mrsaturnineATcrosswinds.net writes:
> http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,35881,00.html
>
> Never thought I'd see this.
>
The Offspring has also come out in support of Napster:
Offspring Come to Napster's Aid
Music-swapping Napster finds an ally in the Offspring
The Offspring have joined the sparse ranks of Napster supporters, along with
camp Limp Bizkit, and publicly voiced their support of the controversial
online MP3 swapping service.
The Southern California band were driven to speak out after an article on
www.wired.com falsely claimed the Offspring were considering filing suit
against Napster, which has drawn criticism from Metallica, Dr. Dre, Art
Alexakis of Everclear, and Elton John, as well as the Recording Industry of
America.
"I don't know what Metallica's motives or reasons for what they're doing are,
but as far as we're concerned, I support the exchange of MP3 files online,"
Offspring frontman Dexter Holland says. "Napster facilitates people being
able to share music . . . it's like trading cards. And something like Napster
is like having the convention."
While Metallica have filed suit, citing the loss of revenue due to the online
swapping, Holland disputes the idea. "From what I can tell it's not taking
any money from people," he says. "I think it's expanding bands' fan bases.
For us, when our last record was relatively new, about a year ago, we were
the most downloaded band on the Internet . . . and geez, it certainly didn't
hurt our record sales. We were doing great at that time. We were in the top
ten for like six months or something," Holland says. "Somebody told me 'N
Sync's record was available on Napster like three weeks before it came out,
and obviously it didn't hurt their sales either. So I think it's good. It's
the spirit of music; it's the spirit of rock & roll. More people coming to
the party. Not less."
Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst came out with a similar stance at Monday's
press conference to announce his bands' Napster-sponsored summer tour. "I
don't know the guys from Metallica really . . . to each his own," Durst said.
"How this could cause controversy between bands and the music industry and
labels is ridiculous . . . Obviously people who are worried about that are
people who are worried about their bank account."
Holland, a former student at the University of Southern California (one of
the three universities originally named in the Metallica lawsuit) also
expressed his disappointment that his alma mater instituted new regulations
to limit student use of Napster.
"What a shame that it's turned around like that," said Holland. "[USC] was
the place where I first learned about [the Internet] when it was brand new
ten years ago, and now to have it turning around and limiting the way people
interact with each other is a real shame."
To affirm their commitment to music on the Internet, the Offspring have
announced they will be featuring some exclusive material via their Web site
at a later date. "I really like being in touch with our audience by using the
Internet. We're trying to think of all kinds of ideas, whether it's giving
out MP3 files or having chats or interviews," Holland says. "Since [the
wired.com article] came out, it just upset us so much because it was wrong
and it was exactly the opposite of the way we felt about the whole situation.
We felt it was important to say that we want to give out something for free."
JOLIE LASH
RollingStone.com
April 26, 2000
<A
HREF="http://www.rollingstone.com/sections/news/text/newsarticle.asp?afl=aol&N
ewsID=10694&ArtistID=153">RollingStone.com: The Offspring</A>
http://www.rollingstone.com/sections/news/text/newsarticle.asp?afl=aol&NewsID=
10694&ArtistID=153
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