METALLICA: NAPSTER BAD, PANDORA GOOD

Streaming-radio giant Pandora has announced that it will offer a live stream of Metallica's 8/20 concert in Minneapolis. The stream, of the very first concert from the new U.S. Bank Stadium (also the new home of the Vikings), will kick off at 10pm ET; Pandora listeners can listen in live or hear it on replay here. What's more, freestanding songs from the show will be heard on Pandora stations.

"We love being invited to the opening party of new buildings, so when the opportunity to break in the new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis presented itself, we of course jumped at the chance,” said Metallica skinsman Lars Ulrich. “Thanks to our friends at Pandora, if you can’t make it to Minneapolis, you’ll still be able to partake in the festivities.”

Pandora CEO Tim Westergren called the event "another illustration of the power of our platform to connect artists and fans. This is a seminal moment for live music and as a Minneapolis native myself, it’s exciting to be part of the opening of the city's beautiful new stadium."

The band has enjoyed nearly 2 billion Pandora streams. That they've fully endorsed the service, given their history as outspoken critics of and litigants against early online disruptor Napster, in a sense confirms that the digital-music scene has truly come full circle.

This show marks the third major concert live-streamed by Pandora, following Jack White at Madison Square Garden and Mumford & Sons at Merriweather Post Pavilion. You can read more about the company's live initiatives here. The digital firm, having acquired the guts of on-demand streamery Rdio a ways back, is expected to offer a premium on-demand service of its own in the near-ish future.

Pandora's Lars Murray, meanwhile, said that by virtue of his first name he should be allowed to sit in on at least a couple of songs.