Vinnie Vincent had some harsh words for the “fucking babies” who criticized the steep price of his upcoming new music.
The former Kiss guitarist announced his plan to release “Ride the Serpent,” the lead single off his long-gestating solo album Judgement Day Guitarmageddon. Each song off the album will be available exclusively as a limited CD single. Each CD is priced at $200 and will only ship if all 1,000 units are sold.
Vincent claimed this release structure was designed to prevent “premature pirating.” Unsurprisingly, not everybody was thrilled with the daunting price tag of each single — but Vincent remained steadfast in his decision.
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What Did Fans Say About Vinnie Vincent’s $200 CD Singles?
One Vincent fan raised issue with the price of “Ride the Serpent” on Facebook. “I fear though, that this price will deter people from truly enjoying your beautiful art in this horrendous economy, especially if it will be this way for each single,” they wrote.
“I was hoping your new music would be released as a whole, for a fair industry standard retail price of 18.99 (or so),” they continued. “While I don’t assume to know your personal life and your needs that these prices would alleviate any burdens life may have thrown you, it’s a bit much for us devoted fans who are struggling to justify our electric bills and other utilities needed to feel ‘normal’ and still have a monetary amount of cash to barely save after we put gas in the car once the bills are paid.”
How Did Vinnie Vincent Respond to Critics of His CD Prices?
Vincent stuck to his guns in the face of criticism, writing a lengthy rebuttal serving as both a “directed reply and also general in nature.”
“First of all, consider the analogy to caviar or fine art,” he said. “Not everyone can afford it. That simple. Second, I resent your ‘personal life’s needs … prices alleviate my burdens’ insult. Who the fuck are you to assume such a theory because you can’t afford or don’t want to pay or don’t agree with my price? … Oh but you expect a fair market price of 18.99.”
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Vincent then lamented the changing times and increasingly difficult modern landscape for independent musicians.
“Fair market price? Lol. That was yesteryear. Welcome to the new agenda,” he said. “Artists can and will set their own standards and rules for the purchase price of their art, when they’ve had their fill of being ripped off … that’s (if) there are any or many artists of value left, aside from the standard list. If you don’t agree with the price, don’t buy it. It’s that easy.”
Vincent said independent artists now have to navigate a “Mad Max wasteland of survival” and “are the directed victims of massive ripoffs, reduced to beg and pander for likes and subscribes from self-entitled brats who want their work for free or for next to nothing. Yet these are the same whiners who have no problem paying someone $500 for a brick from a house he demolished or $1,000 for a sweaty pair of used socks. But you bitches cry and whine like fucking babies when VV sells something at a price you don’t like. Grow the fuck up! My price protects me from people like ‘you’ who will buy cheap from the theft of bootleggers.”
Vinnie Vincent Tells Price Critics to ‘Stay With Your Kiss Records’
Vincent went even further and suggested that his critics shouldn’t bother listening to his music or engaging with his social media.
“Frankly, I have no interest in whether you buy my works at my price or not,” he said. “In fact, I recommend that you stay with your Kiss records. Because that’s where you belong. My music is not for you.”
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He once more emphasized the unfair treatment artists face at the hands of labels and said, “If artists had any fucking balls they would unite, form a coalition and shut down all free goods giveaway and stop the suck-up pandering to social media fans and bring it all back to where it began.”
Finally, Vincent doubled down on his own self-belief. “My price is my compensation for my talent and the music that fans want and wait for,” he said. “And lastly, it’s worth every fucking penny. It’s the best designer drug on the market — an endless high of pure fire running through your veins.”
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
