Album leaks plague Clarkson, Coldplay


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On Oct. 17, the music world went up in arms as two of the most anticipated albums of the season were leaked online a week before their intended debuts. Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger and Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto are the latest victims of the bittersweet Internet album leak.

Both albums were slated for release Oct. 24. Clarkson has been extremely vocal about leaking songs on the Internet and has taken to her personal website to communicate such disapproval to her fans and colleagues. The singer has even adopted a defensive self-leaking strategy she hopes will curtail the leak of her entire album. She has been releasing her “own leaks” slowly to build anticipation for the new album.

But it seems the damage has already been done.

Famed blogger Perez Hilton posted a negative review of Clarkson’s new album on his Twitter a week before the album is due to hit stores. The blogger succinctly stated “Sadly, Kelly Clarkson’s album leaked today and while it’s not BAD BAD, it’s far from good and mainly just boring. #Bummer.”

The staff at Clarkson Camp are hoping that these early negative reviews don’t harm first week sales any more than the leak already has impacted them. Plus, it’s no help that the first Stronger single, “Mr. Know It All” was a dud for Clarkson’s standards.

On the other hand, Coldplay’s album has been garnering generally positive reviews. The album is being seen as an step away from Viva La Vida and previous records, taking on more of an electronic-synth sound and toning down the stadium rock elements that have made the band such a success.

A definite single from the album, “Princess of China,” has also been getting a lot of attention on the leak-circuit. The track, which features Rihanna, has been multiplying on Youtube and attracting rave reviews and music video requests.

While the two acts will go on to promote their albums like nothing ever happened, its clear that the leaks will have an impact on their bottom lines. And while fans might enjoy having the album for free a week before it goes public, the artists are the ones who are losing here.