U2 Piracy Could Spell iTunes Exclusive

Via Digital Music News "U2 could soon be living through a classic digital music nightmare. Last week, rough cuts from an upcoming album were mysteriously stolen from a French photo shoot. Now, the band is closely watching P2P networks for the lifted tracks. Although files bearing the "Vertigo" album name cropped up on P2P networks over the weekend, the band has not matched those copies with the actual rough cuts. If the worst case scenario strikes, Bono vowed to pursue an aggressive release schedule that would include a possible iTunes exclusive. In comments to the London Daily Telegraph, the band`s lead singer said that if the tracks are "on the Internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes..."

In a BBC report Geoff Mayfield, senior analyst for Billboard magazine said "This would be the first time I can think of that someone has done it as a countermeasure to piracy,"