On This Day: Dave Matthews Band Becomes First Artist to Release a Song on Napster

By 2000, Napster was fully fledged, but the file-sharing platform, which allowed for the peer-to-peer transfer of MP3 files, didn’t come without a series of legal issues. At the height of its operations, Napster had approximately 80 million users registered on its network but soon faced a series of lawsuits for copyright infringement.

The Recording Industry Association of America sued Napster for the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material. Metallica even filed a suit against the platform in 2000, alleging it of copyright infringement and racketeering.

Eventually, Napster ceased operations in 2002 after filing for bankruptcy. A year before its demise, Dave Matthews Band made history as the first major artist to release a single on the platform in January of 2001 with their single “I Did It.” Released on the band’s fourth album, Everyday, Dave Matthews Band released the song six weeks before the official release of the album on February 27, 2001.

The band’s single appeared on Napster’s Discover Featured Music page, which typically showcased new artists. “I Did It” was also the first major-label track to be promoted on Napster, which directed users to the official Dave Matthews Band website, where they could access the approved version of the single.

[RELATED: The Somberly Unifying Story Behind Dave Matthews’ Song “Gravedigger”]

“We’re pleased to promote the availability of ‘I Did It,’ through Napster,” said Milton Olin, chief operating officer, of Napster, around the release of the single. “Dave Matthews Band maintains a very close relationship with their fans and Napster offers a simple vehicle to spread the word that their latest studio album is on the way. We’re delighted to help introduce their new music to the legions of fans around the world and new listeners as well.”

Working on Everyday with producer Glen Ballard, who co-wrote all the tracks with Matthews, “I Did It” was a slight departure for the band, pulling back on their typical strings and horns and introducing more electric guitar. “I Did It” eventually went to No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart and peaked at No. 20 on the Adult Top 40.

“I don’t think there is a malice coming out of Napster,” said Matthews in 2000. At the time, Matthews was in the minority of artists who were pro-Napster, while others, along with labels, believed the platform infringed on their copyrights. “We allowed people to tape our concerts from the beginning, and the record company questioned us about allowing that. But my thinking was that it makes people want to buy more and increases the devotion of people who are going to listen to us.”

Several months after Dave Matthews Band permitted Napster to release “I Did It,” the platform leaked the unfinished recordings of the band’s unfinished album that they intially started working on with Steve Lillywhite.

The leaked recordings of the 12-track album, which was rerecorded and produced by Stephen Harris, included the song “Busted Stuff,” which became the title track of the band’s fifth release in 2002, along with “Big Eyed Fish,” “Grace Is Gone,” “Captain,” “Bartender,” “Kit Kat Jam,” “Raven,”  “Grey Street,” “Diggin’ a Ditch,” and “Sweet Up,” which also appeared on the album.

“I cannot condone the release of these unfinished recordings,” said Lillywhite in a statement, following the leak in 2001, “although I feel these are some of the most moving pieces of music that I’ve ever recorded with Dave Matthews Band.”

Additional songs that were leaked also included “Sweet Up and Down,” “JTR,” and “Monkey Man,” which the band originally worked on with Lillywhite. All of tracks later appeared on The Lillywhite Sessions in 2001.

Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images