Lars Ulrich insists that Metallica will never "sell out," um, what about "Rock Band"

[Brian Damage]

Lars Ulrich has no plans for Metallica to follow in the footsteps of U2 by signing a deal with concert promoters Live Nation - insisting the group will never "sell out".

U2 were one of the first high profile bands to sign a contract with Live Nation last year, in a $100 million deal.

The company will act as a record label for artists on its roster, including Madonna, Jay-Z and Shakira, and deal with the promotion of concerts, merchandising and sponsorship.

But Ulrich isn't keen on handing over control of his band's image to Live Nation like many of his contemporaries, insisting the company is not offering anything the rockers need.

He says, "We haven't sold out to Live Nation, and we are certainly not planning on it. And we are very, very fortunate that we do not need what they offer to continue to be who we are."

And the drummer also insists Metallica don't need the backing of a label record giant to get their records released.

He adds, "Let's cut to the chase. . . . The primary, not the only, but the primary - function of a record label is to act as a bank.

"When you're fortunate enough to be successful and so on, you don't need to rely on record companies as the banks."

Live Nation announced last month that company executives had kicked-started merger talks with ticketing giant Ticketmaster to create an industry superforce.

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index...._live_nation_1

[ABlairican Pie]

What about Alternapaloozika in 1996, and what about being buddy-buds with Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit on the Summer Sanitarium Tour in 2003?

Not the kind of stuff you'd expect from the band that kicked our asses with "Kill 'em All", "Ride the Lightning", and "Master Of Puppets". The dudes of thrash and true metal over twenty years ago. One of the worst things ever to happen in rock was the death of Cliff Burton. He wouldn't have let this nonsense happen with compromising.