A lot of work goes into making a record. One of an artist’s worst nightmares is to have that work taken from you and displayed out of context. A single album is bad enough, but a three-part rock opera is downright apocalyptic.
That’s exactly what happened to Billy Corgan. The driving force behind Smashing Pumpkins has revealed that he paid a hacker in order to prevent a leak of songs from their musical monolith, Autm, whose third part was revealed on May 5th.
Corgan told the Klein Ally Show: “They were all probably the most catchy, single-y type songs. So not only is it six months too early, you’re pretty much giving away the album before you even have a chance to set your feet into the ground.
“Somehow, some hacker was offering the files for money, and we were able to trace it and pay off and keep it from leaking. The FBI got involved. I don’t know how they got what they got.
“It was a mercenary person who had hacked somebody, I don’t want to say who, and they had other stuff from other artists. It wasn’t like some Pumpkins fan who was hellbent on breaking it on Reddit. Somehow, they gave some information that allowed the FBI to track them.”
The Smashing Pumpkins hit the road on their The World Is A Vampire US tour this July.
Jul 28: Las Vegas The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, NV
Jul 30: Las Vegas The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, NV
Aug 01: Salt Lake City USANA Amphitheatre, UT
Aug 03: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Aug 05: Auburn White River Amphitheatre, WA
Aug 06: Bend Hayden Homes Amphitheater, OR
Aug 07: Wheatland Toyota Amphitheatre, CA
Aug 09: Irvine FivePoint Amphitheatre, CA
Aug 10: Chula Vista North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, CA
Aug 11: Highland Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, CA
Aug 13: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheater, NM
Aug 15: Dallas Dos Equis Pavillion, TX
Aug 16: Rogers Walmart AMP, AR
Aug 17: Huntsville The Orion Amphitheater, AL
Aug 19: West Palm Beach iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, FL
Aug 20: Tampa MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, FL
Aug 22: Charlotte PNC Music Pavilion, NC
Aug 24: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ
Aug 25: Gilford Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, NH
Aug 30: Wantagh Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, NY
Aug 31: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, VA
Sep 02: Toronto Budweiser Stage, ON
Sep 03: Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre, ON
Sep 06: Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre, MI
Sep 08: Franklin FirstBank Amphitheater, TN
Sep 09: Noblesville Ruoff Music Center, IN
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