Lady Gaga has become the latest victim of online piracy after the decrepit pipe that is the Internet sprung another leak.
She has been forced to release her new single ‘Applause’ early after it was leaked online this week. Her Little Monsters (her fans to you and me) responded by launching a campaign to report any site seen to be sharing any illicit content to Gaga’s music label, Universal.
Nearly 2,500 fans have already retweeted a link to Universal’s takedown page.
Gaga tweeted "WE ISSUE THIS POP MUSIC EMERGENCY… MONSTERS SPREAD THE WORD" in response to hackers leaking the track.
While emergency may be a bit strong, the music industry is certainly suffering at the hands of the internet, not to mention all the illegal downloading that also happens after singles have been released.
This week also saw fellow pop songstress Katy Perry release her new single ‘Roar’ after it was leaked online ahead of its official release. Lady Gaga defiantly tweeted: "Wanna grab shovels and f— up some hackers? @katyperry."
But Gaga and Perry are not alone. Earlier this year Kanye West’s music video for ‘Black Skinhead’ appeared online before it was officially released. He vented his anger on Twitter: "Me and Nick Knight have been working on this video for 5 months and for creatives it’s heartbreaking when something like this happens. The final version will be ready within the next week. So any website that may have the unapproved/unfinished ruff. I ask you to please take it down. Allow me and Nick to give the world what we’ve been losing sleep over."
Then, back in 2011, Madonna’s single ‘Give Me All Your Lovin” was leaked online by a Spanish Madonna fan who was later arrested and charged for the crime.
