Gene Simmons Makes a Surprise Appearance at the White House to Support Musicians’ Rights

Gene Simmons, founding member of the legendary rock band “KISS,” crashed the White House briefing room on Friday, December 5 with his son, Nick, and his wife, Shannon Tweed. The legendary rocker took over the podium while President Donald Trump was across town at the Kennedy Center watching the World Cup draw. 

---

Simmons Advocates For Musicians’ Rights

Getty

The bassist is in Washington to be honored at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements alongside the rest of his band members on Sunday, December 7, an event which President Trump will be hosting. 

Simmons will also be testifying before the Senate on Tuesday, December 9 in support of the American Music Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill which will require radio corporations to pay recording artists for their music. This is the main issue he addressed from the White House podium.

“If there’s an artist who’s heard on radio they should get paid,” Simmons said, as reported by Daily Mail. He claimed that radio stations are making billions of dollars using artists’ likeness in their advertising campaigns.    

“Can the artists that we all admire from Sinatra to Elvis have a little bit of that? Would that be OK?” Simmons asked.

“So this is our bipartisan bill that will get passed because the president is very pro-artist,” he added, referencing when President Trump signed an executive order on March 31, 2025, that aimed to protect fans by cracking down on “exploitative ticket scalping” and introduced “commonsense reforms” to the way live entertainment events are priced.

Joined by Kid Rock in the Oval Office, the president signed what he called a “very serious” order designed to protect fans from “having to pay crazy prices” for tickets.

Simmons continued by pointing out that America was the birthplace for the “music of the world.”

“Rock and roll, blues, jazz – most of it from black music, of course – country western, hip-hop was invented right here and we’re letting our artists, the voices of America, American culture, get by, working hard on their craft, and not getting paid,” Simmons said.

---

Simmons on the American Music Fairness Act

Getty

“Having spent my career in the music and entertainment industry, I understand the vital importance of this issue,” Simmons said in a statement. “The American Music Fairness Act represents sound public policy. Artists must be properly compensated for their creative work.”

“I look forward to meeting with both Republican and Democratic Senators to discuss why this legislation is crucial for thousands of present and future American recording artists,” he continued.

He will testify alongside Michael Huppe, the president and CEO of SoundExchange, which is a nonprofit that collects and distributes digital streaming royalties to artists. Huppe has been a leading advocate of the legislation, which aims to compel AM/FM radio to pay performers to play their music, as other streaming platforms do.

Simmons was one of the more than 300 major artists to sign a letter to congressional leaders in February urging them to pass the legislation.