Dre Makes Good on Napster Threat
One day after the Bizkit boys announced a free tour sponsored by Napster, Dre made good on his threat and filed suit against the software company--claiming it encourages Netizens to pirate his tunes and trade free MP3 music files.
The suit, filed today in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims Napster refused to remove Dre's songs from its massive database, after he gave the company until last Friday to meet his demands.
The West Coast rap godfather now joins Metallica and the Recording Industry Association of America in battling the San Mateo, California, company over alleged copyright infringement.
"As far as Dr. Dre was concerned, it was fairly straightforward: He doesn't like people stealing his music," says Howard King, attorney for both Dre and Metallica. "Dre sent them a nice letter asking to voluntarily put in a filter to make sure his rights would not be infringed, and Napster refused."
Of course, Dre may not be the patron saint of music ethics, either. He's just been sued for copyright infringement by George Lucas' Lucasfilm Ltd., which claims the rapper stole its "THX Deep Note" sound for the opening of his quadruple-platinum album, 2001.
Napster has not yet commented on the Dre lawsuit, but in earlier statements execs said they've tried to help artists protect their music and copyrights.
King, however, says Napster's response to Dre's letter was "comical," stating that Dre should target individual culprits (which, King believes, would be nearly impossible), not the software company itself.
Meanwhile, Dre's suit will likely bring out more artists either for or against the hugely popular Website. Most artists have bashed the software, saying Napster allows people to freely trade their music--without giving a thin dime to musicians.
That is, unless Napster sponsors your tour. Limp Bizkit has thrown its support behind Napster, announcing that the company is paying $1.8 million for the rap-rockers to mount a free concert tour.
Fans, meanwhile, are biting back at Metallica for its Napster lawsuit. A San Francisco Internet company has launched a tongue-in-cheek Website called PayLAR$.com, urging fans to donate money to drummer Lars Ulrich "to make up for all the revenue the band thinks it's losing to online MP3 trading."
Their grand total so far? $72.
Previously, hackers had modified the official Metallica.com Website, putting a direct link to Napster.com.
As far as any potential conflicts with pro-Napster folks like Limp Bizkit, King says the legal scuffles are strictly business.
"[Dr. Dre] is friends with those guys, and I don't think that's going to change," he says. "It's a free country, and everybody has the right to make their own decisions. We don't want to start a fight among different artists."
Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, however, took a few jabs at anti-Napster forces during a press conference Monday, saying they represented the "older generation's need" to keep the customer in check.
But Durst also said he spoke to Dre on the phone about the issue, and there were no hard feelings about their differences.
"Who cares who's suing who?" Durst explained. "We're doing a free tour."
Of course, while Limp Bizkit takes the free-for-all route, Dre fans will have to cough up real money for his all-star summer tour. He's just announced he's hitting the road (call it the "Anti-Napster Fest") with platinum prodigies Eminem and Snoop Dogg, and surviving NWA pals Ice Cube and MC Ren.
The tour kicks off June 15 in San Diego.
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