Taylor Swift's upcoming album, '1989,' reaches back to the year of her birth for its inspiration. But the superstar was forced to contend with a very modern problem when music from the unreleased project leaked online on Friday (Oct. 24).

The new album -- which marks Swift's first official foray into pop -- is set for release next week, and its first single, 'Shake It Off,' is already a huge hit. In the face of that anticipation, Friday saw Swift and her label, Big Machine Records, fighting widespread leaks on a number of music sharing sites.

Among the leaked tracks was a song called 'Blank Space,' which hit YouTube and was removed within hours, USA Today reports.

Other leaks came from zippyshare.com, or via individual dropboxes. According to Vulture.com, the source of the leak is likely associated with Target, since some of the leaked tracks appear only on the Target exclusive edition of the new album.

Swift's last album, 'Red,' leaked in its entirety before it dropped in 2012, and went on to sell more than a million copies in its first week. It ultimately sold more than three million copies, making it the only Triple Platinum Album of 2012.

Rolling Stone Contributing Editor Anthony DeCurtis doesn't think this leak will hurt Swift, either.

"Taylor Swift's fans are uncommonly loyal," he tells USA Today. "I doubt that anyone who wanted to buy the album would be dissuaded by the leak."

But US Weekly Entertainment Editor Ian Drew points to the rise of streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, which have impacted album sales even more profoundly since Swift's last release.

"The whole Taylor Swift album release is going to be a litmus test for the whole industry," he says. "No album has gone platinum this year -- even the mighty Beyonce's -- because no one is buying albums anymore. It's all streaming."

'1989' is set for release on Monday (Oct. 27).

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