Tag Archives: Napster

Napster and the proliferation of OMM (Open Music Model)

Posted by on March 21, 2019

The recent ruling by the Copyright Review Board has once again dragged into the light the issue of songwriter compensation. Songwriters and music streaming services have been quietly battling for a long time while the world enjoys access to millions of songs at the cost of some pesky commercials. To be clear, some people pay […]

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Metallica meets Sandman, the Metallica tribute band they almost sued

Posted by on December 1, 2016

As many indulge in glorifying Metallica’s litigious anti-Napster years, there are quite a few that have not noticed the significant changes since. Earlier this year, Metallica’s legal team sent out a cease and desist letter to a Canadian tribute band called Sandman. The letter was sent off due to the tribute band using “stylized logos” that […]

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Metallica catalog returns to Napster; in other news, Napster still exists

Posted by on November 16, 2016

Remember 2000, when Metallica earned the ill will of many music fans by suing file sharing service Napster? That was back in the early days of MP3s, and Metallica found their song “I Disappear,” which hadn’t even been mastered yet, on the service. The following year, the service was shut down by a court order, […]

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Metal Insider’s Top 5: Musicians Turned Bad

Posted by on August 12, 2013

Metal Insider’s Top 5 is a column where we count down the top five of…well basically anything. Last night, the first of Breaking Bad’s final eight episodes aired. Chances are you’ve seen millions of memes, lists, and parodies inspired by everyone’s favorite cancer-ridden meth cook over the past week. One particular feature that caught our attention was […]

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Metallica Now Available On Spotify

Posted by on December 6, 2012

The list of individual bands holding out on Spotify just got shorter by one earlier today. All of Metallica’s music is now available on the streaming service. It’s a bit ironic, considering Metallica’s stance on Spotify predecessor Napster, but Spotify, which now has 20 million users, is paying artists. And since Metallica own all of […]

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Wondering How Much Streaming Services Pay Labels? Here’s One’s Take

Posted by on June 6, 2012

So it’s pretty widely known by now that when you sell a single on iTunes, the label winds up with about 70% of the 99 cent or $1.29 price, while Apple gets the remainder. Of course by the time the label and producer take their cut, the artist gets about $0.084 cents. It’s also pretty […]

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Even Metallica Can’t Make A Profit From Royalties Anymore

Posted by on May 22, 2012

Thanks to their battle with Napster, Metallica have often been stereotyped as “greedy rockstars” who are “wealthy beyond belief.” So it might be hard to think that Metallica would do anything that wouldn’t see a return in profit. However, in an interview with Rolling Stone (in which Metallica appear on the subscriber’s special issue cover), […]

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Rhapsody Killing Off Napster?

Posted by on October 3, 2011

Earlier today, Rhapsody announced that it had acquired Napster from Best Buy. The purchase was reportedly done to expand Rhapsody’s user base (whether Napster’s deals with labels will cross over is currently unclear). Best Buy will reportedly receive a minority stake in Rhapsody, a small cry from what Best Buy originally bought Napster for in […]

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How Much Have Labels Lost Since Napster Was Born?

Posted by on May 16, 2011

The labels and RIAA have finally won their five year battle against LimeWire last week when it was announced that the peer-to-peer file-sharing website would pay $105 million for damages they caused the industry. Though it took a while for the case to finally come to a close, the whole ordeal is an eye opening […]

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Is The Co-Founder Of Napster Bidding On WMG?

Posted by on March 14, 2011

Warner Music Group has been rumored to be up for sale for the past few months. Seeing that they recently experienced their 8th straight quarterly loss last month, such rumors aren’t so hard to believe. However, who might be putting in a bid for the label might come as a bit of a surprise. Digital […]

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