EDIT 10:58am 05-03-2006: Red_Hot_Chili_Peppers-Stadium_Arcadium-(Proper_Retail)-2CD-2006-SMO a proper scene version has been ripped.

Also,  Rolling Stone has given a nice review of the album here.

From Flea’s Journal at www.redhotchilipeppers.com
05.02.06 Fleamail May 2, 2006

Date: Tues, May 2
Subject:
From: “Michael Balzary”
To: members@redhotchilipeppers.com

when i woke up this morning
i was was confronted with the news that our record has been leaked to
the internet
it does not come out til may 9 but now it has leaked
and not that i know alot about this kind of thing
but i guess now it is possible to down load it for free if you want
well
that’s not very nice
if you down load it now off one of these file sharing sites
you will be getting a pale imitation of the record
it will be of the poor sound quality of the technique they used to
get it on there
and that will break my heart
it will break john frusciante’s heart
it will break anthony kiedis’s heart
and it will break the heart of chad smith
yes, we worked for a year and a half to make the epic record of our
lives
and it is sad to me for the business reasons of course
i think we are selling something really cool and we put all we had
into it, 28 songs, 2 hours of the best that we can offer
and i think it is a fair deal for everyone
and for people to just steal a poor sound quality version of it for free
because some asshole stole it and put it on the internet
is sad to me
but, equitable business reasons aside
the thing that really bums me out is
we worked so hard, and so thoughtfully, all of us, for so long
to make this record sound as warm and full from top to bottom
as was possible
we spent day and night for a year making sure every little sound was
just right
that they were all put together in the most beautiful way we could
we did not leave a stone unturned in doing that work
i can not put in words how much this record, stadium arcadium, means
to us
how sacred the sound of it is to us
and how many sleepless nights and hardworking days we all had
thinking about how to make it be the best sounding thing we could
and now, for someone to take it and put it out there with this poor
sound quality
it is a painful pill for us to swallow
let me tell you
this bums all of us out
and i know that, as sensitive as john frusciante is about sound
the idea of anyone getting and hearing this thing that way
will devastate him
for people to not hear the work the way we meant it to be
will really hurt him deep inside
and all of us will hurt

yes, it is stealing from us, and that is lame
everyone has to live with their own conscience on that one
let it be your guide
but to take a version that has been defiled sound wise
a version in which some idiot has taken our year and a half of soul
baring work and pissed all over it
that will break our hearts

sincerely,
flea
_________________________

I can agree with the band being broken-hearted about the leak but it’s expected. It’s Warner Brother’s fault for letting this happen. If you’re really that cautious about the album leaking, they could have followed Coldplay’s way of letting people hear the album. What did Coldplay do last year for their upcoming, highly anticipated X&Y? Well, I can safely say there weren’t ANY promo CD’s floating around…

from www.billboard.com April 19, 2005
… extreme security measures have been put in place for media playbacks. Journalists are required to listen to the set on an iPod locked inside a clear case, with a security guard perched outside an open door.

And what happened? X&Y wasn’t leaked until 2 days before it’s release (which is quite possibly the best non-leak ever for such a big CD).

One other thing I don’t agree is this little quote from Flea…

and how many sleepless nights and hardworking days we all had…thinking about how to make it be the best sounding thing we could…and now, for someone to take it and put it out there with this poor sound quality…it is a painful pill for us to swallow

Why the hell do you guys allow 128Kb copies to be sold on iTunes then? Why even have it on the radio since it’s low quality? Would it be justified if there was a FLAC version floating around?

All in all, I understand their dilemma and as always; the dedicated fans will buy it of course (i bought the limited edition version on Amazon) and more than likely… new fans will hear Dani California on the radio and want to buy the CD. Of course there are many other things that will help promote the album but I think RHCP is going to be okay.