Metallica – a Phishy tale
p2pnet.net News:- Has Metallica taken a page from the Book of Phish?
The question arises because from the look of it, Metallica has changed its tune about downloads.
Four years ago, the heavy metal band sued Napster, claiming p2p file swappers were illegally trading its songs online and, “It was Metallica’s lawsuit last year charging Napster with copyright infringement that launched similar suits from other artists and prompted the recording industry to clamp down on the service,” says a 2001 CNNMoney item here.
“The band initially sued three universities that allowed students to use Napster, charging that they were assisting in copyright piracy,” says a 2001 CNET story here.
But Metallica now seems to have accepted that downloads are an essential part of the online music scene and accordingly, has launched its own website offering music from its current tour.
It’s calling the service LiveMetallica.
Now for the Phishy part …
The Vermont band Phish clued into the possibilities offered by digital downloads a long while back when it launched a highly innovative website from which fans can download songs from entire shows.
It’s called LivePhish and proceeds are pumped into its excellent Mockingbird Foundation, a non-profit organization founded and run by Phish fans that supports music education for children. .
LivePhish and LiveMetallica.
And guess what else? Some, if not all, of the FAQ questions and answers on the Metallica site are identical to those on the Phish site – ie:
PHISH: Why am I having problems registering as a new user?
To register with www.livephish.com, click the LOGIN link at the top of any page. A login window will pop open. Click the REGISTER HERE link to create a new user account. … etc
METALLICA: Why am I having problems registering as a new user?
To register with www.livemetallica.com, click the LOGIN link at the top of any page. A login window will pop open. Click the REGISTER HERE link to create a new user account … etc
We didn’t go through the lot, but …
And pricing is the same too – $9.95 for mp3s, or $12.95 for flacs.
We’ve emailed both Phish and Metallica through their respective customer service pages asking if the similarities are due to accident or design and guess what?
Even the customer service pages are identical.
No big deal. Sites rip each other off all the time. But it does seem a little, well, unusual for a band that’s so concerned about copyright not to have created its own unique domain name and its own unique web page to sell its own unique music in its own unique way.
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UPDATE: OK – Now we know, thanks to the first post.
Most of the similarities are down to the fact both sites are on the nugs.net platform which, “currently powers the music download programs” for a whole bunch of different bands – including Phish and the Dead.
Worth a look.
March 3rd, 2004 at 7:58 pm
sheesh people – same webheads:
ABOUT NUGS.NET
nugs.net enterprises LLC is a privately held company focused on digital media distribution for the music industry. Built upon years of experience deploying enterprise-level applications for Fortune Fifty companies, nugs.net offers a comprehensive platform for digital media distribution. With the tools and services nugs.net provides, artists can harness the demand for their live performances and studio recordings. Nugs.net services and software empower touring bands to create a viable music distribution channel as a paid, high-quality alternative to the unbridled free online music trading universe.
The nugs.net platform currently powers the music download programs for Phish, Metallica, The String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, and The Radiators, as well as the free music channel at http://www.nugs.net.
March 3rd, 2004 at 8:05 pm
Regardless of any new developments I think that the members of Metallica should be dragged outside and beaten with shovels. They were a major player in beginning the fight against file-sharers! And now they want to give them away for free? Friggin hypocrites. Let’s kill napster and then decide that it’s ok for people to download.
Though, Metallica’s bold new move to offer their music digitally has inspired me. I think I’ll spend the $16 that one of their albums costs on a stack of blank CDs and just burn all their albums, which I have on mp3, to distribute freely!
Now, where’s my map and my shovel…?
March 3rd, 2004 at 11:00 pm
You are a fuckin idiot!!!!!!!!!! If you had any clue you would know that Metallica has always been all about taping and sharing their live music. The napster thing had absolutely nothing to do with live recordings…I got your map and shovel right here you stupid asshole!!!!!!!!
March 4th, 2004 at 5:59 am
we can see by the english whom the real idiot is. metallica sucks. their position on P2P sucks. i thought south park had a nice dig at metallica and others that are crying over advancements in technology. To the RIAA, “Get your hands outta my pockets!”
March 5th, 2004 at 3:02 am
Fine, but he’s right that they always have supported trading recordings of their shows.