Gene Simmons

Jimi Hendrix has never in his entire career or now ever gotten paid a single penny when his music is played on AM and FM radio.

The stunning fact is that the Russians and some other countries actually do pay performing artists on radio.

land radio, AM, FM, and Americans do not.

And this has got to change and should change.

Look, I make a living and people of my age who've climbed the mountain, clawed and scratched their way to the top, we're blessed by the American dream because it is alive and I'm living proof of it.

So I make a living, but the new artists, every penny counts.

And the fact that they can be played on radio and not even make one penny for their performance is criminal as far as I'm concerned.

Is that what happened?

Artists are not interested in negotiating how their careers are built.

Understood.

Radio needs recording artists.

Where did the ASCAP BMI fees go?

ASCAP and BMI specifically relates to writers and publishers, which doesn't affect the masses whatsoever.

So is this radio's fault or your contract with the record company?

How come the middleman isn't giving you money?

Nothing to do with the record company because they make money when they sell records.

and writers and producers.

This is the actual recording artist.

You like Elvis, you like Sinatra, when you hear that song on the radio, the people we tune in for actually never get paid.

Amazing.