Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department (April 19, 2024) Album • Page 15

the difference this time (at least on the vinyl side of things) is that she's splitting the actual music across different variants, whereas folklore, Midnights, and 1989 primarily just had different covers (save for the Target vinyl for 1989 having Sweeter Than Fiction and i guess the Target CD for Midnights). it's much harder to argue that super fans only have one piece of a larger puzzle when it's alternate artwork and a different disc color. it's definitely easier when you have to buy the album multiple times to hear all the music. reminds me of when artists had several retail exclusive bonus tracks spread across Best Buy, iTunes, Walmart, etc. those days have mostly subsided given the rise in streaming.

feels gross that a billionaire who's already guaranteed the top spot on the charts expects people to spend money on multiple copies of an album in the middle of a recession just to somehow top her previous sales. sure, all the songs will eventually be publicly available in the future, but for record collectors, it sucks.

 

Idk just makes me want to listen to the OG versions of the albums.

 

This technically proved true of Midnights too, though. Just because you bought the vinyl (even if you bought it four times) didn’t mean you got the 3am songs, or “Hits Different,” or eventually “You’re Losing Me.” If you wanted to acquire all of those legally, you’d have to buy multiple things across multiple formats.

It does recall the b-sides and bonus tracks rush of the early 2000s, and I’ll handle it the same way I did then: buy the standard edition, download the other songs whenever they hit the internet.

 

Also, you can maybe thank Olivia Rodrigo for this one, since Taylor probably saw what she did with the GUTS bonus tracks and realized there was some capitalist angle she wasn’t exploiting.

 

i'm still pissed that Republic did that for Anberlin back in the day. luckily they remedied that for two of their albums on that label.

yeah, the minute i saw that each variant had a bonus track, i said "well, Taylor's gonna love this"

 

What is the point of this? To make a billionaire even more rich? To ensure the album debuts at #1? Does Taylor even need either of these things anymore? (No)

 

She's making bank, obviously, but everyone on her team and band members/producers is getting a cut too, so I guess more power to 'em.

 

I think it's more chart/records/accolades related than money related, I can't imagine variants make any monetary difference to her

 

She wants to collect sales/charts records like they’re Pokémon

 

Yep, it's the same take just a different method. I hate it. It's why we still don't have Have Mercy by Gaslight on anything but iTunes/Apple Music unless you downloaded it.

I'll bitch and complain, though, at how she consumes so much of the vinyl production capacity by doing this shit, though.

 

I mean I get this too. She’s a corporation, and employs a lot of people that rely on income. Hopefully everyone that needs to be is being compensated. Idk.

 

I’ll just wait for whatever the target exclusive ends up being

 

I'll simply not participate in this pre-order.

 

I can’t believe this trend is back. But at the end of the day I don’t really care if I don’t have every single bonus track on vinyl. I’ll pick the one that seems most complete to me and stream the rest.

 

People like to buy things lol. The consumers aren't being victimized because an artist is putting out more content. Who gives a shit, buy it if you want it.

 

Taylor wants the money but I think more importantly for her she wants the big sales weeks and breaking records and accolades and awards to add to her legacy. At this point she's cemented her status and it's all about shaping the legacy

Which nobody is forcing fans to buy but I think it's understandable to feel cynical about it all

 

I just think it’s ridiculous that Taylor Swift herself is preventing me from having Yellowcard’s Paper Walls re-pressed. Don’t even get me started on her blocking of Days Away…

 

Studio musicians are most likely hired as work for hire and getting a flat fee and her live band will only get their salary for tour and performances plus whatever bonuses she gives. It all obviously trickles down and given the Eras bonuses, I’d assume she’s paying people very well. I don’t know if this is still the case (can’t imagine it wouldn’t be) but I know at least at one point her entire band was salaried yearly and getting health insurance through her. They don’t get direct money from all these variants and record sales though

 

wait wut

 

starting to look like an Apple presentation to me

 

Why are people screaming for a photo reveal? lol

 

They'd scream even if she picked her nose and showed her booger on the screen. Swifties are rabid for literally anything and everything she does haha.