Dear Lars,

DIAF.

Love,
Rest of world

That Metal Show isn't really very metal.

There was a user on napster...or was it another P2P (WinMX?)named Larsisfagboy and he had anything and everything Metallica in his shared folder.

always chuckled when I saw him.

In other pirate news, the Pirate Bay has been going up and down the last few hours. Their trial ended today, a verdict'll be released in a few weeks.

smooshie: In other pirate news, the Pirate Bay has been going up and down the last few hours. Their trial ended today, a verdict'll be released in a few weeks.

I've always wondered why the hardcore sharing sites aren't hosted from places with zero extradition agreements and a legal system that highly favors residents. Somewhere like the Caymans, where the authorities are just going to tell the RIAA / MPAA to pound sand.

One almost feels sorry for that guy when reading that.

Almost.

Occam's Chainsaw: Somewhere like the Caymans, where the authorities are just going to tell the RIAA / MPAA to pound sand.

Because it's an expensive farking place to set up shop because all the other thieves businesses have upped the demand.

/Nice place to have a holiday, though!

eddie van heinous: One almost feels sorry for that guy when reading that, due to it's lack of coherency.


/FTFY

BigSnatch: Dear Lars,

DIAF.

Love,
Rest of world

Well said.

BigSnatch: Dear Lars,

DIAF.

Love,
Rest of world

Yea, wah! I can't get my music for free, how dare those artists want money for my entertainment.

jesus, he sounds he just figured out how the internet works.

You're one of the good guys? No, you're one of the dumb guys. At least the Radioheads and NINs of the world tried to work within the confines of what people now expect. You did nothing but cling to the old model.

Were you right? Yes, legally, of course you were. You own your content, blah blah blah.

Persuming he already owns a copy, downloading it wouldn't be illegal, no?

By the way, Lars, you didn't download your album illegally. Legally you most likely have the right to download as many copies of the works you own.

However, if you used BitTorrent, that means you uploaded too. Which is most likely a major breach of contract with your label.

I'd just love it if their label wanted to get rid of them and used this technicality to dump their entire contract.

downstairs:
I'd just love it if their label wanted to get rid of them and used this technicality to dump their entire contract.


Wouldn't matter.. at this point in the game, Metallica are like the Rolling Stones.. they could release an album of nothing but the sounds of Lars sucking off James while Kirk farts through a WAH pedel and Rob throws his own feces at pictures of Jason and Cliff and it'd still make money. No record company is going to give that up.

FTFA: I sat there one night at my house with about six of my friends and a bottle of wine.

Nothing screams Metallica like a pow-wow with your bestest buds sharing stories over some vino.

pixistick: Yea, wah! I can't get my music for free, how dare those artists want money for my entertainment.

I have no problem with the artists getting money. I have a problem with some douchebag with hairplugs getting most of the money and acting like he owns the music industry.

Also, I have a problem with people trying to force business models that no longer work. People know how easy it is to get music from the Internet. There's no reason for me to pay $20 for a CD with three good songs on it anymore. There's no reason

Imagine if instead of suing Napster, the RIAA had said "We'll let you charge $5 per month for unlimited access to our music library." They'd be rolling in dough. Instead they, with the help of Lars Ulrich, decided to SUE THEIR FANS.

They're just now coming around to the idea that this Internet thing has legs. Probably because iTunes is now the largest music retailer in the country. But they lost control of it, and now have to pledge allegiance to Apple to get to market.

pixistick: Yea, wah! I can't get my music for free, how dare those artists want money for my entertainment.

Lars Ulrich supports the RIAA.
The RIAA sues people for $150,000.00 for songs that are actually worth $1.00.

If the RIAA was asking for compensation rather than suing college kids for millions, maybe I would side with you. Until then, I agree with BigSnatch.

"We went from being somewhat well-respected, well-liked, and then I woke up one day and all of a sudden I was the most hated man in rock 'n' roll. It was like, huh? Me? What did I do wrong? I'm one of the good guys. That was all kind of weird.

If you look at our history, we've always been pretty protective of our own shiat. When anybody got too close or farked with our shiat, we always took action. In retrospect, I'm proud of what we did, I really felt sideswiped on that one. In my own little ignorant world, I didn't see it coming. I was completely ignorant and unaware of the magnitude of this issue for people. I was just sitting there in my own little selfish world going, 'I'm going to protect METALLICA. Don't fark with METALLICA.' Then (explosion sound), 'You're pro-record company, you're greedy!'...

...We've been giving shiat away for years. We want to be the ones giving it away, not someone else."

I hate to agree with him because he's still a douche...But he's almost making sense. Not that it justifies the lengths he went to to be a jerk about it at the time, but remember...when he took on Napster, there was still a Napster to take on.

Yeah, the music industry is lopsided, greedy, old-fashioned, and needs to get its priorities straight and roll with the times. But having that knee-jerk reaction is totally understandable. He was just trying to protect his work, his livelihood, and something he felt passionate about.

I always think about it like this: Imagine you've spent several years running a successful shop selling original art. Then, one day, being forced to watch as some jerk buys one, goes across the street, opens a storefront, runs several million color copies, then gives them away to anyone who happens to drop by. Yeah, the copies aren't technically as good. But they're pretty good, and hey...they're free. Oh, and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. Because even if you succeed in shutting him down, every one of the people he gave one of his color copies to was also copying theirs, and giving them away all over town. It'd be next to impossible to compete with that.

Not to say that I'm not just as guilty, and that Lars isn't a d-bag. Just that I understand his reaction, if not the extent he took it to. It'd be hard to swallow.

At least he's sort of gotten to a place that makes sense now.

Yea, he stole about $16 from his label... Should put him in jail for that.

haemaker: Yea, he stole about $16 from his label... Should put him in jail for that.

The RIAA would.

Fark you Lars. If I hadn't taped a bootleg copy of your Album "Kill Em All". I never would have gotten in to your shiatty band. I never would have spent my money on ALL your shiatty records (sometimes twice--thank you cassettes), your shiatty concert t-shirts, your shiatty video, and any of your other shiat that I wasted my money on.

I would have been a lot better off.

/And fark the four horsemen that you rode in on.

MaxxLarge: I hate to agree with him because he's still a douche...But he's almost making sense. Not that it justifies the lengths he went to to be a jerk about it at the time, but remember...when he took on Napster, there was still a Napster to take on.

Yeah, the music industry is lopsided, greedy, old-fashioned, and needs to get its priorities straight and roll with the times. But having that knee-jerk reaction is totally understandable. He was just trying to protect his work, his livelihood, and something he felt passionate about.

I always think about it like this: Imagine you've spent several years running a successful shop selling original art. Then, one day, being forced to watch as some jerk buys one, goes across the street, opens a storefront, runs several million color copies, then gives them away to anyone who happens to drop by. Yeah, the copies aren't technically as good. But they're pretty good, and hey...they're free. Oh, and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. Because even if you succeed in shutting him down, every one of the people he gave one of his color copies to was also copying theirs, and giving them away all over town. It'd be next to impossible to compete with that.

Not to say that I'm not just as guilty, and that Lars isn't a d-bag. Just that I understand his reaction, if not the extent he took it to. It'd be hard to swallow.

At least he's sort of gotten to a place that makes sense now.

All valid points, but his reaction was still dumb. He could have done a few things:

1. Not stick his head out as the posterboy for a failed business plan and an even crazier legal strategy. He wasn't being innovative, so he gets no credit for sticking his head out.

2. Become a posterboy for a model where people get what they want, and he gets his money. You know, what it took 5 years to figure out (iTunes, Amazon mp3's, etc.)

Don't forget in your analogy, that if the shop owner stepped back, he may actually see the copies as free advertising, and try to gain control over what people really want.

Gavino: haemaker: Yea, he stole about $16 from his label... Should put him in jail for that.

The RIAA would.

The RIAA would count it as $1,650,000.00 lawsuit, actually. $150,000.00 per song.

MaxxLarge: I always think about it like this: Imagine you've spent several years running a successful shop selling original art. Then, one day, being forced to watch as some jerk buys one, goes across the street, opens a storefront, runs several million color copies, then gives them away to anyone who happens to drop by. Yeah, the copies aren't technically as good. But they're pretty good, and hey...they're free. Oh, and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. Because even if you succeed in shutting him down, every one of the people he gave one of his color copies to was also copying theirs, and giving them away all over town. It'd be next to impossible to compete with that.

And yet, Jonathan Coulton makes a living at it, without the need for a big label or promotions. And NIN and Radiohead are giving away their stuff with a "donations appreciated" button and are making money.

To use your example, Lars Ulrich was selling his art by making cheap copies and putting them in leather-bound books that you couldn't preview. So some guy buys a book and rips out the pictures and makes copies available for free. And the "pirate" lets people pick only the pictures they want, while Lars makes them buy the whole album.

Lars has to face facts: Music is changing. It's so easy to make copies of recorded music that it's no longer a product - it's marketing. Give away the music, then sell concert tickets and merchandise. And the only way you can make money that way is without the overhead of record labels.

\JoCo is my favorite example of this
\\As are the nerdcore rappers

If you look at our history, we've always been pretty protective of our own shiat. When anybody got too close or farked with our shiat, we always took action.

Someone who knows more about Metallica history than I do (which would be just about anyone) can correct me on this, but I seem to remember back in the 80's, they not only allowed people to tape their live shows, they encouraged it. I know bootlegs aren't the same as downloads of albums, but letting people record your shows is also not being "pretty protective".

timujin: Someone who knows more about Metallica history than I do (which would be just about anyone) can correct me on this, but I seem to remember back in the 80's, they not only allowed people to tape their live shows, they encouraged it. I know bootlegs aren't the same as downloads of albums, but letting people record your shows is also not being "pretty protective".

Through the 90s for sure, they had a bootleggers section when i saw them in 91 or 92. They may still have one, who knows.

A lot of bands do this because really only collectors and geeks care about crappy bootlegs.

downstairs: A lot of bands do this because really only collectors and geeks care about crappy bootlegs.

And because it's pretty well understood that nobody's really making any money off of it. Most booters still stick to the B&P strategy.

pixistick:
Yea, wah! I can't get my music for free, how dare those artists want money for my entertainment.

Trolling or ignornant, neither is excusable.

PainInTheASP: Fark you Lars. If I hadn't taped a bootleg copy of your Album "Kill Em All". I never would have gotten in to your shiatty band. I never would have spent my money on ALL your shiatty records (sometimes twice--thank you cassettes), your shiatty concert t-shirts, your shiatty video, and any of your other shiat that I wasted my money on.

And now he sits around in the evening splitting a bottle of wine with 6 other guys, and decides to try downloading from the internet.

Metal personified.

In other news, in articles about the upcoming (or is it out already?) GUITAR HERO: METALLICA Lars talks about hearing about GUITAR HERO and asking for a copy.

Asking for a copy.

Not, ya know, buying one.

Lars Ulrich downloads "Death Magnetic" illegally on the Internet

Perhaps not so surprisingly, he was the first person to bother illegally downloading "Death Magnetic".


Actually, I agree with Lars in principle about Napster. However, he was such a shortsighted dickhead in how he went about it, I don't care about his problems.

smooshie: In other pirate news, the Pirate Bay has been going up and down the last few hours. Their trial ended today, a verdict'll be released in a few weeks.

TPB's down time is not attributed to the trial. There's some hardware issues going on and nothing more. TPB members don't have access to or even know the location of the servers. It's being worked on.

Glitchwerks: smooshie: In other pirate news, the Pirate Bay has been going up and down the last few hours. Their trial ended today, a verdict'll be released in a few weeks.

TPB's down time is not attributed to the trial. There's some hardware issues going on and nothing more. TPB members don't have access to or even know the location of the servers. It's being worked on.

It's probably attributed to the trial in that everyone is panicking like they did before the first date that Napster was supposed to be shut down on.

"OMG!1!1!11 MUST DOWNLOAD EVERYTHING NOW BEFORE THEY SHUT THEM DOWN!!!"

We invented being anti-record company. We told our record company to go fark themselves before anyone else.

That right there is everything that is wrong with that band. self-absorbed twats

33 comments and no one is going to point out the Napster thing was over an unfinished, unreleased track, not downloading albums?

That's right, it's cool to hate Metallica nowadays, what was I thinking.

downstairs: timujin: Someone who knows more about Metallica history than I do (which would be just about anyone) can correct me on this, but I seem to remember back in the 80's, they not only allowed people to tape their live shows, they encouraged it. I know bootlegs aren't the same as downloads of albums, but letting people record your shows is also not being "pretty protective".

Through the 90s for sure, they had a bootleggers section when i saw them in 91 or 92. They may still have one, who knows.

A lot of bands do this because really only collectors and geeks care about crappy bootlegs.

I can vouch for them still encouraging this in 96.

There seems to be a fine line with 'artists' over the years... If it is unreleased/unfinished and leaked... hell to pay. The song wasn't done. Several others, including Metallica, are also about protecting the investment they've made producing an album. For those starting out, I can agree, downloads have to hurt. But I've always been under the illusion that ticket sales certainly pay more than album sales anyway.

The live bootleg stuff? I don't think I've ever heard an artist complain.

downstairs: By the way, Lars, you didn't download your album illegally. Legally you most likely have the right to download as many copies of the works you own.

Own as in, "it's my intellectual property and I hold the copyright", or own as in, "I own a copy of this album, so I can download a backup copy!"

Because if you think the later is true, I have some bad news...

Does this not count as admission of guilt?
Shouldn't someone call the RIAA about this?

danduran: 33 comments and no one is going to point out the Napster thing was over an unfinished, unreleased track, not downloading albums?

That's right, it's cool to hate Metallica nowadays, what was I thinking.

Them sucking now has alot to do with it. When you start to sound like a parody of your own sound it is time to take a break for a while.

pixistick: Yea, wah! I can't get my music for free, how dare those artists want money for my entertainment.

This comment from the same person in the taxes thread so that people can get their money for nothing?

fark Lars,fark Metallica.

Its not so much that he was concerned about how his "music" was being distributed, but his whole self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude. He could have been part of the solution, instead he was part of the problem...

Camp Chaos: Metallicops

h3dge: Its not so much that he was concerned about how his "music" was being distributed, but his whole self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude. He could have been part of the solution, instead he was part of the problem...

Judging from the interview, I don't think he had any idea whatsoever of how to be a part of a solution. These guys are dinosaurs.

Ulrich/RIAA douchebaggery aside, the meaning of stealing is taking something which is not freely offered.

Rationalize P2P downloading any way you want; stealing is still stealing.

FTA: "I was like, 'You know what? I've gotta try this.' So we sat there, and thirty minutes later, I had 'Death Magnetic' in my computer. It was kind of bizarre."

Wow, Lars still has dial-up?

jicon: The live bootleg stuff? I don't think I've ever heard an artist complain.

Robert Fripp/King Crimson - basically he wants people to be actively listening to the music and not farking with their recording device, worrying about levels and all of that. That's the short, short version for him.

Ah, go choke on a drumstick, ya fark.

amp82deuce: FTA: "I was like, 'You know what? I've gotta try this.' So we sat there, and thirty minutes later, I had 'Death Magnetic' in my computer. It was kind of bizarre."

Wow, Lars still has dial-up?

Maybe he was downloading a lossless version.