Hell Freezes Over: Metallica to Offer Songs on iTunes

The first question that pops into this writer's head is: What is Lars going to complain about now?

Metallica and most publicly, drummer Lars Ulrich, were one of the first and most vocal opponents to online music downloading. Their most sensational events were open and often angry speeches against Napster, the Internet's first massive peer-to-peer service. Since then, the bell has long since tolled for Napster, but others have picked up the torch, leaving a few veteran bands like Metallica shaking their fists at technology.

However, the recent demise of downloading giant Kazaa (not that it hadn't been in its twilight anyhow), may have both legitimized the future possibilities for iTunes and allowed Metallica's band members to sleep at night.

Wank On, Garth

Coming this Tuesday, every song from the band's 10 album list will be available for individual download on Apple's site. Be it the maturation of the Internet or the band, in a recent release Metallica simply stated, "Over the last year or so, we have seen an ever-growing number of Metallica fans using online sites...to get their music." (Source: dailytech.com)

Sounds like good business sense to me.

It seems that with every passing day, the interest in legal downloads and iTunes specifically is becoming more rampant. On the same day as the Metallica announcement, E! Entertainment Network declared that it was adding four of its most popular shows to the iTunes lineup, further showcasing the site's ability to integrate all kinds of multimedia. (Source: betanews.com)

As for Metallica, certain discrepancies between the band's North American and European record labels means that our fellow headbangers across the pond in Britain, Germany, and France, won't be soon downloading "Enter Sandman". For the rest of us, it seems the Internet is no longer "Unforgiven".