The singer has worked hard to avoid leaks in the second phase of her solo career, after early albums like Dangerously In Love and 4 found their way online illegally before their release dates.
She pioneered the “surprise drop” with her self-titled fifth album – which appeared unannounced on 13 December 2013, complete with artistic videos for each of its 14 songs.
Recorded under the code name Lily, the album was released exclusively through Apple’s iTunes store, to minimise the number of people with advance knowledge.
An extra from one of the video shoots even said that producers did not play any of the Beyoncé tracks on set to avoid leaks.
“It was actually kind of fun,” they told StyleCaster, external. “The entire time I’m thinking, ‘What is this going to be?'”
The gambit paid off.
Beyoncé became the fastest-selling album in the history of the iTunes store, selling almost 830,000 copies in 72 hours.
The star has employed similar tactics on every subsequent album. Songwriters who work with Beyoncé often do not know whether their contributions will be used until a record appears in shops.
Post Malone, who appeared on the 2024 song Levii’s Jeans, told the New York Times Beyoncé sent a representative to his house in Utah with a copy of the song, which remained under lock and key while they collaborated on the lyrics over text.
“It was terrifying,” he told the New York Times, external.
Fans have taken note of the star’s aversion to leaks – and actively tried to stop the spread of her 2022 album Renaissance, when it appeared online two days early.
Beyoncé responded with a handwritten note on her website, saying she had “never seen anything like it”.
“So, the album leaked, and you all actually waited until the proper release time so you all can enjoy it together,” she wrote.
“I appreciate you for calling out anyone that was trying to sneak into the club early. It means the world to me.”