Gene Simmons Threatens Anonymous Again and Gets DDoS'd

BussyB writes "Rather than shutting him up, the 'Operation Payback' DDoS attack on his websites only made Simmons more angry and outspoken. None of those threats seemed to bother Anonymous, however, and the group promptly launched another DDoS attack on both of Simmons' websites and rendered them inaccessible once again."

Comments

Something I find interesting

[Pojut]

It always seems like it's the largest and most sucessful musicians that slam piracy and filesharing.

Weird. Don't they make most of their money by performing dozens of times a year, anyway? I thought income from record sales was minimal, compared to touring and merchandise...

Re:Something I find interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

I noticed you didn't say "the most talented musicians"

Re:Something I find interesting

[Pojut]

Absolutely not. Without highly knowledgable producers/engineers, most mainstream artists wouldn't be given a glance.

When it comes to music, high production values and experience can trump talent.

Re:Something I find interesting

[Sockatume]

The largest and most successful musicians are the ones that most effectively act as employees of powerful record companies. Part of being an effective employee of those companies is believing them when they say "X is the reason why your sales are down".

Re:Something I find interesting

[shadowrat]

or is it the shrewdest businessmen who become the largest and most successful musicians? Kiss was a business. It was about marketing and maximizing profits. Of course the people at the head of that machine are concerned about every angle they could pursue and every dime they could possibly get.

Re:Something I find interesting

[biryokumaru]

Don't they make most of their money by performing dozens of times a year, anyway?

That's not true! They're also paid quite well by the recording industry to speak out against piracy!

Re:Something I find interesting

[xednieht]

Damn right, musicians need to stop being so lazy and get out there and perform. Does the guy that designed or built your car get royalties every time you get in it? Does the guy that designed or made your clothes get royalties every time you wear them?

Nothing against artists, but they really need to get out there and perform more. Earn a living like everyone else you lazy bums.

I wonder if Simmons pays royalties to the designers and builders of his website?

Re:Something I find interesting

[jayme0227]

I think a lot of the most successful musicians end up starting their own labels. Simmons certainly did, as referenced in the article. This gives them a stake in the game and even more reason to be anti-piracy.

Re:Something I find interesting

[Wowsers]

Marketing triumphs high production values, experience, and talent.

Re:Something I find interesting

[elrous0]

Nonsense! With Kiss it used to be about the music, man! Well, that and the lunchboxes, posters, cartoon shows, movies, guest appearances, fast-food tie-ins, TV specials, KISS Army fan club, clothing line, Halloween costumes, makeup line, books, toys, and probably a whole lot of other stuff I'm forgetting about. But the music was in there somewhere, I'm sure of it.

Re:Something I find interesting

[codegen]

Actually quite a few of them(such as Mr. Simmons) go on to be producers and/or label owners and discover how much more money there is on the other side of the microphone. Of course they are much more vehement against piracy then. However, the public tends to remember them as the musician, when really they are speaking as the label owner.

Re:Something I find interesting

[ArhcAngel]

Gene Simmons has always been a businessman first a performer second and an artist a distant third. He has stated in interviews he had ideas for merchandising KISS paraphernalia long before they had a record deal. It's not surprising at all that his instinct is to sue anything that hurts his enterprise.

Re:Something I find interesting

[vlm]

Well, that and the lunchboxes, posters, cartoon shows, movies, guest appearances, fast-food tie-ins, TV specials, KISS Army fan club, clothing line, Halloween costumes, makeup line, books, toys, and probably a whole lot of other stuff I'm forgetting about.

Yeah, you forgot the KISS branded casket

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_Kasket

Now if someone replicated on a 3-d printer, then ole Gene would be rightly annoyed. But copying the music? He doesn't lose any real money from that.

Re:Something I find interesting

[Artifakt]

It doesn't make sense because it isn't a reasoned position, just an emotional one. Gene Simmons has gone as far as endorsing prison rape for file sharers. That's, simply put, psychotic. It used to be I didn't buy Kiss merchandise because I didn't particularly like Kiss (and I didn't and still don't infringe their copyright either). Now, the way Mr. Simmons is talking, I don't buy Kiss merchandise because I'm concerned he's so far over the edge he'll use the money to try and get draconian revenge, far beyond any proportionate concept of justice, on some kid he elects to make an example of.

Re:Something I find interesting

[jbeach]

You're right. The music was in Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Who then got fired.

Re:Something I find interesting

[hedwards]

Because Kiss was always about being corporate whores. I mean it's not about the music, it was about how fully they could sell out for more money. And if the corporate masters don't keep pushing it there's that many fewer lunchboxes and breakfast cereals sold.

Re:Something I find interesting

[Microlith]

Sure as hell wasn't computers. Gene Simmons didn't have a computer growing up and look what happened to him.

Buy your kids a Banana Jr. 6000 today!

Re:Something I find interesting

[grub]

They tried autotune with Lemmy. The autotune box exploded, killing 4 in the sound booth.

Re:Something I find interesting

[Runaway1956]

I applaud everyone who finds their own niche. How many people think about the culture that has been lost in America? I'm not talking about music alone. Accents and dialects, music, local cuisine, even costume in some cases. I miss the days of my youth, in a city divided almost evenly into four parts. There was the "white" part of town, the black part, the Italian part, and the Slovak (Poles, Hungarians, Ukrainians, and a few odds and ends). Each part of town SMELLED different at dinner time. You didn't even have to think about where you were - just smell the cooking. Today? No one even cooks. Everyone orders Domino's or goes to Micky D's. Support what is left of culture - we're losing it fast, and the new generation(s) have no idea what they are missing.

Re:Something I find interesting

[squizzar]

I think having been paid he will continue to design more cars or clothes in order to get paid again. I've been designing stuff all day today, and I got paid for it, just like I did yesterday and the day before. If I stop designing stuff tomorrow I'm fairly certain I'll stop getting paid...

Arguably I'm designing the wrong stuff, but to me it seems that 'art' is the only industry that gets away with being so far up it's own arse as to assume that everything these creative types create should be paid for by society forever. I'm willing to bet the guys who designed the Statue of Liberty, or the Viaduc de Millau Bridge, or the Aston Martin Vantage don't get paid every time someone looks at their work. It's not that I don't think they should get paid at all, it's just that they seem to expect to be paid regardless. I can't afford to buy a BMW M5, and at the moment I can't afford to buy £15 CD albums. If a friend had a car and lent it to me I wouldn't say no, and I certainly wouldn't expect to give BMW a royalty for the privilege. For some reason though if I borrow a friends CD and listen to it I should be paying someone though. If I sit in a pub listening to the radio on on a personal stereo that's fine, but if the pub has the radio playing they're supposed to pay royalties? If it was all about the music then they'd just play it. These guys are just like the bankers complaining about not getting bonuses when the economy collapses. We all could do with earning some more money, most of us seem to think we should work for it...

Re:Something I find interesting

[Bing Tsher E]

Arguably I'm designing the wrong stuff, but to me it seems that 'art' is the only industry that gets away with being so far up it's own arse as to assume that everything these creative types create should be paid for by society forever.

You don't have to pay them anything.

In fact you can completely shun them, and pay them nothing.

But you need to get a clue. 'Shun' means you don't listen to their music or pass copies of it around.

Re:Something I find interesting

[holiggan]

That's the exact, pinpoint moment when they switch sides from the "let's be rebellious and brake a window" attitude to the "that window is expensive and I'm gonna sue your for all you got"...

Really? Take people's homes and cars over piracy?! Wish for jail rape for copying songs?! I wonder if this "big rock star" would have the same attitude if his kids (does he even have kids?) were doing it (if?! I'm yet to meet a teen nowadays that doesn't do it).

Or perhaps, maybe, that's his exact position regarding drug abuse... How's that? Take the cars and homes and wish for jail-rape, for all the people caught with drugs, or using drugs, or selling drugs, or enjoying drugs. Now that's a crime with *real* consequences for other people, stuff that people might actually *die* from. I bet the "big rock star" agrees with me.

Re:Something I find interesting

[MyLongNickName]

10 bits of music

Now that is one hell of a compression algorithm!

Re:Something I find interesting

[formfeed]

I don't buy Kiss merchandise because I'm concerned he's so far over the edge he'll use the money to try and get draconian revenge,

Following that argument it would be really unethical to buy a Kiss CD. Good thing you never liked Kiss to begin with. Otherwise, if you really wanted to listen to Kiss, you would have very few options:

1. Surpress your passion for music and suffer. -But you know it's for a good cause.
   Great, the suffering will be a sign that you're doing the right thing. (As long as you're Catholic or Jewish.)
2. Copy the music illegally.
   Great, you break the law for a reason, fight the system. (And also save some money while doing it.)
3. Buy only used CDs on yard sales and flea markets.
   Great, you beat the system, you crafty anti-capitalist. (And support pop-culture addicted teens so they can buy more stuff)

Re:Something I find interesting

[infinite9]

Marketing triumphs high production values, experience, and talent.

Wouldn't it be great if artists became popular because they were good?

Re:Something I find interesting

[FatRichie]

>> "The age of mass comsumption of music is coming to an end"

I'd have to disagree with this. With sites like Last.FM and Pandora getting more and more popular, not to mention how most radio stations are streaming their broadcasts on the web, I think the mass consumption has just changed. People are starting to tolerate ads (and even paying for premium subscriptions) more because the medium is convenient, even more convenient than popping in a CD.

Re:Something I find interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

Our four ... no ... Amongst our triumphs ... Amongst the aspects which allow us to triumph ... are such elements as marketing, high production values ... I'll come in again.

Re:Something I find interesting

[hesiod]

That's the exact, pinpoint moment when they switch sides

Normally you are right, but not in this case. Gene Simmons was never in it for the music. Right from the start, it was a business venture to him (y'know, showBUSINESS) -- it was always about the money.

Re:Something I find interesting

[Omestes]

Actual music is almost dead in America. As for the world, actual music is more endangered than the Panda.

If your talking about the big labels, and the top 40 machine, then you are absolutely correct on all your points, but, luckily, this is only a very small portion of modern music. Yes, it is the most visible, and has the highest share of public consciousness, but that scene still represents a tiny minority of the music that is out there.

Right now, in your town, there are hundreds (maybe thousands, depending on population and culture) of small bands, some of which are VERY good. Most are crap, but some of them are better than anything the major labels have churned out in years. Finding which ones are worth the time is a bit daunting (currently, in my town, we have an obnoxiously ubiquitous metal scene, which aspires to recapture the most idiotic parts of 90's metal...), but I guarantee that there is something out there that you will like.

Thanks to the internet, major labels are largely insignificant. It is trivial to find an acquire music from small labels, or individual bands, without ever touching the ancient media dinosaurs, this is now, and not in the future. Of the last 100 or so music purchases I've made in the last 5 years, only two were from major labels, this was completely accidental, I did not have the desire to "stick it to the man". The independent music is just better, at least to my taste.

I would recommended some bands that are awesome and have nothing to do with big labels, but taste is subjective.

I would guess that the big labels make around 90% of the profit, but only represent around 10% (if even) of the artists out there. In ten years they will be almost completely irrelevant. Yes, they are nice for marketing, and promotion. This is generally the case made against independently distributed music around here, small bands can't go on their own because they can't afford to be Lady Gaga (whose branding efforts might rival those of CocaCola and Nike). But who cares? If a band can't become huge without marketing they don't deserve to be huge. And small labels work wonders, insteading of having 10 labels with 10,000 artists, why not have 1,000 labels with 100 artists? Smaller labels have funds for promotion, and smaller labels allow more artist control (the only thing that matters). This is how things are going to develop.

You're missing something here Gene...

[tekiegreg]

The group "anonymous" is everyone and it is no-one...it is what was once your devoted fan-base likely. But now that you've threatened them with jail and a pack of angry lawyers they have become defensive and your worst enemy. They are the embodiment of the hearts you are trying to win towards your music and the mass that is disappointed in your reality.

No I'm not doing this, I honestly didn't hear about these attempts until right now...and have never been a big fan of KISS's music from the get go...

Gene should really love Anonymous

[digitaldc]

With KISS' classic rock jams such as 'Take Me' 'Hooligan' 'Dirty Livin' 'All Hell's Breakin' Loose' 'Any Way You Want It' 'Get All You Can Take' 'Thief In The Night' and 'When Your Walls Come Down', Gene Simmons should really identify with Anonymous, not try and attack them.

What is it about old rock stars who disavow their youthful ways?

Re:Gene should really love Anonymous

[BobMcD]

What is it about old rock stars who disavow their youthful ways?

Money, and the pursuit for more of it. Plus an inflated ego. Everyone must love Gene!

This genuinely isn't Gene's fault. It's yours. You're the ones thinking that his youthful endeavors were EVER about anything other than becoming a successful, AND WEALTHY, musical icon.

He doesn't lead the choir at his local church here, folks. He's a rock legend. The distinction is greatly about how far you're willing to go to make a buck.

He'll have to learn the hard way...

[Jugalator]

You simply don't win an argument with a group of trolls by feeding them.

Internet Terrorism

[kellyb9]

Ridiculous. I don't agree with how IP law is implemented, but it doesn't mean I have the right to go and hack someone's site. If you want the laws to change, lobby congress and vote in people who agree with your point of view on this issue. This is basically internet terrorism.

Re:Internet Terrorism

[rotide]

Anonymous doesn't care. They are doing it for the lulz. To assume they have any agenda besides lulz gives them too much credit. Honestly, have you ever visited 4chan? Does that user base strike you as political or activist?

The KISS of death

[GPLDAN]

You show us everything you've got
You keep on dossin' and the net gets hot
You drive us batty, we'll sue your ass
You say you wanna go for a spin
The party's just begun, we'll let you in
You kill our blog, we'll drive a spike to your chin
You keep on shoutin', you keep on shoutin


I wanna kick Simmons ass all nite and blog every day!
I wanna kick Simmons ass all nite and blog every day!

Re:Be careful about what you say

[betterunixthanunix]

I think that quote really shows how the customers are viewed here...

(Now why won't my mother join the boycott of the RIAA?)

Kiss goooood...pirates baaaad

[grapeape]

Sadly Gene is about 5 years behind Metallica in learning that biting the hand that feeds you hurts you more in the end. I've got a friend that would buy every piece of Kiss crap that hit the shelves from CD's to action figures. He got sick of Gene's crap last year over this kind of thing and has been slowly selling his entire collection on ebay. It doesn't help that the album prices for digital downloads are nearly 50% higher than buying the CD. Take Kiss Alive II for example, at Wal-Mart and Best Buy its $9.99 while on Amazon and Itunes its $13.99, who in their right mind would buy the digital version when they can buy the disk and just rip it? I dont use a cd player anymore, but still buy CD's for this specific purpose....but according to Gene im a pirate for it. I realize your an old man Gene but you pretend to be hip and relevant try and at least understand the technology and why people do what they do, maybe then you could be part of the solution rather than a contributor to the problem. I dont think Gene realizes that the same people he is wanting to sue are the same people willing to buy Kiss caskets and trinkets, with his known level of greed you would think he would be more concerned with the revenue stream than someone downloading a copy of a song they have likely already purchased on Vinyl, Cassette and CD.

Follow Gandalf's strategy instead

[dkleinsc]

The way to defeat trolls is to keep them arguing with each other all night long, until daylight arrives and they're no longer a threat. (ok, in this case it's because their mothers have sent them off to school, but the idea is similar)

Inaccessable?

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

Was anyone even trying to access them in the first place?

Re:Childish

[houghi]

Yeah, because then you would scam the people bringing the pizza, not the people it is delivered to.

Gene, you may want to stay quiet

[Drakkenmensch]

Anonymous regularly takes on the church of scientology, one of the most aggressively litigious entities in the world (WORSE than the RIAA/MPAA) and stays ahead of them. You really think that your facepaint and unnaturally long tongue are going to scare them any?

Re:Gene, you may want to stay quiet

[magus_melchior]

It's the guy who told one of the best interviewers in the country that she should welcome him with "open legs". I don't think intelligence and good sense are part of his skill set.

Re:How to handle Anonymous

[SuricouRaven]

Eventually. The problem with acting against anonymous is that most of them are just pranksters doing the equivilent of a bit of light graffettiing on the internet, and often minors too - and yet there are so many, their collective damage is considerable, and it's impractical to take some action against them all. Thus the only way to stop them is indimidation, or the Simmon's method: Pick a few at random, and totally destroy them. Take their money, destroy their careers, throw them in jail, and in general hit them with a punishment grossly disproportionate to their crime in order to scare others away.


The RL equivilent would perhaps be announcing that every day one random person caught littering shall be executed - it's also hugely excessive as a punishment, but it's a whole lot cheaper than hireing enough police to give every litterer a small fine, and you can be sure that the streets would get a lot cleaner.

Love Gun

[Is0m0rph]

Who are these clowns? Kiss? You don't know who Kiss is? No. Never heard of them. They look likeidiots to me. No, no, no, dude. These are four of the smartest guys who ever lived. They're these Jewish guys that grew up in New York, and they put on guitars and makeup to get girls, and all of their songs are about fucking! I'm listening. Seriously, this song is called Love Gun, and it's about Paul Stanley's dick and how this girl's gonna get some of his dick! Cool. I didn't know Jews could sing like that. No. No. They couldn't at the time. That's why they had to dress like clowns. This got them girls? Get this! They've been getting pussy nonstop for 30 years! They're probably fucking right now, and they're old dudes! They put makeup on, and it's all good! No shit? You pull the trigger of my Love gun You see, Ronnie? His dick is the gun!

Re:Didn't he do a lot of drugs?

[gstoddart]

What's going on here. He's over 60, and a musician, didn't he do a lot of drugs in his youth? Why isn't he dead yet?

Doesn't drink. Doesn't smoke. Doesn't do drugs. Says he never did, nobody has ever contradicted him on that.

Also claims to have humped everything that ever came along, which you can take with a grain of salt. I'm sure his own count is inflated, but I'm sure he's never wanted for willing females.

Gene Simmons is a nice Jewish boy who has always been about making money and selling his brand. He's not your typical aging rocker -- having watched a couple episodes of his TV show, he's an out of date old fool of a narcissist who is obsessed with his own image and making money in the worst possible way.

In short, he's absolutely part of the problem with the RIAA mindset. As has been pointed out in this thread, advocating prison rape for file sharers (or Anonymous, or whomever he was referring to) goes to demonstrate he's a bit of a loon, and has way crossed the line.

I thought he was irrelevant before his TV series. Now he's irrelevant, pathetic, and a lot more lame than I ever thought he was. At least his son seems to treat him like the old troll that he is.