LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - British police on Friday
arrested a man suspected of hacking famous music acts to steal
unreleased songs and sell them for cryptocurrency.
City of London Police said the 19-year-old was arrested in
Ipswich, a town in rural east England, after receiving a tip
from the Manhattan District Attorney's (D.A.) office.
They also searched a property in north London.
"Today's action marks a significant point in our
investigation into the individuals responsible for stealing
music and selling it on illegal streaming websites, worldwide,"
Detective Inspector Nick Court from the City of London Police
Intellectual Property Crime Unit said in a statement.
"This sort of crime causes significant financial loss to
those who work so incredibly hard to produce, write and make
music for their fans to enjoy."
The Manhattan D.A.'s office launched the investigation based
on referrals from the management companies of the recording
artists.
Songs have been stolen from several major acts and leaked
online in recent years.
In June, British band Radiohead released an album of demos
and outtakes from 1997 in response to a thief who reportedly put
the material on sale for $150,000.
And in 2015, a former contestant in Israel's version of
"American Idol" was jailed for hacking the computers of singers
including Madonna, who had complained about unfinished tracks
from an album being leaked online.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Stephen Addison)