A music leak is an unauthorized release of music over the internet. Songs or albums may leak days or months before their scheduled release date. In other cases, the leaked material may be demos or scrapped work never intended for public release. Leaks often originate from hackers who gain unauthorized access to the online storage of an artist, label, producer, or journalist.
Sources
Unreleased music is often acquired by hackers who gain unauthorized access to the e-mail or cloud storage accounts of artists, producers or record labels.[1]
Some leaks originate from advance copies sent to journalists, either being leaked by the journalists themselves, or by individuals who gain unauthorized access to these advance copies. For example, the 2006 Joanna Newsom album Ys was leaked when a hacker gained access to an FTP server maintained by the online music publication Pitchfork.[2] In 2015, a server controlled by the music website Spin was hacked, resulting in the leaking of albums by Beach House, Mac DeMarco, and Destroyer.[1]
It has been alleged that some record labels intentionally stage leaks to create publicity.[3]
Distribution
During the 1990s, leaked music was occasionally shared on the internet, despite relatively slow transmission speeds and music codecs being in their infancy. One of the first albums to leak on the internet was Depeche Mode's 1993 album Songs of Faith and Devotion, which was shared by fans in chat rooms.[2]
In the early 2000s, peer-to-peer file sharing sites such as Napster were widely used not only for musical piracy, but also for the distribution of leaked music. The landmark copyright lawsuit Metallica v. Napster, Inc. centered on the leak of a demo recording of the Metallica song "I Disappear", which was planned to be released as part of the soundtrack to Mission: Impossible II. The leaked demo, which made its way onto radio airplay, was traced to Napster.[2]
As peer-to-peer file sharing services declined in popularity, other channels have been used for the distribution of leaked music, such as BitTorrent and "File hosting" services such as MediaFire.[2]
Reactions
When a song or album leaks ahead of its scheduled release date, record labels often react by moving the release earlier, a process which became simpler as music has shifted from physical to mostly digital distribution.[4] An early example of this was Eminem's 2002 album The Eminem Show. Originally scheduled for June, its release date was moved to May 28 after the album leaked that month.[2]
The effect of leaks on sales or popularity is unclear.[3] In 2000, the album Kid A, by the English rock band Radiohead, was leaked online and shared on the peer-to-peer service Napster. Asked whether he believed Napster had damaged sales, the Capitol president Ray Lott likened the situation to unfounded concern about home taping in the 1980s.[5] In some cases, a leak may precipitate an official release for materials not planned for release. For example, in 2019, Radiohead released MiniDiscs [Hacked], an archive of recordings made around the recording of their 1997 album OK Computer, after a hacker leaked them online.[6]
Labels may attempt to stop or slow the spread of leaked files by issuing DMCA takedown notices to websites hosting leaked material, or search engines which index these sites.[3]
Prevalence
Album leaks have become increasingly common, with some record executives stating that, beginning in the late 2000s, most albums leak "as a matter of course", though many of these leaks occur shortly before the album's scheduled release and therefore have relatively little effect.[3] When Watch the Throne, a 2011 collaboration between rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, was released without being preceded by any leaks, this was noted as an unusual circumstance for a highly anticipated album in the Internet age.[7][8]
Prevention
Copy Control logo, used on some CDs from 2001 to 2006
Digital watermarks, typically used on CD advance copies have allowed leaks to be traced to their original source, are used to deter would-be leakers as it allows them to face legal action.[3][12] While the source of a leak is not usually announced, it has been in the past; an example of this was with the 2009 Converge album Axe to Fall, where the band publicly named and shamed Shaun Hand at MetalSucks.net, whom the album leak had been traced back to using a digital watermark on a CD advance copy. This can be used to create viral negative publicity.[13][14][15]
Fake album releases
Prior to the release of her 2003 album American Life, Madonna planted files on file sharing websites purporting to be leaked tracks from the album; in fact, the audio files consisted of Madonna saying: "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"[16] Progressive metal band Tool also announced a fake album called "Systema Encéphale" with a fake tracklist in order to deter and detract from leaks of their 2001 album Lateralus.[17][18]
Surprise or early releases
The rise in leaks during the 2000s led to some popular recording artists surprise-releasing their albums.[19] Some artists have released their albums early in order to deter leaking, for example Greg Puciato's 2020 solo album Child Soldier: Creator of God, which was released three weeks earlier than its planned release date in response to a leak.[20][21]
Leaked in a slightly unfinished format four months before the album's planned release. The band said the leak originated from a hacker stealing files from James Shaffer's laptop,[22] though it has also been suggested the band's vocalist Johnathan Davis intentionally leaked the album due to a spat between the band and their record label, Epic Records.[23] As a result of the album's leak, the album's release date was moved forward by a month.[24]
Multiple songs from Beyoncé's debut solo album leaked online, leading to the sale of physical bootleg CDs. The album's release date was moved forward two weeks as a result.[25]
Two days before its official premiere, the telephone company Movistar offered a Sony Ericson phone with the 13 tracks from the album and the video of the first single preloaded in the phone, causing the album to already be pirated before its official release.
Leaked from an CD advance copy from MetalSucks.net staff member Shaun Hand. The band traced the leak to him, and publicly named and shamed him on Twitter, prompting an apology from MetalSucks.[13][14][15]
Rebel Heart was originally planned for a Spring 2015 release, with the lead single, "Living for Love", to be released on Valentine's Day. Two tracks from the album leaked on the internet on November 28, 2014,[26] with an additional thirteen leaking on December 17.[27] In response to the leaks, Madonna made the album available to pre-order on the iTunes Store on December 20 and gave those who pre-ordered early access to six tracks from the album. The lead single "Living for Love" was rush-released on the same date, far ahead of its planned release date.[28] On January 21, 2015, an Israeli man believed to have originally acquired the leaked tracks via hacking was arrested. He was ultimately sentenced to fourteen months in a Tel Aviv prison.[29] In social media postings at the time, Madonna described the leaks as "artistic rape" and a form of terrorism.[30]
The album was originally teased in September 2018, with a release on the 29th of that month. West went on SNL to promote the album, but it didn't release on that date. Yandhi was reannounced as Jesus Is King in August 2019; it was released on October 25, 2019. The album's tracks would go on to leak, and one track "Hurricane" made it to 2021's Donda.[31]
The original third studio album by Charli XCX, unofficially referred to as XCX World by fans, would have been preceded by the singles, "After the Afterparty" and "Boys". The album's official release was cancelled after it leaked on 20 August 2017. Charli released a different album, Charli, in 2019.[32]
The album leaked in full over the weekend of 21–22 March. Lipa subsequently announced over Instagram live that it would be released a week ahead of its originally scheduled April release.[33]
Reportedly leaked in its entirety on April 20, 2022, a month before its release. Sony Music, who owns Columbia Records, advised against listening to the leaks on Twitter,[34] and provoked a strong reaction from a portion of Styles' fanbase, who pleaded for people to not to listen to the leaks.[35] Regardless, the album was released on its originally scheduled release date of May 20.[36][37]
^Farley, Christopher John (23 October 2000). "Radioactive". Time Europe. Vol. 156, no. 17. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
