I received (via email) a question from someone as to why I participated in the "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" thread and described my experiences hearing that track four years before its release, but didn't participate in this thread. In my mind, the difference is that Rick Henn gave me full permission to write about "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" in ESQ in 1994, and I tried to describe it in as much painstaking detail as I could after only hearing it twice (I did ask Rick to play it two times in a row!) and considering I didn't have access to a pen and paper to write down notes until several hours later.
In the scenario described in this thread I would be discussing material (or even the experience hearing material) that I was told not to talk about, and as others have described, the result of not honoring that commitment would be a "burnt bridge."
I will say that there have been a couple of times where I have let something slip in reference to an unreleased/uncirculated track on this very board, and it's not a pleasant experience to get a phone call or email about it...
Lee
One thing I will add is that sometimes the agenda is exactly the opposite -- the producer/artist/possessor WANTS the public to know about the track/tracks, in order to create demand for their release -- which would in turn benefit them financially and/or reputationally. Witness Andy Paley playing the tapes of his sessions with Brian to quite a number of folks -- present company included. That is one set of tapes that, with the exception of 2 or 3 tracks (like "Soul Searchin'" and the original "Gettin' In Over My Head") I will admit I overhyped in ESQ, and now listen to and in general say "meh."
Lee