In a recent interview with The Irish Times, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante opened up about the significant changes in the music industry over the past 40-plus years. He pointed out that the very concept of a traditional music industry has vanished, with people still listening to music but in a different way. “There is no music industry. That’s what has changed. There is nothing any more. There are people listening to music, but they are not listening to music the way music was once listened to. It’s a different time now.”

Music Industry Struggles and the Impact on Artists

Benante continued to share his thoughts on how the music industry was one of the hardest hit sectors and how there was a lack of protection. “Here’s a strange thing. While I have seen people eating a little bit more healthy here and there, the industry of music was one of things hit the worst and nobody did anything about it. They just let it happen. There was no protection, no nothing. Subconsciously this may be the reason why we don’t make records every three years or whatever because I don’t want to give it away for free.” He takes music very seriously and believes that what he creates is personal. “I take music very seriously and what I do and what I write is very personal and, for someone to take it is not right. It is like I pay Amazon $12.99 a month and I can just go on Amazon and I can get whatever I want. It is basically stealing. It is stealing from the artist — the people who run music streaming sites like Spotify.”Benante also revealed his stance on Spotify. “I don’t subscribe to Spotify. I think it is where music goes to die. We have the music on there because we have to play along with the fucking game, but I’m tired of playing the game. We get taken advantage of the most out of any industry. As artists, we have no health coverage, we have nothing. They fucked us so bad, I don’t know how we come out of it. You’d probably make more money selling lemonade on the corner.”

ANTHRAX's Initial Stance Against Spotify

Back in 2015, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian spoke out against Spotify, claiming that “we should be being paid more for our streams” and that services like Spotify had “really devalued music.” He was initially against the streaming-music service, feeling that bands were getting ripped off. “I wasn’t a fan of streaming music initially, because I’m in a band and I felt like, ‘All right, well, I don’t like this idea because the bands are getting ripped off.'”

Scott Ian's Change of Heart and the Benefits of Spotify

However, three years later, in an interview with Spain’s Resurrection Fest, Ian revealed that he has changed his mind about Spotify. He called the service “a good tool for all bands” to have their music heard. “I still feel like the bands are getting ripped off, but at the same time, I definitely enjoy… I love being able to be in my house and basically have any song ever right on my phone, and I can go on Spotify and I can have it streaming all through my house anytime. Adding that Spotify is “a good tool for all bands,” Scott explained that streaming music “doesn’t make up for a loss of record sales,” but that consumers have moved their listening online, making the the streaming model the way of the future. “If you don’t adapt, then you don’t survive. It’s evolution, and that’s really what it is. And in the last few years, we’ve adapted and we’ve accepted what’s going on in the world. You can’t constantly fight a battle against things you’re never going to win and have no control over. So you adapt and you accept it and you figure out, ‘What’s the best way this is gonna work for us? And how do we use this new tool to best represent ANTHRAX?’ And Spotify has actually worked out really well for us in the last few years — especially on the last record. Because we really embraced it on ‘For All Kings’. And kids discover us on Spotify and then they go buy a ticket to come see us. And then they’re a fan for life once they see the band live.”

Metallica's Legal Battle Against Napster

METALLICA sued Napster after discovering that a leaked demo version of its song “I Disappear” was circulating on the pioneering music file-sharing service before it was released. In May 2000, Ulrich famously delivered a literal truckload of paper to Napster Inc., listing hundreds of thousands of people who allegedly used the company’s software to share unauthorized MP3s of METALLICA‘s songs. METALLICA representatives compiled the more than 60,000-page list of 335,435 Napster user IDs over one weekend in response to Napster‘s promise to terminate the accounts of users who trade material without permission. Real names were not included in the list. In later years, METALLICA embraced digital music: in December 2012, the band made all of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify.