When Guns ‘N Roses’ Chinese Democracy leaked last year, the perpetrator was the perfect person for record labels to make an example out of: An anonymous music fan on a message board. This week, however, two of the most anticipated albums of the year have been leaked by their label and distributor’s very own hands.
Yesterday, Kelly Clarkson’s All I Ever Wanted prematurely dropped on iTunes Norway, only days after U2’s No Line on the Horizon was accidently put up for sale on the Internet by their album’s own label, Universal Music Group. Clarkson’s album is not set for an official release for over a month and U2’s album is set to officially drop in Ireland next week.
Clarkson’s album leak is likely good for her career, as the Internet is buzzing with very positive reviews of the songs, but with a month to go before it hits shelves, the album’s actual sales will likely take a big hit. Of course, Taylor Swift’s album Fearless has been available for 3 months and that has sold over 3 million copies to date. In reaction to the leak, U2 have placed their full album on MySpace for legal streaming.