METALLICA's LARS ULRICH On Major Labels, LIVE NATION And 'Guitar Hero'; Video Available
- Mar. 24, 2009
METALLICA was in Austin last week for a not-so-secret show at the South by Southwest music festival designed to promote the Guitar Hero: Metallica, due out this month. The band's drummer, Lars Ulrich, spoke to Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times and set the record straight on key issues facing the group, including its relationship with its longtime label Warner Music Group and the proposed Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.
On whether METALLICA needs a major label:
"Without offending any of the good people from the record company in the room, no. Let's cut to the chase. . . . The primary — not the only, but the primary — function of a record label is to act as a bank. When you're fortunate enough to be successful and so on, you don't need to rely on record companies as the banks. . . .
"We're doing a bunch of shows with Trent [Reznor, NINE INCH NAILS] this summer in Europe. I look forward to sitting down and talking to him about what's on his radar."
On the proposed merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster:
"We haven't sold out to Live Nation, and we are certainly not planning on it. And we are very, very fortunate that we do not need what they offer to continue to be who we are.
"Certainly, some of the practices that come in the wake of this — like direct reselling and all the stuff that Bruce [Springsteen] was up against in January and some of these other things — obviously are very distasteful, and downright . . . it's just ripping people off. It's impure. So obviously I'd stand up and scream from every rooftop that I think that's . . . impure."
On being affiliated with the Guitar Hero machine:
"When we got a chance to do this — and hopefully score another couple years of being semi-cool in our kid's eyes by having our own video game — this is something we jumped at pretty quickly. The bigger questions about brandings and perceptions? I really believe that if we sit here five years from now or 10 years . . . it'll be a fairly standard way of releasing music."
Watch Lars Ulrich's interview with the Los Angeles Times below.
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COMMENT | oh... posted by : GODSMACKER 3/24/2009 1:22:04 AM
and get on your knee's and suck it Ticketmaster!
COMMENT | me 2 posted by : Prezz13 3/24/2009 1:26:52 AM
me 2
COMMENT | This has been Lars best interview. posted by : XxMachine_HeadxX 3/24/2009 1:42:21 AM
He touched upon the many issues and how things actually work with record labels. Most already knew, but it's kinda good to hear it from him since he has turned around his stance against downloading, which is pretty remarkable if you ask me. Maybe a hypocrite, but at least he has seen the light that some are too blind to see. Greednation and ticketdisaster just got pwned by Lars for the greedy fucks they are.
dude, it doesn't matter who you are or what you do for a living, you'll NEVER be cool in your kid's eyes.
My dad came into my room about 30 years ago, screaming at me to turn the music down... Then, he said, "Oh, wait.. that's The Doors"...
i haven't listened to The Doors since!
COMMENT | Finally on our side... posted by : ThayerIsGod 3/24/2009 2:40:57 AM
It's odd -- but in a good way -- how Lars was once the enemy and is now sounding a lot more like the good-guy in recognizing who the real bastards are in the music industry. It's not the fans; it's the corporations.
COMMENT | ^^^ posted by : EL PENDEJO 3/24/2009 3:17:26 AM
The majors are done, folks. To quote 'It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World', it's every little man and every little bear for himself. And the majors aren't ready to ever evolve because it's mostly run by rich fucks who never had passion for the music in the first place. And from my experience promoting and managing a while back, the shit is run like a broke down dinosaur............. I remember a while back getting in talks to put Fektion Fekler's CD in Tower Records via the label directly. The guy, who oddly enough had worked with Wax Trax (KMFDM's label), told me there was a strict policy that I had to get them a distributor to even be considered. But, going to the smaller stores, they had zero problem working out a little something with the label. Now, take a guess what store's gone and which ones are not (Tower went out of business a long long time ago, and was a major chain)! For the life of me, I could never figure out the reasoning behind that, but I did notice their prices were fucking outrageous ($20 for a regular CD, and much more for imports)!!!! Same exact thing with Coconut's, and look where they are now. Distributors are a huge reason CD's are so expensive, and there's no reason you can't make some decent quality CD's and just promote it through your own site, unless you're working with a bigger indie label like Century Media.
I had my time in the field, and fucking hated dealing with the paperwork and all the chances of getting ripped off. Which happened. Labels are a waste of time, really.
The music I'm working on nowadays, I'd rather just give it away, and people can 'tip' me if they like it.
PS, I think what's happening to the majors is karma for ripping off so many blues and jazz artists back in the day. Do the research, the music industry was originally built off the backs of the musicians. Just a thought.
COMMENT | WOW... posted by : Pickpox 3/24/2009 4:53:44 AM
... my perception of blabbermouthers is changing - so far just about half of the posts here make sense and refrain from the usual Lars related half-assed hatemail.
Is there hope still?
COMMENT | Lars does waffle.. posted by : stgeorge666 3/24/2009 6:38:51 AM
..alot..but he is right..and people are giving the man credit where its due.
Metallica are a business, theyve built this business themselves and built an empire, i take my hat off to them for their constant hard work. if only we all could think the same way and be so talented?
COMMENT | ahl posted by : otis360 3/24/2009 7:54:54 AM
that post was well fucking funny lol
COMMENT | Wait a minute, though... posted by : Metalex 3/24/2009 8:20:33 AM
"It's odd -- but in a good way -- how Lars was once the enemy and is now sounding a lot more like the good-guy in recognizing who the real bastards are in the music industry. It's not the fans; it's the corporations."
I could be way off here, but I hope you're not interpreting this as Lars saying it's OK to steal music. Those people are still real bastards in my eyes, regardless of how many pathetic justifications they come up with for why they do it. Most things you want in life are not free, so eventually the theft of music will come back to bite us all unless something is done about it.
COMMENT | metalex posted by : stgeorge666 3/24/2009 9:15:08 AM
youre absolutely right and i hope there will be some enforcement to stop them continually stealing from artists
COMMENT | Hog Shit Ripoff Artists posted by : Panthraxodus 3/24/2009 10:13:11 AM
Wah Wah Wah, that was a boring assed interview. Pound back a beer and talk about some interesting stuff already.
Search SPLIT LIP GRIN MODERATION on youtube and let us know if its as bunk as this interview or if it wakes your ass back up.
COMMENT | Great comments from Lars posted by : DocRock 3/24/2009 10:39:32 AM
LiveNation and Ticketmaster are the scum of the industry along with all the major labels. Hopefully we'll see all the majors crash and burn and then something better rise up out of the ashes.
Independent music, FTW. Metallica are lucky enough to be swimming in cash and not need a record label. If more major acts go this route, hopefully we will have a revolution in the industry.
Sucks for new acts trying to get signed, but the majority of the ones that get signed to major labels are either crap anyway or start out good but lose their integrity along the way.
COMMENT | posted by : RiotAct666 3/24/2009 11:08:12 AM
Great interview.
COMMENT | AHL posted by : bonaparte 3/24/2009 11:13:24 AM
You re an idiot if you ve never listened to the Doors.
But then again, most likely your son will never listen to whatever shit u r listening too. i wander if that 's making him smarter than you or not
COMMENT | So... posted by : john dee 3/24/2009 11:32:20 AM
When all the illegal downloaders finally succeed in finishing off the major labels, and all the production costs for recorded music have to be paid for either by independent labels or the artists themselves, what new excuse will they come up with for stealing the music? If the downloaders persist in their present behavior, artists and indie labels (who will be the next to perish) still won't make any money from recorded music, and artists will have to spend whatever money they make touring on recording costs. Which means they'll make little or no money, and be forced to put out cheaper productions just to survive. Bye-bye music business.
COMMENT | Is that a Haffenreffer 40 he's drinking?! posted by : The Rippah 3/24/2009 11:53:25 AM
I would've had much more respect for him if he didn't need to guzzle down beer just to speak his mind... but then again his beer drinking always seems to influence his playing, so why not influence his interviews with it as well??
COMMENT | God i get so fucking tired of the fucking bashers of downloaders! posted by : XxMachine_HeadxX 3/24/2009 1:06:46 PM
You dont even understand what you are talking about! I get so pissed off when i read 'we should be enforced' To you i say fuck off! We weed through the shit so labels will fuck off and die and quit presenting us with shit! Im tired of all the fucking metalcore that is being thrown around today. Every new day a new metalcore band steps out and tries to make a name. Its become redundant. One myth needs to end though. We do not steal music, we simply 'borrow it' before it comes out, and if its worth a shit we buy it. The preview system works great now so you know you are not getting stiffed $15-20 bucks for one fucking good song 'radio friendly hit wonder'. If you like blowing your money on $20 buck CDs, then go right ahead, but some of us are smarter in our purchasing, especially in these dire times, we made a statement that we will NO LONGER ACCEPT HALF ASSED BORING REPETITVE RECORDS!
Try taking some time and learning why people download, instead of just bashing us all like we dont give a shit about the bands. I think its common sense that the only thing we dont care for is the greed of major labels, and now your favorite artists are finally throwing down the gauntlet, and others will follow... We started a revolution, and we'll finish this revolution with the bands that can stand up to getting ripped off, and a new standard will evolve from it. You keep buying POP and you are only supporting the machine.
COMMENT | ^^^GOD I'M TIRED OF DOWNLOADERS BS EXCUSES posted by : chuck steak 3/24/2009 1:19:57 PM
If everyone who is downloading albums and then running out and buying the stuff they like then I think record sales would be up not down. If you are checking out more music for free then shouldn't you be finding more music you like and willing to go buy then.
If you are tired of metalcore bands then why in the hell would you even pay attention to that whole scene and its bands to begin with.
Face it you are all a bunch of theiving bastards putting hard working musicians through the wringer. You think you may be interested in a band then go buy the CD. Take a fuckin chance!
i couldnt of put it better..the likes of the twat commenting above you are deluded and cant face the fact THEY alone are the ones destroying the music industry by stealing artists music by downloading. FACT
But you fail to grasp the simple fact that if you download & don't buy the albums that are good then all you'll be left with is the radio friendly chart shit artists & the ones who are already successful that can AFFORD to distribute professionally recorded music.
Downloading IS a problem to ARTISTS as well as the nasty old recording companies but a new model for remuneration to the creators of music is required rather than the free flow of music like it's not cost someone time, energy & effort as well as money to create.
I can't play very well but have over £3k worth of equipment that I can use for playing & recording, however I'm a hobby player & have a job (water company) that pays me well to cover it - it should be possible for people with real talent to make money doing what they're good at just as I make money doing what I'm good at Tap water's not free because of the infrastructure that provides it, the same must be said about music in this regard.
COMMENT | Fuckwit posted by : Metalex 3/24/2009 2:24:25 PM
XxMachine_HeadxX, you are awarded a BIG FUCKING FAIL for services to bullshitery.
Why would you need to make the excuse that you download to "preview" music, when most bands preview their output on MySpace, or some other medium? That will give you a pretty good idea what a band sounds like, so should help you avoid all the metalcore you're moaning about.
Yes another great point I forgot to mention. Whenever I hear of a band I want to hear or new stuff from legends that is the first place I go. Everybody who has recorded anything has a myspace where you can go listen to them for free. No excuse to not use it and decide for yourself whether it is something you like and want to throw down some hard earned cash on.
It is something of a problem that I realize will never be solved but I don't understand people defending their right to theivery. The music buisness is a tough enough one already.
COMMENT | Oh right, i forgot you tools are used to downloading posted by : XxMachine_HeadxX 3/24/2009 7:44:49 PM
on p2ps, who dont mind shit quality. The quality bands put out tracks on myspace are pathetic. Sure myspace is a good sampler, but thats if you like going to myspace to begin with.
You guys missed the point of the rant.
'If everyone who is downloading albums and then running out and buying the stuff they like then I think record sales would be up not down. If you are checking out more music for free then shouldn't you be finding more music you like and willing to go buy then.'
No, because the new shit that we are finding is shit. Everyone stays true to the bands they love, I and others are no different. I have a shit ton of CDs I have purchased from mainstream and underground bands. If you dont download, you just dont know how and where to get them, or you are not use to the change, or likes the old system where you should just buy and lose out because most of the time, without FULL ALBUM PREVIEWS, your being sold shit. Bands usually put up 1-4 tracks from the album, and the rest is usually boring and lacking something in quality that you soon find out when you are tricked into buying the cd. Preview the whole thing, problem solved. no more wasted cash on CDs that dont deserve to be bought. One more time, I buy CDs, I give back, most other downloaders do too, shelves of CDs in my room. Sales are down and so is the economy and consumer spending, what else is new...
COMMENT | youre full of shit ^^^ posted by : stgeorge666 3/25/2009 4:24:24 AM
"No, because the new shit that we are finding is shit. Everyone stays true to the bands they love, I and others are no different."
AND
"One more time, I buy CDs, I give back, most other downloaders do too, shelves of CDs in my room. Sales are down and so is the economy and consumer spending, what else is new..."
your first point:-
so, youre speaking for every SINGLE downloader? since when did they announce you as president of theives?
your second point:-
most other downloaders buy the cd's they download you say? what a load of bullshit..come back down to Earth you fucking spastic. a SMALL percentage of downloaders purchase cd's..hence why the cd sales have slumped, its fuck all to do with the world economy, cd sales have been going downhill rapidly for quite a few years now BECAUSE OF DOWNLOADING, its a fact, so, your assumption is way off the mark, youre a deluded thicky THEIF. get over it
"
COMMENT | posted by : Metalex 3/25/2009 7:06:36 AM
XxMachine_HeadxX, you should only speak for other people when you have a grasp of reality.
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