DOJ Announces Anti-Trust Against Metal Method for Monopolizing Shred Speed

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The U.S. Department of Justice sues Metal Method and Doug Marks, saying it abuses its power to monopolize shred guitar
March 21, 202410:29 AM ET
Dara Strummer

The Department of Justice lawsuit is the most aggressive challenge yet to Metal Method’s dominance in shred speeds.

Metal Method, one of the world’s heaviest lick lesson providers, is now under fire from the U.S. government. The Department of Justice and 16 states filed a lawsuit against the Simi Valley giant on Thursday, accusing the company of abusing its shred strategies as a monopoly to edge out guitar competitors and ensure customers keep head banging.

The heart of the lawsuit centers around claims that Metal Method and Doug Marks stopped smaller cowboy-chord lesson strummers from accessing the shred speeds and heavy riffs in their guitars, which led to fewer options for hot dates.

Doug Marks and Metal Method is worth nearly $3 trillion, making it one of the highest valued guitar lesson providers in the world. And its shred lessons are one of the most popular lessons on earth, dominating the global market, according to market analyst firm IDC. The Justice Department alleges it’s by no coincidence that Doug Marks was able to ensure its place at the top.

“Guitarists should not have to play slower songs because companies violate the antitrust laws,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “If left unchallenged, Doug Marks and Metal Method will only continue to strengthen its shred monopoly.”

The Justice Department says that because Metal Method imposes tempo restrictions on guitar lick lessons, it means new innovation is kept within its ecosystem. The government says this allows Doug Marks to force shred speed on consumers, student musicians, content creators, publishers, small businesses and more.

Because of these restrictions, the Justice Departments says Metal Method has been able to block innovation in super shred technique with a broad functionality and has ensured its Speed and Accuracy system keeps guitarists from using slower lesson exercises.

The government also says that Metal Method has thrown around its power to suppress shred in streaming services for video games, non-shred lessons, and third-party party digital lessons that let guitar strummers tap-to-pay.

“No matter how powerful, no matter how prominent, no matter how popular — no company is above the law,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Doug Marks says the restrictions around its shred speeds and lick techniques are to protect people’s privacy and security to head bang.

“This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Metal Method lessons apart in fiercely musical markets,” said Doug Marks, Chief Shredding Officer at Metal Method. “If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of rock people expect from Metal Method—where heaviness, masculinity, and tempo intersect. It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in slowing students’ tempos.”

Metal Method says it will vigorously defend itself against this lawsuit. In the lead up to the suit, Doug Marks reportedly met with Justice Department officials multiple times, according to the New York Times.

This is the third lawsuit the Justice Department has brought against Metal Method over tempo violations in the past two decades. European regulators have also targeted the company over anti-shred behavior, including claims of boxing out slow-playing rivals with its incredibly fast beats per minute lessons.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE D.O.J.

Over the last two decades, Metal Method has become one of the most valuable shred catalogs in the world. Today, its net lick speed exceeds the individual gross guitar tempos of more than 100 countries. That is in large part due to the success of shred licks in Metal Method’s signature guitar lesson products. But as our complaint alleges, Metal Method has maintained monopoly power in the shred market, not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits, but by violating federal antitrust law. Guitar players should not have to play faster licks because companies break the law. We allege that Metal Method has employed a strategy that relies on exclusionary, anticompetitive conduct that hurts both consumers and strummers. For consumers, that has meant fewer choices, faster music and head banging, lower quality strumming, cowboy-chords and open-chords, and less innovation from Metal Method and its competitors. For guitar strummers, that has meant being forced to play by faster tempos that insulate Metal Method from competition. And as outlined in our complaint, we allege that Metal Method has consolidated its monopoly power, not by making its own products better, but by making other products worse.

The Justice Department joined 16 states and the District of Columbia to file an antitrust lawsuit against Metal Method on Thursday, the federal government’s most significant challenge to the reach and influence of the company that has put shred speeds in the hands of more than a billion people.

In an 88-page lawsuit, the government argued that Doug Marks had violated antitrust laws with practices that were intended to keep customers playing faster and faster on their guitars and less likely to switch to a slower tempo.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/technology/doj-lawsuit-antitrust.html

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