In a new conversation with The Irish Times, Charlie Benante talked about Metallica’s self-fulfilling prophecy.
The interviewer said Metallica sued Napster in the early 2000s for copyright issues and faced a lot of criticism from fans. They asked the drummer whether the band was right to do that.
Benante replied by saying, “They were absolutely right about it. You see where it went. All those people who said, ‘f*ck Metallica, they are rich b*stards.’ They were protecting their art, their intellectual property so that some a**hole does not come along and take your art.”
“They make the money while you just make the art and you just give it away. People don’t know anything about this. Until you have lived the way we live and do what we have done, then you can comment on it,” the musician explained.
In March 2018, Benante made news when he said that Apple played a big role in ruining music over 20 years ago when the music industry didn’t adjust to changes from the Internet.
“The record companies had a big hand in it because they got greedy,” the drummer stated. “The artists got greedy when they felt, ‘Oh, I can get a three-album deal for 75 million dollars,’ but at the end of the day, if they’re taking all that money, what happens to the lesser-known bands who are striving to become something?”
He also added, “Where does that money come from? I mean, it was just such a mess, and it really dug a hole for itself. And now who is paying for it? Everybody.”
In April 2018, Benante’s bandmate, Scott Ian also said Spotify worked well for the band, even though he was initially against it. He had criticized Spotify in 2015 for not paying artists enough. But by 2018, he changed his view, calling Spotify ‘a good tool’ for bands to get their music heard.
The guitarist noted, “And Spotify has actually worked out really well for us in the last few years — especially on the last record. Because we really embraced it on ‘For All Kings.’ And kids discover us on Spotify and then they go buy a ticket to come see us. And then they’re a fan for life once they see the band live.”
In the early 2000s, Metallica sued Napster for allowing people to share their music without paying. They were upset because it hurt their sales. The case was settled out of court, and many users were banned from Napster. This caused a lot of fans to criticize Metallica.
