A 19-year-old 'hacker' is being held for allegedly stealing unreleased songs from music artists and leaking them online.

The teenager was arrested yesterday at his family home in Ipswich, Suffolk, on suspicion of copyright and computer misuse act offences.

Several US recording artists have had their music leaked online this year, including Beyonce, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Radiohead.

The teenager was arrested yesterday at his family home in Ipswich, Suffolk, on suspicion of copyright and computer misuse act offences. Several US music artists have had their music leaked online this year, including Beyonce, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Radiohead

City of London police confirmed that the hacker allegedly accessed 'world-famous recording artists’ websites and cloud-based accounts illegally'.

On August 22 this year Taylor Swift's new 18-track album, Lover, was leaked one day before its release date.

Her two previous albums, Reputation and 1989, were also leaked before their release date.

And in June this year hackers reportedly stole 18 hours of previously unreleased Radiohead songs and demanded a ransom of £120,000.

The band's lead singer, Thom Yorke, refused to pay and instead released the music himself - saying fans could pay £18 for it.

Kanye West's new album of nine demos and recordings, Yandhi, was leaked on YouTube earlier this year in July.

On August 22 this year Taylor Swift's new 18-track album, Lover, was leaked one day before its release date. Her two previous albums, Reputation and 1989, were also leaked before their release date

And last year Beyonce had ten old recordings stolen and leaked on Spotify.

While the UK teen's allegations concern artists in both the United States and the United Kingdom, the man's identity will not be released by either country because of privacy laws.

It follows a raid on a property in Ipswich and another in north London.

Authorities would not indicate which recording artists had their music stolen but did clarify that the musicians' websites and cloud-based accounts were hacked to gain access to the material.

But NBC New York reports that the City of London Press Office said that there were more than two victims. All were American and some were even Grammy-award winning artists.

The investigation was launched by prosecutors in New York after complaints from recording artists' management companies.

City of London police confirmed that the hacker allegedly accessed 'world-famous recording artists’ websites and cloud-based accounts illegally'

The Manhattan District Attorney's office identified one of the suspects as living in the UK, and coordinated property searches with the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit.

'As one of the world's leading creative capitals, New York City is dedicated to protecting artists' intellectual property and ensuring that those who steal it face the music,' Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said, according to the associated press.

The sentiment was shared by Detective Inspector Nick Court with the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit.

'Today's action marks a significant point in our investigation into the individuals responsible for stealing music and selling it on illegal streaming websites, worldwide,' Court said in a statement.

'This sort of crime causes significant financial loss to those who work so incredibly hard to produce, write and make music for their fans to enjoy,' he said.