Photo: Miller/FilmMagic

For five years, Metallica’s own LiveMetallica Website has offered up high-quality downloads of the band’s concerts spanning from 1982 to their current World Magnetic tour. However, fans were only able to purchase concerts as a whole, as opposed to the a la carte song options popularized by iTunes. Perhaps the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ hookup with Apple earlier this year rubbed off a little bit, because Metallica announced yesterday on their official Website that single song purchases are now available on LiveMetallica.

Keeping with tradition, single MP3s carry a 99-cent price tag, while purchasing the entire concert will remain $9.95, making purchasing the full show more wallet-friendly in the long run. The high-quality FLAC download will also remain $12.95. LiveMetallica features over 269 shows and, as the band points out, no two set lists are the same. If you haven’t checked out LiveMetallica yet, we recommend you do so, as there’s also dozens of free downloads of concerts spanning the band’s entire career.

You might be thinking, after the whole Napster ordeal, “Metallica? On the internet? Giving away stuff for free!?” But as Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, the Napster situation was never about money, but about control. “Give away stuff for free? Not a problem. The Internet? Not a problem,” Ulrich said. “Who makes the decision? We make the decision. I’ll give away all my shit for free. But I’ll decide when and where and how.” Ulrich later told RS that, with the band’s record contract expired, they’d be open to the possibility of an Internet-styled release that other big-name artists have employed in recent years.

Rolling Stone caught Metallica’s tour relaunch earlier this month at Nashville’s Sommet Center, where Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister guested on two songs during the encore. That show, as well as all the shows so far on the Death Magnetic jaunt, is also available over at LiveMetallica.

Related Stories:

• Metallica Scorch Nashville With Metal Anthems, Lemmy Kilmister on “World Magnetic Tour”
• Metallica, U2, No Doubt and Summer 2009’s Hottest Tours
• Metallica Pound SXSW With 90-Minute Greatest-Hits Set at “Surprise” Show