Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Now “Happy People Still Stream, Buy, or Steal Our Music”
There was a time when Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich‘s face and name was synonymous with the phrase “greedy musician” after he spearheaded the charge to take down peer-to-peer file sharing platform Napster. He went before Congress decrying the loss of revenues that artists were feeling as a result of us kids downloading viruses… I mean music… and burning it to a blank CD. Eventually the platform went under and record sales boomed across the board, right?
Well, not necessarily, as people even to this day can still illegally download tons of shit off the internet — including Metallica’s Master of Puppets. And while there are still swathes of the internet that consider Ulrich public enemy #1 over the whole “piracy” conversation, plenty are now coming around to the idea that musicians are getting royally fucked every way from Sunday and those record sales would be a reeeeeaaal big help right about now.
While chatting with actors and comedians Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett on the latest episode of the “SmartLess” podcast (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Ulrich talked about that experience, as well as how the industry’s changed over the years.
“Well, obviously it’s changed quite a bit. And in your guys’ industry, some of the same things that we were dealing with 20 years ago are happening. Big picture, and I know this may sound like a little bit of a cop-out, I’m just happy that fucking anybody cares about what we’re doing and shows up to see us play and still stream or buy or steal our records or whatever. The engagement itself, I think, is the triumph and the victory. Obviously, it’s way, way harder for a lot of the younger bands nowadays because they don’t get the support of the record companies for basic things — just like gear and tour support. So there is very much of a different thing.”
For a long time, proponents of piracy said downloading music allowed fans to find new artists to follow, eventually leading to more merch, ticket, and yes – even album sales. It sounds like Ulrich is embracing that a little bit, though he readily recognizes that Metallica’s in a unique position as one of the biggest bands in the world.
Smaller bands, however? Things are significantly harder these days, Ulrich said.
“Talent, good songwriting eventually will find a home with a larger group of people. And whether you do it from your bedroom or through a record company or whatever, I believe that everybody will be heard eventually if they’re talented. But it is tough. It’s tough for a lot of the younger bands out there and for a lot of the… The bands that 20 years ago could make a living playing clubs or theaters are having a harder time now because they don’t sell as many records and you really have to be out there and pushing it.”
For the full interview, be sure to check out the podcast below.
