Gene Simmons Gets It

I've been meaning to write about this for a while because it strikes me as so out of touch with reality...

Recently Billboard sat down with Gene Simmons, who is always a fountain of reason, for an interview. When asked about Trent Reznor and Radiohead's recent decision to use a pay what you like system for their music as a vehicle for selling other goods, he gave us this gem:

Well therein lies the most stupid mistake anybody can make. The most important part is the music. Without that, why would you care? Even the idea that you're considering giving the music away for free makes it easier to give it away for free. The only reason why gold is expensive is because we all agree that it is. There's no real use for it, except we all agree and abide by the idea that gold costs a certain amount per ounce. As soon as you give people the choice to deviate from it, you have chaos and anarchy. And that's what going on.

If I am not mistaken, the music remains the centerpiece of both band's strategies. Of course it seems a little counter-intuitive to give music away for free, but in Radiohead's case there are reports that they made an estimated $6 million on their newest cd. Probably more than what they would receive from their record company if the record sold a couple of million copies.

Instead of hanging on to antiquated notion that we need music factories (see "the industry") to essentially force their artist's songs on customers those artists have embraced technology, cut out the middlemen, and began allowing their music to lead. I remember Billy Corgan speaking on the topic of Napster long ago (the 90's!) and he recognized that whether the music industry had to adapt to the new economics of music. It looks like it was a worthwhile experiment for Radiohead.

The beauty of this method is that it isn't just for popular artists. In fact, by leveraging social networks many small no-name bands build fairly large followings, something that would probably never happen for them if they relied on record labels. Either that or they would have to compromise everything about them as the record label's stylists, song writers, consultants, et. al. take over and change everything.

The lesson here? Although I was a KISS fan when I was a little kid I grew up, my tastes evolved (thankfully) and I moved on. It is time for the record industry to do the same.