Radio Leaks and Online Drops: May 30 Was a Tough Day for Alternative Music in the Mid-2000s

Blame it on summer making people feel more squirrelly, internet leakers capitalizing on artists being busy on the road, or some other combination of contributing factors, but May 30 was a bad day to be making popular alternative music in the mid-2000s. Dealing with pre-release leaks and unauthorized online sharing is, unfortunately, part of the deal when an artist reaches a certain level of ubiquity.

Videos by American Songwriter

But from 2005 to 2007, May 30 seemed to bring a wave of misfortune for artists trying to release music on their own timelines.

First, Coldplay’s Mid-2000s Album Drops Online Days Too Early

If you were using file-sharing websites in the mid-2000s to stream your favorite alternative music, there’s a good chance you had access to Coldplay’s third studio album, X&Y, before the band intended. The album featured career-defining cuts like “Speed of Sound” and “Fix You” and was under intense security by Coldplay’s record label, EMI Music Group. EMI estimated that X&Y would be its biggest release of the year, and chart performance would reinforce their hypothesis. The album peaked at No. 1 around the world, including Japan, where the album came out on May 30.

“It’s a miracle it hasn’t leaked before now to be honest,” a source close to the band told NME in 2005. “It’s released in Japan before Europe, and they’ve played the album on their official website. Most major albums leak a long time before release. This is just a few days.”

Multiple release delays increased anticipation around the album, which also contributed to the online leak. Despite the band not getting to release the record on their preferred timeline in the U.S. and U.K., it didn’t seem to hurt the album’s performance. X&Y made history as the best-selling album of 2005 and the first Coldplay album to top the Billboard 200 chart.

Next, Alternative Band White Stripes’ Album Leaks On The Radio

Two years later, Jack and Meg White would have to deal with a similar situation to Coldplay’s from 2005. Except in the case of the 2007 drop, the White Stripes found out their mid-2000s alternative album, Icky Thump, was playing on the radio without their permission while they were on the road. The White Stripes were touring in Europe when they got news that their sixth and final album, Icky Thump, had premiered on Chicago radio station Q101. When frontman Jack White heard the news, he called the station personally, looking for the DJ responsible.

“At 4 pm today, Jack White called Q101’s main offices from Spain where they’re touring, looking specifically for me, to yell at me for leaking the album and, in apart, being ‘messed up for the entire [music] business,’” Q101’s DJ Electra wrote on her blog at the time, per NME. “I felt like I was going to throw up. Weirdest, most surreal conversation of my life. Jack asked me to take responsibility for leaking the record and asked if I was sorry for what I’d done.”

“We tried to explain where we were coming from,” she continued. “Someone gave us a copy of a record that we were really excited to play, and the whole experience was an hour-long love fest for him and his band. But he wasn’t having it. He hung up very, very angry, and I thought I was going to cry.”

Roughly three weeks later, Icky Thump was officially released, peaking at No. 1 on the U.K. Albums chart and No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Photo by Mark Campbell/Shutterstock