Lars Speaks to Rolling Stone and Talks Downloads

April 27, 2008 in Artists, Books/Mags/Web, Interviews by Dave Kropf

Source: RollingStone.com

Rolling Stone recently caught up with Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich, at a recent record signing. He talks quite candidly about the state of music today an the digital music revolution.

RS: You were one of the first artists to sue over copyright infringement and voice concerns over aspects of downloading. Eight years later, with bands like Radiohead embracing the Net and yet charting, how has your stance changed, if at all?
Lars: We have FLACs and MP3s for sale. It was never about downloading per se. We have the Vault where you can download shows from twenty years ago for free, full-on and it’s been there for years. You can download recent shows days after they happen for cost. Back in the day there was a much bigger question about “on whose terms?” We said, “Wait a minute, it should be about the artist.” Then all hell broke loose and we sat on the sidelines for a while. We’ve always been fiercely independent and controlling; sometimes to a fault. That’s why we exist and why all these people show up.

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