More Recording Artists and Industry Leaders Speak Out Against Napster

April 11, 2000

Washington, DC - Recording artists and industry leaders are speaking out against Napster, the company that provides users with a hub of central computer servers to which they connect and share millions of pirated sound recordings. Artists across the board from Lou Reed to Lars Ulrich of Metallica to country music star Victoria Shaw, are outraged by Napster’s claim that they are building communities of music fans, when in reality they are promoting stealing from artists.

According to Mike Greene, President and CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, “Artists should be compensated for their work and protected against a technology that allows copyrighted music to be illegally downloaded. But Napster and technologies like it are just a part of the overall problem. Intellectual property in the Internet Age must be staunchly protected. Without meaningful safeguards, the livelihood of the creative community is at risk.”

"I am excited about the opportunities presented by the Internet because it allows artists to communicate directly with fans. But the bottom line must always be respect and compensation for creative work. I am against Internet piracy and it is wrong for companies like Napster and others to promote stealing from artists on-line,” Elton John

“Artist, like anyone else should be paid for their work,” Lou Reed

“Let's get the obvious out of the way: This is not just about money (as some of the more cynical people will think). This is as close as you get to what's right and what's wrong. Metallica have always been in favor of giving the fans as much access as possible to our music. This includes taping sections at our concerts, and streaming our music via our website. And while we certainly revere our fans for their continued support and desire for our music, we must stress that the open trading of any copyrighted material is, in effect, the looting of our art. And that is something that no artist can, in their right mind, condone. We are in the business of art. This is a walking contradiction if ever there was one. However, there is no denying it. On the artistic side, Metallica create music for ourselves first and our audience second. With each project, we go through a grueling creative process to achieve music that we feel is representative of Metallica at that very moment in our lives. We take our craft –whether it be the music, the lyrics, or the photos and artwork– very seriously, as do most artists. It is therefore sickening to know that our art is being traded, sometimes with an audio quality that has been severely compromised, like a commodity rather than the art that it is. From a business standpoint, this is about piracy- a/k/a taking something that doesn't belong to you; and that is morally and legally wrong. The trading of such information –whether it's music, videos, photos, or whatever– is, in effect, trafficking in stolen goods. Back to the obvious: Very successful recording artists are compensated extremely well for what they do. For every Metallica, however, there are an endless number of bands who rely on what ever they can get in royalties to survive. And while we all like to take shots at the big, bad record companies, they have always reinvested profits towards exposing new bands to the public (although sometimes not the RIGHT bands).

Without this exposure, many fans would never have the opportunity to learn about tomorrow's bands today. Napster and other such sites were obviously not conceived to lose money. They, like the labels, must make money or they're out of business. And whatever money they are generating from their site is dirty money. It's being taken out of the hands of the artist and the record labels and put into the hands of another corporation,” Lars Ulrich, Metallica

“As an artist and songwriter I believe that this is an issue that needs to be looked at and taken very seriously. In what other industry can someone take a product, not created by themselves, make money from the use of that product and not compensate the original creator? Someone needs to take a stand and protect the songwriters and artist,” Victoria Shaw

“I think the fact that Napster is stealing recorded music is something that we have to stop. It’s taking money out of my kid’s mouth. That’s the way I look at it. It’s wrong. It’s inherently wrong. It’s stealing,” Art Alexakis, Everclear

“There are laws against piracy in this country, and unless we enforce them, how do we expect any other country to care about protecting our rights from piracy,” Denyce Graves, classical recording artist

“Many artists have spent their lives honing their craft and now some anonymous person in a little dark room with a computer somewhere is able to collate that lifetime’s work and pass it around the world for free. It’s just not on. Stealing is stealing regardless of what name you choose to call it. You get people saying ‘I’ve been a fan of yours for twenty years, I’m entitled to have it for free’. Well I’m afraid you’re not. That’s no different to me than going down to the local greengrocers and saying ‘well, I’ve been coming here for twenty years and so I’m going to help myself to all your fruit and vegetables from now on thanks very much,” Matt Johnson of The The

“As a band, we are incensed at the amount of disregard Napster has toward how musicians make a living. We only get paid from our recordings if they are bought in legal ways. By disregarding copyright laws we lose out. We are a ‘baby band’, struggling to stay alive financially. Every dollar we lose to “fans” stealing our music hurts...if folks knew that the majority of the major label bands are not making any income from their recordings...and losing money by touring, they would be astounded and a bit more sympathetic to the artists. What is supposed to set the industry free is killing it,” The Push Stars

Many other artists are angry with the Napster system and its clones and have voiced their concerns in recent news stories in Salon, Entertainment Weekly and Billboard. To read more, please visit the RIAA’s website at www.riaa.com.

Virtually every record label, large and small and thousands of artists, are using the web to build direct relationships with music audiences. “Announcements are made every day that detail strategies for new business models to support the all-important connection between artists and their fans,” said Hilary Rosen, RIAA President and CEO. “The music community is united in our determination to make sure technology works for the art and not against the artist.”

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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade organization that supports and promotes the creative and financial vitality of the major music companies. Its members are the music labels that comprise the most vibrant record industry in the world. RIAA® members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate recorded music produced and sold in the United States.

In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect the intellectual property and First Amendment rights of artists and music labels; conduct consumer, industry and technical research; and monitor and review state and federal laws, regulations and policies. The RIAA® also certifies Gold®, Platinum®, Multi- Platinum™ and Diamond sales awards as well as Los Premios De Oro y Platino™, an award celebrating Latin music sales.