Metallica announced their latest record 72 Seasons last week and the scams have rolled in hard and fast. If you've been on YouTube at all throughout the past week, you've likely seen some official-looking livestream about some sort of Metallica crypto giveaway. They're all bullshit.
Metallica has addressed the scams on their social media accounts, saying fans should only be getting information about Metallica from their official social media accounts. Which makes sense, but of course not everyone is Internet literate, and those are exactly the folks these scams are preying on.
According to one report, a Manhattan, KS resident was scammed out of $25,500 of Bitcoin from a fake Metallica stream.
"In the wake of last week's exciting news of our new song, new album, and new tour, unfortunately the ugly side of social media made an appearance. Many of you have let us know about YouTube channels and live streams, as well as websites, claiming to offer Metallica Crypto giveaways in conjunction with last week's announcement.
"Let's be as clear as possible. These are scams. They're being streamed on fake YouTube channels posing to be ours and all pointing to websites that we do not run. Please remember — all of our official social media channels are verified. Always look for official verification before believing something wild and crazy to be true. We thank all of you who have been vigilant in reporting these live streams to YouTube and to us… please don't let up!"
"Be familiar with the symbols that indicate an official channel and report anything that is a scam!"
And frankly, shame on YouTube for letting this happen. I've logged into my personal YouTube account and have seen a few of these fake livestreams being promoted on my homepage. They're usually some iteration of the following, with the fake account having uploaded a bunch of stuff from the official Metallica account to look as legitimate as possible:
Metallica will release 72 Seasons on April 14. The album is 12 tracks and 77-minutes (so no more double albums from Metallica at the moment), and is available for pre-order here. Metallica will also hit the road throughout 2023 and 2024 at one of the many dates below.
Show No. 1 opened each night by Architects & Mammoth WVH, Show No. 2 by Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills
4/27/23 – Amsterdam NL – Johan Cruijff Arena
4/29/23 – Amsterdam NL – Johan Cruijff Arena
5/17/23 – Paris FR – Stade de France (w/ Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills)
5/19/23 – Paris FR – Stade de France (w/ Architects & Mammoth WVH)
5/26/23 – Hamburg DE – Volksparkstadion
5/28/23 – Hamburg DE – Volksparkstadion
6/16/23 – Gothenburg SE – Ullevi Stadium (w/ Volbeat in place of Architects)
6/18/23 – Gothenburg SE – Ullevi Stadium
Show No. 1 opened each night by Pantera & Mammoth WVH, Show No. 2 by Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills
8/4/23 – East Rutherford NJ – MetLife Stadium [Tickets]
8/6/23 – East Rutherford NJ – MetLife Stadium [Tickets]
8/11/23 – Montreal QC – Stade Olympique [Tickets]
8/13/23 – Montreal QC – Stade Olympique [Tickets]
8/18/23 – Arlington TX – AT&T Stadium [Tickets]
8/20/23 – Arlington TX – AT&T Stadium [Tickets]
8/25/23 – Inglewood CA – SoFi Stadium [Tickets]
8/27/23 – Inglewood CA – SoFi Stadium [Tickets]
9/1/23 – Glendale AZ – State Farm Stadium [Tickets]
9/3/23 – Glendale AZ – State Farm Stadium [Tickets]
10/3/23 – St. Louis MO – The Dome at America’s Center [Tickets]
10/5/23 – St. Louis MO – The Dome at America’s Center [Tickets]
10/10/23 – Detroit MI – Ford Field [Tickets]
10/12/23 – Detroit MI – Ford Field [Tickets]
5/24/24 – Munich DE – Olympiastadion
5/26/24 – Munich DE – Olympiastadion
6/7/24 – Helsinki FI – Olympic Stadium
6/9/24 – Helsinki FI – Olympic Stadium
6/14/24 – Copenhagen DK – Parken Stadium
6/16/24 – Copenhagen DK – Parken Stadium
7/5/24 – Warsaw PL – PGE Narodowy
7/7/24 – Warsaw PL – PGE Narodowy
7/12/24 – Madrid ES – Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano
7/14/24 – Madrid ES – Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano
8/2/24 – Foxborough MA – Gillette Stadium [Tickets]
8/4/24 – Foxborough MA – Gillette Stadium [Tickets]
8/9/24 – Chicago IL – Soldier Field [Tickets]
8/11/24 – Chicago IL – Soldier Field [Tickets]
8/16/24 – Minneapolis MN – US Bank Stadium [Tickets]
8/18/24 – Minneapolis MN – US Bank Stadium [Tickets]
8/23/24 – Edmonton AB – Commonwealth Stadium
8/25/24 – Edmonton AB – Commonwealth Stadium
8/30/24 – Seattle WA – Lumen Field [Tickets]
9/1/24 – Seattle WA – Lumen Field [Tickets]
9/20/24 – Mexico City MX – Foro Sol (w/ Greta Van Fleet, no Pantera)
9/22/24 – Mexico City MX – Foro Sol
9/27/24 – Mexico City MX – Foro Sol (w/ Greta Van Fleet, no Pantera)
9/29/24 – Mexico City MX – Foro Sol
