Fans of Guns N' Roses have experienced a long drought of new recorded material. Led by lead singer Axl Rose, the rockers have been working on their album, "Chinese Democracy," on and off since the 1990s.
Cogill used to work for Universal Music and now works at entertainment site Crave Online. Writing under the name "Skwerl," he uses his blog, Antiquiet, to talk about American politics and the music industry.
In early June, he expressed his appreciation for Guns N' Roses, noting that he had waited half his life for a new album.
"The more you [mess] around with the details, the more likely the album is to leak on the Internet, spoiling whatever big plans you're cooking up anyway," he wrote, addressing Geffen Records, the band's label and a unit of Universal.
On June 18, he said he had received nine "Chinese Democracy" tracks from an unnamed source and made them available for streaming, but not download, on Antiquiet. He contended that if the album was good -- and he thought it was -- it would do well financially, in spite of any leaks.
After he removed the tracks, the FBI interviewed Cogill at his office and home, seeking the source of the leaked songs.
"I've been asked if my legal troubles are over," he wrote after the FBI's visit. "The answer is that they haven't begun."
No one came to the door at Cogill's home Thursday. A man who answered his phone declined to identify himself but said Cogill wasn't granting interviews.
In an e-mail, fellow Antiquiet blogger Britney Bernstein said Cogill's case was building buzz for "Chinese Democracy." "Any publicity this album gets is good publicity," she said.
The band released a statement: "Presently, though we don't support this guy's actions at that level, our interest is in the original source. We can't comment publicly at this time as the investigation is ongoing."
Missakian, the assistant U.S. attorney, said his office would bring more cases like this in the future.
"Prosecution like this makes others think twice," he said.
John Malcolm, executive vice president and director of worldwide anti-piracy operations for the Motion Picture Assn. of America, applauded the arrest, saying he expected the movie industry too would pursue criminal charges to stop leaked movies.
"Getting the federal authorities involved in the Guns N' Roses leak was absolutely appropriate," he said.
