Jack White of the White Stripes recently reprimanded a Q101 DJ for playing an illegally leaked track. She documented the incident on her blog, saying:
At 2pm today, during my show, Q101 became the first station in the world to play the new White Stripes album, Icky Thump.At 4pm 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.
They took the call with me in the studio, off the air. Jack asked me to take responsibility for leaking the record, and asked if I was sorry for what I'd done. S&T both jumped into the call - I was clearly flustered - and backed me 100%. We tried to explain where we were coming from - someone gave us a copy of a record that we were really excited to play, and the whole experience was an hour-long lovefest 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.
I don't think I did anything wrong, and I don't think I am helping to ruin the music industry. I
Of course, it should be noted that many acts at the level of the White Stripes would have immediately deployed lawyers rather than simply asking for someone to admit wrongdoing. On the other hand, some are already calling the whole event a publicity stunt.
The band is gearing up for their debut release for Warner. The record is titled Icky Thump and is due out June 19, 2007