Hacker Steals Unreleased Music from Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, and Bebe Rexha

An internet hacker pleads guilty

An internet hacker has admitted to stealing unreleased tracks from well-known artists such as Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, and Bebe Rexha.

Details of the case

City of London Police claim that Skylar Dalziel, 22, from Winchester Gardens in Luton, generated approximately £42,000 by selling illegally obtained content online (via BBC).

Dalziel acknowledged 11 copyright infringements at Luton Crown Court and was sentenced on Friday (January 3) to 21 months in prison, which has been suspended for 24 months.

Prosecutor Richard Partridge stated that Dalziel “selfishly used their music to make money for herself by selling it on the dark web,” while police emphasized that “stealing copyrighted material for your own financial gain is illegal.”

Consequences of the actions

Detective Constable Daryl Fryett, from the police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit, remarked: “This is putting artists’ jobs and the livelihoods of the people who work with them to create and release their music at risk.”

Dalziel reportedly accessed artists’ cloud storage accounts, which drew the attention of Sony Music Entertainment. The company alerted the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in 2021 about the breach. Approximately 40 unreleased recording tracks were taken from the account and sold online.

Dalziel was arrested in January 2023 when police seized three music discs containing around 300,000 songs. Computer records indicated she made £42,049 between April 2021 and January 2023.

In addition to selling without copyright permission, Dalziel pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property and three counts relating to the acquisition/use/possession of criminal property. Besides her suspended sentence, she was required to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.