FormerKISSguitarist Vinnie Vincent has come under firefor sellinghisnewlimited-edition CDsinglefor $225 (£166).
The musician, who played with the band from 1982 to 1984, announced the ‘Ride The Serpent’ single at the start of the month, the latest release from his current band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion.
He wrote on December 1 that each disc would be a “very limited collection piece” with “handwritten” autographs and individually “numbered in my handwriting”, with the whole runto be limitedto 500 copies.
At the time, he added that he would be pricing each single at $300 (£222),in an effort tocombat “pirating entities” who he said were “watching and waiting like a hawk to seize whatever I release and bootleg it”.
“I understand the bitching, the moaning, the whining about price, but you must also understand that my situation is as such that my music is so desired that it will be targeted and taken from me immediately, which I cannot/will not allow,” he added. “I wish it was not this way, but I’m honored that it is. It’s a double-edged sword for me, but I sincerely hope that when you think it through you will understand the dilemma I face” (via Stereogum).
The ‘RideTheSerpent’ single is on sale nowhere, and despite his earlier comments, it is listed at a retail price of $225 for USbuyers.
Responding to fans complaining about thehigh prices, Vincent compared the single to “caviar or fine art”,statingthat “not everyone can afford it”and asserting that “fair market price” was “yesteryear”.
“Welcome to the new agenda,” he continued. “Artists can and will set their own standards and rules for the purchase price of their art,that’siftheir areany or many artists of value left aside from the standard list. We arenearing2030. Inflation thru the roof.Homeless..etc..the horror list is endless.”
“It’sa Mad Max wasteland, the wild West for artists now who have No protection from shoplifter fans who download their music for free. They are victims ofMassiveripoffs reduced to beg and pander for likes and subscribes fromself entitledbrats who want their work for free or for next to nothing. Unsigned artists are deer in the woods who never see a dime for the work. Signed artists are ripped off, cheatedoftheroyaltiesand usually end up in court. Labels own the artists and their works.”
He concluded by saying his music is “intensely desired” and “worth every fucking penny”, adding it is “the best designer drug on the market” and “an endless high of pure fire running thru your veins”.
As for Vincent’s former KISS bandmates,they accepted Kennedy Center Honors medals from Donald Trump recently, despitefrontmanPaul Stanley once describing the president as “abhorrent” and “a true danger” to democracy.
Gene Simmons, meanwhile, appeared before a US Senate Judiciary subcommittee to defend musicians,who he said are treated “worse than slaves” due to the money they receive for radio plays.