tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29345538.post1637721818379358401..comments2024-01-14T03:26:30.071-05:00Comments on Ryan's Smashing Life : Like A Criminal - The GNR Leaker Wants You (to Pay his Lawyer)Ryan Spauldinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18401858408851940636noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29345538.post-3846070172572538682009-05-13T15:50:00.000-04:002009-05-13T15:50:00.000-04:00First, it is irrelevant legally whether he leaked ...First, it is irrelevant legally whether he leaked 1 track or all of them. Remember: The first people to go to jail for blogging were two Florida bloggers who leaked 2 tracks off of Ryan Adams' 29 album.<br /><br />Second, it is facile and insulting to say that the leak is justified because it "forced" Axl to release music that he didn't want the public to hear. It is irrelevant that he sat on the album for 10, 20 or whatever years. It's HIS ART! if the label doesn't like it, they can sue him for breach. <br /><br />What gives anyone the right to say that artists must release their work? Frankly, I think GnR should have STOPPED releasing music after Use Your Illusion. Their legacy would have been better.<br /><br />Personally, I think leakers are bad because they deprive the artist the right (and joy) of releasing his own work his way. When an artist creates something, it is like his child, and he should have the right to expose (or not to expose) it to the public criticism.ekkohttp://www.berkeleyplaceblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29345538.post-54914662359583715792009-05-13T06:29:00.000-04:002009-05-13T06:29:00.000-04:00Mack's right - at least in part. (Thanks for refr...Mack's right - at least in part. (Thanks for refreshing my memory - it really hasn't been that long...) the leak wasn't the complete album (just the majority of it (and it did contain the best songs from the final record.) The versions were the premastered version (as I mentioned in the piece.)<br /><br />You could be right about Kevin forcing the label's hand... It's a chicken and the egg debate. (It's either that Rose and the Label were getting close to release which opened the opportunity for a leak, which got him the music. - or - as you say, he leaked and then they rushed it out.)<br /><br />Either way... Kevin even had the option of leaking just one or two tracks. (It's called "restraint" and it would have seriously helped him now in the legal arena.) <br /><br />Leaking a pair of tracks would have gotten him the same high level of exposure on the website and certainly wouldn't have landed him in all this trouble.Ryan Spauldinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18401858408851940636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29345538.post-26725492852588766242009-05-13T06:04:00.000-04:002009-05-13T06:04:00.000-04:00A couple of points...
He didn't leak the whole al...A couple of points...<br /><br />He didn't leak the whole album. He leaked 9 of the 14 songs.<br /><br />If it wasn't for Kevin's leak, which lit a fire under Axl and UMG's ass, we still would not have heard the finished album. Did you know that Axl Rose hemmed and hawed for 14 years, dangling release dates in front of fans noses and hyping the disc to the press and the world, without any real intention to release it?<br /><br />Kevin's leak differs from a traditional album leak, like say for Relapse or 21st Century Breakdown, where an album leaks days before it shows up in stores.<br /><br />Chinese Democracy was dead in the water, and this leak forced the label's hand.<br /><br />Just my 2 cent.<br /><br />-MMack Arillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09782126553576742618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29345538.post-44116172635385568852009-05-12T23:25:00.000-04:002009-05-12T23:25:00.000-04:00I literally spend thousands of hours every year wr...I literally spend thousands of hours every year writing about exciting new music and supporting (primarily) up-and-coming artists - for no pay whatsoever...<br /><br />I write a piece critical of someone leaking an entire album (a leaker who ironically wants others to pay his legal bills) and you complain that I'm "ruining it" for you? How? Please explain.<br /><br />Everybody:<br /><br />I printed this ridiculous comment because it perfectly illustrates the complete ignorance of some "fans," who - when it gets right down to it - could really give a shit about music and only really care about themselves. <br /><br />How would any of you like it if your paycheck was cut in half next week, without warning... Or not there at all? That's what this is about.Ryan Spauldinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18401858408851940636noreply@blogger.com