Unreleased Music From Michael Jackson's Back Catalog Has Been Stolen

Back in December of 2010, Sony Records released the first posthumous album of previously unreleased new material from the late Michael Jackson ... but as you know, they still have many more songs that they are planning to release in the future. Those plans may be severely hurt now that it has been confirmed that hackers have gained access to Sony's $250+ million dollar catalog of unreleased Michael Jackson songs. Thus far, those stolen songs have not been leaked ... but now that they are in the possession of hackers, it's only a matter of time before Sony's multi-million dollar investment goes up in smoke. This could be bad for Sony, in many senses of the word: that media giant has confirmed that several tracks recorded by Michael Jackson were stolen from its Web site after it was hacked, BBC News reported. Sony has not yet said what Jackson tracks were taken from the site, but in 2010 it closed a $250 million deal with the singer's estate to acquire his back catalog (including best-selling albums like "Thriller" and "Bad") and to release previously unheard recordings, beginning with a posthumous album, "Michael," that was put on sale in December of that year. Last April, a Sony online network for its PlayStation game consoles was hacked, compromising the personal data of some 77 million users; the Sony Music Japan site and Sony Ericsson online store were also hacked in the following weeks. The BBC said the Jackson tracks were taken during this time. In May, two British men, James Marks and James McCormick, were arrested in connection with the hacks and are to go on trial next January.
As I understand it, the hackers allegedly downloaded some 50,000 tracks! Now, just because authorities have 2 men in custody, it doesn't mean A.) that they have the right people and B.) that the songs won't get leaked anyways. Sony has been really lax with their digital security and they are clearly paying the price now. I'm certain these songs will eventually get released by Sony in a way that will make them money ... but if these 50k songs end up making their way to the Internets, Sony could lose out on the many, many millions they've spent on those songs. Dang.
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