Metallica relents, signs with iTunes

At least the members of Metallica still have a sense of humor.

The heavy-metal heroes have announced in a new message that they are taking the bold step of selling their music via digital download by an “upstart outfit who we feel may very well have a bright future.” That would be iTunes, of course.

The humor is due to the perception of Metallica as entrenched foes of all things downloadable -- a reputation earned by the band’s hostile activism against Napster and its file-sharing culture.

The band has in fact been selling its albums as downloads in recent years but had refused to sell its music song by song, a core requirement of the iTunes business model. That put the band in the company of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead and a few other notables who declined for reasons that were either financially motivated or driven by artistic devotion to albums as unified works.

Metallica relented this week and its songs (along with some rarities and live tracks) are available through the powerful online merchant.

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-- Geoff Boucher