Ariana Grande Wins Court Order to Subpoena Social Platforms Over Unreleased Music Leaks

A Los Angeles judge has granted Ariana Grande the power to immediately subpoena social media platforms and payment services to identify people who leaked her unreleased music and footage. Los Angeles County Judge Mark H. Epstein approved the request on August 19, one day after it was filed by Grande's attorney Joshua Rosenberg. The court order stated simply: "On the merits of the motion, good cause is shown." Billboard

The ruling is the latest step in a lawsuit Grande filed in July against unidentified individuals she says hacked into the accounts of her photographers and producers, stole unreleased material, and sold it to others who posted it online. The leaked content surfaced on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X and Discord, with payments routed through PayPal and CashApp, according to the lawsuit. Grande did not accuse the platforms or payment services of wrongdoing — she said their cooperation was needed to identify the anonymous account holders behind the leaks.

Grande's legal team has been investigating the leaks since 2023, when 45 unreleased songs by the singer appeared online. Among them was a track called "Fantasize," which spread widely across social platforms. The lawsuit claims Grande has been the target of repeated cyberattacks since launching her music career in 2011.

The broader legal action, first reported in late July, seeks a court order requiring the defendants to turn over all of Grande's private materials and barring them from further distributing or accessing her work. ABC News Variety

Grande is far from the only artist to take this route. Madonna, Megan Thee Stallion, Ye (formerly Kanye West), Kelsea Ballerini and BTS have all turned to the courts to pursue leakers of unreleased material. Music attorney Tal Dickstein told Billboard that filing such claims can send a clear message that deters would-be hackers from engaging in unlawful activity.

For Grande, the subpoenas are the mechanism that could turn anonymous usernames into named defendants. Once the platforms and payment services comply, her legal team would receive account details — names, email addresses, IP data — that could identify the people behind the posts and transactions. That information would then feed back into the lawsuit itself.

The case is ongoing.