EMINEM'S NEW ALBUM RECOVERY LEAKS 2 WEEKS BEFORE ITS RELEASE DATE!

Are album leaks the music industry's new method of stealth marketing?
In the past two months, three major music albums have "leaked" onto the net - the most recent being Eminem's seventh album, which hit the net Tuesday.

"Recovery," the rapper's follow-up to "Relapse," is now rocking the web two weeks before its scheduled release date on June 22.

On his new album, the 37-year-old recovering addict joins forces with pop diva Rihanna, who sings on "Love the Way You Lie," and Pink, who is featured on "Won't Back Down."

The album's first music video, for the single "Not Afraid," was released on June 5.

Eminem's is the latest in a series of mainstream albums that have leaked online and could herald a new mode of stealth marketing.

Kanye West's new single, "Power," reportedly off his long-awaited fifth album, leaked last month. The outlandish singer's label, Universal Music Group, subsequently removed all YouTube videos of the song on copyright grounds.

Earlier this month, Drake's "Thank Me Later," which reportedly includes a track about his relationship with Rihanna, also hit the net before its release date.

Smart executives could very well be responding to the public becoming inured to the brazen publicity embraced by mainstream pop acts.