Radiohead has announced that they’re releasing 18 hours’ worth of unheard music, after hackers got their hands on Thom Yorke’s private files.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the band revealed that the hackers reportedly wanted $150,000 (£118,000) to keep quiet.
As a result, for the next 18 days, fans will be able to pay £18 to hear the leaked music, recorded around the time of their seminal album OK Computer.
Money raised will go towards the environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion.
“We got hacked last week – someone stole Thom’s minidisk archive from around the time of OK Computer, and reportedly demanded $150,000 on threat of releasing it,” their statement read.
“So instead of complaining – much – or ignoring it, we’re releasing all 18 hours on Bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion. Just for the next 18 days. So for £18 you can find out if we should have paid that ransom.”
The band noted that the music in question was “never intended for public consumption” and is “only tangentially interesting”.
Thom Yorke also noted on Bandcamp, where the music will be available to listen to: “As it’s out there, it may as well be out there. Until we all get bored and move on.”
Extinction Rebellion was established in the UK in May 2018, but rose to prominence earlier this year, after they staged large-scale protests in four key areas around central London.
Among their celebrity supporters are author Philip Pullman and actress Dame Emma Thompson, the latter of whom joined in a demonstration in Oxford Circus back in April.