Editorial

5 Times Albums Were Leaked Ahead of Their Release Date

• 3rd Sep 2021

Kayne West’s much-anticipated album Donda was finally released on streaming services on Sunday, but the star has hit back that the album was released without his permission.

With hackers, computer glitches and music falling into the wrong hands, there have been many artists that have fallen victim to an album leak over the years.

As part of their Karaoke Index campaign, the team at Uswitch have rounded up some of the most anticipated albums of all time and what happened when they were leaked.

Taylor Swift – 1989 (2014)

Despite it being leaked, Taylor Swift’s 1989 was the biggest selling album of 2014 and included some of her now most iconic tracks including ‘Shake it Off’, ‘Blank Space’ and ‘Style’.

Swift has managed to accumulate a wide fan base over the past decade, and when the album became available, lots of loyal ‘swifties’ freaked out on social media. The version that was leaked earlier appeared to be a deluxe version that would be exclusively sold through Target.

Madonna – Rebel Heart (2015)

Another album that fell victim to a leak was Madonna’s much anticipated thirteenth album, Rebel Heart, back in 2015. Six songs from the album leaked at the end of 2014. despite the scheduled release not being planned until spring the following year.

In the end, Madonna chose to release the songs that were circulating as they were unfinished versions. She stated that she would rather have fans hear the completed work.

The Eminem Show (2002)

In the early 2000s, Eminem was one of the most popular rap artists in the world and still continues to enjoy success now. However, back when he planned to release The Eminem Show, a bootlegged copy started surfacing online a whole month before the real release.

But that wasn’t the only problem the album encountered. High-street stores also started selling the album earlier than planned, which created mass confusion about the original release date. Despite all the controversy, the album still sold millions of copies worldwide.

Beyoncé – 4 (2011)

Despite being one of the biggest female artists in the world, Beyoncé still suffered a music leak when she made a comeback with her album, 4, after an extended hiatus.

The album was released online nearly three weeks early which created mixed feelings for the artist. Although anticipation was high for the album when it finally dropped its first week sales proved a bit disappointing.

Drake – Thank Me Later (2010)

Drake has enjoyed huge success over the past 10 years, with hits such as ‘Passionfruit’ and ‘HotLine Bling’ now among some of the most popular songs ever.

But back when the artist was first starting his career in 2010, his debut album Thank Me Later was leaked two weeks earlier than originally anticipated. But despite the early release, Drake told his fans to ‘enjoy’ the music and saw the album go to number one in multiple countries across the world.