Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent has once again addressed his decision to price his new album GUITARMAGEDDON at $2 million. He responded to fan questions about his true motivations in a post shared on the Vinnie Vincent Invasion Facebook page.
The post came after a fan questioned whether Vincent still creates music purely for artistic reasons, despite the years that have passed since his last public release. Vincent confirmed that creativity remains at the core of his process, but made clear that financial realities shape what he can do with that work.
“Of course I create for me first. That’s where it normally begins,” Vincent said. “The heart dictates the desire. Yeah of course I want everyone to enjoy something I create that could bring joy or pain to their emotional need.”
However, Vincent was candid about the economic pressures that prevent him from releasing music freely.
“But my creative works are my livelihood. It’s what I do for a living. I get up at 4am and work 15 hours straight,” he continued. “No one wants to work all week and not be paid. Same here. If I release music I expect to be paid for every copy but with downloads and bootlegs — I’m dead out the gate.”
Vincent described the situation as a frustrating cycle with no easy exit, pointing to a large unreleased catalog that remains in limbo.
“It’s a circle cycle of being all dressed up and nowhere to go. So what I’m stuck with is a massive catalog that will never be released unless a label deal makes an offer I can’t refuse or a third party investment group buys the catalog — and hopefully releases it,” he said.
On the prospect of a buyer for GUITARMAGEDDON, Vincent previously stated: “I have faith the right buyer will come along and make GUITARMAGEDDON available for all fans to enjoy. It will take an investment group, wealthy individual — which would cover just about every category — to make a world release a reality.”
No label deal or investment agreement has been announced at this time.
The standoff over GUITARMAGEDDON is the latest chapter in a long and complicated relationship between Vincent and the music industry. It is one that stretches back decades and has left a significant body of work locked away from the public.
Vincent served as KISS’s guitarist from 1982 to mid-1984. That period marked the band’s shift toward a more commercial, arena-rock sound. During his tenure, he co-wrote some of the band’s most recognizable tracks from that era, including “Lick It Up” and “Heaven’s on Fire.” He departed amid creative and personal tensions with the band’s leadership.
Following his exit from KISS, Vincent formed the Vinnie Vincent Invasion and released two studio albums in the late 1980s before largely disappearing from the public eye. GUITARMAGEDDON has been in development for decades and remains unreleased. Vincent is holding the project at a $2 million buyout price, citing the music industry’s bootlegging and download culture as the core reason he cannot release it through conventional channels.
The problem extends well beyond a single album. Vincent has acknowledged sitting on a large catalog of unreleased material. None of it is expected to surface without a label deal or third-party investment that provides him with adequate financial protection. Among the projects fans have speculated about is a record titled Judgement, which some have suggested could see release later in 2026. No official confirmation has been made.
The broader frustration Vincent expresses reflects a tension that many independent artists face in the streaming era. For Vincent, the $2 million figure is not simply a price tag. It is, in his view, the only viable mechanism left to ensure he is compensated for work he describes as a full-time, all-consuming pursuit. Whether the market will meet him on those terms remains to be seen.
