My... How we've come full-circle...

[Big Media]

FromRandomReviewCrew

In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich talks about embracing online album distribution.

In summary, Lars Ulrich comes full circle, telling Rolling Stone readers how Metallica is now ready to embrace the world of internet album distribution, much in contrast to Metallica’s groundbreaking lawsuit against Napster and public criticism of peer to peer file sharing networks and practices. Now it seems Metallica is eager to jump on the web distribution bandwagon. Could this be they are concerned with their mediocre aging success and lack of radio airplay for their new tunes? Could it be that they are now learning that the only way to grab the album-and-merchandise buying generation of kids with disposable income is to get to them through the internet? I think this trend-following quote from the article says enough:

“We’ve been observing Radiohead and Trent Reznor and in twenty-seven years or however long it takes for the next record, we’ll be looking forward to everything in terms of possibilities with the Internet.”

Metallica first marketed themselves by handing out their tapes for free so that friends could copy them and spread the word. That’s how they got to be so big in the first place! So I’m sorry Lars, but Metallica lost my media dollar when your outcry against the very practice that made you famous proved how the band has turned into the hypocritical Metallica money machine.

[AmpedNow]

It was them who blew the whistle on Napster and encourage the RIAA to become the sue monster it is today. Fuck them for having the audacity to personally sue every single person who shared their music on Napster. Over 300,000 people were personally named in that lawsuit.

It's quite obvious that choosing that route has affected their career. Instead of one of the greatest rock/metal bands ever, they are the band who shut down Napster and sued their fans.

There's still very much bitterness towards them over at Slashdot.

I still want to hear their new stuff when it comes out. But how ironic will it be if we can just freely dl it off their website?