In an age where social media has taken “stan culture” to a new extreme, fans will do just about anything to get a hold of new music from their faves.
Music leaking refers to the unauthorized release of music prior to its intended launch. Leaking most commonly stems from a hacker or somebody who works closely with an artist, whether that individual intentionally leaks a body of work or creates a ripple effect by sharing recordings that eventually fall into the wrong hands.Â
Although the streaming era has triggered a major spike in leaking, it’s not a new phenomenon in the music industry. The term music bootlegging, the unlicensed recording and selling of songs, roots back to 1901 when Metropolitan Opera librarian Lionel Mapleson used early recording technologies to generate non-consensual excerpts of live opera performances. The bootlegging industry paved its way into the mainstream in 1969 with Bob Dylan’s infamous bootleg album Great White Wonder, containing twenty-four unreleased tracks by the folk-rock singer-songwriter.
Musicians today are hyper-aware of leaking patterns, taking measures in an attempt to prevent their music from involuntarily reaching the public. Artists often use tactics such as utilizing secure distribution technology to limit access to recording files, avoiding officially recording music unless they are certain that they will release it, and using watermarks in their demo recordings in an effort to trace any individual who may leak a recording. Some musicians have even used leaking to their advantage in order to make a statement. Most notably, dance-pop icon Lady Gaga took it upon herself to make a fake account under a fan forum to prematurely leak her song “Aura” in order to revolt against her record label who disagreed with her choice as lead single for her 2013 experimental-pop album ARTPOP.
So, how exactly are music leaks undermining artists?
Firstly, leaks can invalidate a musician’s creative intention and diminish the dedication put into a body of work. Artists and their teams can spend anywhere from a few months to several years writing, producing, and promoting an album. When the planned release timeline of a record is altered by leaks, the cohesion of a release cycle that musicians strive for in their work is distorted. Artists inevitably integrate their personal experiences and beliefs into their writing, often forming emotional attachments to their music. When released without their permission, a songwriter may feel their effort and artistic control over their music being taken from them.Â
Furthermore, leaking can be critically damaging to charting performance and financial revenue following an album release. Music charts such as Billboard are based solely on streams, digital sales, and physical purchases. Listening statistics are not tracked when a person listens to a leak, therefore blocking potential charting opportunities. Many artists and their teams use creative marketing strategies in order to create buzz within a fandom about an upcoming release. For example, pop star Olivia Rodrigo recently teased her third album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, by painting color-changing murals which slowly revealed information about the anticipated project. Leaking causes a lack of excitement about music — when fans have already heard an unreleased album, their enthusiasm is reduced for its official release.
Finally, artists and labels reputations are at stake when leaking occurs. By gathering a tendency for leaks, artists may be seen as unreliable and miss out on future collaborations and opportunities that could further their career. Oftentimes, leaked music is lower in quality and partially uncompleted, resulting in misunderstandings of an artist’s creative intentions.
What steps can we take in order to prevent leaking?
The answer to this question is simple: do not interact. The majority of leakers seek to gain internet attention when posting leaks to the public. By boycotting these posts and completely avoiding listening, sharing, and posting leaked content and instead reporting it, the epidemic that is music leaking can be brought to an end.