On Tuesday, Writers Group Film Corp. - through its wholly owned subsidiary Front Row Networks, Inc., a Los Angeles-based concert production, and distribution company - announced the acquisition of several hours of unique Metallica 3D and 2D concert video footage for distribution.
hennemusic reported the story here.
By Wednesday, Metallica’s lawyers were all over it, and so were the band.
Metallica posted the following to their website:
3D Concert Video Footage - NOT!
3/24/11
Don't believe everything you read . . .
You may have seen some recent news linking us with Writers Group Film Corp. and their subsidiary Front Row Networks . . . we're here to let you know that their claim of acquiring unique live video footage for future release is totally FALSE. We don't even know who these guys are!
We're certainly into new technology and think 3D is super cool . . . as always, you'll read it here first when we've got 'Tallica release news.
Pollstar reports that Metallica says it has never heard of the project, or the company, and issued a press release entitled “Metallica Warns Their Fans To Beware Of The Front Row.”
“Metallica owns and controls its recorded performances and Creeping Death Music owns the vast majority of any music embodied in Metallica Recordings,” the band’s attorney, Peter Paterno, stated in Wednesday’s announcement. “Pretty much any legitimate business would have contacted us to see how Metallica felt about it. Maybe these guys just forgot.”
But Metallica’s announcement stops short of actually threatening legal action against the company. Although the Writers Group Film Corp./Front Row Networks press release states that the company acquired the footage, it doesn’t say where the films came from, and this could be one of those cases where someone other than the band owns the rights and will distribute it, regardless of the band’s wishes.
Stay tuned.
Metallica Metallica - Sad But True (1991)
See also:
Metallica 3D concert footage in production
Metallica to relaunch website March 28
Metallica, Motorhead, Ozzy top Greatest Metal Songs poll
Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax - Big 4 US radio special set for April
