Metallica bends with times and joins iTunes

Stan Beer
Thursday, 27 July 2006 06:32

Your IT - Home IT

Heavy metal band Metallica was one of the last holdouts against the digital age of music. Not any longer. Now that there is big money to be made selling music through online download channels, the rock band has joined the iTunes stable.

The decision is in some ways a landmark for the recorded music industry because Metallica was one of the most vocal opponents of music downloads pioneer Napster. Of course in those days music downloads was all about illegal file sharing and the recordng artists never received any royalties.

Now Napster is legal and gives artists their cut, so Metallica's music will also be sold through the Napster site.

The acceptance of bands like Metallica of the digital download model spells the beginning of the end of the old recording industry retail model and completes the transition to the new digital music age.

For bands like Metallica, The Stones and even The Beatles, the result is a bonanza of new royalties that they may never have otherwise received.