May 19, 2003 12:11

MR CD WRITER!

The band's label bosses threaten legal action against illegal downloading sites where you can get 'You Gotta Go There To Come Back'...

The new STEREOPHONICS album has been leaked online ahead of its official release date, causing label bosses at V2 to threaten legal action against any site hosting the new LP.

'You Gotta Go There To Come Back' is not due to be released until June 2, though several illegal downloading sites have managed to get hold of the band's fourth studio album.

A spokesman for V2 said that the album would be available through legitimate downloading services coinciding with the High Street release. However, he added that the label would be issuing a "cease and desist" letter via the British Phonographic Industry threatening legal action against any site found to be hosting the new LP.

"It doesn't take much to guess it will happen... Whenever you send records out, they get offered," he said. In an interview with the BBC, he added, "We need to be offering a legal alternative, a coherent digital strategy with every release."

The spokesman then revealed that V2 are to employ new secretive techniques in the next couple of days aimed at preventing future online file-sharing.