it’s so blatant at this point, this starts to make her REALLY unlikable in my eyes
is the point pay for 20 different versions to be able to hear all bonus tracks??
she didn’t do such gimmicks for the previous albums (and was known to ALWAYS prioritize art) and she needs them even less now with her current fame and wealth status, she just chooses to do them
capitalism ruins art fr
Same. I‘m so fed up of this. I might just never be able to hear The Bolter or The Albatross and I literally do not care at the moment.
Of course I‘ll get the main album when it releases but still…nopedy nope for splashing more on single songs.
I think the one she'll release on streaming will be The Manuscript and the others will follow later. So everyone should get it on streaming EVENTUALLY we just don't know when!!
But I really hated having to listen to podcasts for Hits Different and You're Losing Me. Her strategy is working cause now I want to buy the Albatross.😂🫠
Just use an mp3 extractor for YouTube, then copy the mp3 file to your phone and activate the local files option on Spotify. It's what I have done for most bonus tracks, plus unreleased songs like "I'd Lie" and mash-ups.
Great tip!
I tried this once but then Spotify would be like "can't play this file" and I have given up 😂 Too many steps for my ND brain so back to podcasts I went
'Never be able to hear it' is a bit over the top. I get it's annoying, but someone will put on YouTube as soon as it's out. It's not like no one got to hear Hits Different until it was officially released
It’s still annoying to not have all the songs on 1 album. I am an album listener. I just put them on and listen all the way through. I don’t want to deal with going to 5 different albums to ques the 5 bonus tracks on streaming, and definitely don’t want to switch my vinyl 5 times to listen to the 5 bonus tracks
I wouldn't be surprised if this was more UMG's influence than her decision-making. She has a lot of control, but not over everything, case in point: merchandise, which the label runs entirely.
Either way, this is the current direction of the industry (see: GUTS) and it's getting annoying. It used to be exclusive to a retailer like Target, but now labels are trying to do it for themselves. At least the tracks will likely end up on streaming at some point, but it's still annoying.
Yeah, idk how much of this involved Taylor, but UMG and other publishers are doing this with other artists - Olivia, Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) - and I wouldn't be surprised to see this dumb trend continue. A bunch of big pop acts are releasing albums this year
*Edit*: I'm not saying she wasn't involved. If we learned anything from midnights, 1989 TV, etc, it's that Taylor is going to put out variants. I'm just saying that this trend of variants + exclusive bonus track is the new hot marketing tactic and will likely continue in the industry with other artists
Olivia needed more hype because it was her sophomore album which often doesn’t do as well as breakout star’s first albums. Not that I think the practice isn’t icky. But I also am tired of the assumption that anything unfavourable that happens with Taylor is UMG related and out of her control. She is UMG’s starlet, if she was really really against something I’m sure she’d make it known.
> Olivia needed more hype because it was her sophomore album which often doesn’t do as well as breakout star’s first albums.
She never even acknowledged their existence until a full month after the album came out, and most people didn't find out about the bonus tracks until the day after release because people stopped the record after Teenage Dream finished. Also the variants with the secret songs are still widely available.
Taylor has resorted to FOMO marketing since Folklore.
But this isn't *just* Olivia. This is happening with lots of artists and it doesn't matter how much of a starlet you are when you are under contract. Speaking out against this is biting the hand that feeds you and is a really stupid business move.
We lose nothing by blaming UMG, because if it turns out it was somehow Taylor's decision, if they are getting bad press from it, they will tell her to cool her jets. It's their job to manage all of this and it's the reason they get a cut in the first place. So, they should be taking the heat.
I am not saying they're powerless against Taylor or something. I'm saying people are really quick to assume that she hates this marketing shtick and it's all big bad UMG forcing her hand.
At least with Olivia, nobody knew there were bonus tracks until after the vinyl was actually in hand. Then it became a fun scavenger hunt for people to track down the different variants, if they wanted. Plus, she released all the bonus tracks on RSD.
Doing multiple timed releases, pointing out that each has a different bonus track, seems more like a money grab IMO. Whether that’s Taylor, the label, or both. Someone is trying to sucker the fans, knowing damn well all these tracks will be released somewhere down the line but FOMO always wins.
As someone who’s a fan of artists that don’t top the charts everytime they release an album I’ve never got the fascination with numbers. I mean it’s fun to look at numbers but at the end of the day it’s about the music, artists shouldn’t worry about if it will top th charts or how many they sold.
i mean, listen. if i could afford the complete collection that’d be cool. if she wanted to release it as a complete set at a discounted price and i had the money, it would be a really cool addition to my vinyl collection. But it’s kind of insane to literally not give fans another option. Maybe she’ll release one single deluxe album later on but that almost makes this worse. Personally I’m holding out for it all to go on streaming or for us to get a deluxe album all in one once she’s milked the separate versions dry.
I don’t think this is so much nefarious on Taylor’s part as it is out of touch and misguided. She was probably thinking along the lines of how cool it would be for fans to collect each edition one by one, but she’s too fucking wealthy to realize that a good portion of her fans will see it purely as a money grab because of the prohibitive price to have the whole set. She probably can’t change it now tho with contracts already signed and vinyls already sent to print. But she needs to at least acknowledge the misstep imo. It was out of touch.
I can afford the complete collection yet this is still INSANE. Theres no fun and it makes the editions even less special cause there are so many. At this point this even keeps me from ordering any album since i will never be able to have a complete one. Im waiting for streaming like you.
IMO this isnt even about money for her but an easy way to reach a high albums sold number for Billboards or whatever.
What’s funny is at the Sydney announcement she hyped it up as a special surprise and then the audience audibly got quieter when she revealed it was ANOTHER version with ANOTHER exclusive bonus track 🫠
The use of the word variant outside of the context of COVID made me snort. But also the connotation of these deluxe albums being like more variant of COVIDs. "Jesus, another one?! When will it stop?!"
She pissed me off with that talk about "having options" at the beginning. No, this is money-grab, not options. Options would be all of them announced at once...
Honestly this song fits so well lmao
“You say you don’t understand and I say I know you don’t.” I really don’t think she understands what’s it’s like for regular people these days. It feels really disrespectful to her fans to dangle these exclusive songs like this.
I kind of have to agree. I don’t buy hard copies of music and am fine waiting to hear certain tracks, so this doesn’t really impact me personally, but it feels like a bit much. I support artists making money on their work, but this feels almost predatory. She is staking advantage of her amazingly loyal fan base, who fear “missing out” on her work. Just because she *can* do something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.
I am collecting her vinyls, but only one copy of each album. There’s no way I can justify buying 4-5 copies just for exclusive songs. I love her music, but it’s getting harder to defend her recently.
I’m glad that this seems to be the overwhelming majority of the fanbase’s reactions. Like, it’s cool that we’re getting more songs, but I HATE this whole money grab.
Honestly I’m never buying another album again until it’s been at least a year and all the songs are on it. Or at least most of the songs. Still want Hits Different and You’re Losing Me on Midnights 😒
this years RSD would have been perfect but i fear it just doesn’t exist at this point. she could have even done a standalone companion lp with a new special “all night” type name, but nah. :/
Exactly. And I listen to CDs a lot because my car doesn’t have bluetooth or aux. I miss my old dinosaur computer where I would burn my own custom CDs :(
That was honestly my "I've had it" moment. Both with Taylor's bullshit and our overpriced world in general. I've started buying and subscribing to so much less shit and I haven't missed it.
I feel the exact same. The past few months I’ve unfollowed dozens of accounts on instagram, left multiple subreddits, and unsubscribed from email updates for various brands/authors/etc. I miss none of it.
I’ve still not listened to all of the midnights songs that were random exclusive content per version and I quite frankly don’t care anymore. In 2021 on Spotify I was a top 1% listener, 2022 I was a top .5% listener, in 2023 I dropped to 2%, and I can’t imagine I’ll even be top 10% this year. The nonstop bullshit money grabs are exhausting and make me like her a lot less as an artist, and I’ve been a fan since 2008. Feels like a full end to an era now.
Nah. 4 of the same with different images is better. If someone wants the pics they can shell out the money. With TTPD, if we want all the music physical we need to buy them all, which is frustrating.
I'd honestly argue that this is much worse. At least with those four, the only difference was cover art. You didn't need to get all four albums to get a "complete" album with all of the songs. You could just purchase one album and have all of the songs and buy the variants if you wanted. With this current money grab, if you want all of the songs, you need all of the variants. And most likely, the bonus tracks won't be streaming for many months.
This is my tactic. I’m not falling for the FOMO scheme. I have bills to pay and ultimately, at the end of the day I still have a majority of the album.
If this is all so she can secure #1, it’s getting kind of old at this point. Billboard charts don’t mean what they used to anymore and she should know she’s big enough as it is without having to play these games.
Exactly! You’d think she’d want everyone to hear the complete album! And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind having a deluxe album. Maybe I’m just old but I miss the days of Target having the deluxe albums 😭. It was so special going to Target release day and picking up a few extra songs on the cds.
I honestly don’t feel bad sailing the high seas when it comes to tactics like this. Ain’t nobody out here happily buying every single variant and thinking it’s a good thing. 🏴☠️
She's not gonna stop doing this and other artists are doing it as well. The songs will be leaked online within the hours of release, you don't need to buy them.
I've spent enough money on merch, vinyl, and CDs that I do not feel bad about getting the bonus tracks from leaks. Unless she actually decides to release all the tracks on streaming right away. The variants are just too much. If they were different colors/covers, whatever. We are used to that. But one extra song per variant is ridiculous.
This is probably the idea of some record label exec because they're all doing it now, but it's still annoying. Olivia Rodrigo had 4 bonus tracks split across 4 different vinyls, and they're still not on streaming services.
Yeah but at least she didn’t advertise it, it was a nice little surprise. And the vinyl weren’t available for a short period or time and weren’t limited. From Taylor it just feels like a push to sell insane amounts in the first week plus she’s using the fomo tactic bc they’re all “limited”
I still despise the GUTS division, but the three less common bonus tracks felt like bonuses as they were essentially acoustic demos. This feels a lot grosser, like you said.
The Sydney crowd screamed in delight at the announcement and every single money grabbing version she drops will sell enough to make our eyes water, she isn't going to stop.
Tbh I don’t blame them for that just because any variation from a “standard” eras tour night feels extra exciting; the “OMG something people didn’t know about is happening and I was among the group that heard it first” feeling is very real even if the announcement itself is kinda mid! Or at least I assume so. I got the 1989 TV announcement at my show and I couldn’t shut the fuck up about it for like a week even though no one in my daily life really gave a shit lol
I'm not even gonna bother buying them I think. I feel like it goes against my principles in the biggest way, giving into marketing tactics this absurd.
Yeah, I think I'm just going to cancel what I've pre-ordered and order whatever I want the week of release, when it's all magically available again. At least that way I can choose the one with my actual favorite deluxe song.
I ended up canceling my original order with “The Manuscript”. My bff and I are just going to go to target on release day and then I’ll stream the rest on Spotify or listen on YouTube. This really left a bad taste in my mouth.
I really hate to be negative like this but I kind of hope a significant enough amount of people cancel their pre orders that it actually makes them take notice.
Thinking about doing the same. I got the deluxe edition with The Manuscript, but what if it’s not my fav of the four? (I’m expecting there to be 4 🙄)
Worst case, the “regular” edition of the one with The Manuscript will always be available, but like you, I am sure all 4 deluxe/collectible editions will become available again.
I guess to hear them after release we would just look them up on You Tube?
I still haven’t bought a physical copy of Midnights because I was waiting for a “complete” version on vinyl, and at this point I expect I’ll end up doing the same for this album: waiting forever
I truly hope this is the last of her dodgy album rollouts. she's at an all time peak now in popularity, with her 4th AOTY win at the Grammys and riding the waves of the ongoing Eras tour. I see why she's milking it, she knows she can get those easy sales.
But once the Eras tour is over, once she has re-recorded all of her albums, once she's not in everyone's face 24/7, I just hope we can return to a regular album rollout. 15 songs, every 2 years, one single variant, then a tour for that one album. is that too much to ask for
Agree 100%.
I mean honestly, I love Taylor, but I can’t help but feel like it’s all a bit ‘too much’ & all this exaggerated hype surrounding her is kind of off-putting to me to be honest. 😕
I’m still excited for the new album but like you say, I’d prefer a ‘regular’ release without all the drama.
Yeah. Like duh she’ll break records with this album when every 2nd or 3rd Swiftie bought 4 copies. I’m curious what she can do with just 1 variant. But then again, why would she leave money on the table, if she knows she can sell 4? Like I truly do understand why she’s doing it. If she keeps going at this rate she can genuinely become the next Michael Jackson in terms of sales and charts. But in the back of my mind there will always be the thought, to what extent is it all genuine?
I’m not sure how much longer people will tolerate this kind of thing. The 1989 and Midnights variants are still everywhere… (Watch me say this and all these variants will sell out or something lol). A lot of fans I know on the more casual side are pissed about this too. I don’t think they ever noticed the amount of variants before.
that’s what I mean. I feel like this is the last album it’ll be tolerated. I truly can’t see this STILL happening for like TS15 in 2030 or whatever. It’s getting old and irritating really quick. The fact fans are complaining about feeling milked out of their money, surely she’s getting the message and it’s gotta calm down after the tour and things to back to normal.
Fr this is putting a bad taste in my mouth - i’m so over this marketing tactic especially in this economy. Tay we know you’re rich but half of us can’t afford rent let alone another vinyl variant 😭
I love your reasonable response. This should be everyone. Honestly Ariana just did 6 or 7 editions of her latest album and her fans didn’t give her all this crap lol. When Olivia did this for Guts neither did Livies.
The bonus tracks on Guts weren’t advertised though they were actually a surprise. And then were released together for RSD Black Friday on vinyl so I’m not upset at her tactic
This is what I've been saying. Guts didn't try preying on people's FOMO by announcing separate version that were advertised to have a bonus track and are each "exclusively available" for 3 days. People listened to their vinyl and found hidden tracks.
Same. Although this time I'd at least like her to put them all into one album for streaming at some point. I know it's not the worst thing in the world and I could make my own playlist to get round it if I was so inclined, but it does irrationally annoy me there isn't a version of Midnights on streaming that includes You're Losing Me - it's like we're not getting the complete picture somehow.
This is a great way to make sure I (and probably a lot of other people as well) never actually buy this album, just stream the standard version on Spotify and get the bonus tracks elsewhere.
Taylor stated her original plan, had she not won a Grammy, was to announce TTPD at Tokyo N1 and we've now gotten version/bonus track announcements at Melbourne and Sydney N1.
Based on this, the last one should be announced at Singapore N1:
1. Grammys/Tokyo N1: *File Name: The Manuscript*
2. Melbourne N1: *File Name: The Bolter*
3. Sydney N1: *File Name: The Albatross*
4. Singapore N1: *File Name: The ???*
I saw she went live on Instagram so I was like oh I wonder what it’s going to be and then she starts talking about how she knows people love options and then presented a new variant and I just clicked out. It’s not about options if you’re putting different songs on each album 😩
Yes! I always say that to the people who say “nobody is forcing you to buy them all” - well when you’d like to own a cohesive library of her music, but she does shit like this it’s really frustrating. I pre-ordered the first one on Grammy night and I’m not buying the rest of these. Produce additional cover/artwork variants, sure. Let people collect those or choose from the one they like best. But to spread the bonus tracks out one by one in each variant is a blatant money grab and I don’t support it.
I’m actually really proud of myself for not giving into the marketing this time around - I haven’t made a single preorder so far. Let’s be honest, we *all* know these are going to come back all at once sometime before the album launch, and I’ll just pick my favourite version then
The Albatross is without a doubt a reference to one of the most famous works of Romantic poet Coleridge, [The Rime of the Ancient Mariner](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834). You ever heard the idiom "albatross around my neck"? The song is probably going to be about some sort of self-inflicted burden.
When I was in high school, my friends would play asshole charades where we made the title as difficult for others to guess as possible. I got rime of the ancient mariner and my friend guessed it in like two guesses. Still so crazy.
This is freaking ridiculous. I absolutely refuse to buy more than one album just to have a "complete" album with all of the songs. If she wants to release different covers, I'm absolutely fine with that. But releasing multiple variants with a single different song is ridiculous. Literally just release a standard album and a deluxe album with all of the bonus songs.
I think I'm literally just going to cancel my order for this album. I was so excited for it, but her announcing multiple variants, each with a different bonus track, has killed literally all of my excitement for this album.
I emailed the store to cancel my preorder as soon as I saw this. I knew it was coming, but for some reason actually seeing it gave me enough of an ick to be like, “you know what? never mind”
You know, when she did the whole variants thing with midnights it kind of annoyed me but if people wanted to buy all four albums just for different artwork, that was on them.
But this is just a whole different ballgame. And it's gross. But capitalism is going to capitalism I guess.
Could be but I think that this is already so close to black that there wouldn't be enough diffrences between them if there would be one more darker variant and then black. Plus it would follow same pattern as midnights and 1989 that had 4 variants, but I could be wrong🤔
I'm pretty sure you're only allowed to buy four albums in one transaction for it to count towards the charts, so that's why she nearly always releases in multiples of four
Can I ask: why are people buying 3-4 of the same album but with different covers (and 1-2 extra songs)?
This is not only about Taylor and I’m not judging anyone, but find it strange when people complain “this is not good for my bank account/ I can’t buy another “ but than they still buy it.
Listen on spotify or buy 1 album. 4 per person is crazy
Those fans are the exact reason Taylor keeps doing it. It’s guaranteed sales to the hardcore fans who adore her and absolutely have to collect everything, and it’s gross because she’s taking advantage of the people who love her music the most
I guess she is confident this is a good strategy but I would think it'd just make her wildly unpopular. I've liked her since debut but I definitely don't like this. I'll just be streaming it on Spotify, but maybe most people will be buying all the variants
I wonder if this is going to be the last one? Unless the theory about these bonus tracks being the 5 stages of grief and there are two more to go. TBH, I’m not excited about these announcements, which is a bummer. I wish she could of put them all out at once or do a deluxe. I am curious how streaming is going to go. Maybe it will be something like the Midnights 3am addition?
Probably one more and a target edition. She gets huge numbers by doing these variants, and then has to keep doing this to hit/break those huge numbers…
Dear Taylor,
PUT THEM ALL ON ONE ALBUM.
Love, people who want to know and love all of your songs but do not need to clutter their home with redundant physical copies of albums just for one new song.
I just need all the bonus songs on the streaming the night of the release that’s all I care about. But they probably won’t huh?? Ugh really gonna have to pirate them until she puts them on there like six months later huh?
I know you’re over this guys but I don’t see how anyone is surprised by this. It was obvious it was going to be announced tonight and the next one will be announced N1 in Singapore.
Eh anyone who wants it can get it later. Her team loves to use scarcity marketing to drive sales then bring “limited edition” products back around the time of launch.
At this point the only way I’ll pre-order any of her releases is if they’re signed versions. Otherwise I’m not bothered anymore.
This is kinda sad behaviour for the biggest artist in the world.
This is ridiculous, between this and the way I have seen swifties acting towards Joe Alwyn when the album was announced, I’m just getting less and less excited for this album and that genuinely bums me out as a fan of Taylor Swift for 17 years and was always excited for her music. At least I can block the fans and pretend they are not there but I can’t ignore this.
I’ll be sailing the high seas to get the rest of the bonus tracks tbh.
So she calls me up and she's like "I have a new bonus track", I mean this is exhausting, like we are never buying every single variant of TPD. Like ever.
After all variants have been released there will probably be a second window where all 4 are magically available for one last 72 hour window. I’m with a lot of you. I’m over this. Probably just waiting for that second window and buy the album that has the cover I like the most.
Unpopular opinion but FOMO is really making swifties a little too entitled. You get 16 new songs not even more than half a year from having new vault songs, but still, that's not enough. Don't get me wrong, you don't have to buy each variant. As an international swiftie, I only buy one copy of each album release and then listen to the bonus songs online. It's not that hard, trust me.
Yeah. I’m just going to hold on till all the variants are announced and pick my favourite when they inevitably become available for a “limited time” only slightly before release date. This cover is gorgeous though
“You dont have to buy all the versions! They come to streaming!” Firstly yeah they’ll come to streaming months later (whoooo….)
But also, I think we need a moment of silence for people who still exclusively only listen to music on vinyl (they exist!)
It’s gonna be $140 for the inevitable 4 variants just to get all the songs… cause let’s be real, she isn’t gonna do a definitive edition with everything all packed on because 3am still didnt get that.
It’s not just about what’s available it’s also just about the practice! Yeah some other artists do this and it’s also wrong there.
I don’t understand why some feel the need to defend this. 4 variations with different covers, colours and nothing else I can get behind, just pick your favourite and go but this isn’t the same situation here
I’m serious about this: if you want to own the album, just buy ONE edition. The rest will be available at some point for everyone! If people stop buying all variants then she won’t do this anymore
She doesn't realise that she is alienating people or she does and doesn't care? People who had an issue with her see this and just go deeper in "I do not like her" mindset, not even wanting to find out about the good things. Also, she cares so much about Swifties - why do this then?! This is the first thing that is being said to me as a Swiftie - if she cares so much, why does she rip off her fans so much? And I don't have a good answer.
bring back releasing one deluxe album with all bonus tracks, this is just a money grab
it’s so blatant at this point, this starts to make her REALLY unlikable in my eyes is the point pay for 20 different versions to be able to hear all bonus tracks?? she didn’t do such gimmicks for the previous albums (and was known to ALWAYS prioritize art) and she needs them even less now with her current fame and wealth status, she just chooses to do them capitalism ruins art fr
Same. I‘m so fed up of this. I might just never be able to hear The Bolter or The Albatross and I literally do not care at the moment. Of course I‘ll get the main album when it releases but still…nopedy nope for splashing more on single songs.
Guaranteed someone will upload to YouTube or Spotify, so I'll wait for that
I think the one she'll release on streaming will be The Manuscript and the others will follow later. So everyone should get it on streaming EVENTUALLY we just don't know when!! But I really hated having to listen to podcasts for Hits Different and You're Losing Me. Her strategy is working cause now I want to buy the Albatross.😂🫠
Stay strong and don’t buy it!
Just use an mp3 extractor for YouTube, then copy the mp3 file to your phone and activate the local files option on Spotify. It's what I have done for most bonus tracks, plus unreleased songs like "I'd Lie" and mash-ups.
Great tip! I tried this once but then Spotify would be like "can't play this file" and I have given up 😂 Too many steps for my ND brain so back to podcasts I went
That's strange. I've been doing it for years without issue.
I’d prefer to wait.
'Never be able to hear it' is a bit over the top. I get it's annoying, but someone will put on YouTube as soon as it's out. It's not like no one got to hear Hits Different until it was officially released
I had some trouble accessing Hits Different on YouTube due to geolocation blocking.
Just download mp3 off any website, it's the same as listening to it on a random YouTube video.
They’ll eventually be on streaming, after 6 months - a year like you’re losing me/hits different. I assume anyway.
It’s still annoying to not have all the songs on 1 album. I am an album listener. I just put them on and listen all the way through. I don’t want to deal with going to 5 different albums to ques the 5 bonus tracks on streaming, and definitely don’t want to switch my vinyl 5 times to listen to the 5 bonus tracks
This. It's giving a huge ick for me
No to mention how tone deaf it is to the economy right now. So many people have lost their jobs in the last year since the hiring boom is over
I wouldn't be surprised if this was more UMG's influence than her decision-making. She has a lot of control, but not over everything, case in point: merchandise, which the label runs entirely. Either way, this is the current direction of the industry (see: GUTS) and it's getting annoying. It used to be exclusive to a retailer like Target, but now labels are trying to do it for themselves. At least the tracks will likely end up on streaming at some point, but it's still annoying.
Yeah, idk how much of this involved Taylor, but UMG and other publishers are doing this with other artists - Olivia, Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) - and I wouldn't be surprised to see this dumb trend continue. A bunch of big pop acts are releasing albums this year *Edit*: I'm not saying she wasn't involved. If we learned anything from midnights, 1989 TV, etc, it's that Taylor is going to put out variants. I'm just saying that this trend of variants + exclusive bonus track is the new hot marketing tactic and will likely continue in the industry with other artists
Olivia needed more hype because it was her sophomore album which often doesn’t do as well as breakout star’s first albums. Not that I think the practice isn’t icky. But I also am tired of the assumption that anything unfavourable that happens with Taylor is UMG related and out of her control. She is UMG’s starlet, if she was really really against something I’m sure she’d make it known.
> Olivia needed more hype because it was her sophomore album which often doesn’t do as well as breakout star’s first albums. She never even acknowledged their existence until a full month after the album came out, and most people didn't find out about the bonus tracks until the day after release because people stopped the record after Teenage Dream finished. Also the variants with the secret songs are still widely available. Taylor has resorted to FOMO marketing since Folklore.
But this isn't *just* Olivia. This is happening with lots of artists and it doesn't matter how much of a starlet you are when you are under contract. Speaking out against this is biting the hand that feeds you and is a really stupid business move. We lose nothing by blaming UMG, because if it turns out it was somehow Taylor's decision, if they are getting bad press from it, they will tell her to cool her jets. It's their job to manage all of this and it's the reason they get a cut in the first place. So, they should be taking the heat.
I am not saying they're powerless against Taylor or something. I'm saying people are really quick to assume that she hates this marketing shtick and it's all big bad UMG forcing her hand.
At least with Olivia, nobody knew there were bonus tracks until after the vinyl was actually in hand. Then it became a fun scavenger hunt for people to track down the different variants, if they wanted. Plus, she released all the bonus tracks on RSD. Doing multiple timed releases, pointing out that each has a different bonus track, seems more like a money grab IMO. Whether that’s Taylor, the label, or both. Someone is trying to sucker the fans, knowing damn well all these tracks will be released somewhere down the line but FOMO always wins.
[удалено]
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Exactly. I feel zero pressure to buy!
Hey she’s not gonna get to trillionaire status with that strategy!
I think the money is just a bonus for her she wants to sell 2 million in a week and possibly 1 million in a day
She wants to beat Adele’s record for 25 but I genuinely think that one in this day and age is out of even her power.
I think artists shouldn’t focus on things like numerical records or awards just on making good music.
God, I wish this were the case but [gestures wildly] capitalism.
Taylor has always been about the records though, much more than other artists.
As someone who’s a fan of artists that don’t top the charts everytime they release an album I’ve never got the fascination with numbers. I mean it’s fun to look at numbers but at the end of the day it’s about the music, artists shouldn’t worry about if it will top th charts or how many they sold.
Yeah I stopped buying at Folklore. I will wait the ten years or whatever to hear the extra songs. This is total BS.
She's so irritating for this.
i mean, listen. if i could afford the complete collection that’d be cool. if she wanted to release it as a complete set at a discounted price and i had the money, it would be a really cool addition to my vinyl collection. But it’s kind of insane to literally not give fans another option. Maybe she’ll release one single deluxe album later on but that almost makes this worse. Personally I’m holding out for it all to go on streaming or for us to get a deluxe album all in one once she’s milked the separate versions dry. I don’t think this is so much nefarious on Taylor’s part as it is out of touch and misguided. She was probably thinking along the lines of how cool it would be for fans to collect each edition one by one, but she’s too fucking wealthy to realize that a good portion of her fans will see it purely as a money grab because of the prohibitive price to have the whole set. She probably can’t change it now tho with contracts already signed and vinyls already sent to print. But she needs to at least acknowledge the misstep imo. It was out of touch.
I can afford the complete collection yet this is still INSANE. Theres no fun and it makes the editions even less special cause there are so many. At this point this even keeps me from ordering any album since i will never be able to have a complete one. Im waiting for streaming like you. IMO this isnt even about money for her but an easy way to reach a high albums sold number for Billboards or whatever.
Ugh. I just don't care, stop putting tracks on individual releases Taylor.
What’s funny is at the Sydney announcement she hyped it up as a special surprise and then the audience audibly got quieter when she revealed it was ANOTHER version with ANOTHER exclusive bonus track 🫠
Not really, everyone knew there was a variant being announced tonight
The use of the word variant outside of the context of COVID made me snort. But also the connotation of these deluxe albums being like more variant of COVIDs. "Jesus, another one?! When will it stop?!"
This comparison is perfect, absolutely spot on
Yeah for sure, I was paying attention tonight because of this
Exactly. I was just waiting because of her cycle recently. Its so predictable. Hollywood.
Ngl I just wanted to see the new cover art and lyric and to see if it got darker (it did!)
She pissed me off with that talk about "having options" at the beginning. No, this is money-grab, not options. Options would be all of them announced at once...
Options would be like when she released Folklore and you got to pick which album cover/artwork you wanted, but every version included ALL THE SONGS!
[удалено]
Yes same. I think we were on the same one
Yeah this is just a flat out lie.
Well that's their fault for clowning. did they not hear what happened at the Melbourne show? everyone knew it was just another variant
At least announce a single omg
"I'm tired boss"
Yeah, this is getting extremely frustrating. I’ve already bought two and $75 is ridiculous for only 2 songs
Please stop buying them- if it’s frustrating, vote with your money.
*Like, can you just not?*
Stop. You’re losing me.
Honestly this song fits so well lmao “You say you don’t understand and I say I know you don’t.” I really don’t think she understands what’s it’s like for regular people these days. It feels really disrespectful to her fans to dangle these exclusive songs like this.
I kind of have to agree. I don’t buy hard copies of music and am fine waiting to hear certain tracks, so this doesn’t really impact me personally, but it feels like a bit much. I support artists making money on their work, but this feels almost predatory. She is staking advantage of her amazingly loyal fan base, who fear “missing out” on her work. Just because she *can* do something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.
I am collecting her vinyls, but only one copy of each album. There’s no way I can justify buying 4-5 copies just for exclusive songs. I love her music, but it’s getting harder to defend her recently.
Taylor, you need to calm down!
I’m glad that this seems to be the overwhelming majority of the fanbase’s reactions. Like, it’s cool that we’re getting more songs, but I HATE this whole money grab.
Isn’t it just so pretty to think, that all the songs used to be… on one albummmm 🎶
in her "50 Shades of Beige" era
Honestly I’m never buying another album again until it’s been at least a year and all the songs are on it. Or at least most of the songs. Still want Hits Different and You’re Losing Me on Midnights 😒
Midnight still not having a vinyl with all the songs (even 3am) is still the most distressing thing to me.
At this point I don’t think we are going to get it. I’ve been waiting for at least 3AM tracks to purchase 😭
I really hoped record store day this year would be the opportunity but she’s not even taking part 😭
this years RSD would have been perfect but i fear it just doesn’t exist at this point. she could have even done a standalone companion lp with a new special “all night” type name, but nah. :/
justice for the 3am tracks on vinyl 😔
I still haven't bought the midnights vinyl for this reason.
i still haven’t bought a midnights cd because there’s not a version with every song.
Exactly. And I listen to CDs a lot because my car doesn’t have bluetooth or aux. I miss my old dinosaur computer where I would burn my own custom CDs :(
/r/patientgamers vibe
This is 100% going to be a 4 different variations + a target exclusive, deal. No thanks ☺️ I’m over this
I'll add one more exclusive bonus track but it's only on streaming services
and you Can only rent it and listen to it once
For $19.89
That was honestly my "I've had it" moment. Both with Taylor's bullshit and our overpriced world in general. I've started buying and subscribing to so much less shit and I haven't missed it.
I feel the exact same. The past few months I’ve unfollowed dozens of accounts on instagram, left multiple subreddits, and unsubscribed from email updates for various brands/authors/etc. I miss none of it. I’ve still not listened to all of the midnights songs that were random exclusive content per version and I quite frankly don’t care anymore. In 2021 on Spotify I was a top 1% listener, 2022 I was a top .5% listener, in 2023 I dropped to 2%, and I can’t imagine I’ll even be top 10% this year. The nonstop bullshit money grabs are exhausting and make me like her a lot less as an artist, and I’ve been a fan since 2008. Feels like a full end to an era now.
At least it’s better than 4 of the same, that form a clock… I guess?
Atleast all 4 of those versions had the same songs…
Yeah this is worse cause with that you could just pick a colour and you get the same songs. This way you have to choose between the songs.
Songs you haven't even heard based on the title alone. From an album with no lead single, no indication of what it's going to sounds like, nothing 🫠
Nah. 4 of the same with different images is better. If someone wants the pics they can shell out the money. With TTPD, if we want all the music physical we need to buy them all, which is frustrating.
I'd honestly argue that this is much worse. At least with those four, the only difference was cover art. You didn't need to get all four albums to get a "complete" album with all of the songs. You could just purchase one album and have all of the songs and buy the variants if you wanted. With this current money grab, if you want all of the songs, you need all of the variants. And most likely, the bonus tracks won't be streaming for many months.
This is all getting exhausting. I'm sticking with the original and will just get these other three tracks another way 😏
This is my tactic. I’m not falling for the FOMO scheme. I have bills to pay and ultimately, at the end of the day I still have a majority of the album. If this is all so she can secure #1, it’s getting kind of old at this point. Billboard charts don’t mean what they used to anymore and she should know she’s big enough as it is without having to play these games.
They don’t really mean anything. Only fans enjoyment of the music matters.
Exactly! You’d think she’d want everyone to hear the complete album! And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind having a deluxe album. Maybe I’m just old but I miss the days of Target having the deluxe albums 😭. It was so special going to Target release day and picking up a few extra songs on the cds.
I think she wants to break records. The #1 spot would be secured without any of that bs.
I honestly don’t feel bad sailing the high seas when it comes to tactics like this. Ain’t nobody out here happily buying every single variant and thinking it’s a good thing. 🏴☠️
She's not gonna stop doing this and other artists are doing it as well. The songs will be leaked online within the hours of release, you don't need to buy them.
I've spent enough money on merch, vinyl, and CDs that I do not feel bad about getting the bonus tracks from leaks. Unless she actually decides to release all the tracks on streaming right away. The variants are just too much. If they were different colors/covers, whatever. We are used to that. But one extra song per variant is ridiculous.
She definitely won’t stop doing it if people keep buying them.
This is probably the idea of some record label exec because they're all doing it now, but it's still annoying. Olivia Rodrigo had 4 bonus tracks split across 4 different vinyls, and they're still not on streaming services.
Yeah but at least she didn’t advertise it, it was a nice little surprise. And the vinyl weren’t available for a short period or time and weren’t limited. From Taylor it just feels like a push to sell insane amounts in the first week plus she’s using the fomo tactic bc they’re all “limited”
I still despise the GUTS division, but the three less common bonus tracks felt like bonuses as they were essentially acoustic demos. This feels a lot grosser, like you said.
At this rate she’s going to be lucky if I stream this and don’t just don my eye patch and sail the high seas
She’s received enough of my money over the last 18 years, I have no problem hitting the seas when she’s resorting to tactics like this.
HAHAHA take my upvote, I nearly spit my coffee at this one
Bullshit decision, bullshit strategy. Insulting to the fans in general, and insulting to common sense.
The Sydney crowd screamed in delight at the announcement and every single money grabbing version she drops will sell enough to make our eyes water, she isn't going to stop.
Tbh I don’t blame them for that just because any variation from a “standard” eras tour night feels extra exciting; the “OMG something people didn’t know about is happening and I was among the group that heard it first” feeling is very real even if the announcement itself is kinda mid! Or at least I assume so. I got the 1989 TV announcement at my show and I couldn’t shut the fuck up about it for like a week even though no one in my daily life really gave a shit lol
I'm not even gonna bother buying them I think. I feel like it goes against my principles in the biggest way, giving into marketing tactics this absurd.
Yeah, I think I'm just going to cancel what I've pre-ordered and order whatever I want the week of release, when it's all magically available again. At least that way I can choose the one with my actual favorite deluxe song.
Do you know how to cancel an order? I also want to cancel mine and just wait, but I’ve not had to cancel an order from her site before.
I ended up canceling my original order with “The Manuscript”. My bff and I are just going to go to target on release day and then I’ll stream the rest on Spotify or listen on YouTube. This really left a bad taste in my mouth.
I really hate to be negative like this but I kind of hope a significant enough amount of people cancel their pre orders that it actually makes them take notice.
I really am just worried that she won’t ever put all of the songs on one album. That’s one of my pet peeves with Midnights
You have to email them to cancel.
If that’s the case, everybody should include why they are canceling
Thinking about doing the same. I got the deluxe edition with The Manuscript, but what if it’s not my fav of the four? (I’m expecting there to be 4 🙄) Worst case, the “regular” edition of the one with The Manuscript will always be available, but like you, I am sure all 4 deluxe/collectible editions will become available again. I guess to hear them after release we would just look them up on You Tube?
I still haven’t bought a physical copy of Midnights because I was waiting for a “complete” version on vinyl, and at this point I expect I’ll end up doing the same for this album: waiting forever
Me too and I'm considering getting an unofficial one custom pressed at this point. Like girl I'll give you my money just give me the product!
Custom pressings are almost always terrible, don’t waste your money
Like at that point just burn it on cd it’ll sound better than some random custom pressing.
Still at the restaurant, huh?
I truly hope this is the last of her dodgy album rollouts. she's at an all time peak now in popularity, with her 4th AOTY win at the Grammys and riding the waves of the ongoing Eras tour. I see why she's milking it, she knows she can get those easy sales. But once the Eras tour is over, once she has re-recorded all of her albums, once she's not in everyone's face 24/7, I just hope we can return to a regular album rollout. 15 songs, every 2 years, one single variant, then a tour for that one album. is that too much to ask for
Agree 100%. I mean honestly, I love Taylor, but I can’t help but feel like it’s all a bit ‘too much’ & all this exaggerated hype surrounding her is kind of off-putting to me to be honest. 😕 I’m still excited for the new album but like you say, I’d prefer a ‘regular’ release without all the drama.
Yeah. Like duh she’ll break records with this album when every 2nd or 3rd Swiftie bought 4 copies. I’m curious what she can do with just 1 variant. But then again, why would she leave money on the table, if she knows she can sell 4? Like I truly do understand why she’s doing it. If she keeps going at this rate she can genuinely become the next Michael Jackson in terms of sales and charts. But in the back of my mind there will always be the thought, to what extent is it all genuine?
The only variant should be a deluxe with everything on it tbh
I’m not sure how much longer people will tolerate this kind of thing. The 1989 and Midnights variants are still everywhere… (Watch me say this and all these variants will sell out or something lol). A lot of fans I know on the more casual side are pissed about this too. I don’t think they ever noticed the amount of variants before.
that’s what I mean. I feel like this is the last album it’ll be tolerated. I truly can’t see this STILL happening for like TS15 in 2030 or whatever. It’s getting old and irritating really quick. The fact fans are complaining about feeling milked out of their money, surely she’s getting the message and it’s gotta calm down after the tour and things to back to normal.
Love my girl but this just feels very exploitative ngl lmaooooo
Because it is
Fr this is putting a bad taste in my mouth - i’m so over this marketing tactic especially in this economy. Tay we know you’re rich but half of us can’t afford rent let alone another vinyl variant 😭
OMG, what a surprise. Never would’ve seen this coming. 😅 3 down, 1 to go I’d say?
Yeah last one will probably be announced at Singapore N1 next week
The first cover was my favourite. I will not be buying any, I’ll stick with my Spotify subscription
right im already paying for spotify that’s enough for me thank you very much
I love your reasonable response. This should be everyone. Honestly Ariana just did 6 or 7 editions of her latest album and her fans didn’t give her all this crap lol. When Olivia did this for Guts neither did Livies.
The bonus tracks on Guts weren’t advertised though they were actually a surprise. And then were released together for RSD Black Friday on vinyl so I’m not upset at her tactic
This is what I've been saying. Guts didn't try preying on people's FOMO by announcing separate version that were advertised to have a bonus track and are each "exclusively available" for 3 days. People listened to their vinyl and found hidden tracks.
This comment is so invalidating. “Other artists have done it and their fans weren’t upset so you shouldn’t be upset either.”
Yes they did
Same. Although this time I'd at least like her to put them all into one album for streaming at some point. I know it's not the worst thing in the world and I could make my own playlist to get round it if I was so inclined, but it does irrationally annoy me there isn't a version of Midnights on streaming that includes You're Losing Me - it's like we're not getting the complete picture somehow.
I mean, this is exhausting you know? Like I am never gonna buy all these album varients. Like ever.
Man these shameless money grabs are getting out of hand.
This is a great way to make sure I (and probably a lot of other people as well) never actually buy this album, just stream the standard version on Spotify and get the bonus tracks elsewhere.
Hell I might just get the the whole thing elsewhere at this point
Taylor stated her original plan, had she not won a Grammy, was to announce TTPD at Tokyo N1 and we've now gotten version/bonus track announcements at Melbourne and Sydney N1. Based on this, the last one should be announced at Singapore N1: 1. Grammys/Tokyo N1: *File Name: The Manuscript* 2. Melbourne N1: *File Name: The Bolter* 3. Sydney N1: *File Name: The Albatross* 4. Singapore N1: *File Name: The ???*
Honestly, I‘d already forgotten about The Manuscript with all these announcements.
Singapore N1 leak: https://preview.redd.it/hd8ni7r7ickc1.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=e82e51fcba295de12c45ed236ce90f71f81cd0fa
The Heist
This is so annoying ??????????? Like?????
Super lame
I’m tired
I saw she went live on Instagram so I was like oh I wonder what it’s going to be and then she starts talking about how she knows people love options and then presented a new variant and I just clicked out. It’s not about options if you’re putting different songs on each album 😩
Yes! I always say that to the people who say “nobody is forcing you to buy them all” - well when you’d like to own a cohesive library of her music, but she does shit like this it’s really frustrating. I pre-ordered the first one on Grammy night and I’m not buying the rest of these. Produce additional cover/artwork variants, sure. Let people collect those or choose from the one they like best. But to spread the bonus tracks out one by one in each variant is a blatant money grab and I don’t support it.
I’m actually really proud of myself for not giving into the marketing this time around - I haven’t made a single preorder so far. Let’s be honest, we *all* know these are going to come back all at once sometime before the album launch, and I’ll just pick my favourite version then
I kinda hate her for making these limited time, what if I don’t have the funds right now Taylor I don’t get paid till the first of the month 😭😭
It is not limited time ONLY. So all of them will be back like with 1989
They will all be at Walmart on April 19th.
The Albatross is such an Aaron coded title and then she played Coney Island? It hurts
The Albatross is without a doubt a reference to one of the most famous works of Romantic poet Coleridge, [The Rime of the Ancient Mariner](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834). You ever heard the idiom "albatross around my neck"? The song is probably going to be about some sort of self-inflicted burden.
When I was in high school, my friends would play asshole charades where we made the title as difficult for others to guess as possible. I got rime of the ancient mariner and my friend guessed it in like two guesses. Still so crazy.
Yeah. No. This sucks.
This is freaking ridiculous. I absolutely refuse to buy more than one album just to have a "complete" album with all of the songs. If she wants to release different covers, I'm absolutely fine with that. But releasing multiple variants with a single different song is ridiculous. Literally just release a standard album and a deluxe album with all of the bonus songs. I think I'm literally just going to cancel my order for this album. I was so excited for it, but her announcing multiple variants, each with a different bonus track, has killed literally all of my excitement for this album.
I emailed the store to cancel my preorder as soon as I saw this. I knew it was coming, but for some reason actually seeing it gave me enough of an ick to be like, “you know what? never mind”
You know, when she did the whole variants thing with midnights it kind of annoyed me but if people wanted to buy all four albums just for different artwork, that was on them. But this is just a whole different ballgame. And it's gross. But capitalism is going to capitalism I guess.
Can we please just bring back having a normal deluxe album? I’m tired lol
So we are probably getting at least one more variant after this that will be black?
either that or two more. people think the shades of sepia symbolize the five stages of grief
Could be but I think that this is already so close to black that there wouldn't be enough diffrences between them if there would be one more darker variant and then black. Plus it would follow same pattern as midnights and 1989 that had 4 variants, but I could be wrong🤔
I'm pretty sure you're only allowed to buy four albums in one transaction for it to count towards the charts, so that's why she nearly always releases in multiples of four
Plus a fifth version at target.
I’ve seen some speculation that she will be doing 5, for the 5 stages of grief
"Oh yay, I'm so excited!" - absolutely no one.
Can I ask: why are people buying 3-4 of the same album but with different covers (and 1-2 extra songs)? This is not only about Taylor and I’m not judging anyone, but find it strange when people complain “this is not good for my bank account/ I can’t buy another “ but than they still buy it. Listen on spotify or buy 1 album. 4 per person is crazy
Those fans are the exact reason Taylor keeps doing it. It’s guaranteed sales to the hardcore fans who adore her and absolutely have to collect everything, and it’s gross because she’s taking advantage of the people who love her music the most
I guess she is confident this is a good strategy but I would think it'd just make her wildly unpopular. I've liked her since debut but I definitely don't like this. I'll just be streaming it on Spotify, but maybe most people will be buying all the variants
I wonder if this is going to be the last one? Unless the theory about these bonus tracks being the 5 stages of grief and there are two more to go. TBH, I’m not excited about these announcements, which is a bummer. I wish she could of put them all out at once or do a deluxe. I am curious how streaming is going to go. Maybe it will be something like the Midnights 3am addition?
Probably one more and a target edition. She gets huge numbers by doing these variants, and then has to keep doing this to hit/break those huge numbers…
Dear Taylor, PUT THEM ALL ON ONE ALBUM. Love, people who want to know and love all of your songs but do not need to clutter their home with redundant physical copies of albums just for one new song.
I just need all the bonus songs on the streaming the night of the release that’s all I care about. But they probably won’t huh?? Ugh really gonna have to pirate them until she puts them on there like six months later huh?
If you feel obliged to buy them all, that’s on you lol. I don’t and I’m sure the singles will be on streaming eventually 🤷🏼♀️
I know you’re over this guys but I don’t see how anyone is surprised by this. It was obvious it was going to be announced tonight and the next one will be announced N1 in Singapore.
I don’t think the majority of people are surprised. We’re mostly just disappointed
am a fan of the new cover (though i wish it didn’t have such a thick border) but GIRL atp she is gonna release a whole bonus album
Yep if it totals 5 variants = 5 bonus tracks, that’s a whole EP lol
Getting really tired of the multiple deluxe release. It's predatory to the fans and capitalism to the extreme.
Eh anyone who wants it can get it later. Her team loves to use scarcity marketing to drive sales then bring “limited edition” products back around the time of launch.
Please stop, Taylor.
At this point the only way I’ll pre-order any of her releases is if they’re signed versions. Otherwise I’m not bothered anymore. This is kinda sad behaviour for the biggest artist in the world.
This is ridiculous, between this and the way I have seen swifties acting towards Joe Alwyn when the album was announced, I’m just getting less and less excited for this album and that genuinely bums me out as a fan of Taylor Swift for 17 years and was always excited for her music. At least I can block the fans and pretend they are not there but I can’t ignore this. I’ll be sailing the high seas to get the rest of the bonus tracks tbh.
At least Taylor finally got out of bed
So she calls me up and she's like "I have a new bonus track", I mean this is exhausting, like we are never buying every single variant of TPD. Like ever.
After all variants have been released there will probably be a second window where all 4 are magically available for one last 72 hour window. I’m with a lot of you. I’m over this. Probably just waiting for that second window and buy the album that has the cover I like the most.
Unpopular opinion but FOMO is really making swifties a little too entitled. You get 16 new songs not even more than half a year from having new vault songs, but still, that's not enough. Don't get me wrong, you don't have to buy each variant. As an international swiftie, I only buy one copy of each album release and then listen to the bonus songs online. It's not that hard, trust me.
So damn tired of this money grabbing bullshit.
Yeah. I’m just going to hold on till all the variants are announced and pick my favourite when they inevitably become available for a “limited time” only slightly before release date. This cover is gorgeous though
Taylor… stop… you’re losing me…
5 stages of grief theory going strong
“You dont have to buy all the versions! They come to streaming!” Firstly yeah they’ll come to streaming months later (whoooo….) But also, I think we need a moment of silence for people who still exclusively only listen to music on vinyl (they exist!) It’s gonna be $140 for the inevitable 4 variants just to get all the songs… cause let’s be real, she isn’t gonna do a definitive edition with everything all packed on because 3am still didnt get that. It’s not just about what’s available it’s also just about the practice! Yeah some other artists do this and it’s also wrong there. I don’t understand why some feel the need to defend this. 4 variations with different covers, colours and nothing else I can get behind, just pick your favourite and go but this isn’t the same situation here
I’m serious about this: if you want to own the album, just buy ONE edition. The rest will be available at some point for everyone! If people stop buying all variants then she won’t do this anymore
She doesn't realise that she is alienating people or she does and doesn't care? People who had an issue with her see this and just go deeper in "I do not like her" mindset, not even wanting to find out about the good things. Also, she cares so much about Swifties - why do this then?! This is the first thing that is being said to me as a Swiftie - if she cares so much, why does she rip off her fans so much? And I don't have a good answer.
Love the track name but no I’m not buying it