hasitleaked is nothing new, nothing innovative. Plenty of websites do the same thing. Search “Music leaks” on google and you’ll see.

There was a time back in the days when music was the only media in town, no dvds, games, satellite tv or internet. Music companies would release singles and albums ‘cold’. They received no radio airplay or promotion until they were released and radio stations would not play the material until it was available to buy.

In the UK, until the late 80s/early 90s you could count the number of singles (and albums) that went straight to number 1 upto that time on one hand. It would take a few weeks in most cases for a single to peak in the charts. If anything it helped seal a bond between fans who bought a single and the artist as the felt their purchase counted towards the chart position.

Then came a big change in policy between record companies and stations. Singles were often played and promoted for 6 to 8 weeks before the release date. While the record companies hoped the presales orders from die hard fans would generate a higher chart entry point, the reality was that as all the major labels ended up doing it it generated record numbers of singles going straight in at No1 but most singles would gain a high entry in their initial week due to those pre-sales orders only to disappear without trace the next week as the vast majority of the public were already sick to the back teeth of hearing it on the radio for 8 weeks.

The 2 biggest negative impacts though were detaching the average teenager from the feeling their purchase counted while creating a demand for a product that was not available as a tangible product through legitimate means.

ehhh… good luck. But it will be a very interesting situation to watch, since it seems likely there will be an effort to shut it down. So the question is, will they cross that line from pursuing download sites to pursuing news sites? And, of course, who and what governments will allow it?

Will watch with interest.