On Tuesday, Dec. 9, the KISS bassist, 76, appeared in front of a Senate subcommittee hearing on the American Music Fairness Act, which would would\u00a0require that artists\u00a0are paid when their recordings are played on the radio, per CBS News.<\/p>\n
According to Sound Exchange<\/a>, songwriters only get royalties when their tracks play, however the artists (lead or backing vocals) do not receive any payment.<\/p>\n Simmons stressed the importance of the American Music Fairness Act as he cited artists like Frank Sinatra<\/a>, Bing Crosby, and Elvis Presley<\/a>, who \u201cnever got a penny for all the millions of times\u201d their music played on the radio.<\/p>\n He also noted that during the Kennedy Center Honors, he asked George Strait<\/a>, who was also being honored, if he knew that he’d never received payment for any time the radio played his hit song \u201cAmarillo by Morning.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Simmons, Strait had no idea and had to ask his “handlers” if that was true.<\/p>\n Heather Diehl\/Getty<\/p>\n Gene Simmons in Washington, D.C. in December 2025<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are against this bill, you are un-American,\u201d said Simmons. \u201cYou cannot let this injustice continue. It looks like a small issue \u2026 But our emissaries to the world are Elvis and Frank Sinatra.”<\/p>\n He continued, “And when they find out we\u2019re not treating our stars right \u2014 in other words, worse than slaves; slaves get food and water. Elvis and Sinatra and Bing Crosby got nothing for their performance. You\u2019ve got to change this now.\u201d<\/p>\n At the hearing, Simmons and others discussed other nation’s policies when it comes to radio royalty and commended Russia and China for paying both songwriters and performers when their recordings play on the radio.<\/p>\n He noted that some countries have withheld royalties from American artists because they aren’t paid for radio airplay in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cHow do we dare come in second to Russia?\u201d Simmons declared. \u201cAn alleged country led by a despot, when they do a better job of paying\u00a0our\u00a0King of Rock & Roll, and we\u2019re going to stand by and not pay today\u2019s artists and future artists?\u201d<\/p>\n Appearing alongside Simmons at the subcommittee panel was Michael Huppe, the president and CEO of SoundExchange, a nonprofit that collects and distributes digital streaming royalties, and Henry Hinton, a broadcaster and owner of four radio stations in North Carolina, who was not in favor of the legislation. He called it \u201ceconomically untenable for local radio broadcasters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen new fees are imposed, free local radio\u2019s only option is to cut elsewhere. Stations have to make the choice between covering local football games or paying new fees; between making their payroll, or sending more money to the recording industry \u2014 an industry currently making record profits, I might add,” said Hinton.<\/p>\n Simmons’ appearance in front of Congress came just two days after he was recognized by President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0at the Kennedy Center Honors alongside his KISS bandmates,\u00a0Sylvester Stallone<\/a>, Michael Crawford,\u00a0George Strait<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Gloria Gaynor<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Heather](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0afc3c0ef5db6423857e2512999eef15.jpeg\"\/)
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