Why Coldplay is upset

British band Coldplay could be forgiven for not being in the best of moods this year. You wouldn't exactly feel elated either, if your song were knocked off the charts by a dancing frog humming a ring tone.

That, however, is not as bad as having your new album leaked online a full week before release. Yes, it's happened.

Despite extremely tight security on the part of record company EMI, all 12 tracks appeared on the Internet soon after Coldplay's X & Y was released in Japan.

You can't say EMI didn't try, of course. Review copies were distributed under assumed names. They were hand-delivered to journalists who, in turn, signed non-disclosure agreements. Employees at CD plants were also searched regularly. The company must have known though, that a release in Japan would unleash a flood.

The new release has been a much-awaited

one for EMI. Coldplay's last album sold over 11 million copies. The band's failure to meet an earlier deadline resulted in a profits warning that wiped over £300m from EMI's share price.

Coldplay, meanwhile, took 18 months to complete X & Y, and recently denounced shareholders as evil.

While the leak highlights the helplessness experienced by many entertainment conglomerates in the face of piracy, the commendable news is EMI's managing to delay it for as long as it did.

Few albums have come this close to release before a leak on the Internet. The company also believes sales will not be hit.

With more releases lined up, the challenge remains. On one side stand the big conglomerates. On the other wait 'ripper' bands of hackers, all competing for the status of being first to upload pirated products. This battle seems set to continue for quite a while.