A 22-track album attributed to Beyoncé was removed from major streaming platforms approximately six hours after its publication, following a formal takedown notice issued by her label. The label described the release as wholly unauthorised and attributed it to an internal actor who has been identified and is no longer employed by the company. All major streaming platforms complied with the legal notice within two hours of its receipt.
The scope of the release complicated the label's characterisation of the incident. The project included 22 fully produced tracks and a 70-minute visual companion, requiring a level of infrastructure and internal access that several music industry analysts said within hours was inconsistent with the actions of a single individual. The label's statement did not address the content of the release or provide detail on how the project reached the platforms.
Streaming records set during the six hours the album was live, including a single-day record on two platforms, were subsequently invalidated by the platforms pending the resolution of the legal matter. Beyoncé's team did not issue a statement. The label's public communication was limited to the takedown notice and the characterisation of the release as the work of a single internal actor.