Capitol Records will host a 24-hour preview of Paul Westerberg [ tickets ]'s Suicaine Gratifaction on February 19th, days prior to the album's retail release on February 23rd. RealAudio feeds of the album will be available at the label's Paul Westerberg web site beginning at midnight.

Suicane Gratifaction, Westerberg's debut for Capitol, has enjoyed an early wave of positive critical and radio response, according to a Westerberg press release.

Capitol's decision to host the preview using RealAudio sidesteps some of the factors involved in recent incidents where acts including the Beastie Boys and Less Than Jake were asked to remove files from their own web sites. In those incidents, the acts were using MP3 files, which a user generally downloads to their hard drive before playing.

RealAudio files are generally set up to stream, or broadcast, from a web site. While the sound or video quality is limited by the speed of a user's Internet connection, the streaming feature of RealAudio allows a user to hear or see the requested item with minimal delay.

The MP3 format provides significantly higher sound quality than a typical RealAudio stream, leaving the user with a CD-quality copy of a song on their hard drive to play or copy at their will. Labels argue that many of the MP3 copies of popular songs currently available on the Internet are illegal reproductions of copyrighted product, and that the wide distribution of MP3 tracks hurts both artists and their labels.

The major labels are working with companies including IBM to develop digital delivery systems that will allow Internet users to download complete albums, including artwork to their home computers using a high-speed connection. The user would then be able to record the music files to a CD. The new system would include safeguards to ensure that additional copies could not be made.