New U2 album leaks

U2's new album, No Line On The Horizon, was accidentally leaked in its entirety on Wednesday (February 18th) by the Australian branch of the group's own label, Universal Music. According to Idolator.com, the album was available to download for a brief period of time last week at getmusic.com.au, which is operated by Universal, nearly two weeks ahead of its March 3rd release date. Almost immediately after that, the album's 11 songs began showing up at BitTorrent and other file-sharing sites. It's not absolutely certain that the posting at getmusic led to the illegal leaks, but it seems likely since copies of the record were not given to the press or radio stations until Friday (February 20th).

Universal Music did not immediately comment on the leak.

The album is now streaming in its entirety at U2's MySpace page.

No Line On The Horizon is U2's 12th studio album and follows up 2004's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The group performed the first single, "Get On Your Boots," live at the Grammy Awards on February 8th.

In other news, the Broadway musical version of Spider-Man, featuring songs written by U2 frontman Bono and guitarist The Edge, has been delayed due to production problems. According to Bloomberg.com, the $31 million show -- the most expensive in Broadway history -- has put rehearsals originally scheduled for this spring on hold until the fall, with its opening now tentatively slated for 2010. Actress Evan Rachel Wood has been cast as Spider-Man's love interest, Mary Jane, with her Across The Universe co-star Jim Sturgess heavily favored to land the title role.