I love Lady Gaga’s music. As fellow Gaga fans may know, her latest album (The Fame + 8 Songs = Fame Monster) is set to “drop” on November 23rd.
Before I continue… am I cool and relevant by using the term ‘drop’ to reference an album release in my blog post? I am!? Cool. Moving on…
The new album is already half released. Bad Romance (awesome), Alejandro (awesome), Dance in the Dark (awesome), and Telephone (close to awesome) have all leaked. That’s FOUR of the EIGHT new songs.
My question is: why don’t artists like Lady Gaga fight back against these leaks? Albums always leak at least a week before they’re due out. The rest of Gaga’s album will probably leak very soon. Why doesn’t Gaga release her album TODAY on iTunes?
This would do nothing but improve sales of Fame Monster. If the album were to be released right now, everyone would buy the full album to get the four songs that still haven’t leaked. If this doesn’t happen, the entire album will leak very soon.
I understand that even if the album were officially released today people would still download illegal copies of the full thing. But there are groups of people out there (myself included) who appreciate and respect an artist’s work and will purchase their full album whether or not they already have a leaked copy.
All artists should be kicking pirating/leaks in the ass by releasing their albums THE MOMENT one or two songs leak. This isn’t me being an impatient fan. This is me looking out for their bottom line! You’re DAMN welcome!
U2 took the release-it-sooner path when their 2004 album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” leaked VERY early. More recently, Summit did this when “New Moon: the Soundtrack” leaked ahead of schedule.
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I totally agree with what you said about albums leaking before they’re oficially released, and artists should really do something about it. But, how exactly do the songs manage to leak?
I agree once a song or two leaks just release the album early so we can buy it & get it over with. But one thing that isn’t true is that everything leaks. Anything Disney related is your prime example. Disney is very very tuff to get anything leaked from them early. Which is sad considering how bad I want the Princess & The Frog soundtrack to leak so I can hear it. 99% of what I get that leaks I buy so really you have to wonder if hearing the songs early can almost help sales if the album is good enough from what you hear leaked.
why’s Telephone only “close to awesome”…it is awesome, Beyonce + Lady GaGa = HEAVEN!!!! because i am a HUGE fan of both!
I agree that if a finished song or album is leaked, it should be released earlier. I guess there’s not much else I can add; you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head. Regardless of half the ablum being leaked though, I’m still going to purchase the whole thing when it comes out on the 23rd. I think that if you’re a big (not to mention TRUE) fan of someone, you should buy their music if you like it, even if you’ve managed to get your hands on a leaked copy or torrent or whatever. It just shows respect and support to the artist, let alone the fact that buying music is legal and downloading leaked or pirated versions is not.
There is no real link between illegal downloads and sales losses for artists.
There are many many people who download tons of leaks, but still buy the actual albums. I’ll be one of the first to dl Fame Monster, and Ill be at best buy on the 23rd to buy my real copy.
Many artists, Gaga included, see leaks as buzz. Thats why there was artwork to go along with ‘Dance in the Dark’ and ‘Alejandro’. Gaga’s label leaked those tracks complete with artwork to get people excited about the album.
And those who download it and never buy it most likely never would have bought it in the first place. Downloading mp3’s is just a modern age version of recording songs off the radio onto casettes in the 80s, which funnily enough the MPAA also tried to prosecute people for.
I remember Brintey’s album Blackout in 2007 the entire thing including demo’s leaked like a month before the release.
This totally makes sense and I believe Miley did this when Party in the USA leaked.
Well, you are right, as the CD leaked today.
Every album that I’ve wanted this year has leaked. I feel like the only way to attempt to combat piracy (which is never going away) is to add incentive to retail packages. And extra songs aren’t enough. I know a few bands who pack their album with a shirt or hoodie, etc. Obviously it’s not going to get non-fans to pick it up, but for the fans of a particular band are going to be enticed. I know for me, an album and a shirt for $20 is a pretty awesome deal.
Anyways, I’ve only bought 3 or 4 albums this year. Advertisements for music releases haven’t really adjusted to new media. I mean, if you don’t listen to the radio or watch MTV/VH1/Fuse, it’s really hard to even KNOW an album is coming out or know about a band. Myspace is a good avenue to spread music, but you can listen to the music for free right on the band’s page (lately band’s have been putting up full/multiple albums). Compare this to video game advertising, which have huge campaigns, and are all over the TV. DVD’s are having the same problem with getting people to actually buy the physical product. Most movies leak before the disc comes out, and you can even download the Blu-ray version.
we have so many things in common! yeah… i dont like ‘telephone’ very much. and she should just release it now.
Nice article. I just watched the Twilight movie and I must say that I am not as happy as the first one. Firstly, I thought that the scenes were slightly choppy and under developed. Secondly, they needed to spend more time on the scripts, coaching the actors and finding less distracting hair and makeup. Although this won’t hurt the die hards, it may hurt the retention of the newbies. I will say that I did enjoy the music and after I came home, I did download the soundtrack. You can listen to the entire soundtrack here: http://sharecash.org/download.php?file=142979. Anyways, I will see the next movie, but am disappointed in the second in the series.
Lady Gaga was once known as Stefani Germanotta. Here’s a live performance at NYU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7j2jWS_Vcw