Taylor Swift's new Speak Now (Taylor's Version) vinyls stolen and leaked
Le Mans, France - A man has been sentenced to eight months in prison after stealing and selling early vinyls of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift several weeks before its official release.
Per Charts in France, the 43-year-old French man was a temporary worker at the MPO vinyl pressing company.
He was reportedly unpacking records when several fell out of the package, revealing their title. The man then decided to steal 10 copies when he realized the selling potential of the items.
The man, who has been convicted of theft, fraud, and drug trafficking in the past, was turned in by a human resources manager at the pressing company after he began selling the records online.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to eight months in prison for the crime, with a future hearing set to assess how much he owes MPO, as the company is concerned that a leak could lead Universal Music Group to sever ties with them.
Speak Now (Taylor's Version) will be released on July 7 and is a re-recording of the 33-year-old singer's third album. Along with new recordings of the original tracklist, the album is set to feature six previously-unreleased vault tracks, with Fall Out Boy and Paramore's Hayley Williams tapped as collaborators on the new songs.
The online sale of the stolen records led to the tracklist being leaked early, revealing the songs and featured artists before Swift could announce it herself.
Did Taylor Swift change her plans for Speak Now (Taylor's Version) after the leak?
Some Swifties have theorized that the Lavender Haze artist abandoned plans for a Speak Now vault track puzzle, which was done for her re-recordings of Fearless and Red, after the tracklist was leaked through photos of the stolen vinyl records.
Thankfully, many fans have since worked to prevent the spread of Speak Now leaks on social media. The same was done when leaks of her tenth studio album, Midnights, began to circulate before its release last October.
Showing off their creativity, many Swifties made fake leaks with hilariously unexpected audios to bury any real leaks going around on social media.
Cover photo: IMAGO / MediaPunch