I was thinking about this and all I could come up with is that as long as people are buying the album from a site that is supposedly "reputable", then they are safe from any kind of prosecution. The people who are illegally selling the album are the only ones involved that take the risk of being prosecuted. Likewise, if you go and download it for free then you are liable for punishment. Basically it seems that people pay to hear the album early while ensuring their own immunity from prosecution.
The only question I still have is why this pay site would risk prosecution? Do they somehow not realize that the album is not yet out? Or do they know its not out and think that nobody will slap them with a lawsuit? Whatever label Pyramaze is on (Nightmare I think?) should prosecute this site. Free illegal downloading has always been an iffy issue with lawsuits; however, somebody making money off of an album that isn't even released yet is a whole new territory...
cheers -jonah w-
