A frustrated Ne-Yo has hit out at internet hackers, after learning that his fourth studio album ‘Libra Scale’ has leaked more than 3 weeks before its Stateside or international release.
His comments after the jump…
Speaking on Twitter moments ago, the singer/songwriter, 31, said:
Salutations all. I’m in japan and my album officially came out today out here. Today is a day that I SHOULD be very happy, but it has been brought to my attention that my album was hacked and leaked in the U.S. roughly a month before it’s U.S. release.
Initially this angered me. It’s stealing plain n’ simple. But then I started thinking. Why do I make music….? To sell records, make money, or is it because I love it, love how it touches people, how it helps people? The honest answer is both…
However, my love for music and it’s effect on people, outweighs my desire to simply sell records, or get that number one debut spot.
In a time where people buy their status and falsify their success, can those things really be that important to me? The answer is no.
So with that said, I’ve come to this place of mental peace. No longer stressing people that steal the music, how it’ll effect my sales. The bottom line is, I worked hard on this project. The music, the concept, the whole lot is for the people, respect or not.
So if you as a fan give a damn about me, buy the album when it comes out. If you don’t care, go get it off the internet. Your choice.
Ether way, the music, the concept, the whole lot, served it’s purpose. It gave the people something quality to vibe to. I’m not solely in the business of selling records. I’m in the business of making art. That’s what an artist does, period.
So with that twit fam and haters alike, I bid you farewell for now, and leave you with this….
I’LL BE DAMNED IF YOU HACKER FUCKS GET MY NEXT ALBUM BEFORE IT’S TIME!!! FUCK YOU ALL!!!! Have a nice day.
Needless to say, Ne-Yo is heated. Do you agree with him or do you feel he’s out of touch with how the internet works these days? Yours truly falls somewhere in the middle; for it’s easy to see how after putting one’s blood, sweat, and tears into something, the circulation of it for free would be annoying.com.
However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t side-eyeing at the fact the album was released in Japan a whole month ahead of its release anywhere else. I mean come on now. It’s 2010. Perhaps, Ne-Yo’s anger should be directed at whoever made that call, as that may have been this project’s undoing. I guess time will tell.