KISS bassist and co-lead singer Gene Simmons, 76, appeared at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Dec. 9 to support the passing of the American Music Fairness Act, which, according to Senator Thom Tillis, aims to “close the longstanding loophole and copyright law” that allows U.S. radio stations to “not compensate performers or copyright holders when their songs are played on AM/FM radio.”
“I’m here to kindly ask all of you, both Republicans and Democrats, to help us remedy a situation, an injustice,” Simmons said while rocking his signature black shades and long hair at the hearing. “An injustice that’s been ongoing for many, many decades.”
The musician, who was recently celebrated with KISS at the Kennedy Center Honors, went on to claim that music artists and copyright holders are treated “worse than slaves” by radio stations. “Slaves get food and water,” he said. “Elvis and Bing Crosby and [Frank] Sinatra got nothing for their performances.”
Simmons said that while the Radio Advertising Bureau estimated that $14 billion in advertising revenue was made by broadcast companies like Inner Banks Media (run by Henry Hinton, who was present at the hearing), those who actually own the music get nothing. While that may not be a huge deal to someone like him, a veteran artist with a reported $400 million net worth, he says it could be the difference between “life and death” for up-and-coming bands.
“It will give new bands a chance. Those extra pennies and dollars will give them a little more to devote to their craft,” he said. “At the outset of any career, all those pennies, bits and pieces, are so important. It sometimes is the difference between success and failure.”
Simmons used Bing Crosby’s iconic song “White Christmas” to explain why he feels that musicians deserve more of their “fair” share of radio revenue. “[It’s been played worldwide] millions of times,” he said. “Everyone received money: The radio station sold advertising. The plumber who fixed the plumbing got paid. The disc jockey got paid. The only person that was never paid for the airplay was Bing Crosby, which is astonishing.”
Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing
The “Rock and Roll All Nite” artist says that as “emissaries to the world,” American artists deserve more support, and that ranges from legendary artists like Elvis to newer bands like Garbage, whose frontwoman Shirley Manson said in 2025 that the band would “curtail [their] headline touring business… due to basically the economics… and thievery… of the music industry, that we have to curtail our headline touring business.”
