Kiss admit struggle to contain ticket resale prices

Kiss mainman Gene Simmons says the band struggle to stop fans paying overinflated prices for tickets on the secondary market.

In 2008, the bassist appeared to support the resale of the band’s tickets, telling Ticketnews: “There is no secondary market – there’s only the market. That’s the reality, and everything else is political jumbling. If somebody wants a ticket, they’ll buy it or they won’t.”

But he now reports that while Kiss try and curtail “shenanigans” by offering tickets direct through their website, there will always be people out to take advantage of others when it comes to making money.

Simmons tells the BBC: “I don’t like it but capitalism is capitalism. If you buy a piece of furniture you’re allowed if you sell it for a profit. But we do try to limit that sort of shenanigans. You try to do the best you can but it is a free market system.

“The nature of money is that people tend to abuse it and when there the chance to make hideous sums on somebody who really wants something, people will take advantage of people.”

Last year, the Grateful Dead added two extra Fare Thee Well shows as tickets on the secondary market for their original trio of farewell Chicago concerts were changing hands for thousands of dollars.

They said: “We tried to do the right thing wherever we could for the Chicago shows by honouring the roots of where we came from, while dealing with the realities of the current times. But that’s hardly comforting when you’re shit outta luck for tickets and your only option is inflated prices on secondary ticketing websites. That would piss us off too.”

Kiss concert film Kiss Rocks Vegas is to be shown in select cinemas on May 25. It was recorded on the band’s November 2014 residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in the city.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.