Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent has come under fire for selling his new limited-edition CD single for $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 run to be limited to 500 copies.
At the time, he added that he would be pricing each single at $300 (£222), in an effort to combat “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 ‘Ride The Serpent’ single is on sale now here, and despite his earlier comments, it is listed at a retail price of $225 for US buyers.
Responding to fans complaining about the high prices, Vincent compared the single to “caviar or fine art”, stating that “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’s if their are any or many artists of value left aside from the standard list. We are nearing 2030. Inflation thru the roof. Homeless..etc..the horror list is endless.”
“It’s a 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 of Massive ripoffs reduced to beg and pander for likes and subscribes from self entitled brats 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, cheated of the royalties and 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, despite frontman Paul 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.
