LARS LAUNCHES WEB BUSINESS August 08 2000 dotmusic.com Metallica drummer takes own record label onto the Net. Having earned himself a reputation as Napster-crushing vandal of the digital music revolution, Metallica's Lars Ulrich has taken an unexpected step and moved his personal record company online. The Music Company (TheMusicCom.com), run in partnership with a former Metallica tour accountant, was founded in 1998 to sign and promote new acts, of which the first are Goudie and Systematic. Its newly-opened site is a scant affair featuring links to the two bands' sites and an uncompleted press page. Curiously, though, there are MP3 files available on one related site, courtesy of metallers Systematic. Three songs, entitled Dopesick, Deep Colours Bleed and Thick Skin, are posted for free download in the insecure audio format. Perhaps not co-incidentally, hundreds of tracks by Systematic are now available through Napster. When asked in a 1997 online chat how they felt about Metallica songs being encoded as MP3s and distributed via the Web, bandmember Kirk Hammett replied, "We don't give a f***!" But the rockers' attitude towards Net-based copyright infringement has since changed, with the band taking legal action against Napster and several universities that have allowed the MP3-trading service to flourish. As a result, Lars Ulrich has become a figurehead for the music industry's anti-piracy movement and a pariah in the underground digital music scene, inspiring hate sites such as PayLars.com, ScrewLars.com and F***YouLars.com. It is not clear whether Ulrich gave permission for Systematic to post their songs online as MP3s or whether he sees the giveaway as a wise promotional move. It is also not known how Ulrich plans to deliver The Music Company's catalogue online, but offline it partners with major label Elektra, which as part of Warner Music is being dragged onto the Net thanks to a merger with AOL. comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion [about i-drive] writing index thoughts dotmusic index Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Contact me: mail@tobyslater.com back to top back to home page

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