Metallica , Once an Enemy Of Napster, Evolves Its Views On Streaming Music, Now Embraces Spotify With Open Arms

We have truly entered into a new age. Metallica, notorious for almost single handedly bringing down Napster back in 2000 for streaming music for free, has now joined Spotify, the world’s leading music streamer. And hell freezes over, well not really.

It’s easy for a musician to understand why Lars Ulrich, the drummer for said metal band, would be upset about Napster. To them, they were simply giving away their music that they worked so hard on and spent many thousands of dollars making. Not to mention their loss of control over their music, loss of revenue. This was the early days of MP3's  and we had no idea how the course of music would forever be changed by the internet. In all fairness, they did lose a lot of money and think about like this: you’ve built and sold engines all of your life. One day you wake up and everything you’ve ever built is given away for free and now you’re broke. How about running a restaurant for free, how long will that last? In fact, as musicians, we provide the one service everyone seems to expect for free.

Here is a statement from Lars in ’00 it sun up why he sued:

"With each project, we go through a grueling creative process to achieve music that we feel is representative of Metallica at that very moment in our lives," said Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich in the press release…

We take our craft -- whether it be the music, the lyrics, or the photos and artwork -- very seriously, as do most artists. It is therefore sickening to know that our art is being traded like a commodity rather than the art that it is. From a business standpoint, this is about piracy -- a/k/a taking something that doesn't belong to you; and that is morally and legally wrong. The trading of such information -- whether it's music, videos, photos, or whatever - is, in effect, trafficking in stolen goods."

You know what? I agree completely and I actually applaud Lars now, because the inventor of Napster is now making a lot more money off of Spotify and we as artist can allow free streaming because there are royalties attached to it. It’s been a long time since the lawless days of Napster and as a result of lawsuits and legal battles, we as artists are more protected now and I believe our fans realize that without their support, we cannot do what we do.

 Back in the days of illegal streaming and downloading, (Yes, I too am guilty of this, or have been in the past) it was a big “Fuck You” to the artist. Now people pay 99 cents per song and everyone’s happy for the most part. We can sell our music at affordable prices and make a profit doing so. Also, the big giants are still figuring this out and while they are doing so, independent labels are thriving in the new era of digital distribution.

So here we are, in 2012, the end is supposedly nigh and we as artists can now benefit from streaming and digital distribution thanks in no small part to one Mr. Lars Ulrich, now a metal pariah, but now, looking back I can see why he did what he did. I understand why the fans would have seen their success and saw his stance as greed. All they saw was a wealthy musician who seemingly had it all. Maybe he was selfish in his reasons, but I strongly feel he was protecting the intellectual property of the band and artists as a whole.

Now we are in the digital age, no one can run form it. Lars understands this and sees the value in it and he has reformed his views. Now that the band owns their material again, this move reflects their newfound respect for themselves and a much more open minded view that is required in this day and age.

This is Lars recently:

“When [Sean Parker and I] saw each other a few months ago, we could see that we had been put as adversaries but we had much more in common and sitting down was long overdue. We were younger, maybe somewhat more ignorant to what was going on in the real world. When we sat down and had a heart to heart…Spotify has solidified itself not just as the leading music service, but, as far as I’m concerned, the only one. Spotify is a global entity and Metallica works on a global basis, too.”

Now a working musician, I understand his stance and I also understand that now streaming is how music is distributed. Radio is all but worthless for new music and we have no MTV so we must utilize the new, and that is fine, as long as use of our intellectual work is compensated. I’m all for letting our copyrights expire after the 75 years, after that yes, common usage is both morally right and acceptable.

What I am sick of, is the entitled mentality of people who just think all art is free to use how they please simply because they don’t want to pay for it. What makes you entitled to my work? We are a capitalist society for the most part and until it is otherwise, we musicians can’t live off of your righteous indignation or your sense of entitlement.

That being said, I adore my fans and I am grateful for all of you who enjoy what I do. I understand some simply cannot afford it and for you, there is still Spotify, you tube and other ways to get our music.  Burn a CD, that’s always an option. But if you enjoy what we do and you can afford it, are you not morally obligated to help us financially so we can continue?

Remember- it cost us a lot of money to do this for a living. A lot of money. Right now, I have at least four to five thousand dollars’ worth of music equipment, I’ve sunk nearly ten thousand dollars or more in various recording projects and have spent thousand in gas, and I’m on the low end of the spectrum! Not to mention the sweat equity involved in creating and performing this music for everyone. I do not think asking the fans to pay for some of this is out of the question, especially if they truly enjoy what we do and for the most part, I think the fans don’t mind either, especially if they want us to make more music!

So cough up a couple of bucks, buy a single, buy an album, spend $5 on a local show, most importantly show your support for your favorite bands and let the music industry know that you value us and what we do. Otherwise, you’re just a jerk who wants free stuff.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/06/lars-ulrich-the-notorious-napster-destroyer-announces-his-band-metallicas-music-is-coming-to-spotify/