Even though it’s been more than five months since Avicii, a Swedish DJ and record producer whose official name is Tim Berling, passed away aged 28, his fans can continue to enjoy some of his new music. According to EDMTunes, a snippet of Avicii’s track “Change A Thang” recorded with Mike Posner, emerged on well-known pre-release leak website Music Mafia. Reportedly, Music Mafia offers users access to unreleased songs in exchange for Bitcoin.
“Change A Thang” Follows Other Avicii Unreleased Tracks
Change A Thang – Avicii ft. Mike Posner (Snippet) from avicii
The song “Change A Thang” features the melody from “Forever Yours” (Avicii by Avicii). It is unclear whether the entire track is available, or just a snippet. A Reddit user posted a 17-second snippet. An unofficial Twitter account with the handle @AVMusicNorway also mentioned the leak but added that it’s unlikely that the song will be released shortly.
A 17 second snippet of a new @Avicii track with @MikePosner surfaced on the web a couple of weeks ago, but seems like no one noticed it. It's called "Change A Thang" and features the melody from Forever Yours (Avicii by Avicii). Will probably not be released in the near future. pic.twitter.com/vMjY58b8G3
— ΛVICII ◢ ◤ Norway (@AVMusicNorway) October 1, 2018
It’s not the first time fans have heard about unreleased Avicii music. Just a week ago, music producer Nile Rodgers told The Sun that before Avicii’s death in April, they held a series of recording sessions. According to Rodgers, there are more than ten songs. In 2013, Nile Rodgers and Tim Berling collaborated on Lay Me Down and continued to record together. However, Rodgers did not say whether the last tracks he recorded with Avicii will ever see the light of day.
Music Mafia and Its History of Leaks
The music community is probably aware of Music Mafia, the website that leaked the latest Avicii track, for years. However, it appeared in the spotlight last year, when it leaked two tracks by Kanye West.
Music Mafia’s website was inaccessible, at least at the time of this post. However, reports indicate that the homepage states that it provides “songs from artists recorded years ago and they have never released them,” and “exclusive beats from the biggest producers.” It also includes pre-released music videos and even the e-mail addresses and phone numbers of artists.
The songs come with a cryptocurrency wallet address and can be downloaded following payment in Bitcoin. The person or team behind the website is using cryptocurrency to hide their identities.
Obviously, the nature of the website means that Music Mafia has a lot of enemies. Earlier this year, the Recording Industry Association Of America tried to shut down the website. However, Music Mafia was one step ahead and prepared a backup domain.
There are two main theories as to who the people behind Music Mafia are. The first theory is that the website could have been created by someone powerful in the music industry, considering the nature of the leaks. However, a more plausible theory is that the website is owned by hackers who got access to recording studios’ networks.