The world seems more full of dumb, unfounded stereotypes than it ever has, for reasons not particularly mysterious or unfathomable. Pigeon homelessness must be a global epidemic at this stage, given the nearly countless pigeon holes we humans have decided to put to use.

For some reason, the music attracts more than most - particularly when it comes to the deeply misunderstood and maligned genre of Metal. To put it kindly of bluntly, the prevailing assumption is that Metal is a blunt instrument; a roar of inarticulate rage. To put it really bluntly, people assume Metal artists are stupid.

Metal is the multi-level-marketing business model of the music world. Both MLMs and Metal are plagued by flat-out-wrong perceptions about how they work and why. While sites like Economic Secretariat provide the straight dope on MLMs, it's a bit harder to find a neat summation providing a counterpoint to dismissive ideas about Metal.

So, to turn the tide even just a little bit, here are four Metal artists who show the world you can sing out your rage and have buckets of business brains.
[title="2"]1. Gene Simmons - KISS[/title]

Gene Simmons has to be a prime example of a dude who successfully thrusts his nether-regions in righteous defiance of the idea that metal singers wouldn't find their butt without a bell on it. First up, it's probably worth mentioning KISS is conservatively estimated to be worth between $1 billion and $5 billion. Gene Simmons is the chief architect of the vast money-making megalith which keeps a steady stream of touring and merchandise money flowing in. He also owns a football team, a record company, a financial services firm and a successful chain of restaurants. Oh, and he gives motivational speeches at corporate events. Simmons has probably had his fingers in a lot of things over the course of his colorful lifetime, including a diverse portfolio of ridiculously successful financial pies. The sheer (and quite weird) diversity of his business successes show that Simmons knows how to make buckets of money.
[title="2"]2. Bret Michaels - Poison[/title]

Best known as lead singer-songwriter for Poison, Bret Michaels is also a bit of a business wunderkind. You'll find his name plastered on or credited behind a weirdly eclectic assortment of products, from luggage (his line of carrying paraphernalia is reportedly inspired by the intense luggage-related demands of a grueling tour schedule) to an entertainment company (reportedly worth over $100 million) and pet products (because pets "just love you. They have no funk"). He even invented a word to describe his business philosophy: Drealist. To succeed you have to "dream big, but work with reality." That's three crazily successful businesses and a cool, catchy buzz word to land more airtime with the business press, who tend to lap that kind of stuff up. If that's not an entrepreneur at the top of his game, I don't know what is.
[title="2"]3. Dave Mustaine - Megadeth[/title]

Megadeth's debut album was called "Killing Is My Business and Business Is Good" and it nearly didn't happen because half the production budget was consumed on "drugs, alcohol and food." After a somewhat checkered beginning, Megadeth guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Dave Mustaine has significantly upped his entrepreneurial game. Not unlike Michaels clever idea to draw from his tour experience to flog luggage, Mustaine tapped into copious personal experience to launch his own exclusive Megadeth Beer, in partnership with world class craft brewery, Unibroue. Mustaine has also developed a range of beer merchandise, from (gasp) black hoodies, to your very own Megadeth Pick Necklace to well this so-metal-it-is-kind-of-ridiculous-but-still-oddly-cool skull mask thing.
[title="2"]4. Vince Neil - Motley Crue[/title]

Vince Neil, front of Motley Crue, isn't just an entrepreneur. He's a Vegas entrepreneur all the way. Of course, he found his feet in Vegas' thriving restaurant scene, with a stint as an owner as a rock-themed diner on the strip. But he rapidly diversified. Today, he's the CEO of the sports event company, Rockstar Sports Group. He also owns a strip club named "Girls Girls Girls." Because Vegas. On top of all that, Neil keeps it real with long-term involvement in a number of charities, donating millions of dollars of his sizable personal fortune along the way. So a strip-club owning entrepreneur who moonlights as a wealthy benefactor of charitable causes. Stereotypes be damned.

So what is it about Metal singers which invites such knob-headed assumptions? Maybe it's the "bigness" of personalities involved. Or it could be something to do with that carefully cultivated atmosphere of quasi-demonic outrage. Or it could just be that people tend to shun what they don't understand. Wherever those perceptions come from, they're quite clearly flagrantly dumb. These guys defy the pigeonholing of Metalhead as two-dimensional rage-obsessed misfits, succeeding in everything from strip clubs to financial advisory firms.