I don't think that's the case. I mean, that's a part of it, but KISS "sold out" from the very beginning. I remember reading an anecdote about how for one of their first shows, they opened for the Ramones and even at that point they had a lit-up KISS marquee. They were a brand from square one. So it's not as if Gene Simmons ruined something good (even if their first album has its apologists). Gene Simmons is a whore in more ways than one, but I've never known anyone to admire him for his alleged 4-digit conquest total. He's seen as a dirty old man and a creep.