METALLICA's LARS ULRICH: 'There's A Danger Of Younger Artists Coming Close To Extinction'

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich says that streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are good for music but accepts that streaming platforms benefit established artists more than they do the aspiring ones who have yet to break through.

METALLICA famously sued the Napster file-sharing service in 2000 after the band discovered that a leaked demo version of its song "I Disappear" was circulating on the service before it was released. At the time fifteen years ago, Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio that the Napster battle was not about getting money for the band's music, but about having control over how it was shared. "All we want as an artist is a choice," he said. "There's nothing to argue about that. Nobody has the right to do with our music whatever they want. We do. We're saying as much as the next band want to work with Napster, we have the right not to."

His views on the subject today have not changed, with the drummer telling BBC World Service's "The Inquiry": "I believe streaming is good for music, yeah. The one thing I read a lot is… People sit there and go, 'I'm not getting paid very much for streaming.' But there's one major thing that gets overlooked in that argument and in the whole thing, [and that] is that streaming is a choice on all fronts. It's a choice for the fan to be part of. It's a choice for the artists who are involved in making their music available on streaming services. It's a choice by the record companies that represent the artists. Fifteen years ago, those choices didn't exist."

He added: "[Having music available on a streaming service like Spotify] a choice. I'm presented with a choice. Somebody sends us an e-mail and says, 'Hi. We have a streaming service. Would you like to be on it?' I mean, of course, as an artist, you want you music to be heard."

However, Ulrich does acknowledge that streaming helps popular artists more than independent musicians. He admitted: "Streaming probably does benefit artists with higher profiles, yes. And if you listen to playlists that are being made available for people in the streaming services, they feature more higher-profile artists. That just seems to be the way it's, sort of, playing out right now."

Ulrich sees the quality of modern music as one of the main reasons newer artists have not connected with audiences the way bands like METALLICA have been able to.

"I think one of the main reasons I connect less with new music in my life now is because there's less great new music to connect with," he said. "I mean, a lot of the stuff that's been played is just regurgitated… There's not people on the leading edge, like THE BEATLES or the Miles Davises or the Jimi Hendrixes taking us all by the hand into these completely unknown, uncharted musical territories."

Lars also lamented the fact that diminishing record sales have resulted in record companies investing less funds into breaking newer artists, making it more difficult for up-and-coming bands to survive.

"It's all cause and effect," he explained. "When there's less people buying music, there's less money generated back and record companies take less chances. Instead of promoting five hundred records a year, they promote fifty records a year, and there's less and less and less and less money being put into younger artists. And there's a danger of younger artists coming close to extinction."

In December 2012, METALLICA made all nine of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify.

METALLICA is now able to make these deals directly since, as of 2012, the band has complete control over the master tapes of all its audio and video recordings. The band has also launched its own label, Blackened Recordings.