QUEEN of pop Madonna has reacted to the leak of her new album demos - which she described as "artistic rape" - by releasing some of the tracks on iTunes.
Fans have been given "an early Christmas gift", according to the 56-year-old singer, who decided to release six songs from her new album Rebel Heart in the online music shop.
Music fans who pre-order the new album will have the chance to buy the exclusive tracks for 99p each.
Last week, Madonna criticised the leak of 13 unfinished songs caused by the Sony hack, calling it "a form of terrorism".
On Wednesday, after the surprise release, the irate pop star took to Instagram to vent her frustrations.
In the now-deleted post, she accused hackers of wanting to destroy the artistic process, and moaned about not having "the opportunity to finish and give you my very best."
She wrote: "This is artistic rape!.
"These are leaked demos, half of which won't even make it on my album. The other half have changed and evolved."
The singer said the songs were "not ready to be presented to the world" and later thanked loyal fans who had vowed not to listen to the tracks until the album's official release, which was scheduled for next year.
In a statement, Madonna said: "I was hoping to release my new single Living For Love on Valentine's Day with the rest of the album coming in the spring.
"I would prefer my fans to hear completed versions of some of the songs instead of the incomplete tracks that are circulating.
"Please consider these six songs as an early Christmas gift."
Music website Popjustice described the incident as a "Partial Beyoncé", making reference to the Destiny's Child singer whose complete self-titled album was unsuspectingly released in 2013 on iTunes along with videos.
Images of the diva were also released last week, after which she begged her "true fans" not to buy or trade them.
She said: "I do not make money from the release of any of my photos.
"But other people do!
"I hope and pray we find the source of the leaks soon."
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