Billy Corgan Paid Off Hacker Who Threatened to Leak New Smashing Pumpkins Songs

Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan was on a recent podcast to promote the band's new album, and he told the hosts that a hacker stole several of the songs before the release and threatened to leak them without a payoff.

"A fan contacted me and said nine of the songs have leaked," Corgan told the Klein/Ally Show, according to CBS News. "This is like six months ago. And they were all probably the most catchy, singley type songs."

Corgan added he paid off the cybercriminal out of his own pocket. After Corgan contacted the FBI, the hacker was tracked down, he explained.

"What we were able to do was stop the leak from happening," Corgan added, "because it was a mercenary person who had hacked somebody — I don't want to say who, excuse me — and they had other stuff from other artists."