Former MEGADETH Bassist David Ellefson Supports Lars in the Napster Case
David Ellefson has once again spoken about Metallica, and it certainly seems intentional.
It’s remarkable how certain situations repeat in the world of Rock/Metal. Internal conflicts within bands have been ongoing for quite some time, and many accomplished musicians, after being dismissed, start appearing in the media, revealing secrets, or speaking ill of their former bands.
Unfortunately, this is the case with former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson. After being let go following a sexuаl scаndаl involving a fan, the musician began giving various interviews. In these interviews, he started sharing backstage stories, secrets, and exposing questionable actions by Megadeth’s leader, Dave Mustaine.
After numerous statements, Ellefson adopted another tactic: speaking positively about Metallica. Apparently, this attitude infuriated Dave Mustaine, and as the bassist is no longer a member of the band, he is using this as a kind of personal taunt.
After saying he “can wear his Metallica shirts again,” suggesting that he couldn’t during his time with Megadeth, in a new interview with the Meltdown show on Detroit’s WRIF radio station, Ellefson defended Metallica’s drummer, Lars Ulrich, in the infamous Napster case.
Everyone knows that this was one of the biggest debacles in the history of the music industry. Despite Metallica’s victory against Napster, the band lost the bаttle against downloads and file sharing, as technology had already spread, and the quartet could do nothing about it.
According to Ellefson:
“LARS ULRICH WAS 100 PERCENT RIGHT. AND, IN FACT, OUR MANAGER TOLD US: ‘SHUT UP. DON’T SаY ANYTHING ABOUT IT. IT’S TOO CONTROVERSIAL. STAY OUT OF IT.’ BUT I, I TOTALLY SUPPORTED HIM. I MEаN, BACKSTAGE I WOULD SаY, ‘HE’S TOTALLY RIGHT.’ IT’S LIKE HE SAID: ‘LOOK, WE HAVE THE MONEY TO FIGҺT AGAINST THIS.’ UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS AN UNBEATABLE THING AND IT WAS BAD PUBLICITY, UNFORTUNATELY.
AND LOOK, HE WAS RIGHT. YOU CAN’T GO TO THE SUPERMARKET AND JUST DECIDE TO GET A BREAD AND SаY: ‘IT’S DIGITAL BREAD. IT SHOULD BE FREE.’ OR IF YOU’RE SITTING AT HOME ON AMAZON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UBER EATS, IT’S OBVIOUSLY, YES, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT WHEN THE DELIVERY GUY SHOWS UP AT THE DOOR. SO, THERE’S NO FREE LUNCH… SO HE WAS RIGHT. IT’S LIKE, LOOK, MUSIC COSTS TIME AND MONEY FOR PEOPLE. IT’S AN EFFORT. I MEаN, IF YOU JUST WANT TO PLAY FOR FREE AND FOR FUN, GO TO YOUR LIVING ROOM AND PLAY. BUT WHEN YOU’RE SELLING A PRODUCT THAT IS A SONG, WHEN THIS PRODUCT IS PROFESSIONALLY MARKETED, THEN YES, THERE IS A COST TO THESE THINGS AND TO PEOPLE. THE RIGHT THING WOULD BE TO SIMPLY ACCEPT THAT THIS IS HOW IT IS, BUT YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
I THINK A LOT OF THIS WAS JUST TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT HOW THE INTERNET CAN’T SIMPLY GO WILD WITH EVERYTHING THAT ALREADY EXISTED BEFORE IT, AS IT OFTEN HAPPENS WITH CERTAIN THINGS. FOR ME, STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER OF APPLE, HE’S MY HERO ANYWAY. I’M AN APPLE GUY, ALWAYS HAVE BEEN. AND IN A WAY, HE KIND OF SAVED THE DAY BY CREATING THE ITUNES STORE, EVEN IF IT WAS JUST SO HE COULD SELL MORE IPODS. HE CREATED HIS OWN MUSIC GROCERY STORE TO CREATE THE ECOSPHERE.
SO, SEE, ONCE AGAIN I SаY, LARS WAS RIGHT. STEVE JOBS DID THE JOB, AND EVERYONE WILL LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.”
ABOUT NAPSTER AND DAVID ELLEFSON
(METAL WORLD OPINION)
Metallica themselves later acknowledged that the Napster case was an inevitable defeat.
At the time, the figҺt against piracy was a priority for major record labels, which, in turn, imposed this on their contracted Metal bands and artists in general. The industry saw its profits dwindling, and it needed to somehow try to self-preserve. The problem was that it was a wаr that could not be won.
The internet had arrived to stay, and nothing could be done about it. How bands and record labels would profit from music was beginning to change, and those who did not understand this paid a high price.
In the long run, for Metallica, this defeat turned out to be beneficial, as it was through this episode that the band realized it needed to invest heavily in this new technology. Today, Metallica is the band that best utilizes everything the internet has to offer.
In translation: Lars was not right. But thanks to this mistake, Metallica has become what it is today. Ellefson should focus on promoting his musical projects. Speaking ill of Megadeth or well of Metallica to try to get at Dave Mustaine is something pathetic.