them live from 74 to 76 they were truly the hottest band in the land. Still had a dangerous edge to them. In the earliest live recordings Peter Criss had a level of dedication that made him play with the right feel and enthusiasm. Despite negative comments from Paul and Gene over the years, Peter was part of what made that band come alive. Ace began to have other priorities by the time of Destroyer, but they were able to get more out of him for a few years. Those videos from 1975 and 1976 are definitely proof that KISS was determined to conquer the world. Edited April 7 by Steve Haynie 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 19 hours ago, Greg G said: Their demographic seemed to be really young folks back then. This is very true, of myself at least... When I was 14-15 (around 1975) Kiss were IT. Especially the Alive album. Seemed so heavy at the time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTMN Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Yeah the ‘74-‘77 KISS for me was the time period to be a fan. After that it was mediocre records for the most part with an occasional good song. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 (edited) I was the biggest KISS fan, "still am actually" a lot of great songs throughout the years 1st Alive 1 then came Destroyer, Rock n Roll Over and Love Gun era... then came back to the 1st 3 albums🔥🤘😝🤘🔥 Edited April 8 by Dave Scepter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velorush Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 I think it's an age thing. Kiss came along as I was pre-teen and into: horror movies (extremely tame by today's comparisons) absolutely and completely immersed in disco due to roller skating as often as possible guitars (since I was finally able to walk to town and actually go in the local music store). Their stage presence, the heaviness of the music and Ace playing those mythical (to me) Les Pauls (that erupted in SMOKE!) hooked me instantly. Sort of grew out of them toward the end of the 70's, especially when I bought "Back in Black." In the mid-80's I was impressed with how they were able to shift their music and personas enough to keep relevant and continue their career (most didn't). People born, say, five years after me likely missed the wave of popularity / originality that came with their earlier years. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialk Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 7 hours ago, velorush said: horror movies (extremely tame by today's comparisons) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcald Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 On 4/5/2024 at 8:57 AM, Biz Prof said: At their current ages, the most likely legitimate entrepreneurial avenues they had left were logical extensions of the Kiss Koffin. I'm thinking "Kiss Khondroiton" for joint pain, "Kiss Krestor" for high "Kholesterol", "Kiss Kraftmatic" adjustable bed, "Kiss Kane" walking implement, "Kiss Kremation" services, "Kiss Kryogenics" body preservation services, etc., etc. Don't forget the Kiss Your House Goodbye Reverse Mortgage. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcald Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 3 hours ago, specialk said: I seriously read that as Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Trailer Park. 🤣 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jco5055 Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 I'm much younger here than most (born in '91) but my first noticeable knowledge of KISS was definitely at some point seeing the McFarlane toys for the Psycho Circus era (I may have seen the 96 reunion on the news/Vh1/MTV also). I do like KISS, don't love them but they definitely have some good songs, but I do remember when I first saw the toys mentioned above expecting something way heavier/demonic lol. I wish I could actually solidify what I thought they'd sound like, maybe I'd try writing some songs or almost be an inverse KISS with the songs but no costumes...call me SSIK 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 On 4/8/2024 at 10:22 AM, BTMN said: Yeah the ‘74-‘77 KISS for me was the time period to be a fan. “Dressed to Kill” FTW. “Alive” gets an honorable mention. Peter slopping all over his kit gives that album a great, raw feel. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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