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Metallica plans to go Radiohead
Author: Gareth HalfacreePublished: 29th April 2008
Metallica is hoping that a move to digital distribution will keep them afloat following the end of their contract with Warner Music Group.
According to a report on Wired.com, the drummer is quoted as pointing out that their next album will be “our last record under contract with Warner [Music Group], so we're looking at how we can embrace everything.”
Ulrich goes on to say that the band has “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.”
Ulrich's comments will come as a shock to some, as the drummer is famous for personally delivering a hard-copy printout listing over 335,000 individuals who had been sharing Metallica songs via the Napster file-sharing network to the headquarters of the struggling quasi-legal startup.
Clearly, times have changed since then. With Trent Reznor clearly enjoying the benefits that DRM-free digital distribution has to offer, it has to look promising to a group with a contract due for expiry real-soon-now, even if Thom Yorke has had a harder time of it.
While Ulrich hasn't set anything in concrete, it's clear by the success of the Nine Inch Nails experiment that fans want DRM-free, high-quality digital copies bundled with as many extras as the band can produce – anything less, and Metallica could well face failure in the digital domain.
What's your take: is it smoke and mirrors in an attempt to scare Warner Music Group into extending his contract, or do you agree with Ulrich et al that digital distribution is the way forward? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Comments (23)Stats: 0.129 seconds
LOL, sorry, I can't keep a straight face. The only reason Metallica want to give away their album for free is that, chances are, it'll be so excruitiatingly crap no-one would pay money for it.
Although, who'd even want St. Anger free? And in high quality? I can bang a biscuit tin with a stick and get the same quality and I don't even have to waste any bandwidth to do it.
LOL! That's exactly what I starting saying.. :D
Yep, if it was the old Metallica, (RTL, MOP, K'EA, etc) then sure -- but they went "pop" a long time ago and Ulrich is just a ***** now. They saw the entire record company business model falling apart and decided to change stance to appear as tho, "they're listening" to the consumers.
Sorry boys, we can see thru it. Nice try tho! :D
'Nuff said.
Andy
would love it if was distributed via napster, would be comedy
If I had heard it maybe nine years ago.
Burn out > fade away
However, there's plenty of die-hard metallica fans who will rejoice, as Freedom810 points out.
they can kill the whole torrent system for all i care and i will still buy their album.
ya call me a fanboi.
except for St. Anger.
Ok, you're a fanboi. St. Anger was the crap at the bottom of the barrel and the epitomy of a great band so far up their own arses, so removed from reality, so void of any talent left whatsoever they genuinely believed kicking the crap out of a water cooler for an hour constituted music. It wasn't the beginning of the end though, whilst the Black Album was good it was signs of things to come, and Load and Reload were real snoozers.
Put on Ronnie, look me in the eye and try to tell me that "yeah, this is good metal". I dare you.
I don't see any mention of them giving it away for free? They will charge the usual price for it any it will probably sell over 3 million copies, just like the worst of their music has done in the past.
You may not like them, and lots of people here clearly don't, but they are still extremely popular, and i'd far rather have them still producing original material than do what so many other older bands are doing with reunion tours etc.
True 3 million people bought it. Did 3 million people like it? Will those 3 million people buy the next one? That's what you need to ask.
And with the Napster thing, this just sounds completely hippocritical, even if Lars has seen the light, so to speak.
I didn't buy St Anger and I kinda doubt the new one will be worth buying either.
not that St. Anger sh*t