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Neil Peart bashes Kiss' all out marketing Approach


Self-Indulgence
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You can't really compare other bands to Kiss when it comes to merchandise. Regardless of whether you find any value in Kiss musically, what they created with the individual makeup characters was pure genius in terms of marketing potential. And I don't think they even realized it at the time of creation, it only occurred to them later on what all they could do with it. Wouldn't most people in their position go at least part way down that path? OK, maybe condoms, toilet paper and caskets are a bit much. ;) Even if Rush were inclined to sell dolls or lunch boxes, they could never come close to selling as many as Kiss. And that's a compliment to both bands - KISS on being able to push fantasy and Rush on being respected musicians in reality.

Elvis has been dead for almost 40 years and I think it is safe to say that he is still the king of all merchandising.
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I always thought the bar stools a nice touch, but who would want to sit on Hemispheres? :(

 

I hear it's extra squishy.

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You can't really compare other bands to Kiss when it comes to merchandise. Regardless of whether you find any value in Kiss musically, what they created with the individual makeup characters was pure genius in terms of marketing potential. And I don't think they even realized it at the time of creation, it only occurred to them later on what all they could do with it. Wouldn't most people in their position go at least part way down that path? OK, maybe condoms, toilet paper and caskets are a bit much. ;) Even if Rush were inclined to sell dolls or lunch boxes, they could never come close to selling as many as Kiss. And that's a compliment to both bands - KISS on being able to push fantasy and Rush on being respected musicians in reality.

Elvis has been dead for almost 40 years and I think it is safe to say that he is still the king of all merchandising.

You're probably right about that. The Beatles were pretty good at it too. I meant Kiss are likely unmatched among any of their contemporaries (hard rock bands from the 70s on).

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There's nothing wrong with selling a few items to the fans if there's a demand but Gene and Paul seem to view their band a nothing more than a business

 

Well, why shouldn't they?

 

I'd say that they worked pretty hard themselves to get the name recognition. It's not every garage band that can have their own fully stocked department store. It's quite an accomplisment from a business standpoint.

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You can't really compare other bands to Kiss when it comes to merchandise. Regardless of whether you find any value in Kiss musically, what they created with the individual makeup characters was pure genius in terms of marketing potential. And I don't think they even realized it at the time of creation, it only occurred to them later on what all they could do with it. Wouldn't most people in their position go at least part way down that path? OK, maybe condoms, toilet paper and caskets are a bit much. ;) Even if Rush were inclined to sell dolls or lunch boxes, they could never come close to selling as many as Kiss. And that's a compliment to both bands - KISS on being able to push fantasy and Rush on being respected musicians in reality.

Elvis has been dead for almost 40 years and I think it is safe to say that he is still the king of all merchandising.

You're probably right about that. The Beatles were pretty good at it too. I meant Kiss are likely unmatched among any of their contemporaries (hard rock bands from the 70s on).

 

How could I forget The Beatles. As a child, we were bombarded with Beatles stuff no matter where we went. If you didn't have a Beatles' hat, forget about it! :LOL:

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One can see why RUSH would like to or NEED to push their merchandise to make profits. They probable not in the top15 grossing tours in 2015.....

 

http://www.statista....ours-worldwide/

 

A band like One Direction leads the way....I have no idea who that is...they must be country.

But they did make the Top 15 most successful North American tours of 2015....

 

http://www.statista....-north-america/

 

Oh thanks nice to see that. I had no idea The Stones were on tour I'd pass on that one.

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how long ago did that quote from Neil happen...recently?

 

A web search only tells me that the article the OP quoted is very recent, but I haven't seen a date on Neil's original quotes.

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It's a confusing article because it starts out talking about the period when Rush opened for Kiss (74/75). But Kiss weren't marketing anything other than their albums then because they were also still trying to break. I don't think Kiss Army was even formed until 76. So Neil's quote must've come later, but it's only even broadly related to Kiss's marketing. It's more about him concluding that a guy with band tattoos must be a brainwashed idiot.
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Well oddly, as long as this band RUSH has been creating and playing music they're NOT among the richest musicians in rock. All three are waaaaaaaay, waaaaaaaay down on the list. They do push their product/merchandise as much as any other rock band, AS THEY SHOULD.

25 million apiece ain,t chicken feed.
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You can't really compare other bands to Kiss when it comes to merchandise. Regardless of whether you find any value in Kiss musically, what they created with the individual makeup characters was pure genius in terms of marketing potential. And I don't think they even realized it at the time of creation, it only occurred to them later on what all they could do with it. Wouldn't most people in their position go at least part way down that path? OK, maybe condoms, toilet paper and caskets are a bit much. ;) Even if Rush were inclined to sell dolls or lunch boxes, they could never come close to selling as many as Kiss. And that's a compliment to both bands - KISS on being able to push fantasy and Rush on being respected musicians in reality.

Elvis has been dead for almost 40 years and I think it is safe to say that he is still the king of all merchandising.

You're probably right about that. The Beatles were pretty good at it too. I meant Kiss are likely unmatched among any of their contemporaries (hard rock bands from the 70s on).

 

How could I forget The Beatles. As a child, we were bombarded with Beatles stuff no matter where we went. If you didn't have a Beatles' hat, forget about it! :LOL:

I had a Beatles wig :facepalm:
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You can't really compare other bands to Kiss when it comes to merchandise. Regardless of whether you find any value in Kiss musically, what they created with the individual makeup characters was pure genius in terms of marketing potential. And I don't think they even realized it at the time of creation, it only occurred to them later on what all they could do with it. Wouldn't most people in their position go at least part way down that path? OK, maybe condoms, toilet paper and caskets are a bit much. ;) Even if Rush were inclined to sell dolls or lunch boxes, they could never come close to selling as many as Kiss. And that's a compliment to both bands - KISS on being able to push fantasy and Rush on being respected musicians in reality.

Elvis has been dead for almost 40 years and I think it is safe to say that he is still the king of all merchandising.

You're probably right about that. The Beatles were pretty good at it too. I meant Kiss are likely unmatched among any of their contemporaries (hard rock bands from the 70s on).

 

How could I forget The Beatles. As a child, we were bombarded with Beatles stuff no matter where we went. If you didn't have a Beatles' hat, forget about it! :LOL:

I had a Beatles wig :facepalm:

I remember those too. :LOL: They had Beatles' costumes for Halloween that included a wig.

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Neil could make a comment about a dump he just took and it would create a twenty page thread on here.

 

That would be SNA.

Edited by grep
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I agree with Neil.

http://www.rushbackstage.com/images/products/RU/CL/RUCLJAKCLO036_000.jpg?preset=details

http://www.rushbackstage.com/images/products/RU/21/RU21GOLSTR030_000.jpg?preset=details

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There's nothing wrong with selling a few items to the fans if there's a demand but Gene and Paul seem to view their band a nothing more than a business

 

Well, why shouldn't they?

 

I'd say that they worked pretty hard themselves to get the name recognition. It's not every garage band that can have their own fully stocked department store. It's quite an accomplisment from a business standpoint.

 

Ya it is, But not from a band standpoint;)

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I agree with Neil.

http://www.rushbackstage.com/images/products/RU/CL/RUCLJAKCLO036_000.jpg?preset=details

http://www.rushbackstage.com/images/products/RU/21/RU21GOLSTR030_000.jpg?preset=details

 

What's wrong with either of those things?

Edited by EagleMoon
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A few thoughts....

 

1) This isn't an old comment. It is straight from the recent Rolling Stone cover story.

 

2) There is a huge difference between being able to buy a Rush bobblehead and a Kiss casket. There is a huge difference between selling an overpriced concert video and owning/naming a pathetic arena league football team after your band. There is a huge difference between selling a cymbal and a t-shirt and selling backstage meet and greets.

 

3) There is indeed one degree of hypocrisy, here. While conveniently comparing Kiss to Scientology, Neil is ignoring his own influence on the connection between a large number of Rush fans and their connection to Objectivism. But, then again, there is probably a reason is he is ignoring that. Neil has moved on with that, even if a large number of fans haven't.

 

4) In the bigger picture, though, the reality is this: Neil has a valid point and those who seek to call him out on the irony of his point (me included) have a valid point. The problem, however, is so few people are able to actually hold that reality in their heads.... the idea that two opposing ideas can be both right and wrong at the same time.

 

5) Which leads me to.... So, yeah, keep on bashing Neil. I get it, he's the guy who isn't as charming or as goofy as the other two. He's awkward and the easy target. But you know what? He's is also * the reason * this board exists. Neil is the reason this band didn't go the way of The Guess Who or myriad other American like rock Canadian rock bands in the early 1970s. Had Rush stuck with Rutsey, Rush never makes its to 1975. Neil Peart allowed Alex and Geddy to explore their love of prog. Neil Peart gave Alex and Geddy a legitimate platform to demonstrate their musical virtuosity. Neil Peart provided a more intellectual base of lyrics to work with. Neil Peart is also probably a bit of an ass..... get over it.

Edited by WorkingAllTheTime
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You know why they sell this stuff? Because people buy it. End of story. Rush has never merchandised like some other bands. Heck for a long time you were lucky to find t-shirts and posters.
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You know why they sell this stuff? Because people buy it. End of story. Rush has never merchandised like some other bands. Heck for a long time you were lucky to find t-shirts and posters.

 

I think I said that on page one or two of this thread.

 

If people didn't buy it, they wouldn't do it.

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I love Neil, but I think it would've benefitted him to lighten up a little over the years. Especially in regard to fan appreciation. As already mentioned, there are tons of people with Rush related tattoos. Some even on this board. :) It's like Neil judges every person's fandom behavior based on whether or not it's something HE would do and deems them idiots if they go outside the box that HE has always lived in.

 

Totally agree. He's too much of a goddamn intellectual sourpuss a lot of the time. It's freaking KISS...they are just putting on a show for damn's sake. Jesus, lighten up Francis.

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