Will KISS' Next Album Be A WAL-MART Exclusive?

June 6, 2009

According to NWAnews.com, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, co-founders of the rock band KISS, made a surprise stop at the at the 39th annual Wal-Mart shareholders meeting Friday (June 5) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, fueling speculation that the next KISS album will be a Wal-Mart exclusive. Though they didn't perform, a camera crew from Simmons' A&E TV show "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" followed him around Bud Walton Arena.

There has been no official confirmation of a KISS deal with Wal-Mart, although artists such as THE EAGLES and AC/DC have both issued recent albums exclusively through the giant retailer. In addition, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry may have inadvertently let it slip that the band's next studio album will come out exclusively through Wal-Mart. When asked in an interview with Entertainment Weekly about the album being delayed by Perry's and singer Steven Tyler's medical problems, Perry replied, "This is about the third time I've had to make excuses why the record isn't out. You line everything up just right: Brendan O'Brien producing, Wal-Mart and Sony screaming for the record, tour coming up, and there's no record. We're still in shock that it's not happening."

Whereas Best Buy's exclusive deal for GUNS N' ROSES' "Chinese Democracy" involved a marketing campaign centered solely on the album, Wal-Mart saw AC/DC's "Black Ice" as a way to sell more than music. The company hawked AC/DC T-shirts and an exclusive AC/DC version of MTV Networks' Rock Band videogame.

"As we looked at AC/DC's loyal fan base, that's when this idea came about: How do we pull in the music with other things?" Gary Severson, Wal-Mart's senior vice president for entertainment and electronics, told The Wall Street Journal in a December 2008 interview. "Some artists allow you that opportunity."

In a recent interview with Wags & Elliott of the Columbus, Ohio radio station QFM96, Gene Simmons stated about KISS' forthcoming CD, "[It's the] first studio album in 11 years. And you can't force those things — either it's in your blood and it's happening or... This is, I have to say... this might be the best new record we've done since 'Destroyer'. In fact, it has a similar sound — 'Rock And Roll Over'-meets-'Love Gun' kind of a record. That's coming out in September/October, and then we're gonna be doing a 60-city American tour."

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).