Statement from Thrice regarding album leak:

Hey guys,

By now, we’re sure you’re aware of what happened yesterday/late Monday night, and we’re sorry we weren’t able to comment until now, but we didn’t want to address the issue without taking a day to regroup and discuss our options in dealing with this unfortunate situation. Thanks for your patience in that regard.

Obviously, we’re incredibly disappointed with what happened. We understand that records leak constantly and that it’s almost entirely unavoidable nowadays, but we never thought we’d have to deal with a record leaking three months before it’s release date, and certainly never thought we’d have to deal with a leak before anyone in the band had even gotten a master reference of the record, or before the artwork for the booklet had even been completed. We’re also disappointed that you’re hearing the record for the first time, watermarked, with a Vagrant Records voiceover over every song. And we’re disappointed that the leak has thrown a massive and immovable wrench into the efforts that many people have made to prepare for the three months leading up to release. That said, what’s done is done, and we’re moving forward.

“Beggars” will be available for download, legally and voiceover free – the way it was intended to be heard – as soon as we can possibly make it happen. Leaks happen overnight. Changing an entire retail marketing plan doesn’t.

Finally, we’d like to thank those of you who have resisted the urge to download this leak, those of you who have been supportive of us in online forums as this thing began to spread yesterday, and those of you who have heard the record and are sharing kind words about it. We always appreciate your support, but even more so right now.

-Thrice

Statement from Vagrant Records regarding album leak:

Vagrant Records here. We don’t normally chime in on message boards like this, but we see a lot of back and forth about the Thrice piracy issue and feel we should let people know our position: We see a lot of posts basically blaming us for this leak. Vagrant has been using that same player for almost three years and this has never been an issue. In this case, someone clearly and unfortunately went out of their way to try and hack into our system. The link got into the wrong hands and someone took the time to figure out how to get around the password and user log in. Obviously there are people out there we thought we could trust with that information, but instead have proven to be dishonest.

Vagrant is currently speaking to Thrice’s management and the band about the best methods for the album release and how we’re going to proceed. When there is more to tell on that front, Vagrant will get the word out through all available media outlets.

The band is honored to have such true, loyal supporters, and your responsibility in this matter is greatly appreciated. All we can do at this point is appeal to the fans good graces and ask they avoid permeating an already tough situation.

We sincerely thank you for your support!

- Vagrant Records
 

Initial Cover (scrapped version):