Gene Simmons says the rock business is dead

"Or is Gene just being his dramatic self?" Absolutely. He can't suck any more money out with his tired music and horrible reality shows so he thinks it's dead. Please just go away Gene ....

That interview is over a year old. Wonder if he feels the same today? Although, not that much has changed in a year, I guess.

If it is dead, and I'm not saying it is, he killed it.

I guess it depends on how you want to define it. On the basis of record sales, he's probably right. OTOH, touring is still big business for (mostly aging) rockers. U2 made over $700MM on their 2011 tour and The Wall was pushing about $500MM when it shut down in 2013. Not as many big numbers this year, but Fleetwood Mac will probably end up north of $200MM before the calendar turns. The numbers may be trending down for rock tours, but I wouldn't call $200MM+ "dead" by any means.

My understanding is that Gene is kind of an eccentric guy (a friend of mine worked closely with him for almost a decade), so you've got to take his view with a grain of salt. Ultimately, I'd say that there's a nugget of truth in the statement...it's just overly broad.