Thief who stole hard drives of unreleased Beyoncé music agrees to 2-year prison sentence
A man accused of stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music and sensitive Cowboy Carter tour materials has agreed to serve 2 years in prison after taking a plea deal in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Beyonce performs on tour. Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
A man accused of stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music and sensitive Cowboy Carter tour materials has agreed to serve 2 years in prison after taking a plea deal in Atlanta on Monday.
- A thief accused of stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music has agreed to a prison sentence in the high-profile Atlanta case.
- Investigators said the stolen material went far beyond music files — including sensitive Cowboy Carter tour details and confidential intellectual property.
- Authorities still have not publicly confirmed whether all of the missing hard drives and unreleased files were ever recovered.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The accused, 41-year-old Kelvin Evans, pleaded guilty in Fulton County Superior Court to charges stemming from a July 2025 vehicle break-in, in which he admitted to stealing unreleased music, multiple laptops, and other items.
Instead of going to trial, Evans was sentenced to 5 years total, with two years in prison and the rest on probation, according to local news station WSB-TV in Atlanta, which first reported the story when it broke last year.
Prosecutors said the theft happened on July 8th, just two days before Beyoncé’s Atlanta stop on her Cowboy Carter tour, when surveillance cameras captured Evans breaking into a Jeep Wagoneer parked inside an Atlanta garage.
The SUV had been rented by members of Beyoncé’s choreography team, who later called 911 to report that hard drives containing the pop superstar’s unreleased music and two suitcases had been stolen.
Hard drives become key evidence
The case itself has drawn national attention due to star power and because the stolen property included never-before-heard music and confidential tour materials tied to one of the year’s biggest entertainment productions.
The theft also put a spotlight on the security risks related to portable storage devices, unreleased creative files, and high-value intellectual property carried by artists and their crews.
A police report filed by Beyoncé’s team said the hard drives contained “watermarked music, some unreleased music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set lists.”
The theft also included clothing, designer sunglasses, laptops, and AirPods, the report said.
The car – which had a tracker in it – was parked in a garage while Beyoncé’s choreographer and some dancers were dining at a nearby restaurant, according to the 911 calls obtained by WSB-TV.
The news station reported that investigators used Apple’s ‘Find My’ app, “which led them to an undisclosed location where the headphones were pinging.”
Plea deal ends court fight
Evans, who reportedly had an active warrant out of Atlanta, was arrested by Atlanta police in September.
The 41-year old was said to have had originally pleaded not guilty in January, rejecting an earlier deal before eventually agreeing to the prison sentence this week.
He later pleaded guilty to entering an automobile and criminal trespass in connection with the vehicle break-in.
As part of the probation terms, Evans was ordered to avoid the location of the theft and have no contact with the victim, WSB-TV said in its latest report.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether all of the missing digital files and unreleased music have been recovered.
According to the news outlet, prosecutors had lined up a total of 14 witnesses to testify in the case, including the choreographer and a dancer.
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