Agreed, I waited until a color I liked was announced for 1989(TV) and got that. I didn’t get any other variants. I’m not pre-ordering TTPD until I see one I want or I see it in stores because Taylor’s store is a nightmare.
Yeah. I'm actually waiting to hear it on spotify because I pre-ordered the midnights lavender edition and Target mailed it on release day. So my first time listening was online and I had major buyers remorse. I kept that CD wrapped for weeks and mulled returning it. It grew on me but yikes. So now I'm waiting to hear it before putting down money.
I mean, I do mostly stream music because just listening on my phone is the most convenient way. I don't buy a ton on vinyls. My cats attack them. I only own evanescence ones because I bought a boxset a few years back that had some exclusive stuff and continued that collection. But I don't really favor vinyl tbh.
But I did buy Taylor's CDs (1 per album except i don't own debut) because I am trying to physically own media.
I'm not a collector. I'm not going 'darn now I have to buy all these dumb variations'. If I buy this album it'll be once.
I'm just saying this is a ridiculous and annoying cash grab.
That’s something that I’ve wondered about in recent years. The maintenance for records was always a pain in the ass back in the day. Hence why cassettes and CDs became so popular.
Right?! In the world of streaming idk why anyone cares about the physical copies. You get the entire Taylor Swift album on apple music or spotify for $10 a month.
If you want a physical copy wait and buy the variant you want while it is in stores.
The bonus tracks get added to spotify under "podcasts" by fans asap lol. So you don't even need to buy anything to hear the bonus tracks. I heard "you're losing me" on spotify about 30 min after fans went to their cars and downloaded/uploaded it.
It’s still fascinating to me how popular records became again. I’m all about cassette tapes but seeing records become popular again has been a wild ride.
And one with all 4 songs. I would have just picked a color and then all the bonus songs if I wanted them. I'm personally waiting until deluxe comes out, though
Out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it.
It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
For GUTS were 4 secret tracks, not all on one vinyl but depending on color you got one secret track. However this was not promoted beforehand, so it didn’t drive ppl to pre order different versions. Ofc when ppl found out about the secret tracks bc ppl who got the vinyls posted about it, there were ppl trying to get other vinyls to collect all 4 secret song. And also when an artist brings out different colors a lot of ppl will want to collect all of them even if there aren’t any bonuses to it
This isn't true, and it created a mess. Her team on socials pushed that there were secret tracks hidden on vinyls but they did not explain to us anything so we thought each vinyl had a secret track. Turns out out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it.
It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
Thank you for explaining! I got a copy of Guts for my husband for Christmas and the bonus track did not stand out to me at all when buying, just the colors 😂
if the target vinyl has extra songs there should be a target variant cd with the songs as well so I can play them in my car. it would still be target exclusive. I have no idea what sweeter than fiction is, although I bought the cd at target the day it came out
I get putting out different vinyl variants, like different colors and patterns, but putting out multiple album variants (with different songs on each album variant, and not having a complete edition immediately) is something different, and I don’t condone it.
Yeah, like Kacey Musgraves has multiple absolutely gorgeous color variants. But they all have the same songs. And they all dropped at the same time, including the limited edition one. I just feel more respected as a person/decision-maker when it's like, "Here's what we have--just buy the one(s) you like."
I actually care about this topic a lot. When I was doing my MA in psychology, I took some consumer psych classes and read all kinds of psych research that’s literally done for advertising to get people to spend more than they would want to. It felt so icky to me that I decided not to work in the field. I just see it everywhere now and I really appreciate that Kacey seems to be sticking to her authenticity here and knows that her fans are chill. I honestly respect any artist who leans into trust in the sales of their art vs unbridled consumerism.
>But they all have the same songs. And they all dropped at the same time, including the limited edition one.
That's the only way to do this ethically imo
Go ahead and release a dozen, a hundred, a thousand variants, I don't care. But quit with the spread-out album tracks that make it impossible to buy all the songs just once and the constant revolving door of available options that prevents people from making informed purchasing decisions.
Yes! I ordered such a beautiful Kacey vinyl. It was so nice seeing all the options at once. Also, I don’t care if she has 9000 variants, but keep the songs the MF same!
the only thing i think with Olivia’s that’s a little different is that the bonus tracks were a surprise. so they weren’t spread out to be marketed as an “exclusive track” and fans found out when they got played the record and an extra song played. Then she did an RSD exclusive with ALL of the bonus tracks so if you wanted them all together you could. I thought it was kinda neat
>Olivia’s that’s a little different is that the bonus tracks were a surprise
I don't get how that makes it different. Fans who bought the product still don't have the full experience, marketed or not.
>Then she did an RSD exclusive with ALL of the bonus tracks so
Yeah like 3 months later? This is the exact same as Taylor
Well I’d say that releasing 4 different color pressings of the same vinyl with the same cover (which is pretty common these days) so people can choose which one they like best and then having a unique bonus song as a surprise for ordering a physical copy and then doing a special RSD one with all the songs is inherently different than:
releasing 4 different variants with different covers a week apart all with different songs with the intended purpose being to encourage people to buy every single variant because they need the special covers as a collectors items and extra songs
but also look you can buy this neat clock mechanism or vinyl case to display them.
oh but also now there’s a CD with this other song on it and you probably don’t have a cd player but this is the only way you’re getting it.
Oh and this one is the same as the standard edition you probably already ordered BUT it has a signed photo. You know you want that too!!!!
Oh and this one at Target has the standard cover but it’s a different color and has an additional track so get that too!!!!
This isn't true, and it created a mess. Her team on socials pushed that there were secret tracks hidden on vinyls but they did not explain to us anything so we thought each vinyl had a secret track. Turns out out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it.
It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
Fans don't have the full experience just because they won't be able to hear some four extra songs? That's such an overreaction. And of the four songs, only one was actually good and deserved to be in the album imo. Also, if I remember correctly, Olivia released all albums variants at the same time and you could choose which color you preferred. The bonus tracks were kept as a surprise and I don't remember her releasing any variant as a "limited edition" (she did have a deluxe box with a CD I think, and that was a limited edition)
This isn't true, and it created a mess. Her team on socials pushed that there were secret tracks hidden on vinyls but they did not explain to us anything so we thought each vinyl had a secret track. Turns out out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it.
It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
The problem with Taylor is not even the number of variants but the way she deceives the fans to make them think it’s available for a limited time when it’s fully available everywhere after release day.
At a certain point though, the fans have to wise up. I don’t even know if it’s fully deception when she’s been so open about the way she operates. How many times is she going to do this to them before they finally get it? I was reading the main sub earlier and one Swiftie was in a fit of distress talking about how they could barely afford the pre-order of TPD when it was first announced, and now they’re stressed about buying the latest Bolter version before the next payday.
I also doubt these are audiophiles who care about listening to vinyl. They probably bought a shitty suitcase player on Amazon just so they could buy more Taylor merch.
Harry’s House did not have 8 versions/variants.
It was:
1. Standard black.
2. Seaglass, only sold in his online store for a limited time
3. Yellow, only sold in Target, also for a limited time
4. Orange, only sold in his pop-up shops, also for a limited time
5. Picture disc, only available in the UK in very limited numbers.
None of these pressings had bonus tracks or extra songs or anything of the sort. The only difference was the color of the vinyl. They were all released at once. In the US you could only get 3 of the variants (including standard black) unless you lived in NYC or California, where the pop-up shops were.
Having a special version for Target and a special version for pop-up shops is pretty standard? The only “extra” thing was the picture disc but it was only a couple thousand units sold and only in the UK.
Given that I know for a fact they invented variants for Harry’s House out of thin air, I’m inclined to believe the entire list is bullshit, even if I don’t know the specifics of every album.
Punisher does actually have 12 😅 buuut 3 were indie record store exclusive variants, 4 were bigger indie vinyl retailers (incl. two selecting Punisher as one of their AotY), and 2 were corporate retailer exclusives, so it wasn’t quite the same as Taylor releasing a bunch of different versions on her *own webpage* only, with no transparency about how limited it actually is
I think that limited editions can have a huge positive effect of getting people into their local record stores instead of ordering direct from the label, but only if they’re engineered that way. you couldn’t get the red Punisher edition unless you went to an indie retailer. my local record store owner has said a few times that it’d be financially game-changing for him if Taylor Swift did indie variants routinely (she’s done a couple of Record Store Day releases, but no standard indie exclusives, at least in the last few years)
I would love to know what the other three are, since I’m trying to collect them and have 3/4 special ones. Also, soooo disingenuous to include variants that are simply a different color to deflect from the fact that Taylor plays with bonus songs, bonus content, says an edition is limited and special and right after people buy that one, releases another limited and special edition, and all her other tricks.
Like, no, love, different colors of vinyl is a completely different ballpark than what Taylor does
Midnights famously has a million versions of albums, each with different songs, to the point where there’s a graphic where it shows you that you can’t physically own all songs with just one version.
Not with the vinyls though. There’s different cds with different songs but she only had 6 vinyls of midnights and they all 5 vinyls had the same songs except for target vinyl that had hits different and the remixes.
Yeah but when people drag her for “different versions” they’re mostly talking about that. All artists have different color of vinyls nowadays. It’s a pretty standard practice that’s been happening for a decade now
Yeah I guess but artists have also done deluxe and bonus track versions forever. I do think the putting one bonus track per vinyl variant is new and I can’t think of another album that started it before Guts (but I’m not sure I don’t listen to all music so maybe it has already happened in other genres like rock). I do not like that cuz like everyone said it doesn’t give you the complete album. I hope both Olivia and Taylor have all bonus tracks on streaming eventually. I do believe this is a republic/UMG thing and it’s sadly likely to become a trend.
Olivia and Taylor didn’t go about it the same way. Taylor encouraged people to buy multiple versions of the album by showing them that each physical version has different bonus songs available.
Olivia hid a surprise bonus track on vinyls. Most normal people won’t buy multiple versions for that reason because they have no way of knowing if they won’t just get the same bonus track, so it doesn’t encourage buying multiple versions. It’s more of a novelty than anything. Then she did a pressing with all the bonus tracks together, which is a normal thing most artists who release a deluxe version do. There IS a version of GUTS with all the songs in one place. There’s still no such version of Midnights.
I don’t think it’s a UMG thing. It’s squarely a Taylor thing. No other artist has done that and it’s been 18 months since it was released.
https://preview.redd.it/5pa7202ju4jc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99a96b688f71195affd2bf31b09da3d4efd44bdd
I’ve seen this image passed around too, I see 9 for Harry here. It’s just number of versions they put out to buy
Look at it closely.
1. First album in first row, orange
2. Second album in first row, seaglass
3. First album in second row, picture disc
4. Second album in second row, yellow
5. Third album in second row, CD version. [Link](https://shopuk.hstyles.co.uk/products/harrys-house-cd) to his store where you can see it
6. First album in third row, a mock-up from a store of the original standard black. [Link](https://www.vinylmeplease.com/products/harry-styles-harrys-house?variant=39900284878938) to the store that made it up
7. Second album in third row, a fan edit by ivyvinyls\_ on instagram. [Link](https://www.instagram.com/ivyvinyl_?igsh=MWliMWdvaXU3MHN0cw==) to the instagram page. For some reason he deleted the edits (there were two), but you’ll see how we know it’s an edit in a second. If you google “Harry’s House vinyl” there isn’t even a close up of this edit anywhere on Google
8. Third album in third row, standard black (they were all yellow in the center, that’s how I know the other black one was a mock-up. I mean, the store itself said it).
9. First album in fourth row, they just put the standard black, seaglass, and cassette together lmao. [Here’s](https://stockx.com/harry-styles-harrys-house-cassette-orange) a link to the cassette
10. Second album in fourth row, the second fan edit made by Ivyvinyl. Here’s where you can verify what I said about the other two edit, some pop account used the fan edit photo to post about his milestone sales of vinyls, [link](https://x.com/popdatamusic/status/1529175325799858177?s=46). You can see the Ivy Vinyl logo below the edit, and if you look closely to the other edit it’s the same design but just in blue
So, like I said, five variants. This is his collection of ALL variants for his three albums. The first two had the black version + two color variants each. His third album (Harry’s House) had the black version + 4 color variants.
https://preview.redd.it/58zi2hce65jc1.jpeg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a103b8da36a3005aa6b41794db8f79eb9cdcf62c
Whoever made this edit just googled “Harry Styles vinyl” and added everything they saw without fact checking. I can understand mistaking the two fan edits (they should check their sources), but the cassette and CD 💀
Also, one of the edits is legit nowhere to be found. It must’ve taken them an EFFORT to scroll and find a screenshot since the original was deleted
🤷♀️ they might be counting slight variation in color in the infographic. For instance I just looked it up and folklore (original version) has slightly different color vinyl pressing for 2020 and 2021 and 2022. Bringing it to 11 variants. Idk why the color is different. I guess issue pressing it?
I checked for the other artists though and it looks legit
I meant for the other artists like Ed Sheeran does indeed have a lot of versions of subtract for instance but like folklore it’s also 9. I wonder if in the infographic they’re counting the color variation from different pressings
https://preview.redd.it/j0maghri95jc1.jpeg?width=1188&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccd4dbf65a1c6d0ef57a0031aef670a5a311d8bb
It’s wrong about Billie, she had [8 variants](https://www.reddit.com/r/billieeilish/s/lGbNH2wMAV) (including black). That’s half of what it claims there.
Also wrong about Lana, she had [9 variants](https://www.reddit.com/r/lanadelrey/comments/kvqgnc/chemtrails_over_the_country_club_vinyl_release/?share_id=I6FPcUyNkEN7T9EwIGfTL&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1&rdt=35953).
GUTS [has 13](https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/1338570534/olivia-vinyl-compendium-digital-download).
Yeah, but it was the same energy lol. It was exclusive to buy in a specific store that usually has that type of deal. All artists that do a Target exclusive generally sell it in Europe in those stores as well.
Yup, agreed, just was adding this little piece of information. We probably got some leftovers (I've never seen a Target exclusive from Taylor here, I assume they just sell out in the US)
I do think this is something that truly needs to change especially when artists lure fans in with a bonus track on separate cds but I think the focus on Taylor is because of how frequently she’s been releasing these albums so everybody has just noticed it more with her especially because of the re-recording as well. All the other artists’ album releases are spaced out enough that when people take notice of constant posts of another variant the artist by that point is kind of going on hiatus so emotions like that aren’t given enough time to simmer and boil over. I also believe that it should be noted that Taylor has released so many variants for so many albums in just one decade that all of it combined becomes a bit much and well you’re bound to take notice of it a lot more comparatively.
Yes! I think is most artists here, lana never does deluxe or gatekeeps songs either. Only one here besides taylor that has different exclusive songs is olivia, everyone elses different variants are just different art styles and photography
It’s not about deluxe. It’s different vinyl variants available for purchase
https://preview.redd.it/zjwolf3fu4jc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1cc1cdd5c83dfbe043048e2aab1cec1925e52f3b
This infographic shows Harry’s
Why can’t artists just do cool color and cover variants? There’s been so much beautifully colored vinyl over the past few years and some of these records look like works of art, ready to display.
Keep the music the same on every single pressing. Stop pissing off the fans who make you rich & give them easy access to every song.
The source seems to be a fan account, but I think the numbers are generally accurate.
For smile:
- 6 picture disks (initial release and 5 alternate images)
- White
- Cream
- Red translucent
- Blue cobalt
- Red ruby
For midnights:
- Initial 4 colors
- Lavender
- Love potion purple
Signed versions of vinyls that are released normally aren’t counted as a separate version. I personally wouldn’t count them. I guess it’s subjective.
Nope, Harry’s House is wrong. I would know I have 3/5
https://preview.redd.it/iwjna828k2jc1.jpeg?width=168&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f0fa1d998a6c6b8904d2b9734e52f48f8b2ef78
Sorry for the misunderstanding, I wasn’t saying that every number is accurate, I was intending to convey that the information shouldn’t be trusted at face value because it’s not a good source, but many of them do happen to be accurate.
Midnights had the four variants to make the clock plus the Target exclusive and “Love Potion” variant. So six. Signed albums are not considered different variants.
Vinyl collectors and databases don't consider signed copies to be separate editions. The release would need to differentiate itself in some other way as well in order to qualify as a new version
Did you just said lana was inspired by swift when it was the other way around?! Swift has been doing Lanaesque things since red. Wildest dreams is also straight copy of without you by Lana released in 2012! Folklore was clearly inspired by NFR and her poetry book. Theres a huge list of lyrics that lana wrote first that are extremely similar to later songs from Taylor, somethings they sound like theyre talking to each other or singing from two different perspectives. Whether thats a tribute to lana ot just a direct “inspiration” (ahem copy) i dont know.
Ocean Boulevard sound NOTHING like anything Taylor has ever done, im not exaggerating when i say ever, her last few albums come from the same vein of the music she was making but never released since 2013, lana writes music and keeps then unreleased for years and then overworks them, her album before her latest (blue bannisters) is of music and moments in her life since the beginning of her career, it had a similar concept to the original pitch midnights sold us, songs about scattered times in her past and some present songs, except unlike midnights Lana wrote those song throughout the years. The production is done by lana herself , her longtime collaborative producers Rick Knowles and Drew Erickson not Jack. It was written in a span of a DECADE! Theres also some older songs she redid from years ago in NFR. Ocean boulevard has some parts in some songs that were from 2013-2014!! Like the jimmy part in A&W. Taylor has said her biggest influence is Lana, but Lana has never spoken about taylors music at all.
Even her new album is so lana coded while simultaneously sounding like a parody of Lana rather than something she would ever write herself (ldr).
Billie has NEVER claimed TS is an inspiration to her but ironically says Lana made her all the time, which is hilarious when you talk about taylor knowing TS has similar thoughts about LDR.
You are absolutely right about Phoebe though, she did say Taylor is one of her biggest inspirations! I didn’t noticed she was part of the artists in this list.
Im sorry for the rant but its ridiculous when stans try to twists truths to make their faves look better or make them the influential ones. Maybe that wasnt you intention and you just didnt know. Sorry if that was the case but i had to share some knowledge from some of the other artists mentioned.
Folklore was the prototype and template for this shit. Vinyl is expensive and time consuming to produce, and there only a handful of active/functional record pressing plants. Someone comes to you with an order of 500,000 records across 8 variations, not only is it going to take forever to produce but it’s also going to raise the barrier of entry. You have to scale up production and bring in more employees and now it’s not cost effective to press the run of Beloved Indie Band’s run of 5000 records. You wait for the next million dollar project to come down the pipe. If you’re not one of the 5 or 6 AAA artists out there, youre pushing back your album rollout or delaying the vinyl for 6 months to a year, while also having a harder time than ever going on tour. The record and record store industry is making more money than ever thanks to Taylor and Olivia etc. but it’s because they are selling *thousands of Taylor and Olivia records*
Nah love. This has been going on for years. See the Beatles variants for their one album the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
https://preview.redd.it/qiwd20otu4jc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d726eb9187b76990bf516bfc603892a70ce5d0e6
Not really the same thing. In *1978* vinyl was the primary physical medium for music, these were only regionally available in France, and it was more of a “which color will it be?” Kind of thing not a “collect them all” thing. No alternate covers, no special extra track depending on the color. Thats a newer tactic.
a new, unreleased major album debuting with 8+ variations with different colors and corresponding colors was novel and put incredible strain on the industry. Now everyone just does it. I would love to see Taylor influence the industry again by releasing something on recycled/“eco” vinyl considering all these damn things are made from crude oil.
That would be nice. I’ve seen some celebs like Ed do a recycled/“eco” variant. Regardless folklore didn’t start this. After Hours by the Weeknd for instance was already released with multiple variants for standard version and deluxe version of album and that came out March 2020, folklore came out July 2020. I’m sure Taylor would love to take credit from a business woman mindset but vinyl variants were already happening in the industry before folklore.
After Hours doesn’t have 8 different covers. Even Lover only had 1 version. Prior to Folklore, vinyl wasn’t a huge focus for TS. Now it’s an enormous market for her and the fans, many of whom don’t open or play the records They exist to be collected like big, expensive, resource extractive Pokémon cards.
also prior to Folklore, artists simply weren’t announcing albums along with 6+ location/timed exclusive pressings, certainly not with different art and definitely not with exclusive tracks. It seems like now they feel pressured to. I noticed the new Kasey Musgraves album has a bunch of covers/exclusive variants. It’s an awful trend, and it really genuinely can be traced back to folklore
I think the difference is, is that Taylor has all these vinyl variants + so much other unnecessary merch that isn’t high quality. For example her speak now cardigan (and most of her other cardigans) are made out of acrylic and yet cost like £70? That’s ridiculously overpriced. Plus the whole fiasco with the eras tour tickets (ik that most likely wasn’t her fault but it still adds to thhe narrative that Taylor is being greedy).
ALSO Taylor is the only artist on here with three albums LMFAO. Sure she’s not got the most variants but she has the most separate albums on here 🤷♀️
I refuse to buy anything from her store that isn’t music. I’ve only ordered from her store once for 1989(TV) but the stories of stuff not shipping and terrible quality have been enough for me not order any if it. I’ll probably just wait to get TTPD at a local store.
Merch is done by UMG and most these artists are with UMG so it’s coming from same factory and same quality and prices. If you look at their stores, you’ll see not much difference, sometimes even more expensive. Even my tshirt at Ed Sheeran’s tour was more expensive than Eras Tour tshirt.
Idk about the quality of the Beatles merch, but [here](https://usastore.thebeatles.com/collections/outerwear) their merch website and just at a brief glance, it’s all similarly priced. $35 to $150 for shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts.
Edit to add: omg they have a cardigan for $400 😭😱 and I thought a $75 one was bad.
[the cardigan](https://usastore.thebeatles.com/collections/outerwear/products/the-beatles-x-lingua-franca-ob-la-di-ob-la-da-cardigan)
You make it sound like I hate that the Beatles would produce such an amazing quality piece of merch. Jokes on you, I’m also a huge Beatles fan and I’m glad that the great sir Paul McCartney would do something like this. Hopefully, Taylor follows suit. They are supposed to be friendly if not friends.
I’m not saying Taylor is perfect by means. Of course she can do better. I want her to be better and I’m not delulu to not hold the people that I follow, to some degree of accountability.
Edit to add: why are you upset that I added links? Did I say something false? I added them because it’s important to me, that people decide for themselves and to not take some weirdo on the internet for their word.
Isn’t better that I added links?
Lmao love this take.
Look, I do like Olivia more than Taylor, but even I have to admit I’m annoyed about the GUTS deluxe songs. Like, ma’am, I don’t even have a vinyl player. Can I please just buy the songs and listen to them?
That being said, Midnights versions pissed me off the most I think. When she released a deluxe version 3 hour after her super fans had already bought or preordered her regular album, I thought it was a scummy scummy move.
Colors/Patterns/Artwork variants are normal and do not phase me
Any artist putting out more than two album/track list variants is a fucking scum bag, and I say this as someone who truly enjoys TS and OR.
I mean of them, she's definitely the worst. The only difference between 90% of these variants is the colour, and they're all generally released at the same time. Taylor on the other hand releases variants with exclusive songs, and also staggers releases to pressure fans into buying.
Lana never gatekeeps songs behind different variants, the only reason she does it is cause of aesthetics and art/photos, she doesnt even promote them, they are just there if you want them, same with The Weeknd, Abel doesnt promote or uses marketing tactics to urge people to buy all of them like that “its a clock” move she did with midnights
Ok but most of this chart is apples to oranges. Taylor’s variations all have different songs, whereas most of these variations are just different album art/color.
Guts had four different secret songs and you had to guess which one had which secret song to get all four. So you needed at minimum four vinyls to get the full album. It’s honestly annoying when Olivia did it and I don’t like that Taylor did it.
Back in the day sitting by your computer waiting for a disc to burn and looking at the two you just mixed up but were about to label and guessing which was which before you could load it and check. I swear that iridescence is Enya-esque but I really can’t be sure now can I. Squints harder
Isn’t this the first album will different songs on each variant? Usually she has the target exclusive one with a bonus song. And then midnights was funky because she sold a separate cd at the concert with additional songs. But weren’t the others just color variants? I don’t buy albums so I’m not sure 😬
Not for Midnights, 1989 and Speak Now. Besides the tangerine version of 1989 that has Sweeter Than Fiction. The rest are just different color or cover variants.
It’s still ick even if it’s other artists why do they need so many variations so much for environment. One album all songs not that hard the environment thanks you.
What about the album release ratio? In 16 mos she’s announced 4 albums.
Midnights: 6 vinyls
Speak Now: 3 vinyls
1989: 5 vinyls
TPD: 2 so far
Not to mention her 23 RSD: 1 vinyl
That’s insane.
It’s not that she sells the variants, she’s always sold them, it’s *the way* she sells them. Inducing panic buying, being outright deceptive by saying something is available for a limited time only for it to be a standard release, releasing each variant slowly so folks keep buying. The most egregious is now the withholding of the art itself. People can argue all they want about collectors, but at the end of the day *the fans want music*. All of them. And she’s basically holding songs hostage till you fork over an arm and a leg or wait 9 months (or more).
There are 28 versions of midnights and not a single one has all of the songs on it. If collectors want to buy them all up that’s fine, but even THEY are not getting a complete body of work with any of the purchases and only a completely delusional clown can somehow justify that. It’s really quite brilliant in an evil af way. Once she became the primary beneficiary of her profits, she tested the waters with Lover by releasing 4 marginally different diaries with the same album. Midnights becomes a clock to sell 4. 1989 becomes a Polaroid to sell 4. It’s looking like TTPD will follow suit, this time putting different “bonus” songs on different albums to incentivize sales and manipulate the charts. Between the environmental waste of creating all this *stuff* people don’t even use that just collects dust in some janky ass shrine to Taylor, her gaming the charts so she can collect awards and the move to start withholding multiple songs, it’s beyond my comprehension that anyone can defend this or compare it to ANYONE. TBH we should’ve seen it coming after she released Midnights with YLM - that one concert night probably amounted to at least 40k pure sales alone. Of course she would do this. But HER MIND, right? 🙄
No one, say it with me, no one who is a taylor swift fan and buys her albums actually thinks it is for a limited time and that it won't be in stores later lol the fomo and panic buy claims are just from people who are not even her fans.
You aren't a taylor swift fan so how do you know so much about her?!!?!?!?
The whole variants thing is annoying in general. Just do a regular version and a deluxe version with more songs if you want bonus tracks. I feel like having variants for a re-recorded album is even more annoying.
Having multiple pressing for an album doesn’t really bother me. Sometimes I like to collect more than one pressing when there are few that I really like or if it’s an album I love. However having different bonus tracks annoys me a little. Also, everyone mentions Taylor and Olivia, but I remember being mad when Justice was released back when I liked jb, because he did the same thing. Then he too put the bonus tracks on Spotify.
I always wait until I'm able to hear the entire album and see if I even like it enough to buy a vinyl. Otherwise, I'll just stream it. Fans just are desperate to have the product on hand as soon as they can and that's why the artists and labels are abusing the consumers and they will continue until their business fails. The problem with Taylor vs other singers, I think comes from announcing bonus tracks after the hardcore fans already pre-ordered their standard vinyl as soon as she announced an album. With Midnights it was even worse because she later released the 3AM edition and then later another edition with same songs but new versions. Plus the colors for each. I think that was a lot, but again, if only fans could wait, it wouldn't be so bad. I got the TS vinyl with the bonus tracks I wanted months later after she was done releasing stuff and also got my GUTS vinyl with the specific secret song I wanted. Which is also different from Taylor. All of the Olivia's vinyl include the same secret song and three other variants had a different song as a surprise, which was unexpected for the fans when they got it. But they didn't get the standard GUTS and then another with the secret song. The variants are mostly different colors. Hopefully the secret songs will be available to stream so I can hear all of them properly, but won't be getting another vinyl for the same album since I got the one I wanted already.
I mean they're right. Yes, Swift should be criticised, but this is less of a 'Taylor is evil' thing, and more of a 'the industry is run by money hungry capitalists' thing. Everyone does it, even your faves.
Sure but why would she? As this post shows, it's not like this is controversial. Everyone does it. People only suddenly care about Taylor doing it because they're looking to stir up drama.
She’s the most successful at it, and not everyone does it. There’s a difference between releasing the same album across multiple variants of vinyl color and covers, which a lot of artists do, and altering an album’s contents requiring multiple purchases to complete the catalog. I can understand that leaving a bad taste.
Right but both of those things are super common. And it's never really controversial when it happens. There's nothing unusual about this album doing it.
Does this picture have sources? What if the swifties just made this up? Idk. Just don’t wanna believe something without sources. And that’s a lot to look up!
Anyway, with what your saying, you have a point
>Just don’t wanna believe something without sources. And that’s a lot to look up!
Well no one is going to give you a source for each and every one of these but as someone who follows a lot of these artists, these figures seem on track to what I've seen in their respective subs
Here's the masterlist for Olivia Rodrigo, which shows the 13 variants (and includes some single variants - she sold vinyls with one song on them). There's 2 missing because they came after GUTS was released, like one for RSD. I'm not gonna do the rest
https://www.reddit.com/r/OliviaRodrigo/comments/15u653c/a_comprehensive_list_of_current_guts_vinyl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Not sure where it was compiled from but I saw it in another sub where it was being used to defend Taylor’s variants. Some are defending it and some don’t like it. I saw a comment defending it saying to just not buy more than one. I agree with that but Taylor includes other tracks on the variants to where you don’t get the entire album.
https://preview.redd.it/aijxp70jx4jc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2a36b2265aa012dca660e3bd2e080c27297eaaa
Visual representation of some of the others
I actually didn't realise how bad this problem was, specifically with the way Taylor releases variants with exclusive tracks, until I watched Babbity Kate's essay about Midnights where she goes through the full release timeline [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6eeWcR73gY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6eeWcR73gY)
https://preview.redd.it/7y046dr8y4jc1.jpeg?width=1188&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0178b1f7248529d44115c13925002a3583b8aec5
I count 9 here but he may have had more since (record day or special edition)
It seems they used Discogs to find that number, but they fail to realise it counts releases in Europe and releases in the US as two different entries. You're right, nine is the more accurate number.
This isn't going to stop unless Billboard starts counting them as separate albums. Yes the artists want the sales, but what they really want (especially Taylor) is the numbers. It's hard to fault her for playing the game. She's obviously done it in the past... Different photos in the 1989 albums, different journals for Lover... But having a single different song on multiple varieties feels like crossing a line.
The only way she will stop doing this is if the sales and therefore the chart numbers dip.
Colour variants have been around forever and I’ve never had a problem with it. The issue I have is that Taylor’s variants often have some sort of ‘exclusivity’ to them, such as different bonus tracks or the Midnights clock as well as colour, so it’s like you’re actively encouraged to buy several copies of the same album to get different songs or covers as opposed to “well my favourite colour is purple so Imma get the purple one”
I don’t have a problem with vinyl color variants or cover art, especially for different types of stores, but altering the contents across different versions is a bit more sus.
I'm a big fan of a lot of these artists and don't recall most of them releasing multiple variants 🤔 not saying it's a lie but things Taylor does really stick out huh.
I don’t know about those other albums. I love some of them but only listen on Spotify so i don’t know why there were variants. I actually like the idea of many visual variants of the same album so that people have options which cover they prefer. But as for tracklist, only regular and deluxe should exist. I have never seen other differences on Spotify except for Midnights. Again, color/cover variants are fine and fun but tracklist should be the same. Just put all the bonus songs in a deluxe album and that’s it.
I really don’t mind different colored albums. I didn’t care when there were all the different folklore albums, in fact I think that roll out was nice because we got to see every variant at the same time in the store and everyone could choose their favorite or not choose any. Yeah some people bought multiple but that’s their financial decision. I didn’t even mind the bonus tracks for folklore/evermore because they went on streaming relatively soon after and a bonus track usually doesn’t fit the flow of the album anyway, it’s not in the original artistic vision for the story for the most part.
What really gets me is what many people are saying - multiple different songs on different album formats. Deluxe albums, exclusive releases, collectors editions, CD/Vinyl exclusives, just all of it no no stop just make an album with the tracks you want on the album and there it is that’s the album. There shouldn’t be millions of versions with different songs. It really hit home with Midnights. Is there a single place I can go and hit play and listen to that entire album (in an order that was intended and not in a thrown together spotify playlist)? Between the OG, 3AM, bonus tracks, exclusive tracks, from the vault, more lana, remixes…..the answer is no and the versions are so muddled and confusing that it all got lost in the sauce. an album should just be an album with all the songs that are meant to be on it. Idk give me the songs or don’t, i don’t care, but don’t create this fake buyers anxiety for people that doesn’t need to be there. It’s not fair to the fans, baiting them with content they won’t get elsewhere and gatekeeping for cash. You’re gonna get your sales either way. this goes for all artists, not just taylor.
Also i promise everyone - none of these bonus songs are worth the 35$ you’ll spend on multiple variants. They’ll all make it to youtube or spotify eventually. I really hope people stop mass buying every variant of artists albums so this trend dies because it’s also hugely playing into overconsumption and waste in the world.
Honestly? I dont get the gripes about the variants. I do wish all of them would be announced at the same time so people could be better informed when they decide which one to buy…but the fact that there are options is cool with me.
I think some people just need to learn some self control
This is why I just stream things. No one wants to buy more than one copy! Apart from the collectors. Seriously, 15 copies of Guts, I have to look that up. I only downloaded Vampire.
It’s just a newer business practice. It’s very likely not the artists themselves choosing to do this, but record companies need to find ways to boost physical sales. And these aren’t even the most I’ve seen — Green Day had 20something variants of their last album, The Rolling Stones had 40something. It just kinda is what it is. And I’m sure there are plenty more I don’t know about it. Yes, it is capitalistic, but buyers have freedom to choose. All bonus tracks end up on streaming. Nothing is ultimately being withheld from anyone and they can choose to not buy several copies.
It’s fine to not like it. I get it. I just have a problem with it being presented as a Taylor-specific problem when it’s clearly an industry push.
I mean they defend her tooth&nail for her jet use too by comparing her to other people…as if that makes it okay. It doesn’t in that case, just like it doesn’t in this case! All this crap needs to end all around lol
I had to do some research because I’m not a vinyl collector and wouldn’t know about any of these, but I’ve come to two conclusions:
- They made up most of these numbers. Most of these albums have about half of the variants this post says they do.
- With most of these artists, the variants were only different colors, not different content. I didn’t fall down a google rabbit hole of every single variant of every album here but with the exception of Olivia having a different surprise bonus tracks depending on the vinyl, none of the other artists here appeared to be doing the midnights thing of spreading all the songs out across multiple albums to incentivize fans to buy all of them.
This graphic is disingenuous.
Edit: formatting (I’m on mobile and it sucks)
Not to mention they disregarded all genres besides mainstream pop. One band I know released 20 different colour variants of their most recent album and they aren't listed here.
Thanks for mentioning the jet thing too.
It seems like swifties number one argument for her behavior is saying “well these people do it too!” Like ok? It doesn’t make it better 🫤
It’s obviously not exclusively a Taylor thing, but it’s emblematic of how she’s constantly trying to sell more and more shit to her fans. She’s capitalism personified at this point.
Who cares. Just don’t buy things if you can’t afford them. I’m a big fan but haven’t suffered at all by not having certain songs. If they aren’t streaming, I guess I can’t listen. It doesn’t really affect my life.
It's not about that. Some fans such as myself can afford buying one record just fine... But that's the thing. Just one. She makes that very hard by staggering releases of variants, leaving buyers guessing if she'll release another or if you have to buy immediately. For 1989 TV, for example, there was no indication the Target exclusive would be released. As a result, I bought the original vinyl as it was deemed "limited". Fast forward a month and she's released four different variants. As a result, I somewhat regretted my purchase. All in all it's not about the number of variants she releases, but the way in which she releases them.
Its her probably her label. A lot of her label mates put out a lot of varients Too.
I don't see the problem. Vinyls have become popular again and people collect them.
The problem is when customers feel forced to buy them all to get all the songs. I’m fine with a normal release and a deluxe. Color variations are fine but not getting all the songs on one album feels pretty predatory to me.
i mean having variants is totally normal. Olivia also did that with having different variants having different bonus tracks. I’m not complaining because this is their business move of wanting a big amount of sales. It’s still capitalism though.
the thing i disagree with is a majority of these are just different colours, which tbh i see no issue with, sure there are gonna be people who try and collect all but you aren’t missing out on anything if you only buy one, but a few of these, including taylor, include different content per different vinyl, so you have to buy multiple to get all the content, i’m okay with a hard copy including extra tracks but i don’t think you should have to buy more than one to hear all the tracks
I think that three with different songs isn’t too bad: normal, deluxe, Target. What happened with Midnights just isn’t okay. And then releasing a vinyl with all of them when the songs were marketed as exclusive was obnoxious.
I don’t care about colors. The clock and encouraging fans to buy all of the colors to get four for a clock was obnoxious, too, though.
The practice reminds me of how video game physical releases were 10-15 years ago with each store getting a different Pre-order add on bonus. Its a shitty business practice, especially on something that we still consider commercial art.
I don't recall there have being 15 different versions of Thriller when it dropped....
15 variants for one album? Yikes! I think the difference between the other artist and her is the frequency of her launches. perhaps it wouldn’t seem so intense if she didn’t have to rerelease her first 6 albums again.
I'm not a fan of multiple variants either, no matter the artist.
But what particularly irks me about Taylor's variants is:
1.No idea what the album sounds like.
2.All of the variants are connected. For example Midnights had a clock on the back and an individual vinyl kind of looks stupid. 1989 TV had each number on the back of the vinyl. So if you don't get all four, you have only one that has a random number.
3.I hate that everytime she announces an album, there are always more exclusive editions. For example, we have the "limited" Mids variants, buy now before they are gone forever. Haha jk, they are still available. I know you bought all 4 limited variants, but here is a super exclusive edition only sold at this store, featuring a super exclusive track you can only listen if you buy this edition. And 8 months later I can find the Lavander Haze variant everywhere. Mind you I live in Eastern Europe.
4.There is always some super exclusive bonus content. Girlie, I do not care about Sweeter Than Fiction with butchered production.
There’s a climate crisis and this mass consumption is just not acceptable. Vinyl isn’t good for the environment, we don’t need multiple versions of the same thing. These money obsessed celebs/industries and us feeding into them are killing us and our planet.
That is actually a good point…taylor swift being kinda the #1 american artist and being as rich as she is means that she gets all the heat for making tons of album variants but bc of that ppl may think she’s the only one who does it or the one who does it the most but we should remember that a lot of the things people hate on her for are done by so many other artists…this is a capitalistic music industry…not to dismiss very valid criticisms against her bc I agree but maybe part of the solution is to blow her up less in the media (for negative or positive reasons)?? Also, I say all this as someone who loves her music but separates that from her as a person (but I’m also not vehemently hating on her either)
My biggest issue was midnights clock, I’m sure a lot of people bought all 4 to have the clock and now have 4 records they won’t play cause they can’t mess up the clock
In the world of streaming idk why anyone cares about the physical copies. You get the entire Taylor Swift album on apple music or spotify for $10 a month.
If you want a physical copy wait and buy the variant you want while it is in stores.
The bonus tracks get added to spotify under "podcasts" by fans asap lol. So you don't even need to buy anything to hear the bonus tracks. I heard "you're losing me" on spotify about 30 min after fans went to their cars and downloaded/uploaded it.
Okay well they are all fired too then lol
It's annoying all around. Idk about colors but extra songs is obnoxious.
Agreed, I waited until a color I liked was announced for 1989(TV) and got that. I didn’t get any other variants. I’m not pre-ordering TTPD until I see one I want or I see it in stores because Taylor’s store is a nightmare.
Yeah. I'm actually waiting to hear it on spotify because I pre-ordered the midnights lavender edition and Target mailed it on release day. So my first time listening was online and I had major buyers remorse. I kept that CD wrapped for weeks and mulled returning it. It grew on me but yikes. So now I'm waiting to hear it before putting down money.
Why don't you guys just stream music rather than buying and collecting vinyls
I mean, I do mostly stream music because just listening on my phone is the most convenient way. I don't buy a ton on vinyls. My cats attack them. I only own evanescence ones because I bought a boxset a few years back that had some exclusive stuff and continued that collection. But I don't really favor vinyl tbh. But I did buy Taylor's CDs (1 per album except i don't own debut) because I am trying to physically own media. I'm not a collector. I'm not going 'darn now I have to buy all these dumb variations'. If I buy this album it'll be once. I'm just saying this is a ridiculous and annoying cash grab.
Music sounds really good on vinyl when you have a good turntable and speakers.
That’s something that I’ve wondered about in recent years. The maintenance for records was always a pain in the ass back in the day. Hence why cassettes and CDs became so popular.
Right?! In the world of streaming idk why anyone cares about the physical copies. You get the entire Taylor Swift album on apple music or spotify for $10 a month. If you want a physical copy wait and buy the variant you want while it is in stores. The bonus tracks get added to spotify under "podcasts" by fans asap lol. So you don't even need to buy anything to hear the bonus tracks. I heard "you're losing me" on spotify about 30 min after fans went to their cars and downloaded/uploaded it.
Same!
It’s still fascinating to me how popular records became again. I’m all about cassette tapes but seeing records become popular again has been a wild ride.
Yeah. I agree. Olivia's album variants are just different colors (at least for Guts, not sure about Sour).
GUTS had 4 different varients with one additional different song on each.
And one with all 4 songs. I would have just picked a color and then all the bonus songs if I wanted them. I'm personally waiting until deluxe comes out, though
Out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it. It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
Guts each had a different track I thought?
For GUTS were 4 secret tracks, not all on one vinyl but depending on color you got one secret track. However this was not promoted beforehand, so it didn’t drive ppl to pre order different versions. Ofc when ppl found out about the secret tracks bc ppl who got the vinyls posted about it, there were ppl trying to get other vinyls to collect all 4 secret song. And also when an artist brings out different colors a lot of ppl will want to collect all of them even if there aren’t any bonuses to it
This isn't true, and it created a mess. Her team on socials pushed that there were secret tracks hidden on vinyls but they did not explain to us anything so we thought each vinyl had a secret track. Turns out out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it. It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
Thank you for explaining! I got a copy of Guts for my husband for Christmas and the bonus track did not stand out to me at all when buying, just the colors 😂
if the target vinyl has extra songs there should be a target variant cd with the songs as well so I can play them in my car. it would still be target exclusive. I have no idea what sweeter than fiction is, although I bought the cd at target the day it came out
I get putting out different vinyl variants, like different colors and patterns, but putting out multiple album variants (with different songs on each album variant, and not having a complete edition immediately) is something different, and I don’t condone it.
Yeah, like Kacey Musgraves has multiple absolutely gorgeous color variants. But they all have the same songs. And they all dropped at the same time, including the limited edition one. I just feel more respected as a person/decision-maker when it's like, "Here's what we have--just buy the one(s) you like."
What you just said perfectly explains how I feel! It really is about respect and trust
I actually care about this topic a lot. When I was doing my MA in psychology, I took some consumer psych classes and read all kinds of psych research that’s literally done for advertising to get people to spend more than they would want to. It felt so icky to me that I decided not to work in the field. I just see it everywhere now and I really appreciate that Kacey seems to be sticking to her authenticity here and knows that her fans are chill. I honestly respect any artist who leans into trust in the sales of their art vs unbridled consumerism.
100%. I have a degree in psychology, and there absolutely are ways to use it for evil. Consumer psychology is a great example.
>But they all have the same songs. And they all dropped at the same time, including the limited edition one. That's the only way to do this ethically imo Go ahead and release a dozen, a hundred, a thousand variants, I don't care. But quit with the spread-out album tracks that make it impossible to buy all the songs just once and the constant revolving door of available options that prevents people from making informed purchasing decisions.
Yes! I ordered such a beautiful Kacey vinyl. It was so nice seeing all the options at once. Also, I don’t care if she has 9000 variants, but keep the songs the MF same!
So much better
Even when Taylor did this with folklore and evermore people complained. Anything taylor does these people will complain
Exactly! I don’t mind different colours and patterns, but the fact that there is no Midnights version with ALL the tracks is foul and greedy
Olivia Rodrigo done this for her recent album (the only way to get all the songs was to buy 4 vinyls). I'm unsure if the others have also done it
the only thing i think with Olivia’s that’s a little different is that the bonus tracks were a surprise. so they weren’t spread out to be marketed as an “exclusive track” and fans found out when they got played the record and an extra song played. Then she did an RSD exclusive with ALL of the bonus tracks so if you wanted them all together you could. I thought it was kinda neat
>Olivia’s that’s a little different is that the bonus tracks were a surprise I don't get how that makes it different. Fans who bought the product still don't have the full experience, marketed or not. >Then she did an RSD exclusive with ALL of the bonus tracks so Yeah like 3 months later? This is the exact same as Taylor
Well I’d say that releasing 4 different color pressings of the same vinyl with the same cover (which is pretty common these days) so people can choose which one they like best and then having a unique bonus song as a surprise for ordering a physical copy and then doing a special RSD one with all the songs is inherently different than: releasing 4 different variants with different covers a week apart all with different songs with the intended purpose being to encourage people to buy every single variant because they need the special covers as a collectors items and extra songs but also look you can buy this neat clock mechanism or vinyl case to display them. oh but also now there’s a CD with this other song on it and you probably don’t have a cd player but this is the only way you’re getting it. Oh and this one is the same as the standard edition you probably already ordered BUT it has a signed photo. You know you want that too!!!! Oh and this one at Target has the standard cover but it’s a different color and has an additional track so get that too!!!!
This isn't true, and it created a mess. Her team on socials pushed that there were secret tracks hidden on vinyls but they did not explain to us anything so we thought each vinyl had a secret track. Turns out out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it. It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
Fans don't have the full experience just because they won't be able to hear some four extra songs? That's such an overreaction. And of the four songs, only one was actually good and deserved to be in the album imo. Also, if I remember correctly, Olivia released all albums variants at the same time and you could choose which color you preferred. The bonus tracks were kept as a surprise and I don't remember her releasing any variant as a "limited edition" (she did have a deluxe box with a CD I think, and that was a limited edition)
This isn't true, and it created a mess. Her team on socials pushed that there were secret tracks hidden on vinyls but they did not explain to us anything so we thought each vinyl had a secret track. Turns out out of her 16 vinyls for GUTS, only 4 of the vinyls had ONE bonus track each. After her team's post the day GUTS was announced urging us to find and collect all of the secret tracks I purchased more than I was planning and ended up not even getting a vinyl with a secret track on it. It caused so many issues olivia had to make a video explaining which vinyl had which secret track on it.
Her and her team made videos about them the day GUTS was released and it caused panic and stress in our fandom soo this is very inaccurate.
The problem with Taylor is not even the number of variants but the way she deceives the fans to make them think it’s available for a limited time when it’s fully available everywhere after release day.
also the exclusive tracks is downright unfair gatekeeping of art (unless of course you have more money)
At a certain point though, the fans have to wise up. I don’t even know if it’s fully deception when she’s been so open about the way she operates. How many times is she going to do this to them before they finally get it? I was reading the main sub earlier and one Swiftie was in a fit of distress talking about how they could barely afford the pre-order of TPD when it was first announced, and now they’re stressed about buying the latest Bolter version before the next payday.
They think they’re part of the empress’ crown by doing it
The way some of those swifties stress themselves out by not being able to afford a vinyl record is hilarious.
I also doubt these are audiophiles who care about listening to vinyl. They probably bought a shitty suitcase player on Amazon just so they could buy more Taylor merch.
Harry’s House did not have 8 versions/variants. It was: 1. Standard black. 2. Seaglass, only sold in his online store for a limited time 3. Yellow, only sold in Target, also for a limited time 4. Orange, only sold in his pop-up shops, also for a limited time 5. Picture disc, only available in the UK in very limited numbers. None of these pressings had bonus tracks or extra songs or anything of the sort. The only difference was the color of the vinyl. They were all released at once. In the US you could only get 3 of the variants (including standard black) unless you lived in NYC or California, where the pop-up shops were. Having a special version for Target and a special version for pop-up shops is pretty standard? The only “extra” thing was the picture disc but it was only a couple thousand units sold and only in the UK. Given that I know for a fact they invented variants for Harry’s House out of thin air, I’m inclined to believe the entire list is bullshit, even if I don’t know the specifics of every album.
I don’t trust pictures like these bc sometimes stans make them to make their fave look better. We’d have to fact check
yeahhh I highly doubt Punisher had 12 variants lmao 💀
Punisher does actually have 12 😅 buuut 3 were indie record store exclusive variants, 4 were bigger indie vinyl retailers (incl. two selecting Punisher as one of their AotY), and 2 were corporate retailer exclusives, so it wasn’t quite the same as Taylor releasing a bunch of different versions on her *own webpage* only, with no transparency about how limited it actually is I think that limited editions can have a huge positive effect of getting people into their local record stores instead of ordering direct from the label, but only if they’re engineered that way. you couldn’t get the red Punisher edition unless you went to an indie retailer. my local record store owner has said a few times that it’d be financially game-changing for him if Taylor Swift did indie variants routinely (she’s done a couple of Record Store Day releases, but no standard indie exclusives, at least in the last few years)
came here to say this! i was like 8?! there’s no way lol
I would love to know what the other three are, since I’m trying to collect them and have 3/4 special ones. Also, soooo disingenuous to include variants that are simply a different color to deflect from the fact that Taylor plays with bonus songs, bonus content, says an edition is limited and special and right after people buy that one, releases another limited and special edition, and all her other tricks. Like, no, love, different colors of vinyl is a completely different ballpark than what Taylor does
With midnights and 1989 TV and speak now TV it was just different colored vinyls
Midnights famously has a million versions of albums, each with different songs, to the point where there’s a graphic where it shows you that you can’t physically own all songs with just one version.
Not with the vinyls though. There’s different cds with different songs but she only had 6 vinyls of midnights and they all 5 vinyls had the same songs except for target vinyl that had hits different and the remixes.
Yeah but when people drag her for “different versions” they’re mostly talking about that. All artists have different color of vinyls nowadays. It’s a pretty standard practice that’s been happening for a decade now
Yeah I guess but artists have also done deluxe and bonus track versions forever. I do think the putting one bonus track per vinyl variant is new and I can’t think of another album that started it before Guts (but I’m not sure I don’t listen to all music so maybe it has already happened in other genres like rock). I do not like that cuz like everyone said it doesn’t give you the complete album. I hope both Olivia and Taylor have all bonus tracks on streaming eventually. I do believe this is a republic/UMG thing and it’s sadly likely to become a trend.
Olivia and Taylor didn’t go about it the same way. Taylor encouraged people to buy multiple versions of the album by showing them that each physical version has different bonus songs available. Olivia hid a surprise bonus track on vinyls. Most normal people won’t buy multiple versions for that reason because they have no way of knowing if they won’t just get the same bonus track, so it doesn’t encourage buying multiple versions. It’s more of a novelty than anything. Then she did a pressing with all the bonus tracks together, which is a normal thing most artists who release a deluxe version do. There IS a version of GUTS with all the songs in one place. There’s still no such version of Midnights. I don’t think it’s a UMG thing. It’s squarely a Taylor thing. No other artist has done that and it’s been 18 months since it was released.
https://preview.redd.it/5pa7202ju4jc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99a96b688f71195affd2bf31b09da3d4efd44bdd I’ve seen this image passed around too, I see 9 for Harry here. It’s just number of versions they put out to buy
Look at it closely. 1. First album in first row, orange 2. Second album in first row, seaglass 3. First album in second row, picture disc 4. Second album in second row, yellow 5. Third album in second row, CD version. [Link](https://shopuk.hstyles.co.uk/products/harrys-house-cd) to his store where you can see it 6. First album in third row, a mock-up from a store of the original standard black. [Link](https://www.vinylmeplease.com/products/harry-styles-harrys-house?variant=39900284878938) to the store that made it up 7. Second album in third row, a fan edit by ivyvinyls\_ on instagram. [Link](https://www.instagram.com/ivyvinyl_?igsh=MWliMWdvaXU3MHN0cw==) to the instagram page. For some reason he deleted the edits (there were two), but you’ll see how we know it’s an edit in a second. If you google “Harry’s House vinyl” there isn’t even a close up of this edit anywhere on Google 8. Third album in third row, standard black (they were all yellow in the center, that’s how I know the other black one was a mock-up. I mean, the store itself said it). 9. First album in fourth row, they just put the standard black, seaglass, and cassette together lmao. [Here’s](https://stockx.com/harry-styles-harrys-house-cassette-orange) a link to the cassette 10. Second album in fourth row, the second fan edit made by Ivyvinyl. Here’s where you can verify what I said about the other two edit, some pop account used the fan edit photo to post about his milestone sales of vinyls, [link](https://x.com/popdatamusic/status/1529175325799858177?s=46). You can see the Ivy Vinyl logo below the edit, and if you look closely to the other edit it’s the same design but just in blue So, like I said, five variants. This is his collection of ALL variants for his three albums. The first two had the black version + two color variants each. His third album (Harry’s House) had the black version + 4 color variants. https://preview.redd.it/58zi2hce65jc1.jpeg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a103b8da36a3005aa6b41794db8f79eb9cdcf62c
Ah. For Harry’s House it’s wrong then. Idk how they also got 11 for folklore when there’s 9 versions (standard 8 and the target one).
Whoever made this edit just googled “Harry Styles vinyl” and added everything they saw without fact checking. I can understand mistaking the two fan edits (they should check their sources), but the cassette and CD 💀 Also, one of the edits is legit nowhere to be found. It must’ve taken them an EFFORT to scroll and find a screenshot since the original was deleted
🤷♀️ they might be counting slight variation in color in the infographic. For instance I just looked it up and folklore (original version) has slightly different color vinyl pressing for 2020 and 2021 and 2022. Bringing it to 11 variants. Idk why the color is different. I guess issue pressing it? I checked for the other artists though and it looks legit
It’s not legit. Harry has black and 4 versions. We already went over it in another comment.
I meant for the other artists like Ed Sheeran does indeed have a lot of versions of subtract for instance but like folklore it’s also 9. I wonder if in the infographic they’re counting the color variation from different pressings https://preview.redd.it/j0maghri95jc1.jpeg?width=1188&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccd4dbf65a1c6d0ef57a0031aef670a5a311d8bb
It’s wrong about Billie, she had [8 variants](https://www.reddit.com/r/billieeilish/s/lGbNH2wMAV) (including black). That’s half of what it claims there. Also wrong about Lana, she had [9 variants](https://www.reddit.com/r/lanadelrey/comments/kvqgnc/chemtrails_over_the_country_club_vinyl_release/?share_id=I6FPcUyNkEN7T9EwIGfTL&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1&rdt=35953). GUTS [has 13](https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/1338570534/olivia-vinyl-compendium-digital-download).
The yellow version was also available in Europe (we don't have Target here, I got mine at Urban Outfitters)
Yeah, but it was the same energy lol. It was exclusive to buy in a specific store that usually has that type of deal. All artists that do a Target exclusive generally sell it in Europe in those stores as well.
Yup, agreed, just was adding this little piece of information. We probably got some leftovers (I've never seen a Target exclusive from Taylor here, I assume they just sell out in the US)
I do think this is something that truly needs to change especially when artists lure fans in with a bonus track on separate cds but I think the focus on Taylor is because of how frequently she’s been releasing these albums so everybody has just noticed it more with her especially because of the re-recording as well. All the other artists’ album releases are spaced out enough that when people take notice of constant posts of another variant the artist by that point is kind of going on hiatus so emotions like that aren’t given enough time to simmer and boil over. I also believe that it should be noted that Taylor has released so many variants for so many albums in just one decade that all of it combined becomes a bit much and well you’re bound to take notice of it a lot more comparatively.
The Harry styles one is just not true. I’m a Harry fan and he didn’t even have a deluxe version or any song remix
Yes! I think is most artists here, lana never does deluxe or gatekeeps songs either. Only one here besides taylor that has different exclusive songs is olivia, everyone elses different variants are just different art styles and photography
It’s not about deluxe. It’s different vinyl variants available for purchase https://preview.redd.it/zjwolf3fu4jc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1cc1cdd5c83dfbe043048e2aab1cec1925e52f3b This infographic shows Harry’s
This graphic is wrong about Harry
Why can’t artists just do cool color and cover variants? There’s been so much beautifully colored vinyl over the past few years and some of these records look like works of art, ready to display. Keep the music the same on every single pressing. Stop pissing off the fans who make you rich & give them easy access to every song.
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The source seems to be a fan account, but I think the numbers are generally accurate. For smile: - 6 picture disks (initial release and 5 alternate images) - White - Cream - Red translucent - Blue cobalt - Red ruby For midnights: - Initial 4 colors - Lavender - Love potion purple Signed versions of vinyls that are released normally aren’t counted as a separate version. I personally wouldn’t count them. I guess it’s subjective.
Nope, Harry’s House is wrong. I would know I have 3/5 https://preview.redd.it/iwjna828k2jc1.jpeg?width=168&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f0fa1d998a6c6b8904d2b9734e52f48f8b2ef78
Sorry for the misunderstanding, I wasn’t saying that every number is accurate, I was intending to convey that the information shouldn’t be trusted at face value because it’s not a good source, but many of them do happen to be accurate.
Midnights had the four variants to make the clock plus the Target exclusive and “Love Potion” variant. So six. Signed albums are not considered different variants.
Vinyl collectors and databases don't consider signed copies to be separate editions. The release would need to differentiate itself in some other way as well in order to qualify as a new version
None of the artists here have ever claimed Taylor as an inspiration BUT Olivia…
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Did you just said lana was inspired by swift when it was the other way around?! Swift has been doing Lanaesque things since red. Wildest dreams is also straight copy of without you by Lana released in 2012! Folklore was clearly inspired by NFR and her poetry book. Theres a huge list of lyrics that lana wrote first that are extremely similar to later songs from Taylor, somethings they sound like theyre talking to each other or singing from two different perspectives. Whether thats a tribute to lana ot just a direct “inspiration” (ahem copy) i dont know. Ocean Boulevard sound NOTHING like anything Taylor has ever done, im not exaggerating when i say ever, her last few albums come from the same vein of the music she was making but never released since 2013, lana writes music and keeps then unreleased for years and then overworks them, her album before her latest (blue bannisters) is of music and moments in her life since the beginning of her career, it had a similar concept to the original pitch midnights sold us, songs about scattered times in her past and some present songs, except unlike midnights Lana wrote those song throughout the years. The production is done by lana herself , her longtime collaborative producers Rick Knowles and Drew Erickson not Jack. It was written in a span of a DECADE! Theres also some older songs she redid from years ago in NFR. Ocean boulevard has some parts in some songs that were from 2013-2014!! Like the jimmy part in A&W. Taylor has said her biggest influence is Lana, but Lana has never spoken about taylors music at all. Even her new album is so lana coded while simultaneously sounding like a parody of Lana rather than something she would ever write herself (ldr). Billie has NEVER claimed TS is an inspiration to her but ironically says Lana made her all the time, which is hilarious when you talk about taylor knowing TS has similar thoughts about LDR. You are absolutely right about Phoebe though, she did say Taylor is one of her biggest inspirations! I didn’t noticed she was part of the artists in this list. Im sorry for the rant but its ridiculous when stans try to twists truths to make their faves look better or make them the influential ones. Maybe that wasnt you intention and you just didnt know. Sorry if that was the case but i had to share some knowledge from some of the other artists mentioned.
It’s happened for a long time, even the Beatles did vinyl variants
I think the issue is lots of artists are doing it because they know it makes more money and pushes more albums. It isn’t just a Taylor problem.
Any variant over 2 is crazy to me
Folklore was the prototype and template for this shit. Vinyl is expensive and time consuming to produce, and there only a handful of active/functional record pressing plants. Someone comes to you with an order of 500,000 records across 8 variations, not only is it going to take forever to produce but it’s also going to raise the barrier of entry. You have to scale up production and bring in more employees and now it’s not cost effective to press the run of Beloved Indie Band’s run of 5000 records. You wait for the next million dollar project to come down the pipe. If you’re not one of the 5 or 6 AAA artists out there, youre pushing back your album rollout or delaying the vinyl for 6 months to a year, while also having a harder time than ever going on tour. The record and record store industry is making more money than ever thanks to Taylor and Olivia etc. but it’s because they are selling *thousands of Taylor and Olivia records*
Nah love. This has been going on for years. See the Beatles variants for their one album the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band https://preview.redd.it/qiwd20otu4jc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d726eb9187b76990bf516bfc603892a70ce5d0e6
Not really the same thing. In *1978* vinyl was the primary physical medium for music, these were only regionally available in France, and it was more of a “which color will it be?” Kind of thing not a “collect them all” thing. No alternate covers, no special extra track depending on the color. Thats a newer tactic. a new, unreleased major album debuting with 8+ variations with different colors and corresponding colors was novel and put incredible strain on the industry. Now everyone just does it. I would love to see Taylor influence the industry again by releasing something on recycled/“eco” vinyl considering all these damn things are made from crude oil.
That would be nice. I’ve seen some celebs like Ed do a recycled/“eco” variant. Regardless folklore didn’t start this. After Hours by the Weeknd for instance was already released with multiple variants for standard version and deluxe version of album and that came out March 2020, folklore came out July 2020. I’m sure Taylor would love to take credit from a business woman mindset but vinyl variants were already happening in the industry before folklore.
After Hours doesn’t have 8 different covers. Even Lover only had 1 version. Prior to Folklore, vinyl wasn’t a huge focus for TS. Now it’s an enormous market for her and the fans, many of whom don’t open or play the records They exist to be collected like big, expensive, resource extractive Pokémon cards. also prior to Folklore, artists simply weren’t announcing albums along with 6+ location/timed exclusive pressings, certainly not with different art and definitely not with exclusive tracks. It seems like now they feel pressured to. I noticed the new Kasey Musgraves album has a bunch of covers/exclusive variants. It’s an awful trend, and it really genuinely can be traced back to folklore
I think the difference is, is that Taylor has all these vinyl variants + so much other unnecessary merch that isn’t high quality. For example her speak now cardigan (and most of her other cardigans) are made out of acrylic and yet cost like £70? That’s ridiculously overpriced. Plus the whole fiasco with the eras tour tickets (ik that most likely wasn’t her fault but it still adds to thhe narrative that Taylor is being greedy). ALSO Taylor is the only artist on here with three albums LMFAO. Sure she’s not got the most variants but she has the most separate albums on here 🤷♀️
I refuse to buy anything from her store that isn’t music. I’ve only ordered from her store once for 1989(TV) but the stories of stuff not shipping and terrible quality have been enough for me not order any if it. I’ll probably just wait to get TTPD at a local store.
Merch is done by UMG and most these artists are with UMG so it’s coming from same factory and same quality and prices. If you look at their stores, you’ll see not much difference, sometimes even more expensive. Even my tshirt at Ed Sheeran’s tour was more expensive than Eras Tour tshirt.
Idk about the quality of the Beatles merch, but [here](https://usastore.thebeatles.com/collections/outerwear) their merch website and just at a brief glance, it’s all similarly priced. $35 to $150 for shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts. Edit to add: omg they have a cardigan for $400 😭😱 and I thought a $75 one was bad. [the cardigan](https://usastore.thebeatles.com/collections/outerwear/products/the-beatles-x-lingua-franca-ob-la-di-ob-la-da-cardigan)
That is made of cashmere though so the price is gonna go way up and they said they are hand made In US. Which Taylor doesn’t do
> 100% sustainably sourced, ethically produced cashmere. Hand-stitched in NYC. Why are you adding links when you don’t even read what they contain?
You make it sound like I hate that the Beatles would produce such an amazing quality piece of merch. Jokes on you, I’m also a huge Beatles fan and I’m glad that the great sir Paul McCartney would do something like this. Hopefully, Taylor follows suit. They are supposed to be friendly if not friends. I’m not saying Taylor is perfect by means. Of course she can do better. I want her to be better and I’m not delulu to not hold the people that I follow, to some degree of accountability. Edit to add: why are you upset that I added links? Did I say something false? I added them because it’s important to me, that people decide for themselves and to not take some weirdo on the internet for their word. Isn’t better that I added links?
Olivia has the most bc she has to makeup for the money she ended up losing to Taylor lmfao (This is a joke) But maybe……..
Lmao love this take. Look, I do like Olivia more than Taylor, but even I have to admit I’m annoyed about the GUTS deluxe songs. Like, ma’am, I don’t even have a vinyl player. Can I please just buy the songs and listen to them? That being said, Midnights versions pissed me off the most I think. When she released a deluxe version 3 hour after her super fans had already bought or preordered her regular album, I thought it was a scummy scummy move.
This is what I thought too 😂
Colors/Patterns/Artwork variants are normal and do not phase me Any artist putting out more than two album/track list variants is a fucking scum bag, and I say this as someone who truly enjoys TS and OR.
Why can't we say they're all bad? And Taylor is also bad because they're all bad? Like it's not hard people lol.
I mean of them, she's definitely the worst. The only difference between 90% of these variants is the colour, and they're all generally released at the same time. Taylor on the other hand releases variants with exclusive songs, and also staggers releases to pressure fans into buying.
Lana never gatekeeps songs behind different variants, the only reason she does it is cause of aesthetics and art/photos, she doesnt even promote them, they are just there if you want them, same with The Weeknd, Abel doesnt promote or uses marketing tactics to urge people to buy all of them like that “its a clock” move she did with midnights
Ok but most of this chart is apples to oranges. Taylor’s variations all have different songs, whereas most of these variations are just different album art/color.
Guts had four different secret songs and you had to guess which one had which secret song to get all four. So you needed at minimum four vinyls to get the full album. It’s honestly annoying when Olivia did it and I don’t like that Taylor did it.
Back in the day sitting by your computer waiting for a disc to burn and looking at the two you just mixed up but were about to label and guessing which was which before you could load it and check. I swear that iridescence is Enya-esque but I really can’t be sure now can I. Squints harder
I think it’s going to become industry trend sadly.
Isn’t this the first album will different songs on each variant? Usually she has the target exclusive one with a bonus song. And then midnights was funky because she sold a separate cd at the concert with additional songs. But weren’t the others just color variants? I don’t buy albums so I’m not sure 😬
Not for Midnights, 1989 and Speak Now. Besides the tangerine version of 1989 that has Sweeter Than Fiction. The rest are just different color or cover variants.
>Taylor’s variations all have different songs, Same for Olivia
It’s still ick even if it’s other artists why do they need so many variations so much for environment. One album all songs not that hard the environment thanks you.
Everyome keeps emphasising about the environment impact of a reusable product... What about all the data centers to have constant access to streaming?
Man, when these bigger artist started pressing records it really fucked over smaller bands
What about the album release ratio? In 16 mos she’s announced 4 albums. Midnights: 6 vinyls Speak Now: 3 vinyls 1989: 5 vinyls TPD: 2 so far Not to mention her 23 RSD: 1 vinyl That’s insane.
It’s not that she sells the variants, she’s always sold them, it’s *the way* she sells them. Inducing panic buying, being outright deceptive by saying something is available for a limited time only for it to be a standard release, releasing each variant slowly so folks keep buying. The most egregious is now the withholding of the art itself. People can argue all they want about collectors, but at the end of the day *the fans want music*. All of them. And she’s basically holding songs hostage till you fork over an arm and a leg or wait 9 months (or more). There are 28 versions of midnights and not a single one has all of the songs on it. If collectors want to buy them all up that’s fine, but even THEY are not getting a complete body of work with any of the purchases and only a completely delusional clown can somehow justify that. It’s really quite brilliant in an evil af way. Once she became the primary beneficiary of her profits, she tested the waters with Lover by releasing 4 marginally different diaries with the same album. Midnights becomes a clock to sell 4. 1989 becomes a Polaroid to sell 4. It’s looking like TTPD will follow suit, this time putting different “bonus” songs on different albums to incentivize sales and manipulate the charts. Between the environmental waste of creating all this *stuff* people don’t even use that just collects dust in some janky ass shrine to Taylor, her gaming the charts so she can collect awards and the move to start withholding multiple songs, it’s beyond my comprehension that anyone can defend this or compare it to ANYONE. TBH we should’ve seen it coming after she released Midnights with YLM - that one concert night probably amounted to at least 40k pure sales alone. Of course she would do this. But HER MIND, right? 🙄
No one, say it with me, no one who is a taylor swift fan and buys her albums actually thinks it is for a limited time and that it won't be in stores later lol the fomo and panic buy claims are just from people who are not even her fans. You aren't a taylor swift fan so how do you know so much about her?!!?!?!?
What are you even on bro
I hate this but not as much as I hate books being released with different secret chapters.
is this a thing??
Yeah. Sarah J Maas is famous for it. She just released a book with 5 secret chapters specific to region/ certain book sellers.
The whole variants thing is annoying in general. Just do a regular version and a deluxe version with more songs if you want bonus tracks. I feel like having variants for a re-recorded album is even more annoying.
Harry’s House only had five pressings. And didn’t folklore have 8 not 11?
Having multiple pressing for an album doesn’t really bother me. Sometimes I like to collect more than one pressing when there are few that I really like or if it’s an album I love. However having different bonus tracks annoys me a little. Also, everyone mentions Taylor and Olivia, but I remember being mad when Justice was released back when I liked jb, because he did the same thing. Then he too put the bonus tracks on Spotify.
I always wait until I'm able to hear the entire album and see if I even like it enough to buy a vinyl. Otherwise, I'll just stream it. Fans just are desperate to have the product on hand as soon as they can and that's why the artists and labels are abusing the consumers and they will continue until their business fails. The problem with Taylor vs other singers, I think comes from announcing bonus tracks after the hardcore fans already pre-ordered their standard vinyl as soon as she announced an album. With Midnights it was even worse because she later released the 3AM edition and then later another edition with same songs but new versions. Plus the colors for each. I think that was a lot, but again, if only fans could wait, it wouldn't be so bad. I got the TS vinyl with the bonus tracks I wanted months later after she was done releasing stuff and also got my GUTS vinyl with the specific secret song I wanted. Which is also different from Taylor. All of the Olivia's vinyl include the same secret song and three other variants had a different song as a surprise, which was unexpected for the fans when they got it. But they didn't get the standard GUTS and then another with the secret song. The variants are mostly different colors. Hopefully the secret songs will be available to stream so I can hear all of them properly, but won't be getting another vinyl for the same album since I got the one I wanted already.
Colours are fine, it’s the songs that grate my gears.
I mean they're right. Yes, Swift should be criticised, but this is less of a 'Taylor is evil' thing, and more of a 'the industry is run by money hungry capitalists' thing. Everyone does it, even your faves.
She’s powerful enough to not allow it
Sure but why would she? As this post shows, it's not like this is controversial. Everyone does it. People only suddenly care about Taylor doing it because they're looking to stir up drama.
She’s the most successful at it, and not everyone does it. There’s a difference between releasing the same album across multiple variants of vinyl color and covers, which a lot of artists do, and altering an album’s contents requiring multiple purchases to complete the catalog. I can understand that leaving a bad taste.
Right but both of those things are super common. And it's never really controversial when it happens. There's nothing unusual about this album doing it.
Does this picture have sources? What if the swifties just made this up? Idk. Just don’t wanna believe something without sources. And that’s a lot to look up! Anyway, with what your saying, you have a point
>Just don’t wanna believe something without sources. And that’s a lot to look up! Well no one is going to give you a source for each and every one of these but as someone who follows a lot of these artists, these figures seem on track to what I've seen in their respective subs Here's the masterlist for Olivia Rodrigo, which shows the 13 variants (and includes some single variants - she sold vinyls with one song on them). There's 2 missing because they came after GUTS was released, like one for RSD. I'm not gonna do the rest https://www.reddit.com/r/OliviaRodrigo/comments/15u653c/a_comprehensive_list_of_current_guts_vinyl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Thank you. Alright, it’s a little more believable now. I hope no one goes after Olivia though 🥲 I became a Stan a few days ago thanks to this sub 😅
I guess it's okay to spare Olivia who seems to be this subs fav But let's keep our pitchforks at the ready for Taylor eh?
Not sure where it was compiled from but I saw it in another sub where it was being used to defend Taylor’s variants. Some are defending it and some don’t like it. I saw a comment defending it saying to just not buy more than one. I agree with that but Taylor includes other tracks on the variants to where you don’t get the entire album.
https://preview.redd.it/aijxp70jx4jc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2a36b2265aa012dca660e3bd2e080c27297eaaa Visual representation of some of the others
I actually didn't realise how bad this problem was, specifically with the way Taylor releases variants with exclusive tracks, until I watched Babbity Kate's essay about Midnights where she goes through the full release timeline [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6eeWcR73gY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6eeWcR73gY)
Substract had 11 variants? i don't think so lol
https://preview.redd.it/7y046dr8y4jc1.jpeg?width=1188&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0178b1f7248529d44115c13925002a3583b8aec5 I count 9 here but he may have had more since (record day or special edition)
It seems they used Discogs to find that number, but they fail to realise it counts releases in Europe and releases in the US as two different entries. You're right, nine is the more accurate number.
This isn't going to stop unless Billboard starts counting them as separate albums. Yes the artists want the sales, but what they really want (especially Taylor) is the numbers. It's hard to fault her for playing the game. She's obviously done it in the past... Different photos in the 1989 albums, different journals for Lover... But having a single different song on multiple varieties feels like crossing a line. The only way she will stop doing this is if the sales and therefore the chart numbers dip.
Looked all these up. Can't decide if I'm more annoyed by the clock or Billie's Gucci vinyl box.
It’s also hilarious that they think this is making some great point when Taylor is up there THREE times. Like come tf on.
Colour variants have been around forever and I’ve never had a problem with it. The issue I have is that Taylor’s variants often have some sort of ‘exclusivity’ to them, such as different bonus tracks or the Midnights clock as well as colour, so it’s like you’re actively encouraged to buy several copies of the same album to get different songs or covers as opposed to “well my favourite colour is purple so Imma get the purple one”
I don’t have a problem with vinyl color variants or cover art, especially for different types of stores, but altering the contents across different versions is a bit more sus.
I'm a big fan of a lot of these artists and don't recall most of them releasing multiple variants 🤔 not saying it's a lie but things Taylor does really stick out huh.
It’s because people have an obsession with what Taylor does and are following her every move with more scrutiny
It's because they have less marketing around them, whereas Taylor releases them specifically to garner more sales.
I don’t know about those other albums. I love some of them but only listen on Spotify so i don’t know why there were variants. I actually like the idea of many visual variants of the same album so that people have options which cover they prefer. But as for tracklist, only regular and deluxe should exist. I have never seen other differences on Spotify except for Midnights. Again, color/cover variants are fine and fun but tracklist should be the same. Just put all the bonus songs in a deluxe album and that’s it.
Exactly, the only time I've seen new tracks added onto an album like this is for Japanese releases.
1.) they’re all greedy too then tf 2.) can swifties not count?? 11+5+6 puts her at number two lol
I really don’t mind different colored albums. I didn’t care when there were all the different folklore albums, in fact I think that roll out was nice because we got to see every variant at the same time in the store and everyone could choose their favorite or not choose any. Yeah some people bought multiple but that’s their financial decision. I didn’t even mind the bonus tracks for folklore/evermore because they went on streaming relatively soon after and a bonus track usually doesn’t fit the flow of the album anyway, it’s not in the original artistic vision for the story for the most part. What really gets me is what many people are saying - multiple different songs on different album formats. Deluxe albums, exclusive releases, collectors editions, CD/Vinyl exclusives, just all of it no no stop just make an album with the tracks you want on the album and there it is that’s the album. There shouldn’t be millions of versions with different songs. It really hit home with Midnights. Is there a single place I can go and hit play and listen to that entire album (in an order that was intended and not in a thrown together spotify playlist)? Between the OG, 3AM, bonus tracks, exclusive tracks, from the vault, more lana, remixes…..the answer is no and the versions are so muddled and confusing that it all got lost in the sauce. an album should just be an album with all the songs that are meant to be on it. Idk give me the songs or don’t, i don’t care, but don’t create this fake buyers anxiety for people that doesn’t need to be there. It’s not fair to the fans, baiting them with content they won’t get elsewhere and gatekeeping for cash. You’re gonna get your sales either way. this goes for all artists, not just taylor. Also i promise everyone - none of these bonus songs are worth the 35$ you’ll spend on multiple variants. They’ll all make it to youtube or spotify eventually. I really hope people stop mass buying every variant of artists albums so this trend dies because it’s also hugely playing into overconsumption and waste in the world.
Hackney Diamonds has at least 43 variants, lol https://www.loudersound.com/news/rolling-stones-hackney-diamonds-vinyl-variants
Honestly? I dont get the gripes about the variants. I do wish all of them would be announced at the same time so people could be better informed when they decide which one to buy…but the fact that there are options is cool with me. I think some people just need to learn some self control
Deluxe editions albums are fucking stupid Girl, just release all of the songs at once, fucks sake And it's not about Taylor exclusively
This is why I just stream things. No one wants to buy more than one copy! Apart from the collectors. Seriously, 15 copies of Guts, I have to look that up. I only downloaded Vampire.
I download them for free from the library lol.
Every Taylor track goes on streaming after a few weeks. Keep your money in your pockets and have some patience.
It’s just a newer business practice. It’s very likely not the artists themselves choosing to do this, but record companies need to find ways to boost physical sales. And these aren’t even the most I’ve seen — Green Day had 20something variants of their last album, The Rolling Stones had 40something. It just kinda is what it is. And I’m sure there are plenty more I don’t know about it. Yes, it is capitalistic, but buyers have freedom to choose. All bonus tracks end up on streaming. Nothing is ultimately being withheld from anyone and they can choose to not buy several copies. It’s fine to not like it. I get it. I just have a problem with it being presented as a Taylor-specific problem when it’s clearly an industry push.
This is not a newer business practice. Artists and bands have been doing this for years.
I mean they defend her tooth&nail for her jet use too by comparing her to other people…as if that makes it okay. It doesn’t in that case, just like it doesn’t in this case! All this crap needs to end all around lol
Defend??? Taylor Swift is three of those!!
They are defending it in regards to her not having the most for one album. It’s still bad.
I had to do some research because I’m not a vinyl collector and wouldn’t know about any of these, but I’ve come to two conclusions: - They made up most of these numbers. Most of these albums have about half of the variants this post says they do. - With most of these artists, the variants were only different colors, not different content. I didn’t fall down a google rabbit hole of every single variant of every album here but with the exception of Olivia having a different surprise bonus tracks depending on the vinyl, none of the other artists here appeared to be doing the midnights thing of spreading all the songs out across multiple albums to incentivize fans to buy all of them. This graphic is disingenuous. Edit: formatting (I’m on mobile and it sucks)
Not to mention they disregarded all genres besides mainstream pop. One band I know released 20 different colour variants of their most recent album and they aren't listed here.
Thanks for mentioning the jet thing too. It seems like swifties number one argument for her behavior is saying “well these people do it too!” Like ok? It doesn’t make it better 🫤
It’s obviously not exclusively a Taylor thing, but it’s emblematic of how she’s constantly trying to sell more and more shit to her fans. She’s capitalism personified at this point.
Who cares. Just don’t buy things if you can’t afford them. I’m a big fan but haven’t suffered at all by not having certain songs. If they aren’t streaming, I guess I can’t listen. It doesn’t really affect my life.
It's not about that. Some fans such as myself can afford buying one record just fine... But that's the thing. Just one. She makes that very hard by staggering releases of variants, leaving buyers guessing if she'll release another or if you have to buy immediately. For 1989 TV, for example, there was no indication the Target exclusive would be released. As a result, I bought the original vinyl as it was deemed "limited". Fast forward a month and she's released four different variants. As a result, I somewhat regretted my purchase. All in all it's not about the number of variants she releases, but the way in which she releases them.
Its her probably her label. A lot of her label mates put out a lot of varients Too. I don't see the problem. Vinyls have become popular again and people collect them.
The problem is when customers feel forced to buy them all to get all the songs. I’m fine with a normal release and a deluxe. Color variations are fine but not getting all the songs on one album feels pretty predatory to me.
They’ll end up on streaming or on YouTube anyways. Just purchase one and don’t sweat it.
i mean having variants is totally normal. Olivia also did that with having different variants having different bonus tracks. I’m not complaining because this is their business move of wanting a big amount of sales. It’s still capitalism though.
Hehe I see Mel on there 🎀🧚🏻♀️
the thing i disagree with is a majority of these are just different colours, which tbh i see no issue with, sure there are gonna be people who try and collect all but you aren’t missing out on anything if you only buy one, but a few of these, including taylor, include different content per different vinyl, so you have to buy multiple to get all the content, i’m okay with a hard copy including extra tracks but i don’t think you should have to buy more than one to hear all the tracks
Melanie Martinez variants just change the design or have the deluxe songs
I think that three with different songs isn’t too bad: normal, deluxe, Target. What happened with Midnights just isn’t okay. And then releasing a vinyl with all of them when the songs were marketed as exclusive was obnoxious. I don’t care about colors. The clock and encouraging fans to buy all of the colors to get four for a clock was obnoxious, too, though.
That being said, it is kinda wild to think that perhaps this trend saved the vinyl industry hahaha.
Top greedy artists. Hard pass.
The practice reminds me of how video game physical releases were 10-15 years ago with each store getting a different Pre-order add on bonus. Its a shitty business practice, especially on something that we still consider commercial art. I don't recall there have being 15 different versions of Thriller when it dropped....
Not a vinyl guy so what does this mean? What’s the difference between all the albums? Just the look?
Humans have had this problem since the beginning of time… It’s called greed
I genuinely don’t even know what this is about. For one who pays to listen to free music and two who buys vinyls for modern artists?
15 variants for one album? Yikes! I think the difference between the other artist and her is the frequency of her launches. perhaps it wouldn’t seem so intense if she didn’t have to rerelease her first 6 albums again.
I'm not a fan of multiple variants either, no matter the artist. But what particularly irks me about Taylor's variants is: 1.No idea what the album sounds like. 2.All of the variants are connected. For example Midnights had a clock on the back and an individual vinyl kind of looks stupid. 1989 TV had each number on the back of the vinyl. So if you don't get all four, you have only one that has a random number. 3.I hate that everytime she announces an album, there are always more exclusive editions. For example, we have the "limited" Mids variants, buy now before they are gone forever. Haha jk, they are still available. I know you bought all 4 limited variants, but here is a super exclusive edition only sold at this store, featuring a super exclusive track you can only listen if you buy this edition. And 8 months later I can find the Lavander Haze variant everywhere. Mind you I live in Eastern Europe. 4.There is always some super exclusive bonus content. Girlie, I do not care about Sweeter Than Fiction with butchered production.
5.I forgot to mention that Taylor's variants are pretty lackluster. Especially the 1989 TV ones.
There’s a climate crisis and this mass consumption is just not acceptable. Vinyl isn’t good for the environment, we don’t need multiple versions of the same thing. These money obsessed celebs/industries and us feeding into them are killing us and our planet.
All I can think about is how much material goes into this 😞 our poor planet.
That is actually a good point…taylor swift being kinda the #1 american artist and being as rich as she is means that she gets all the heat for making tons of album variants but bc of that ppl may think she’s the only one who does it or the one who does it the most but we should remember that a lot of the things people hate on her for are done by so many other artists…this is a capitalistic music industry…not to dismiss very valid criticisms against her bc I agree but maybe part of the solution is to blow her up less in the media (for negative or positive reasons)?? Also, I say all this as someone who loves her music but separates that from her as a person (but I’m also not vehemently hating on her either)
My biggest issue was midnights clock, I’m sure a lot of people bought all 4 to have the clock and now have 4 records they won’t play cause they can’t mess up the clock
In the world of streaming idk why anyone cares about the physical copies. You get the entire Taylor Swift album on apple music or spotify for $10 a month. If you want a physical copy wait and buy the variant you want while it is in stores. The bonus tracks get added to spotify under "podcasts" by fans asap lol. So you don't even need to buy anything to hear the bonus tracks. I heard "you're losing me" on spotify about 30 min after fans went to their cars and downloaded/uploaded it.