An interesting interview with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett in The Pitch about Metallica’s mindset and where Metallica stands in today’s heavy metal climate. The most interesting part is probably this one:
After the Napster backlash, how do you look back on Metallica’s attempt to fight downloading?
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett: “I’m still against file sharing. I still think people should respect the concept of intellectual property. I don’t have a problem with downloading that intellectual property once the people that deserve to be paid do get paid. Technology is a double-edged sword. It’s convenient and quick, but we pay a pretty high price for that convenience, that impatience. I would much rather be able to go out and buy a better-sounding CD than a shitty MP3. The whole e-mail and texting thing — I’m not sure if it’s really bringing us together as much as it’s isolating us. I kind of miss how people used to just call each other up.”
Controversial statement in these days. Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich has recently acknowledge the internet and the MP3 downloading, Kirk still doesn’t.
Who do you agree with, Kirk or Lars?
Is MP3 bad sound quality compared to a CD?
Is calling a friend better than e-mailing or texting?
What is your opinion?
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{ 5 comments }
«Who do you agree with, Kirk or Lars?»
I would agre mostly to Lars. Well, I agree with Kirk that manageable MP3 files have worse sound. I’m still a old-fashioned listener and I listen mostly CD’s. But I must recognize that file sharing allows people to aknowledge more music that otherwise they wouldn’t try to listen because CD’s are expensive or they don’t know nobody to lend them. If I listen to some MP3 album that I really dig and would listen frequently, I absolutely go to the shop and buy it. If I don´t like it, I delete it. If I think it’s not worth to listen more than 1 time a year I keep it but don’t buy the record.
I think my way of looking at digital music isn’t harmful to the music industry. MP3 allows me to aknowledge new music and eventually buy it. Otherwise I wouldn’t take the risk of buying the album. I have enough shitty CD’s from the pre-MP3 era that I certainly wouldn’t buy if I could have listened to them carefully first. So yes I believe MP3 improved freedom and quality of choice and allow people to have a broader knowledge of what’s recorded all around the world.
Well, the issue is debatable. 320 kbps mp3s are transparent albeit trans-coding is impossible it is still an excellent listen. The quality of music can be appreciated. I guess it’s just choice. I prefer mp3s to cds. I tell you the reason. Kirk’s talking about musicians getting paid. Does me downloading his songs prevent that from happening, don’t think so.
See it is the people who have put them there. If it’s their intellectual property why should they put it in from of the people. What is disagree is some local loser bands covering those riffs and putting it down as their original intellectual material. Now that is infringing intellectual property not the illusion of the loss of money. What happened to the simpler times man. There’s no point making life complicated for ourselves.
Look at the flip-side. People buy merchandise through the internet. Do i need a metallica tee to appreciate their music? Hell no, then it’s just nice to own one. And who makes money, Kirk and Lars do. They get their money so the question bottles down to choice and that is personal.
I don’t really think it matters if this band ever gets paid again.They already make enough money.And how many times do I gotta buy the same friggin album just because the world have updated the media.Up untill the Black Album I had already bought these same fuckin albums on cassette,record and then cd.I think rich bands like metallica owe there fans that got them where they are in the first place,and I see they like there new school jokers at there gigs so stop fuckin complaining and try and record something good and worth owning for a change like back in the 80′s.And justice for all was obviously there peek and I dont think there ever going to top Puppets.Death magnetic is by far better than the other shit they’ve done since the 90′s but I still havn’t bought it seeing that I took a giant leap of faith and bought St Anger and am still pissed off,………could of been worse I spose.So FUCK YOU METALLICA and I’ll be waiting for them free tickets when you tour,Thanks
I totally agree with Kirk. I have a phone, but i dont like texting and E mailing i just call my friends up when they need to know something, cause thats what phones are for. not E mailing or Texting. I also just buy cds cause they sound better than mp3s do
and listen lapoofy, GEEZ! YOU DONT THINK THAT METALLICA THANKS ITS FANS FOR WHAT THEYVE BECOME!? YOU CAN SEE IT FROM SPACE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN THANKING US FOR EVERYTHING!! AND CANT YOU TELL THAT THEY CHANGED THERE STYLE OF PLAYING FOR A REASON!!?? THEY CHANGED BECAUSE THEY WERE GETTING SICK OF PLAYING THE SAME CRAP EVERY YEAR!! SO DONT BE A SMART ASS AND GET THE F*#K OFF THIS SITE!!!!
@Tarzan, Thanks for the comment! Yeah, I would agree. It all comes down to the quality of the music. You will end up buying the CD if you like the music, even if your first listen was online via steaming, file sharing or whatever.
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