Photo credit: Arturo Pardavila III / CC from 2.0
Billy Corgan announced that he paid a hacker to prevent several songs from the forthcoming Smashing Pumpkins album from being leaked.
During an interview with KROQ’s Klein/Ally ShowBilly Corgan revealed he had paid a ransom to a hacker to prevent several songs from the latest Smashing Pumpkins album from being leaked. ATUM. Corgan explained that the hacker somehow got hold of nine songs from the album about six months ago, just as the record was about to be mixed and mastered.
“They were probably all the catchiest single-style songs,” Corgan said. “So it’s not only like it’s six months early, but you kind of give the album away before you even get a chance to hit the ground running.”
“Somehow a hacker offered the files for money and we were able to trace them, pay for them and prevent them from being leaked. The FBI got involved; I don’t know how they got what they got,” Corgan continued, explaining that he paid the ransom out of his own pocket.
“We were able to prevent the leak because it was a mercenary who had hacked someone – I don’t want to say who – and who had other stuff from other artists. It wasn’t like some Pumpkins fan who was dying to post it on Reddit. Somehow they leaked some information that allowed the FBI to track them down.”
Though Corgan admitted he didn’t know the end result of that investigation, he said the hacker found some “shocking“Leaks in their ownership including “classics from bands of the past that are likely to do reissues”.
The latest album from Smashing Pumpkins, ATUM (pronounced “autumn”) is a “rock opera” in three acts, each published separately. The last part appeared on Friday, May 5th. The album serves as a follow-up to the band’s 2020 album. CYR.
Along with Interpol and Stone Temple Pilots, Corgan and the band will set off The world is a vampire tour in August.