Much made of Gene Simmons recent assessment that in his view “rock is dead”. Not the first time we’ve heard this and likely not the last. But is it true? My take on what Gene was trying to say is it’s dead for new music and new artists. Not entirely true, but again, I get where he is coming from. The truth is rock, hard rock, and metal are far from dead, but also far from the mainstream in many cases. There are some real good signs for rock out there as far as a live entity. Festivals are bigger than ever and there are more of them of all sizes than ever (maybe too many). U2, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Bon Jovi AC/DC. etc will always fill arenas and stadiums around the world. The mega bands will always draw. Motley is currently doing great business on their final tour. The road has also become a bit over crowded with too many bands touring too often. Competition is fierce out there at all levels for the concert dollar because money is not being made on album sales like the good ole days. The next tier from the pure out and out headliners are the co-headline shed bands. Think Kiss/Def Leppard. Bands teaming up and splitting set times equally to assure a good crowd. Of course this also means shorter set times and expensive tickets many times. There are very few bands not bringing name support or co-headlining these days. Most need the help selling tickets. And this is a huge problem for breaking new rock. There are so few opportunities now for a new young band to get in front of big audiences because the headliners need a name to help sell. Sure some of these packages have a new young band third billed but lets be honest, nobody is in the building that early to see them and in some cases they are buy ons, paying the headliner to play. This all ties in to the issue of the growth of rock.
Another huge problem is lack of development from what is left of record labels. It’s all about the first week now. And then albums are quickly forgotten. Sometimes not even a live show. Too many people in too many bands. Very little focus. Make a splash week one, off the charts by week four. Artist development and consistently working an album for a few singles is almost done now. Many labels hire outside “indies” to do promotion. They work hard for the weeks they are paid but when the label pulls the retainer fee they are on to the next. Tons of hired guns out there. Good people don’t get me wrong, but the real interest in the project is far from long term. Label cuts are so severe few pick up the ball after the outside help ends. Radio is also an issue. Way too many stations don’t truly support new music, or play it first week when the artist is there and never touch it again. The simple truth is mainstream radio will always do what the MOST people want. And the majority would rather hear Free Bird again than a new artist or song. Sad but true.
Delivery of music is also a problem. Everyone knows I am no fan of downloads. But to me it also kills the business. With labels less and less likely to send physical product along with some packaging and information it makes it easier to ignore. If a CD is on my desk I’m likely to have a listen at some point. If i get one of a million emails with a song attached that needs to be downloaded and transferred in any number of formats and services it is so easy to just click delete and not take the time unless it’s really something you want. I also have very little interest in the streaming services. Granted I get my music for free, but I’ve heard none of it that excites me and I think it grows the singles mentality instead of people truly getting into a band and an album. Call me old fashion but I hate when I go see a band an the entire crowd is only there for one song and is lost the rest of the time. Pure sales are so sparse now it’s hard to think who the next artist will be to score a gold record (500K). Used to be a little airplay and video play and you could make that happen. I think the RIAA is going to have to rethink sales awards.
Here’s the upside. There are a TON of artists new and classic making great new music! The bad? So little of it has a chance to break through for the reasons above and many more. But I have never been more excited than I am now for new/newer bands. Alter Bridge is growing and doing great and an arena act in Europe. Kyng, Mastodon, Scorpion Child, Rival Sons, Monster Truck, Farmikos and many more are among my favorite new things and I play them on a regular basis. So I think from that end things are healthy. But what is truly concerning is how few people I find truly care about this stuff now. And how few have no idea Iron Maiden are still around! (dead serious, listen to calls in my satellite show). Everyone is too distracted now. We are over saturated and over stimulated with too many other things. That huge release day moment doesn’t seem to exist for rock anymore. And that sucks. I don’t mean YOU. If you are reading my site and connected to my outlets you are clearly a fan who wants to be in the loop and still very much tied in. But so many who used to be have lost that passion. As a lifer for me that’s hard to understand. I know peoples lives change, but if you love rock how can you not always? Is it dead in this respect for good? No, I don’t think so. Again the mega bands will always do well. Watch what happens when a new Foo Fighters track comes out. But they have become the token mainstream rock act for every show that needs one. We need some new blood for sure getting a shot. The mega 70’s guys only have so much left and some already have stayed too long at the party. We need that one great band with great SONGS above all to come and charge the whole scene. Let’s hope they are out there in a garage somewhere right now. We’ve had those moments where everything was given a kick in the ass; the birth of thrash, the Nu Metal movement (like it or not), the release of Appetite and the impact GnR had, the grunge movement and all the good and not so good from that. We need that band and moment again and it will come. Rock is far from dead. I don’t believe it will ever die. It’s a bit underground and in some cases over saturated but is going nowhere. I have lived it my entire life. I am out there all over the world experiencing the passion so many still have for it. And after 31 years I will continue to fight to get more platforms to help grow it and expose it. It is not easy. People would be stunned to know how hard it is for me to keep all the things I have going even after more than three decades and the success I have been able to carve out with a loyal following. But it has always been for me from day one about keeping it alive. Every day I meet someone that says to me the same thing; “Eddie thanks for keeping this alive”. John 5 just said it to me yesterday on the radio. I appreciate that like you can’t believe because it has always been the primary reason I do what I do. I know rock is not dead because I see and feel the support from all of YOU in all that I do. So thanks for that! We just need a few more to join the party and that one great new band to make it cool again in the mainstream. It will happen, just a matter of time. Keep rocking my friends and keep the faith!
ET
178 Responses
What may be the reason for Gene’s bitterness (yet again) is that although the tour with Def Leppard sold well, it was because ticket prices were SUBSTANTIALLY reduced in most markets except the Midwest. The ‘meet and greet’ tickets were not even available for the last leg of the tour because they were simply not selling – and replaced with $200 (sometimes less) seats in the 8th row!
Finally, I have to disagree with Eddie’s statement that “if you love rock, how can you not always?”. Although I still pay to see Alice Cooper and Aerosmith because they still ‘have it’, I have moved on. I would much rather enjoy seeing a guitar jazz show rather than see 62 year old Paul Stanley singing about his penis. I am not going to buy ‘Number of the Beast’ again, because I was 15 when Maiden were my heroes.
I listen to the newer bands just to hear what’s relevant these days, but to ‘love’ their music is ludicrous.
That said, keep it going Eddie; I truly enjoy your site.
Actually the Def Leppard/Kiss ticket sales are skewed worse than I heard. This actually could be the real end for this version of Kiss as far as the “main eventer”. If Gene & Paul want to continue this adventure of Co-Headling to keep claiming that they still matter in todays world of music, GOD BLESS THEM, but perception is reality & they aren’t a arena sole alone headline band anymore & haven’t been since the Reunuion Tour. And IMO I believe that has been very frustrating for Gene & Paul for many years.
Another one that keeps making up his own facts as the truth. Officially released numbers have ticket price averages above $90(well above MC and Aerosmith)and like each year when someone like you makes claims like you do, Live nation will come calling next year, in fact they already have LOL.
fyi…..some of the tickets”sales” have been inflated….case in point the Rochester Democratic & Chronicle did the story for the Darien Lake. Darien Lake claimed the show was “SOLD OUT” with over 15,000 paid seats. Well that simply wasn’t the case considering that there are ZERO seats at Darien Lake & actual tickets SOLD were just above 9,000. And if they are doing it for one place all odds say it is being done else where. And sorry Todd but “officially” this & “officially” that usually isn’t honest when it deals with ACTUAL FACTS……so much for your “another one that keeps making up his own truths as facts”
why don’t Gene and Paul take the makeup OFF again and do a full scale un-reunion tour playing only songs from Lick it Up through Revenge. Now THAT is something I’d pay money for.
That’s because you’re officially old, Jake, from State Farm.
Genius. I tip my cap to you talktopete!!
Yes petey, I am too old to be researching cases for a meeting with clients Friday. How’s work going at the cash register?
AS far as I know the M&G’s were available at every single show. Unsold tickets are always put back in 5 days before the show. Keep up the notion that tour did badly, while wrong, it’s fun to see people always making up facts and live nation keeps calling every year. Been watching it since 08, people predicting failure every tour and being proved wrong. Of course you have the next tour to make your useless claims.
Todd Im not predicting any failure nor do I wish any failure on anyone. But if you want a lesson in ticket “sales” etc just take a real good look at the sporting world……they always claim what is “official” when it comes to numbers but it is just BS to make it all look good…..and Im most positive Gene & Paul know it is better to toot their horn than face the reality that there were give aways and everything that goes with that. I don’t take any of this stuff personally….Myself being in business from my own NFL career I have a thing called “PERSPECTIVE”…..
Wrong. The meet and greets for the last leg of the tour were unavailable weeks before the show dates, and replaced with tickets going for as low as $178. When tickets initially went on sale, they were charging $220 for 50th row seats which went nowhere.
These seats were reduced to $49 and sold quickly.
My 14 year old daughter told me she was a fan of some band. I told her, “OH yeah? Can you sing every word to every track on their latest album?” Of course, she said “No.” I told her “You aren’t a true fan, unless you can.” She only downloads one or two songs from their album. I get laughed at for still buying CDs. My response, “If you want a group to stick around for a while, buy the album. If not, then keep buying those onE or two songs.” Some of the best songs on an album are the songs that never make the radio.
That’s a little harsh. Knowing all the lyrics would be a hardcore fan, you’d have to have listened to all the track tons of times to know them perfectly. A true music fan doesn’t have time for that, I’ve got so much music in my library and so much music that I have yet to listen, a single song (even if I love it) will only be played once every few months, it’s impossible to know all the lyrics for all the bands you’re a fan of.
If you had asked her “well can you name me 10 of their songs” then that would be enough to verify if she’s a true fan or just fan of their singles.
Responding to both Harry and Jeff…
1. In regards to U2’s free album download for iTunes – not quite sure how rock is dead v.s. the idea that a band that has achieved near parallel success as Kiss (if not more? not sure) but the members of U2 are probably at a point in their career where Kiss was 15 – 20 years ago,…and yet the guys in U2 are completely comfortable in offering a completely free, entire CD of music (which after one listen, ain’t bad…it’s not Joshua Tree, but still pretty good), but I don’t recall Kiss ever offering an entire album to free for their fans. And U2 didn’t just offer it to their fans. They offered it to anyone who has an iTunes account. Meanwhile, the Grinch and Mr Selfish rattle on “…if it wasn’t for our fans, we’d be nothing…[but please don’t expect us to give you 15 minutes at a celebratory ceremony, and on your way out don’t forget to submit your $20.00 for our latest piece of crap]”
2. And in response to Jeff – I also agree that there is A LOT of mediocrity to find appealing. And that’s coming from someone in his late 40’s who’s been rocking out since the early 70’s. To be fair, it might be that there is MORE to select from (i.e. the commentary a week ago about a small group of musicians with 3 or 4 side projects). Which the one positive aspect of technology is that I don’t have to drop $100.00 to roll the dice on either a veteran group releasing a less than spectacular effort as they continue to nose-dive to a fiery grave, or a new band with one hit and the rest is filler. I can at least hear 60 seconds of every track, then only purchase what appeals to me. Every other industry is having to become more efficient…banking, healthcare, retail, customer service, etc…why should the music/entertainment industry be exempt from the same economic forces? The consumer is only paying for what they want/like. Doesn’t justify stealing an artist’s work. But in the same vein, I work in healthcare, and essentially I’ve been working for free quite a bit when someone with no health insurance comes into my Emergency Room and neglects to pay their hospital bill later. Hence, one of the pushes behind the Affordable Care Act i.e. “Obama Care”. So what is the result of trying to minimize people taking advantage of not purchasing health care? Everyone gets up in arms that the gubment is forcing them to buy health insurance prior to signing up for a $100.00 a month cell phone bill.
Kind of off the topic a bit, but similar when one looks at the big picture.
It depends on how you look at life and success and money. But I do not think that the guys in U2 are altruistic. They can well afford “losing” money, but there most probably is a good reason behind this publicity stunt. I think U2 probably knew that even if they gave it away for free it would generate money in the end because it paves the way to yet another very succcesful (talking about millions for each band member) world tour. The 360 tour was a huge success and a production that really dwarved anything Kiss can do today, regarding stage show as well as net gross. And they know that the die hard fans, who would have bought it anyway, will still buy the physical package. Gene and Paul obviously think differently. I think they also put out Sonic Boom and Monster for the same reason, to be able to continue touring and drawing large enough crowds to still make a ton of money and keep the production on a certain level to stay competitive. Plus, we do not know how much money Apple paid U2 to be able to do this exclusively, it is a great promotion for Apple that recently suffered a bit from the loss of their figurehead and are in strong competition with other companies like Samsung. they too need the publicity, they probably make a lot of money just because people might browse their website and order something besides the free U2 album. It looks a bit like the special sales item of the week which shall drag people into the shop. So I guess, for all three parties, consumers, Apple, and the band, it is a win win situation.
That’s funny, I can guarantee you, Apple has paid U2 for this and it’s part of an Apple campaign , not U2 doing a freebie for their fans.
Exactly, and what an opportunity for Apple to have thousands of U2 fans create their itunes account that otherwise would not do so, and maybe they buy more music in the future via itunes which surely makes up for the probably 7digit amount of money they paid the band – like I said before, it looks altruistic but actually is a new way of making money , it is a clever move in a world of downloads and streams. Why they are not altruistic at all can be found from how they sold some of the ticktes of their 360 degree show, I bought tickets behind the drum set because it was advertised that it would be 360 degrees, and the stage set looked like it would be. In the end, they addressed my fourth of the round of the stadium maybe 5 minutes of the two hour show, with ticket prices being the same for all these seats. It was awful. We could witeness a bit of what was actually going on to the main poart of the stadium audience on the big screens, but it felt like sitting behind a bunch of flightcases being excluded form the real thing, what hoax. I was so disappointed I do not want anything from U2 anymore. They often present themselves as nice guys, saving the rain forest etc. but they are as focussed on making money as any other band out there. Imagine, with that tour they could sell maybe 20% more ticktes than usual when you have to use the back of the stadium for the stage, the curtains, the gear etc. and have to close this area. So do not fall for this little U2/itunes trap here.
You are right about that Todd, Apple is giving them publicity as well as some Cash to be the face of Apple…U2 is giving away the album because almost no one makes money on albums anymore, so why not just give away free digital copies?? What could that possibly cost them? Not much in the scheme of things…Also, if the new album tanks they can blame it on the free download. Everything has a PR angle to it. For anyone to mention Kiss in this article for not giving away albums for free are moronic. Why should any band do that?? And to Schomans point, U2 will generate more on tour by this stunt…and again, ALBUMS DO NOT MAKE MONEY! Some of you people are delusional in that any band can be judged by album sales nowadays as even the Pop albums don’t scratch what albums used to sell years ago. The album, especially for rock always setup the tour and people couldn’t go on YouTube to see the concert if they didn’t go, and they couldn’t download anything because that did not exist, so bands had a formula…Album-Tour…that formula is long gone…
Only a true moron will need to call sb else a moron, schosch ….
looks like they got paid about $30 mill for the album and $100 mill for the Apple sponsored tour coming up…so much for giving away music for free…
Well said!!!
U2 just released thier album for free on itunes. Not sure if thats gonna be the start of something
Newer bands have to work twice as hard for half the results compared to what the older established bands had to. But newer bands don’t have MTV to back them and expose them to a wide audience and, like Eddie pointed out, most radio stations don’t promote newer bands like they used to. They play the same songs on a loop every day and once and a while throw in something like “Crazy Train” or “Back In Black” because that’s what is safe to do. Rock music, hard rock and heavy metal, will never die because there’s too many die-hard life-long fans like all of us and all these artists have someone like Eddie on their side doing all he does for the scene. So the music isn’t dead, just the music industry as a business is. So many bands have to self promote and tour themselves into exhaustion just to gain some ground. And I always have and always will buy my cds at stores, not download them. Call me an old fart, but I prefer hearing music on a cranked up stereo system anyway. And when I say “stores” I mean real record stores, not Target or Wal-Mart, but actual record stores that deal in music and the people that work there actually know about music. But, unfortunately, stores like that are becoming harder to find.
And Eddie’s right: maybe sales awards should be reevaluated since sales are so low now. Forget the precious metals, they should start with types of wood and work up from there. So here’s to the next band to go Oak or Maple. Cheers!
I miss the record store.
Yeah, I do too. I am 55 and I STILL listen to Number of the Beast. Rock is not dead, maybe in Gene’s eyes. But not in mine or others. See the large numbers at some shows, Gene? See folks going in droves to festivals? Yes, I would rather see Alice and Aerosmith more than many others.
If Rock is dead, I don’t want to see what it is if its alive, tell you the truth.
Looks alive and well to me. I prefer vinyl to digital any day of the week. Bring back more vinyl!
Listen to Audrey Horne, it will blow your socks off.
I’ve never heard of them so I checked them out. I listened to the song Youngblood. Not bad at all. Great guitar tones and riffs. And I like rock singers who can actually sing. Not enough bands have singers like it used to be. Thanks for the suggestion. Have you ever heard Airbourne, Kyng or Monster Truck? If you haven’t, check out any or all of those bands.