During the napster and DC++ era my boss at the time actually got targeted by the RIAA and her IP. I don't remember the exact amount but it was somewhere around $8,000-10,000 to settle + attorney fees. She had a family with 3 children and it absolutely crushed her financially. Thankfully her son ended up getting a full scholarship for college a year later so she was able to use *some* of those savings to get the lawsuit off her back.
I've always been 50/50 about it, i kinda get Metallica's argument, if i put myself in their position i'd be pretty upset if say my employer figured out a way to get someone to do some of my work for free online and cut my pay in half as a result of just not needing to pay me as much anymore. At the same time Chuck D's point is also correct that labels had been gatekeepers and that any methods that artists can connect with fans directly without shady gatekeepers is an upgrade, but, when people work they expect to be paid for their work. Nowadays i think we have a better balance where the platforms aren't like Napster and instead pay the artists for the streams and monetize them with ads or subscriptions, so everyone got what they wanted, artists are still paid for their music and labels are no longer as big a deal as they used to be
During the napster and DC++ era my boss at the time actually got targeted by the RIAA and her IP. I don't remember the exact amount but it was somewhere around $8,000-10,000 to settle + attorney fees. She had a family with 3 children and it absolutely crushed her financially. Thankfully her son ended up getting a full scholarship for college a year later so she was able to use *some* of those savings to get the lawsuit off her back.
DC++ what an awesome era, i remember mIRC also 🫶🏻
Red Hot Chili Peppers was a bad choice for only wanting to hear one song. Californication is a killler album.
surely there were online music stores before Apple(?)
Great documentary, btw! 👍
I've always been 50/50 about it, i kinda get Metallica's argument, if i put myself in their position i'd be pretty upset if say my employer figured out a way to get someone to do some of my work for free online and cut my pay in half as a result of just not needing to pay me as much anymore.
At the same time Chuck D's point is also correct that labels had been gatekeepers and that any methods that artists can connect with fans directly without shady gatekeepers is an upgrade, but, when people work they expect to be paid for their work.
Nowadays i think we have a better balance where the platforms aren't like Napster and instead pay the artists for the streams and monetize them with ads or subscriptions, so everyone got what they wanted, artists are still paid for their music and labels are no longer as big a deal as they used to be
Ai voiceover
This guy sounds like Theo Vons brother or something. Anyways great video great style subbed
Golden era! ❤