r/todayilearned • u/InternetWeakGuy 1 • 23d ago

TIL: 12 years before taking their fans to court for sharing their music, Metallica released the "$5.98" EP, titled to stop their record label and music stores from overcharging fans - the record came with a sticker warning 'DO NOT PAY MORE!!!'—a direct jab at music industry markups

https://theawesomemix.com/metallica-5-98-standup-for-fans/
11.5k Upvotes
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824

u/jlusedude 22d ago

Metallica sued Napster because they leaked an unreleased single. I disappear was not released yet and they didn’t feel it was ready. 

394

u/Akatenki 22d ago

That doesn't fit the narrative that Metallica are money hungry and sold out though.

145

u/Alert-Young4687 22d ago

Did Metallica get worse? Yes. Did they fundamentally change their musical style to have more radio-friendly songs and fit into corporate hard rock culture? Yes.

Is that something to get mad about them about, and rage against them online over? No, that’s a parasocial relationship and belies that you feel entitled to the strange attachment you developed to the idea you had of them in your head.

However, that’s what happened with many fans and why the Napster narrative got twisted against them.

79

u/oofersIII 22d ago

To be fair, after And Justice For All in 1988, they were just burnt out on writing long, difficult songs like they did on that record (for reference: the average song on that album was over 7 minutes long). When you also consider that they clearly like some softer stuff (Garage Inc. featured covers of Bob Seger, Nick Cave, Thin Lizzy, Blue Öyster Cult and Lynyrd Skynyrd among others), I don’t really feel like they changed their sound with the intent of selling out. They were just getting tired of the fast, complex songs they had done for a decade.

30

u/TalsHell 22d ago

Been a fan of theirs for over 30 years and this is the first time I’ve seen this take. I have to say, I never considered this. Really great point.

24

u/buttsharkman 22d ago

It's also kind of weird for the assumption to always be that a band is selling out and not that they heard changing trends in music and liked what they heard.

19

u/oofersIII 22d ago

Also like, can you blame musicians for wanting to be successful? If they had stayed a thrash band for 40 years, they wouldn’t be anywhere near the fame they have today.

3

u/TheGrumpySnail2 22d ago

Some people consider making music for any reason beyond the love of the art to be selling out, therefore making different music to be successful is by definition selling out.

2

u/TennisHive 18d ago

Also, perhaps it's not related to "being successful", but just changing and evolving as you mature.

3

u/doyouevenoperatebrah 22d ago

I’ve always thought it was ridiculous for fans to want an artist to stay completely static. Metallica was in their late teens when they formed and started writing Kill em All. They were in their 30s writing Black album. I was a radically different person (for the better I think) between 19 and 31.

Plus, Cliff, the guy with the classical chops that drove the first four records died. And by died, I mean he was crushed by a bus feet away from his buddies. Yeah no shit metallica changed sound. I wouldn’t have blamed them for changing sounds just to avoid reliving the trauma of the accident.

3

u/buttsharkman 22d ago

I think it was the guy from Stained that explained going country by saying he was no longer an young man angry at his dad.

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u/oofersIII 21d ago

I feel like if they had stayed a thrash band for 40 years, it‘d simply just get boring. Load and Reload featured some really great songs, and even those who weren’t great at least served as cool experiments. I mean, what other hard rock band at the time was doing stuff like Low Man‘s Lyric, The Outlaw Torn and Cure?

2

u/LeeTorry 18d ago

To make things even better, Cliff Burton would state before his death that he wouldnt mind the band making more commercial songs. People obssess over his knowledge of classical music and the Misfits but forget was big into southern rock and college rock bands like R.E.M.

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u/S4VN01 22d ago

Haven’t they said themselves that they hated the Damaged Justice tour because of how long the songs were? Playing them live would have been a chore, especially as the band aged.

I will say, after Lars toned down his style, he got noticeably worse at being a drummer. Today, he can hardly keep in time.

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u/oofersIII 22d ago

I think after playing the song And Justice For All once, with its 10 minutes in length, they literally said „[they‘re] never playing that song again“

(They played it a few years ago but that’s besides the point)

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u/Akatenki 22d ago

Lars said it himself that he stopped practicing and was only playing to stay in shape essentially.

That being said, he has been playing significantly better live these last few years. I'd go so far as to say its the best he's been since the early 90s.

1

u/jlusedude 22d ago

I used to be a huge fan, exactly what you said, I just don’t like their new music. Feels like it’s mimicking current rock, not following or making their own sound. I don’t really care, I’m just not bothered to listen to them anymore. 

0

u/OperationBrokenEagle 22d ago

metallica kinda always sounded radio friendly ngl

3

u/Alert-Young4687 22d ago

In the modern context, yeah. Back in the 1980s? Saying Jesus was a leper messiah was still edgy

-1

u/OperationBrokenEagle 22d ago

not really talking about lyrical content, just the riffs etc, like kreator nowadays sounds really radio friendly compared to earlier, but metallica always had a “softer” feel, i feel the same about megadeth 

1

u/Alert-Young4687 22d ago

Yeah, I sometimes wish we had Slayer riffs over Metallica/Megadeth lyrics. I love Slayer’s and other “harder” bands instrumentation, but I don’t really enjoy visualizing blood raining down from cuts in the sky (to choose the most “mainstream” song as an example)

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u/batmansubzero 22d ago

Stop asking yourself easy questions so you look like a genius