Gene Simmons has always been about the pay-off and he’s never been shy to admit that. With the music industry is a very rough spot with how much artists are paid, what artists are “allowed” to blow up, and the ins and outs of contracts; the game surely has changed. Gene has taken note of this and comes with receipts.
On Twitter, Gene Simmons has always been very vocal about pretty much anything. On top of that, Gene was recently vocal about Kanye West’s remarks that were posted all over Twitter which saw Kanye lose many deals as well as fans taking a step back from his work.
Recently, on Twitter, Gene posted a photo of an old piece of paper which showcased how much a band/artist was paid for their appearance for Woodstock in 1969.
Running through the list, acts such as Janis Joplin, The Band, Sly And The Family Stone, and Credance Clearwater Revival are all named. The band of Janis Joplin along with The Ban were paid $7,500 to play the festival. CCR were paid $10,000 at the time. Let’s see what that would be in modern times.
For Janis and The Band, we’re looking at a current pay of $60,931. For CCR, that would be $81,202. Let’s take CCR and split that between the members (in modern pay out) and we are looking at, roughly, $20,250 a member. At the time, a new house was $25,000 while a new sports car was $4,000.
It seems like the music industry spent all of their money in the 1960’s as musicians find it harder and harder to get by today just on the accord of their music alone. Musicians are still trying to find a way to navigate in today’s changing landscape that has a new star formed every month.
Woodstock 1969. Band wages!!! pic.twitter.com/VY1Ofjro7b
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) November 12, 2022
