The band’s vocalist The Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan, revealed to have paid a ransom to a cybercriminal to prevent the leak of tracks from his new album. The musician did not mention values, but said he paid out of pocket for the songs not to be leaked six months before the arrival of the album, which came out in early May.
According to Corgan, the bandit had obtained the unreleased songs in a stage prior to mixing and mastering, after invading profiles or devices belonging to a person he claims to know who he is, but preferred not to reveal. The singer said he paid the ransom out of his own pocket, but did not reveal the amount, while indicating that the criminal was also extorting other artists, seeking a similar agreement in exchange for secrecy regarding unpublished songs.
In an interview with an American radio station, the artist stated that at least nine songs from The Smashing Pumpkins were in the possession of the bandit. He described them as the most commercial of Atum: Act Threewhich he defines as a concept disc divided into three acts that works as the second continuation of one of the band’s most consecrated albums, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadnessfrom 1995.
According to the musician, the person responsible was not a fan of the The Smashing Pumpkins, but rather a “mercenary” focused on financial gain — it was a follower of the band, by the way, who warned him about the possible leak. The option for payment was made so that the tracks would not be released, representing an unfinished version of Corgan’s vision, who has worked on Atum since 2017, including during the covid-19 pandemic.
The artist also claimed to have cooperated with the FBI in this case, helping the American authorities in the investigation into the thefts that also affected other artists. While the problem of The Smashing Pumpkins was resolved, he said he did not know how the work came to an end, but that the person responsible for the extortion had revealed information that would lead the authorities to locate it, leading to an eventual arrest.
Source: Consequence
