Musicians disagree about right of fans to share files through Web sites
Metallica fights Napster, doesn’t think about the fans
Metallica historically has allowed fans to record their concerts, but they say they draw the line at songs taken from albums, such as “Master of Puppets” (RealAudio excerpt) or demos of “I Disappear,” the band’s contribution to the “Mission: Impossible 2” soundtrack, which were readily available through Napster.

Radio stations are paying close attention to fan reaction.

“I wish Lars (Ulrich) had decided to find a way to profit from Napster instead of fighting it,” said Bill May, operations manager at San Diego radio station KIOZ-FM, which hosts a daily “Mandatory Metallica” segment.

“I don’t begrudge the man the opportunity to make a living and have a career and future from his music, but I think he went about it in a way that wasn’t best for the band right now,” May said. “I agree he should profit from his art, but I think he discounted the backlash the fans would have.”

Ulrich said he does not enjoy the battle or the ensuing controversy.

“If you are fortunate enough to be at the level that we are, this is some of the stuff that comes with the territory,” Ulrich said. “This is about Metallica, this is what’s right for us, and we don’t want to be puppets in these types of games, because it ultimately affects us directly, and how people relate to what we do. It’s kind of an evil necessity.”
(www.vh1.com/news/articles/971500/05312000/metallica.jhtml)

Courtney Love defends Napster, blames bad artists
Courtney Love defended Napster with the following statement: “It’s not piracy when kids swap music over the Internet using Napster. There were one billion music downloads last year but music sales are way up, so how is Napster hurting the music industry? It’s not.”

The outspoken front woman of Hole went on to blast Napster bashers, “The only people scared of Napster are people who have filler on their albums and are scared that if people hear more than one single, they’re not going to buy the record.”
(www.vh1.com/artists)

Linkin Park supports fans’ downloading rights
Yahoo!’s Launch Media spoke with Linkin Park front man Chester Bennington about their reluctance to sell individual songs online. He told Launch the band wants to use the Internet but wants it to be done in a way that works for fans as well as the band.

“We’re all going to have to adjust,” Bennington told Launch. “You know what I’m saying? Eventually everything is going to be purchased online. It’s just a matter of how you’re going to do it. You know? Do you sell albums by track or do you sell albums to download for one cost when you go in to download the music? Who knows? It’s not up to me, it’s up to the people to figure out the way they want to do it, and to do it in a way that’s not going to destroy the bands that they love.”
(www.antimusic.com/news/03/july/item20.shtml)

Eminem disagrees with, threatens file sharers
Eminem has said he wants to “meet” and “beat” whoever illegally distributes his tracks on the Internet.

The “My Name Is” rapper spoke out after finding his new album, “The Marshall Mathers LP,” available through Napster a full week before its official release. “Whoever put my **** on the Internet,” he remarked, “...I want to meet that mother****** and beat the **** out of him, because I picture this scrawny little ******** going, ‘I got Eminem’s new CD! I'm going to put it on the Internet!”

Mathers goes on to attack Napster executives and users, calling them “little sissies,” and arguing that MP3 fans should have a “guilty conscience” for swapping their music online.

“I could never afford a computer, but I always bought and supported the artists that I liked... If you can afford a computer, you can afford to pay $16 for my CD.”
(www.dotmusic.com/news)

Eminem, who has worked with anti-Napster rapper/producer Dre, appears to have been influenced by his mentor’s harsh stance towards the software company. Could he be the next to join the great MP3 sue-a-thon? “That Napster ****, if that gets any bigger, it could kill the whole purpose of making music.”
(www.dotmusic.com/news)