Tuesday was surely an entertaining day for the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing on digital music downloads. As part of their education on MP3-swapping technologies like Napster, Gnutella and Freenet, the senators heard testimony from Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, MP3.com CEO Michael Robertson and Napster CEO Hank Barry, among others. Did no one think to invite Courtney Love?

Ulrich told the committee about his American dream come true and how it is threatened by Napster. Here's his testimony:

Mr. Chairman, my name is Lars Ulrich. I was born in Denmark. In 1980, as a teenager, my parents and I came to America. I started a band named Metallica in 1981 with my best friend James Hetfield. By 1983 we had released our first record, and by 1985 we were no longer living below the poverty line. Since then, we've been very fortunate to achieve a great level of success in the music business throughout the world. It's the classic American dream come true. I'm very honored to be here in this country, and I'm very honored to appear in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Earlier this year, while completing work on a song for the movie "Mission Impossible 2," we were startled to hear reports that five or six versions of our work-in-progress were already being played on some U.S radio stations. We traced the source of this leak to a corporation called Napster. Additionally, we learned that all of our previously recorded copyrighted songs were, via Napster, available for anyone around the world to download from the Internet in a digital format known as MP3.

In fact, in a 48-hour period where we monitored Napster over 300,000 users made 1.4 million free downloads of Metallica's music. Napster hijacked our music without asking. They never sought our permission. Our catalog of music simply became available for free downloads on the Napster system.

I do not have a problem with any artist voluntarily distributing his or her songs through any means that artist so chooses. But just like a carpenter who crafts a table gets to decide whether he wants to keep it, sell it or give it away, shouldn't we have the same options? We should decide what happens to our music, not a company with no rights in our recordings, which has never invested a penny in our music or had anything to do with its creation. The choice has been taken away from us.

With Napster, every song by every artist is available for download at no cost and, of course, with no payment to the artist, the songwriter or the copyright holder. If you're not fortunate enough to own a computer, there's only one way to assemble a music collection the equivalent of a Napster user's: theft. Walk into a record store, grab what you want and walk out. The difference is that the familiar phrase "file's done," is now replaced by another familiar phrase -- "You're under arrest."

Since what I do is make music, let's talk about the recording artist for a moment. When Metallica makes an album we spend many months and many hundreds of thousands of our own dollars writing and recording. We typically employ a record producer, recording engineers, programmers, assistants and, occasionally, other musicians. We rent time for months at recording studios which are owned by small business men who have risked their own capital to buy, maintain and constantly upgrade very expensive equipment and facilities. Our record releases are supported by hundreds of record company employees and provide programming for numerous radio and television stations. Add it all up and you have an industry with many jobs -- a few glamorous ones like ours -- and lots more covering all levels of the pay scale and providing wages which support families and contribute to our economy.

Remember, too, that my band, Metallica, is fortunate enough to make a great living from what we do. Most artists are barely earning a decent wage and need every source of revenue available to scrape by. Also keep in mind that the primary source of income for most songwriters is from the sale of records. Every time a Napster enthusiast downloads a song, it takes money from the pockets of all these members of the creative community.

It is clear, then, that if music is free for downloading, the music industry is not viable. All the jobs I just talked about will be lost and the diverse voices of the artists will disappear. The argument I hear a lot, that "music should be free," must then mean that musicians should work for free. Nobody else works for free. Why should musicians?

In economic terms, music is referred to as intellectual property, as are films, television programs, books, computer software, video games and the like. As a nation, the United States has excelled in the creation of intellectual property, and collectively, it is this country's most valuable export.

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