2008.11.11 - Billboard - Guns N' Roses Leaker To Plead Guilty (& other related articles)

Guns N' Roses Leaker To Plead Guilty

A man accused of illegally posting songs on the Internet from an unreleased album by Guns N' Roses has agreed to plead guilty, a federal prosecutor said today (Nov. 11).

Kevin Cogill will enter his guilty plea to one federal count of copyright infringement at a hearing on Dec. 8, said Craig Missakian, assistant U.S. attorney.

The FBI said Cogill posted nine tracks from the highly anticipated Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" on the Web site Antiquiet.com. The album will be released on Nov. 23 exclusively in Best Buy stores. They did not disclose how Cogill, who has no known direct connection to the band, obtained the songs.

Cogill was arrested in August at his Los Angeles home and released on bail. At the time of his arrest, authorities said he faced more than three years in prison if convicted.

Missakian declined to discuss details of the plea deal that Cogill reached with federal prosecutors.

https://web.archive.org/web/20081118030557/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003889470

Rolling Stone, Nov. 11, 2008:
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Chinese Democracy” Leaker Changes Plea to Guilty

The blogger who leaked nine songs from Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy has agreed to change his plea to guilty in a deal that will reduce the charges against him to a single federal count of copyright infringement, a Los Angeles prosecutor said. Under the deal, Kevin Cogill, the writer for the website Antiquiet who leaked the tracks back in June, will only face a maximum of one year in prison. Whether or not Cogill must reveal his source for the leaks as part of the deal has not been revealed. The plea bargain will bring to an end a tumultuous six months for Cogill. Following a visit from the FBI, Cogill told Rock Daily “If legal proceedings come my way, I’ll face them 100 percent.” “I’m not afraid of that. I did what I did, and I’ll face the music if I have to.” Chinese Democracy will finally be released in its finished form on November 23rd.

Spin, Nov. 12, 2008:
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Guns N’ Roses Leaker to Plead Guilty

"Welcome to the big house, it's not all fun and games..." Is prison in his future?

By William Goodman

While most Guns N’ Roses fans are preparing for the long-awaited release of Chinese Democracy, one in particular is potentially gearing up for jail. Los Angeles blogger Kevin Cogill, 27, who leaked nine tracks from the 15-year-in-the-making record to antiquiet.com, has agreed to plea guilty to one misdemeanor count of federal copyright infringement, Billboard.com reports.

Chinese Democracy will finally be available for purchase exclusively via Best Buy November 23.

Details regarding the plea deal have yet to be revealed. But when he was arrested in August by the FBI, authorities said Cogill faced up three years in prison if convicted.

The blogger will enter his plea in a hearing Dec. 8.

Worst possible sentence: A clerk position at Best Buy the day of the album’s release.

https://www.spin.com/2008/11/guns-n-roses-leaker-plead-guilty/