Demo-Listen Derby

In the case of Madonna’s leaked demo from her upcoming album, I wondered if it hadn’t been leaked on purpose (Pop Eye, by Steve Hochman, June 18). The buzz on her new album went through the roof after it surfaced online. Madonna and her crew got tons of publicity that you couldn’t even buy, and most fans feel very positive about her new album after hearing the leaked MP3.

As a fan, I say downloading this stolen demo was sort of a payback to Madonna. U.S. fans were very upset that her “American Pie” single was never released in America, but many different singles were released everywhere else, particularly in the U.K.--forcing Americans to shell out an outrageous amount of money for the imported singles.

If singles and albums weren’t so high-priced and accessible, more people would buy them, rather than steal them online. I think the music industry should pay a little more attention to what the fans want--after all, we’re the ones who keep them in business. And these executives need to be more careful with their PCs. They may be richer than they deserve to be, but they know squat about computers and security.

JOHN-MORGAN HORVAT

Fullerton