Now that Kiss is headlining Voodoo on Halloween, I suppose we have to track all things Kiss. In that spirit, here’s today’s Kiss press release with a few interpretive notes:
Sao Paulo, Brazil (April 6, 2009) – KISS is celebrating 35 years of rockin’ the world like no other band has ever done before. The legendary band, currently touring soccer stadiums of South America, announced from Brazil today that their upcoming U.S. and Canadian tour will be the world’s first to put fans in charge of where their favorite artist plays. By partnering with Eventful, the leading social media company for events, fans will “Demand” where KISS will perform on their latest trek across the top-voted North American markets beginning this September. No matter where the fans say–from stadiums to cornfields–if there are enough votes, KISS will be there! And in order to keep the competition fair for smaller cities, final site selection will weigh population size versus total votes.
I suppose we could ask how this is different from the last 30 years, but that would miss the importance of the social media company. And the weighted voting is a nice, democratic touch.
Today at the zero hour of exactly 3:00 PM EDT, an official video announcement by the band’s Paul Stanley, Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer and Gene Simmons (see video at www.KISSonline.com) kicks off this first-ever promotion. Immediately following the video’s debut run, fans across the U.S. and Canada can cast their votes at www.eventful.com/KISS to have their town included on the KISS 2009 North American tour. Fans will be able to vote, and check the tally of what cities are in the lead, 24/7 across the Web at the previous sites; as well as on KISS’ MySpace and Facebook, Ticketmaster’s KISS page, VH1Classic.com, and many more.
Okay, so there’s not that much drama for us, and talk about weighted votes – Stephen Rehage’s must count as millions.
Even after garnering more than 30 gold and platinum records and in excess of 90 million albums sold worldwide, KISS continues to prove the band makes the fans their #1 priority.
“KISS has never followed the rules–we have always broken them. KISS has never listened to critics-we have always listened only to the fans,” said Gene Simmons. “It’s time to give back to the fans with bigger shows and longer set lists. And for the first time anywhere, we want our fans to tell us where they want us, and when.”
Bigger shows? Again, this represents a change from the past … how?
Said Paul Stanley, “No band has ever given their fans the power to decide what cities they play, and no fans deserve it more than ours. We’re leaving the next U.S. and Canadian tour up to the Army. When they stand up, they will be counted!”
Just for voting for their town, all KISS fans will have the opportunity to purchase pre-sale tickets prior to the general on-sale. In addition to joining in on the major campaigns launched by rock radio in each city, fans are also incentivized to create their own viral videos online, motivating their fellow residents to participate in casting votes for a KISS show in their city. City-specific “best-of” compilation reels of these videos will be shown on jumbo screens at venues before each concert.
This is the first press release from a band that I’ve read with the word “incentivize.”
On this upcoming tour, fans will be treated to a set of some of rock’s greatest hits, including “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” “Detroit Rock City,” “God Gave Rock & Roll to You” and “Shout It Out Loud,” among many others. The band is currently recording its first new studio album in 11 years (produced by Paul Stanley).
Hmmm, a greatest hits show. Still more business as usual. Aside from the voting, it’s pretty clear this is Kiss business as usual including a cynical attempt to make the same-ol’ same-ol’ seem new.
