London
(ANI):
Late
King
of
Pop
Michael
Jackson"s
highly
anticipated
new
album,
'Michael" has
already
been
pirated
by
computer
hackers,
and
leaked
on
to
file-sharing
websites.
The
album,
a
mix
of
unreleased
material
and
collaborations
with
stars
such
as
rocker
Lenny
Kravitz,
46,
and
rapper
50
Cent,
35,
is
due
out
on
December
13.
But
now
bosses
at
label
Sony/Epic
now
fear
fans
will
just
snap
it
up
online
for
free,
and
it
could
leave
record
companies
up
to
100
million
pounds
out
of
pocket.
“This
a
huge
blow
for
the
record
company
and
the
music
industry
in
general.
The
album
was
top,
top
secret
but
they
just
couldn"t
keep
it
out
of
the
hands
of
internet
tricksters," the
Daily
Star
quoted
a
source
as
saying.
Jackson,
who
died
at
the
age
of
50
in
June
last
year,
is
believed
to
have
had
a
huge
catalogue
of
unreleased
material.
In
March,
Sony
signed
a
200
million
pound
deal
to
retain
the
distribution
rights
until
2017,
but
now
the
leaking
of
the
new
album
on
the
net
has
left
the
firm"s
marketing
plans
in
chaos.
Eddie
Cascio,
Jacko"s
one-time
friend
and
producer,
denied
the
leak
would
destroy
album
sales.
“Michael
would
be
very
excited
right
now.
He
made
the
music
for
his
fans,
and
they
are
finally
getting
a
chance
to
hear
it,"
he
stated.