Former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent has released his new album, Guitarmageddon, and it’s priced at $2,000,000.
Vincent's short stint in the band, between 1982 and 1984, saw him play on two Kiss albums, Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up, and receive songwriting credits on Revenge. It seems he's using the might of his Kiss years, and a little of Gene Simmons' business acumen, to power this next era of his career.
In January, he raised eyebrows by launching CDs of Guitarmageddon's first single, Ride the Serpent, at up to $300 apiece, and threatened to shelve the album if fans didn’t, err, ride the serpent.
He compared the track, “a nearly 8-minute, intense guitar power drive,” to caviar and fine art, with Guitar World estimating it at around $40 per minute of electric guitar extravagance.
The announcement of Guitarmageddon's 10-track release at $2m, then, actually makes Ride the Serpent feel like a real bargain, because the album itself cooks up a value of $200,000 per track. That might not sweeten the deal for all. But there’s more…
“I am very proud of this very special album,” Vincent purrs. “The entire album will be offered in master format only for $2,000,000. This includes 10 songs mixed in master, final product format, all the master files of the artwork, related posters, and 10 separate vinyl and CD packaging art for each individual song, should the buyer choose to release the album on a per-song basis.
“The buyer can choose to release the entire album in any format they desire; vinyl, CD, or any other configuration, in whole or in part, at their discretion. All marketing plans and ideas require approval by Vinnie Vincent. The price does not include any right, title, or interest in the copyrights and/or trademarks related to Vinnie Vincent or the product itself.
“If the buyer wishes to purchase any associated rights in the compositions, a separate agreement can be arranged and negotiated,” he adds. “The price will also include a perpetual license to use the brand name, ‘Vinnie Vincent Invasion’ and ‘Vinnie Vincent’ for the life of the album.”
Individual tracks, meanwhile, can be bought for $200,000 a pop with the same benefits, with files shipped on a hard drive within two weeks of payment via PayPal.
Fans are advised to proceed with caution as there are no refunds, but surely that’s okay, because Vincent reckons it’s “one of the greatest rock albums of all time.”
Vincent's guitar talents were once described by Gene Simmons as “Yngwie Malmsteen on crack,” so maybe there's actually something in that. Maybe.
Still, considering how much some guitars sold for at the recent auction of Jim Irsay's staggering guitar collection, Vincent might yet find a few buyers. Its price puts it on a par with Wu-Tang Clan's one-of-one CD, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which sold for $2m in 2015 to become the world's most expensive album.
