OFFSPRING ALBUM GIVEAWAY
HITS A SNAG

SoCal punk band The Offspring and its label group, Sony Music, have reached an agreement whereby the band will not release its entire new album free on the Net as it had planned, hitsdailydouble.com has learned.

A legal standoff was averted late Thursday when the two parties declined to pursue joint lawsuits that were to be filed in a New York court today regarding the promotion.

The disagreement was focused around The Offspring's ambitious plan to post their entire new album, "Conspiracy of One," on the Internet prior to it going on sale at retail and registering downloaders via e-mail to win $1 million (hitsdailydouble.com 9/18).

On Wednesday morning, both parties signed a "standstill" agreement, a document calling for a 48-hour cease fire until both camps could meet at Sony's N.Y. headquarters to hammer out a compromise.

"We are extremely happy that Sony Music has worked out a solution with The Offspring and its management that supports the integrity of the band's creative idea and enables them to proceed with their promotion," a Columbia Records spokesperson said.

Sony's complaint, a temporary restraining order and an injunction against the band, would have prevented the group from proceeding with their download plans and would have also killed the million-dollar promotion. The breach of contract countersuit by the band would have resulted in the band not getting their new album out in the year 2000, and the tour scheduled around the release would also have been canceled.

"Obviously the band is very disappointed that they will not be allowed to challenge the Internet to its full potential," said Jim Guerinot, the band's manager. "The hypocrisy of The Offspring being asked to observe a strict 55 mile-per-hour speed limit when the rest of the world is driving at 70 mph is staggering."

With an agreement between the group and its label being reached, fans who register for the $1 million contest, which begins Sept. 29, will receive the download of The Offspring's single, "Original Prankster." Sony Music will share the e-mail database with the band for Offspring promotions only. In exchange for the lawsuit not being filed, the band also agreed that it would limit downloading to the single as opposed to the entire album.

"The band recognizes that the bulk of downloading occurs with the single and feels that maintaining the integrity of this promotion, getting the record out and being able to tour is more important than spending the next 12 months in court," Guerinot added. "The only people unable to post music on the Internet appear to be those who actually create it."

The original promotion was concocted by The Offspring and their management, who think proper use of the Internet can help promote and market its new release. The Offspring's strategy directly contradicted the recording industry's argument that Napster's technology is hurting sales by enabling fans to get music for free.

"The reality is that this album is going to end up on the Internet whether we want it to or not," said Offspring singer Dexter Holland when the band announced the original plan. "So we thought, ‘Why don't we just do it ourselves?' We're not afraid of the Internet. We think it's a very cool way to reach our fans."

While Sony Music, distributors of Columbia, reportedly asked The Offspring to cancel the giveaway when it was first proposed, the group refused, determined to make its new album available on its Web site, offspring.com, a month before its scheduled traditional release on 11/14. The whole album was scheduled to be posted by late October.

Commented legendary rock scribe/firebrand Dave Marsh: "What's Sony supposed to do? Resign from the RIAA? That can't happen. So as [Seagram head] Edgar Bronfman insists the industry is at war with the Internet, Sony will have to be at war with its artists who want to use the Internet. That's what happens when industries decide to respond to new technologies by killing them, rather than using them. Sony understood that, once."

For additional coverage, see our interview with The Offspring's Holland (hitsdailydouble.com 9/18).