The Norway division of iTunes made a huge blunder yesterday when it accidentally made copies of Kelly Clarkson’s upcoming album, All I Ever Wanted, available for download via iTunes. Norwegian iTunes users noticed yesterday that 30 second previews of Clarkson’s new CD had become available, only to soon find out that full track downloads were possible as well.
The leak, attributed to an iTunes error, has already caused Clarkson’s record label to panic as copies of the soon to be released album have already been unleashed on P2P networks. I wouldn’t be too worried, though. After all, I doubt that Clarkson’s demographic of listeners are the type of people who even know what P2P is.
It’s a tad amusing though, if not downright ironic, that this debacle occurred in Norway. If you recall, Apple had previously run into legal trouble in Norway over its failure to offer DRM-free songs on iTunes, and a consumer advocacy group subsequently initiated legal proceedings against Apple over its failure to open up iTunes to other music players. Of course, these legal proceedings were dropped when Apple announced that iTunes would soon be going DRM-free. But what are the odds that Norway would be at the center of a big music leak involving DRM-free songs after it had spent so much energy crusading against DRM in the preceding months.
Lastly, an album leak is probably the last thing the former American Idol winner needs. Clarkson’s last CD was a bust, and the success of her upcoming album may well determine where her career goes from here. Not that I’m a fan or anything..
All I Ever Wanted is officially scheduled to be released on March 10.
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February 21st, 2009 at 5:19 pm
In a related story, Clay Aiken’s cd has been leaked for 5 weeks, but no one’s noticed
February 21st, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Norway fighting against DRM
iTunes Norway (Apple) releases Kelly Clarkson album
How are they even related or so awing??? It was Apple leaking it.. just so happened to be the Norwegian iTunes store.. the funny part here is that Apple screwed up.
February 21st, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Zing!
February 21st, 2009 at 11:43 pm
it have been a big problem lasted for a long time and it will be.
February 21st, 2009 at 11:43 pm
?
February 21st, 2009 at 11:57 pm
WTF is kelly clarkson….and why should I waste my bandwidth on this..
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:06 am
her last cd was a bust? 2.2 million copies worldwide is a bust?
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:57 am
I rarely ever comment on sites. But…
Norway is a country, with many people.
The logic you make between the leak and the DRM case is the biggest WTF I have read all day. Congratulations..
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:26 am
Uh I like Kelly but her last cd (My December) hasn’t gone platinum yet, so I don’t know where you get the 2.2 million sold, However her sales weren’t bad compared to what singers are selling now
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:36 pm
What about Clay Aiken’s pitiful last CD sales of 159,000 copies? LOL!! No wonder his record company dropped him!!
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
@molly:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/riaa/index.jsp
it has been certified platinum in the us since 12/12/2007. it debuted at #2 in both the us and uk.
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
@uh:
You may want to scroll up on that link you sent.
My December appears under the heading ‘LATEST GOLD ALBUM CERTIFICATIONS’ which according to the bottom of the page means ‘The RIAA awards gold certifications for U.S. shipments of 500,000 units.’
🙂
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I’m confused. What does a country (Norway) have to do with a music app (iTunes-owned by Apple based in California)?
Kelly Clarkson’s fans certainly know what P2P is; they are mostly the youngsters between 16 and 28, right?
??? post. Don’t go into journalism.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:03 am
@flash
No, you may want to scroll a little further up. My December appears under both Latest Platinum and Latest Gold Certifications.
I also agree with “s” above. The writer of this article probably has some blind hatred towards any kinds of pop music.
February 25th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
You have hit the nail on the head in regards to the irony of this leak surrounding Norway’s division of iTunes. Norway’s adamant pursuit to obtain DRM-free songs on iTunes really draws attention to this leak and its ironies. You also write “…an album leak is probably the last thing the former American Idol winner needs.” As much as I would want to agree with this statement generally speaking, I tend to disagree in this particular situation. With the whole played-out chronology of the “All I Ever Wanted” release, the pseudo events offering a glimpse into the album’s cover and lyrics in the past weeks, and the historical jump her single made from almost last on the Billboard charts to #1 in just a week – this album is heading towards success already. After listening to the new album in its entirety on YouTube, it seems as though Ms. Clarkson has reverted to the pop/rock sound that made her 2nd album “Breakaway” so catchy and profitable. It’s almost as though she’s offering an acknowledgement to Clive Davis (who she turned away from in her last compilation) in this album, judging by the tone she has taken and the pop sound making more of an appearance this time around. If this leak was truly an accident all-around, then maybe all of the early and very positive reviews by the public are exactly what Kelly Clarkson needs to continue where she left off with 2004’s “Breakaway.”
February 28th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
To be fair to all, regarding the “bust” of Kelly’s My December album, when they quote figures, it’s either worldwide/international or national(meaning U.S.). My December is platinum (about 1 million) in the U.S.; The total worldwide is over 2 million, which translates to double platinum. Depending on which market you want to refer to (worldwide or national), if you compare My December to Kelly’s own other albums, sure, it could be called that, but, it’s hardly a bust, since at the very least, it can be factually said that it’s at worst, a million units…platinum status.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 pm
I agree that Kelly last CD wasn’t a “bust”. While I happened to have loved it and wished that people had been more willing to listen to something different from her, it still sold over 2 million copies.
Kelly’s demographic is actually a wider range then most people think it is. Just go to one of her concerts to see that. So lots of her fans do know what P2P is. This being made available now worries me because I’d like to see sales on this CD do well. Apple would freak out if something of theirs were available sooner. A fine of some type would be nice to see but I doubt that would happen.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:14 am
i luv you Kelly Clarkson (L) 🙂
May 12th, 2009 at 4:52 am
i luv kelly clarkson