Civil War (album) - Internet Leak Controversy

Internet Leak Controversy

An early internet leak of Civil War was a source of some controversy. Aaron Hale-Williams, a writer for the online publication Racket Magazine, was given a password-encoded streaming media version of the album by Fat Wreck Chords so that he could publish a review prior to its release. Hale posted the password and a link to the album stream on the music news website Punknews.org, and the album soon spread onto peer-to-peer networks after the streaming audio was converted into MP3 format. Racket Magazine Editor Jonathan Yost learned of the leak from Hale and contacted Fat Wreck Chords: "He called me to tell me how good it was, and mentioned that he gave it to 'two or three' people. I scoped it on PunkNews and saw that it was all over the place, so dropped Fat a line to change the password before it got too far out of control." Meanwhile, Hale had been submitting samples of his writing to Scott Heisel, Music Editor for Alternative Press and former editor for Punknews.org. Heisel had been covering news of Civil War's recording and development for Alternative Press and learned of the album leak, which he called "illegal...immoral and immature." He contacted Fat Wreck Chords to inform them of the situation at about the same time as Yost, and learned that the Hale was the suspected source of the leak:

When I asked a friend who worked for Fat where they think the leak came from, they pinpointed it to one specific person from a specific magazine (again, not AP) who had been begging them to hear the record. Upon hearing this person's name, I realized that same person had been emailing and IMing me incessantly for the past few weeks about trying to write for AP...Once I found out the label was holding him responsible for the leak, I promptly wrote him and let him know that AP doesn't use writers who leak records, so I would not need his services.

Yost subsequently fired Hale from Racket Magazine, explaining that "it was very obvious that this was a giant fuck up on our homeslice’s part. So...it was my decision to fire Aaron from Racket." Hale responded with his version of events on his blog:

I'm sorry for whom I hurt, but the truth is...I did my job, in a roundabout way. I got people, in a way, really hyperventilating about a band that's been dormant for nearly a decade. In the terms of underground music...that's nearly impossible, with so many bands worthy of attention falling on and off the radar nearly daily. Not that this particular band needs any help, but with years and years of taunting new releases, new music, and then shooting them down, it became a game of "band who cried album."

In the wake of the controversy artist Mitch Clem published a six-part comic strip satirizing the events in his webcomic Nothing Nice to Say. He received an email from the album's producer Dave Gardener criticizing his satire of the situation: "As the guy who recorded the record I have to say I found your attempt at social commentary via satire was pretty weak and actually fairly insulting. If you had any idea of the work that all of us, the band, the other guy who did the record and honestly the label put into making the record happen you might have an inkling over how shitty the leaking of the record is to us all." Clem responded that the comic was actually intended to oppose music piracy, not to advocate it. Punknews.org editor Jesse Raub addressed the situation in his blog, stating that "It sucks that Mr. Hale’s decision to share the album with his friends turned out this way. But he is directly responsible for the leak and needs to accept accountability for his actions. You can’t place the blame on everyone but you because they were forced to react to your initial actions." Punknews.org posted a synposis of the controversy, stating that "Punknews.org does not support or condone leaking albums. It's not just about the commerce; there are many people who work on an album like this one, it is fair for people to at least be compensated for the time they took away from other jobs, families and friends in order to put together an album for you."

In an interview with Dillinger Four singer/guitarist Erik Funk for Alternative Press on the day before the album's release, Heisel asked what Funk thought of the controversy surrounding Civil War's online leak. Funk replied that the band members do not have a strong stance on the issue and were surprised at the controversy:

We were surprised to see it become as big--I mean, the story became way bigger than our part in it. Or it wasn't really about our record. It was just about that circumstance. For us, none of us have a real strong position against people sharing music. I mean, I think that's fine. We didn't feel like we were getting ripped off or anything. Everything else related to it, between that writer and his boss... ... Whatever else happened, I feel like we're out of it.