In the wake of the huge ‘Blurred Lines’ copyright infringement decision against Robin Thicke and Pharrell, another hot music rights controversy got stirred up by Twisted Sister star Dee Snider. Snider says the band KISS–famous for its makeup, costumes and pyrotechnic stage show–has no right to reuse makeup and looks established by its original members. The Gene Simmons-led current incarnation of KISS replaced original members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. That’s fine, Snider says, but the new guys (Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer) shouldn’t be allowed to steal the original members’ signature looks.
“Oh, my God, that’s disgraceful,” Snider says. “When Kiss replaced Ace and Peter, and they brought in guys (drummer Eric Carr and guitarist Vinnie Vincent) who had their own makeup and their own thing, that was acceptable. That was awesome. They were their own characters.”
Snider knows about properly using other people’s material:
