Metallica backs file sharing

28 Apr 2008 | 08:11 BST

By Nick Farrell

POPULAR BEAT COMBO and bunch of corporate crybabies Metallica has finally seen the writing on the wall and decided to support file sharing.

In 2000, the group was behind the lawsuit that killed Napster and became one of the loudest critics of file sharing. The band has had a change of heart, apprently, after seeing the huge wads of cash Radiohead and, err, Cliff Richard, made out of sticking albums online.

In a statement the band said that its fight was not about downloading really, it was about piracy and the money that the artists make.

At the time of the Napster lawsuit, pretentious Metallica shed builder Lars Ulrich said: "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."

As a result of the band's cynical U turn, it appears that Metallica is doing only one more album with its current record label, Warner.

Anyone with more than two operational synapses to bang together might think that band members have realised that they can make a lot more money on their own by embracing the Internet without the label taking a cut.

Rock 'n' Roll, eh? µ

L’Inq
Zero Paid

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