You documented that period in time perfectly Sonny. As we got into the 90s the music business was changing. I saw it from the inside and realized the “gravy train” was slowing down. I was changing from working in the music business to sports and security for the venues themselves. I was mentally and physically exhausted looking for an escape. When the Napster situation hit I knew it was over. That genie was never going back into the bottle, no matter what happened to Napster. My daughter was immersed in the tech world and knew the file sharing situation from the inside. Napster might be just a memory now but the effects it had on the entertainment industry are permanent. I remember sitting in an office in a little club in Phoenix with Lars talking to him about the fallout they were getting. Every time the phone would ring he would pick it up and say “Mason Jar (club name), this is Lars, the only straight member of Metallica”. Of course no one believed it was really him. Good times. 😀 Another superb offering.
Thank you very much, Daniel. And keep those stories coming, man. They always add an insider’s view, and I never grow tired of hearing them.
It’s amazing how important Napster was. A few people asked me what I was working on this time, and when I told them it was about Napster, their eyes lit up and they broke into smiles. Every single one of them was transported back to that time and flooded with fond memories. Like you said, Napster released the genie, though Fanning hardly knew what he was in for. How on earth could he?
That’s hilarious about Lars answering the phone. He took most of the heat that Metallica received, but I guess they got out of it relatively unscathed. 😀
At the time that nap hit America I was actually working in Silicon Valley.
The San Jose Mercury news was obviously in the middle of the tech boom,.
As for myself I was a huge fan of Napster and I could see both sides of the argument.
At the end of the day, it seems as if everything worked itself out and even though it might not be perfect, I believe that this 18-year-old kid did an incredible amount for the music industry, which at the end of the day seems to have had a positive impact on everybody involved.😎
The music streaming services that are available to everybody , especially me, allows me to listen to eight different genres of music without commercial commercials.
You have a great day and a better tomorrow, as always, thank you for your phenomenal website.
I’m not looking for specifics, but I believe you are Canadian? I say that because I was born outside of Toronto near Niagara Falls.
Maybe being huge music fans has something to do with the cold weather that draws people into becoming musicians . I wonder that because there’s nothing else you can do when its 4 below 0.🥶
I just wanna let you know that I really appreciate your website and I will do everything I can to support it.
Keep up the great work, Godspeed.😎😎
PS , If you get a chance check out a site called musora. They have a ton of up-and-coming groups that are challenged to hear a song for the first time and then make it their own.
Disco Daddy is Canadian and they are F-ing incredible. They remade a Alice in Chains song which in my honest opinion was amazing .
There is just so much music out there that never sees the light a day because of the stranglehold of the big radio corporations.
I remember using LimeWire, FrostWire, and some of the other alternatives. One of the great things about the file trading thing was being able to find live versions and rarities. I remember finding a live version of 'Dont Give Up' where Peter Gabriel was singing with Sinead O'Connor, Sting's stripped down encore version of 'Message In A Bottle's from Bring On The Night, and a whole bunch of other bootlegs and such. Some of these weren't things that were even commercially available (at least as far as I knew.) It was a great thing for us who didn't have a lot of money but wanted to buy music and was a great resource at least until used CDs became more the norm.
Great idea for an article Sonny. And you know, in some ways I think Shawn's uncle was right, they were bigger than Disney in the grand scheme of things. They changed an entire industry. Without Napster, it's unlikely the iTunes store or Spotify would have even existed.
Thanks, AJ! You’re absolutely right, dude. I remember finding all kinds of bootlegs, as well as songs that hadn’t even been officially released yet. It always felt like a treasure hunt whenever I logged on.
Also true that Napster paved the way for Kazaa and LimeWire and the rest of those guys, eventually leading to the services we have today. As a matter of fact, Metallica wound up joining Spotify on Dec. 6, 2012 – thirteen years, to the day, after the RIAA filed its suit against Napster.
Well done, Sonny! I remember all of this happening back then. I never downloaded myself (I prefer to pay artists for their work), but I remember the immense backlash against Metallica, Lars in particular.
Back then I was working at the corporate offices of Tower Records, on the dot com side. A lot of us had Napster and LimeWire. And with our multiple T1 connections directly into AT&T’s backbone, then the backbone of the internet itself, downloading a song took about 3 seconds. I still have CDs full of the MP3s I downloaded back then. There wasn’t much concern.
You documented that period in time perfectly Sonny. As we got into the 90s the music business was changing. I saw it from the inside and realized the “gravy train” was slowing down. I was changing from working in the music business to sports and security for the venues themselves. I was mentally and physically exhausted looking for an escape. When the Napster situation hit I knew it was over. That genie was never going back into the bottle, no matter what happened to Napster. My daughter was immersed in the tech world and knew the file sharing situation from the inside. Napster might be just a memory now but the effects it had on the entertainment industry are permanent. I remember sitting in an office in a little club in Phoenix with Lars talking to him about the fallout they were getting. Every time the phone would ring he would pick it up and say “Mason Jar (club name), this is Lars, the only straight member of Metallica”. Of course no one believed it was really him. Good times. 😀 Another superb offering.
Thank you very much, Daniel. And keep those stories coming, man. They always add an insider’s view, and I never grow tired of hearing them.
It’s amazing how important Napster was. A few people asked me what I was working on this time, and when I told them it was about Napster, their eyes lit up and they broke into smiles. Every single one of them was transported back to that time and flooded with fond memories. Like you said, Napster released the genie, though Fanning hardly knew what he was in for. How on earth could he?
That’s hilarious about Lars answering the phone. He took most of the heat that Metallica received, but I guess they got out of it relatively unscathed. 😀
Holy mackerel, what a great article.😎😎
Thanks, Foosball!
No problem, Sonny,
At the time that nap hit America I was actually working in Silicon Valley.
The San Jose Mercury news was obviously in the middle of the tech boom,.
As for myself I was a huge fan of Napster and I could see both sides of the argument.
At the end of the day, it seems as if everything worked itself out and even though it might not be perfect, I believe that this 18-year-old kid did an incredible amount for the music industry, which at the end of the day seems to have had a positive impact on everybody involved.😎
The music streaming services that are available to everybody , especially me, allows me to listen to eight different genres of music without commercial commercials.
You have a great day and a better tomorrow, as always, thank you for your phenomenal website.
😎😎😎😎😎
No worries brother,Your site is frigging awesome.
I’m not looking for specifics, but I believe you are Canadian? I say that because I was born outside of Toronto near Niagara Falls.
Maybe being huge music fans has something to do with the cold weather that draws people into becoming musicians . I wonder that because there’s nothing else you can do when its 4 below 0.🥶
I just wanna let you know that I really appreciate your website and I will do everything I can to support it.
Keep up the great work, Godspeed.😎😎
PS , If you get a chance check out a site called musora. They have a ton of up-and-coming groups that are challenged to hear a song for the first time and then make it their own.
Disco Daddy is Canadian and they are F-ing incredible. They remade a Alice in Chains song which in my honest opinion was amazing .
There is just so much music out there that never sees the light a day because of the stranglehold of the big radio corporations.
Thanks again, dude!
And yup, you are correct. I’m a Canuck: raised in Toronto and fan of The Falls. :)
I think you may be onto something regarding cold weather and music. Nothing beats cranking the stereo to warm things up! 🤘
Thanks for the tip! Will definitely check out musora, as well as Disco Daddy. The name alone begs for a search. 🪩
Oh, I didn't know that! So you were right in the thick of it. I bet you could spin some stories...
On another note, I just want to say that I truly appreciate your kindness and support. 🙏 Take good care of yourself, and see you around. 🤘
I remember using LimeWire, FrostWire, and some of the other alternatives. One of the great things about the file trading thing was being able to find live versions and rarities. I remember finding a live version of 'Dont Give Up' where Peter Gabriel was singing with Sinead O'Connor, Sting's stripped down encore version of 'Message In A Bottle's from Bring On The Night, and a whole bunch of other bootlegs and such. Some of these weren't things that were even commercially available (at least as far as I knew.) It was a great thing for us who didn't have a lot of money but wanted to buy music and was a great resource at least until used CDs became more the norm.
Great idea for an article Sonny. And you know, in some ways I think Shawn's uncle was right, they were bigger than Disney in the grand scheme of things. They changed an entire industry. Without Napster, it's unlikely the iTunes store or Spotify would have even existed.
Thanks, AJ! You’re absolutely right, dude. I remember finding all kinds of bootlegs, as well as songs that hadn’t even been officially released yet. It always felt like a treasure hunt whenever I logged on.
Also true that Napster paved the way for Kazaa and LimeWire and the rest of those guys, eventually leading to the services we have today. As a matter of fact, Metallica wound up joining Spotify on Dec. 6, 2012 – thirteen years, to the day, after the RIAA filed its suit against Napster.
Loved using Napster back in 2000 while working in the Netherlands. Might still have an old MP3 player around with all the goodies on it.
VH live in Caracas with DLR speaking Spanish between songs is one of the memorable ones.
Nice work Sonny.
Thank you, Boomx. That Van Halen set sounds epic!
Well done, Sonny! I remember all of this happening back then. I never downloaded myself (I prefer to pay artists for their work), but I remember the immense backlash against Metallica, Lars in particular.
Thanks for this excellence in journalism.💕🤘
Thank you so much, Sheila!
Back then I was working at the corporate offices of Tower Records, on the dot com side. A lot of us had Napster and LimeWire. And with our multiple T1 connections directly into AT&T’s backbone, then the backbone of the internet itself, downloading a song took about 3 seconds. I still have CDs full of the MP3s I downloaded back then. There wasn’t much concern.
Thanks, Geoff, I appreciate you reading and sharing your insights. I bet there’s a lot of gold on those CDs.