Pearl Jam’s Camp Issues Cease-And-Desist Orders
The RIAA and Epic Records are working together to curtail the unauthorized Internet distribution of the upcoming Pearl Jam album, Yield.
A dozen or more Web sites have made available high-quality audio files comprising the entire album; the files emerged soon after the record was leaked in full by a Dec. 3 broadcast by WKRL in Syracuse, N.Y.
According to RIAA president/CEO Hilary Rosen, cease-and-desist letters have been sent to the offending Web sites located so far, declaring that such unsanctioned downloading of unreleased music “violates both the moral and economic rights of the artists and record companies.” Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis says, “The band takes such pride in the packaging and presentation of its music that for an album to come out in a way that isn’t as they intended just isn’t fair. And it’s not fair to the fans who don’t happen to have computers.”
The U.S. street date for “Yield” is Feb. 3; it is due Jan. 28 in Japan and Feb. 2 in several European territories. The first single, “Given To Fly,” goes to U.S. radio Dec. 24, although the song has been leaked on several stations in the past week.