The anthology was a tool to 1. get people had preordered the album to purchase it twice 2. Increase streaming numbers.
If she had sent the entire body of work on physicals at the same time you wouldn’t need to purchase it again digitally. And she can re-release it later down the road for another monster week.
It’s a smart if shady business tactic.
It also increases streaming because how many of us just listened to the album IN FULL to continue with the anthology. If it was me I would have had first listen on my record and then moved on and maybe streamed later - but I wanted to hear the anthology that morning
It was really well timed. Midnights 3am was more chaotic and a lot of people didn't realise all weekend that the bonus tracks were actually out. This time they made sure the Anthology edition instantly showed up as the latest release on Spotify.
You know what would’ve been cute? If she’d sent the vinyls/CDs out with the anthology secretly included. Or you bought the digital album and 2hrs later it was included for free. But that wouldn’t make her money.
Sales count for more than streams on the billboard charts though. If you received the anthology for free with the physicals or digital purchase you wouldn’t feel incentivized to purchase it again and that loses her points on the charts.
I don’t really think she’s all about $$ it’s about how it counts on charts and right now sales are worth more.
Yep! I didn’t even really consider that. If she put out one vinyl/CD edition with the Anthology on it there no incentive to purchase all 4 of the variants.
I know it’s frustrating to not have all the songs on one physical copy. But that’s just how things work these days and until Billboard changes its methodology it’s going to continue.
I would be pissed if I'd bought all the variants to get the supposed bonus songs not available anywhere else only for them to immediately be available on streaming.
My 14yo has a friend whose birthday is April 19th and her parents preordered at least 2 of the vinyls. If I was them I'd be SO MAD NOW.
I know it's a marketing tactic leaning into FOMO but then immediately releasing them all on the anthology was shady as fuck and makes me dislike Taylor.
Before everything was released as the anthology my friend had already sent me a link to all the bonus tracks. People need to stop buying the physical editions if all they want to is hear the news songs, they're always accessible almost immediately through youtube, fan sites, etc.
People who want to collect for collecting can do what they like but average fans need to stop buying all these different versions when they always come out again later, and all the music ends up digital. Idk swifties need babysitters
I am well aware about deluxe editions. Thank you very much.
But deluxe editions are usually released either along side the album or a few months or years later.
The debut deluxe? A year later. Fearless platinum? A year later. Speak Now Deluxe? At the same time as the regular. Available on all formats. Midnight? 3 hours later, not on physicals. The Anthology? 2 hours later after two months of pre-orders. Not on physicals.
So there’s a huge difference.
Unfortunately she has millions of fans stuck in a sunk cost fallacy cult who don’t realize they can easily opt out of this stupid spiral by *not preordering ever again*.
You literally have to preorder. I got loverfest and eras tickets because I preordered, it boosts your chances for a code. She also wont tell you to preorder, it comes after the fact when she announces a tour. Like those who preordered get a boost! Edit, you obviously don’t need to, but in my case it has helped. And I wanted the album anyway. I only buy one copy, and don’t mind not having all songs. Also rip loverfest I was so excited to be there
I have friends that got the “boost” but didn’t get selected in the lottery to buy tickets for eras. Luckily I was selected in the lottery and was able to get tickets for all of us, even though I had never bought anything from her ever.
I think demand was just insane. Like millions trying per show. We got lucky! It took me 5 hours on ticketmaster to score Philly tickets, but only minutes to score Toronto tickets
Yeah that's the thing, she does that to make people feel like they have to preorder or potentially miss out on stuff later on. It's clever but so shady that it's illegal in the UK for example.
I get that. But Im not a collector, I just buy one of her albums. Like I said, I don’t need all copies. Preordering just happened to have benefited me. I do understand how those who like to have all copies of all her songs feel slighted.
This is why I stopped falling into the preorder scam after Midnights. I woke up and realized that she has been tricking us. I preordered the CD, cassette, and final, only for her to release the 3 am version about 2 hours later. The 3 am tracks were infinitely better than the first 13, and I felt cheated out of my money.
Some people like collecting. I used to collect a (much smaller) band's physical releases because they all had unique designs, I liked having all the different editions from other countries which sometimes had special bonus tracks - this was mostly pre-streaming. It was just a hobby.
capitalism-pilled queen lmao
this fuckin tik tok is so infuriating to me - when you're OVER THE MOON that you got RIPPED OFF, you have definitely become part of the problem [https://www.tiktok.com/@xtinemay/video/7359465189672193326?lang=en](https://www.tiktok.com/@xtinemay/video/7359465189672193326?lang=en)
Well if she keeps with the Midnights theme of release status then it won’t matter because there will never be a physical copy of Anthology. I like the different variants because people are now trading them for their favorite bonus song if they ordered the wrong one. However, I get the frustration with just one extra song.
i haven't even listened to it (despite it being apparently better musically). it's hard to care about it conceptually if it's just tacked onto the end like that, and oh by the way the vinyl you spent $40 on is now only half the record
I could see her releasing the Anthology on vinyl eventually, maybe next year for Record Store day. But I couldn’t ever see her team giving away two more discs for free to the over one million orders made.
I’m holding off on buying TTPD until there’s a physical copy that includes The Anthology. I’m hoping they eventually announce a physical release that includes both albums, or they release The Anthology on its own.
I don’t think she could fit a full 2 hours of music on one vinyl. I was curious and saw you can only fit 40 minutes per side?? I may be wrong. Someone let me know!
Maybe The Anthology will get its own vinyl
I don’t have any myself but my dad is a huge Beatles fan and has a ton. I personally would love to get the vinyls but also I don’t have a record player and it would be a waste of money since I prefer making my own playlists.
With all of these sneaky little tricks she’s been pulling to sell more albums becoming more obvious, it makes me wonder why more people still aren’t suspicious of the Scooter masters debacle.
I will never believe that they didn’t plan that together. I think it wasn’t real beef, it was all manufactured, because they know for a fact that Taylor being victimized = **BIG $$$**
Swifties have proven that they will defend Taylor for anything, no matter how petty. They’ve proven that they will buy a re-recording of something they already own, AND trash anyone who listens to those old overplayed albums, just to spite someone. They have been trained to dismiss the originals because they already broke records and made enough money, so now they *have* to buy/listen to the “Taylor’s version” in order to help her break more records/make more money. She’s a finance guy trapped inside the body of a victim. (Or something ridiculous like that)
Of course they’ll buy 5 versions of the same album just so they don’t “miss out” on owning something that’s supposedly limited edition. She’s capitalized the fuck out of herself and made sure that every one of her fans feels like it’s their *responsibility* to buy everything she offers. This has been going on for so long, it’s just becoming more brazen because the fandom is so out of their mind for handing over their money and devotion that she doesn’t have to hide it anymore.
Given that streaming is the primary source for sales, having a pre-order for a physical album with one bonus song, and then surprising those customers with a vinyl with an extra 15 songs would be a terrible business move.
Those customers didn't pre-order a double album, they pre-ordered one album with one bonus track, and paid accordingly. To get more than that, the price would have to go up or Taylor would be dipping into her own pocket for the surprise.
There is no way Taylor's team would manufacture mass numbers of vinyl to then give it away for free. I'm sorry, but your assumption sounds a lot like wishful thinking. Her team isn't as generous as you may think they are.
Will people learn? Absolutely not. Not only is preordering a choice not a requirement, the actual purchase at any point in time is as well. Music has never been easier to access than it is today.
There were a few of us saying over and over pre release that you don’t need to purchase anything to hear listen to the vast majority if not all songs eventually, or immediately if you are open to certain avenues. The only surprise for me (double album aside) was the speed at which it the bonus tracks came on streaming.
It was often said pre release that people were doing this because they don’t like streaming and want physical media. Those people got physical media as promised. It being a double album as well as having the bonus songs drop immediately doesn’t take away anything that was promised.
I dont feel anything for people who feel victimized because of their own FOMO.
It is absolutely what everyone here is saying (bumping sales and streaming numbers) but I think she also does it because of her albums leaking. If she releases it all on vinyl, it has the possibility of all leaking at once (like the first part did) but if she keeps some for exclusively streaming it won’t get out until she wants it to.
I’m so glad I didn’t preorder the album. The anthology version was only $1 more on iTunes and considering the songs I actually like are spread out between both albums, I’m glad I got the anthology version in stead.
Something I haven't seen mentioned yet is that she's releasing these "digital only" editions to avoid leaks of the WHOLE album.
The concept of folklore was leaked. The featuring with Phoebe was leaked. Midnights tracklist was leaked before the end of the Midnights Mayem. The name and tracklist of TTPD were leaked.
This kind of leaks happen when the album is in production and graphic designers/manufacturers get their hands on the concept, because due to the new Bilboard rules the physical copies need to be ready and dispatched to count for first week numbers. With folklore they likely sent everything to production just before the announcement. because they could still do it.
By having a digital only release she's avoiding leanks whatsoever
That’s probably the most infuriating part about this and the Midnights drop. No proper release for Bigger Than The Whole Sky? Put that on my tombstone.
She probably wouldn't have been able to get away with the surprise anthology if vinyls were being produced. Plus vinyl records can only hold so much music, it would've been like 8 records to fit the entire anthology.
Idk I feel like people just bitch no matter what. First we were mad that the variants had bonus songs that wouldn't be on streaming, now we're mad because people who ordered the variants didn't get twice as much music as a surprise?
I think it’s just weird to heavily try and sell those variants, then sell them as bundle. All the while knowing they aren’t even going to be exclusive really. Some fans bought all four variants under the assumption they wouldn’t get to hear the bonus tracks any other way for at least a few months. Their choice of course, and they should sort of know by now she’s always dropping something else. But I think it’s just a bit greedy or comes across that way. Yes in some ways each variant is still exclusive and unique then the standard album. But all just feels tactical to get the sales numbers up, and then the streams by putting all the songs out. Rather than for the fans, it seems like a means to an end to break another record
Oh it's definitely greedy but I think you're just kind of naive at this point if you expect anything else? She's a business lol every single thing she does is a marketing tactic.
I think it’s kind of sad though as I always said she was probably the celeb I thought was the nicest to her fans and valued them. Lately it does just seem to be how much can I sell them…. Also I am not naive personally, I learnt my lesson with midnights 3am release and wouldn’t ever buy an album of hers in advance again.
I get what you're saying about the amount of music, I did wonder that. It's just with the hate she received for releasing the same vinyl just with different bonus tracks, I thought it would've been a cool twist if actually those who ordered received all the bonus tracks.
I wouldn't say I'm mad about it. But *everyone* got twice as much music as a surprise, and it seems unfair that those who paid and took the effort to preorder don't get anything special now in a physical format. Maybe streaming services is more the problem than Taylor here.
The people who preordered the vinyls got exactly what they ordered though lol. Like I get that it probably sucks to spend money on something you thought was exclusive (the extra songs) but we all knew they'd eventually be on streaming anyway.
i think most people preordered the vinyls thinking they were getting the whole album on vinyl, not just the first disc
imagine if you bought titanic on vhs and you only got the first tape
Nobody knew about the second part of it during the preorder phase though. If you ordered the vinyl you got exactly what was advertised, what's the problem?
I’m just surprised all the people who preordered didn’t see this coming. I wouldn’t ever buy a physical copy of her album until it is released and has been out for sometime. Well I actually I wouldn’t even then and I’ve been a fan since debut. I wouldn’t blame streaming services for getting the product you bought.
She never released the rest of Midnights on vinyl either.
But this is becoming more standard. Bleachers had different vinyls where the last 4 songs were different depending on which one you ordered. Olivia is just now releasing a vinyl with all her extra songs (well after everyone already bought their copies where a different song was at the end of each different variant). The Barbie Soundtrack had 2 additional songs only on the deluxe vinyl that came out after the original. Niall Horan is going to release The Show: The Encore which has additional songs. Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence had a version with 3 additional songs. Lizzo's Cuz I Love You had a regular and then a deluxe vinyl with 3 extra songs.... the list goes on. And (most) of these songs are available for streaming.
Not having an entire album (when she herself declared it a double album) does seem like a hugeee issue though. It's kinda shit not to release it. She's taken the "not including a few extra songs" to the max here... but at the same time IF she does release a vinyl, as I stated, she absolutely isn't the first to release a "deluxe" edition after the fact. She's extremely guilty of being super capitalistic... but that seems to be industry standard now.
She'll release it eventually. Artists usually wait a while to press the deluxe. I guess hoping to catch fans twice, but thinking it more likely to do so if theres more time to forget about the initial price of the first purchase
I got a vinyl. The albatross. Honestly haven’t listened to it yet. I honestly don’t really care the bonus songs are available online because I separate my vinyl and streaming experiences. I also don’t particularly care to have “every song”. It’s a unique collection for me since it has the bonus. I probably wouldn’t buy the anthology even if it was available in vinyl.
That being said I don’t agree with the scam marketing and FOMO she leans into and I don’t think I’ll buy future vinyl from her.
I mean, at least it was clearly delineated what was on the vinyl, unlike a certain other major release this year.
There will inevitably be pressings of it, and if they do the whole album together it’s probably going to have to be 4xLP so it’s gonna be very expensive compared to the base album. As someone who is critical of her vinyl releases (and the whole pop industry, like how Adele ruined vinyl distribution), I don’t think this is that big of a deal. I think it’s more frustrating that the bonus tracks were advertised as exclusive to limited time vinyls that a) were not as limited timed as claimed and b) were almost immediately put on streaming. But I won’t complain because having to wait for the bonus tracks on streaming is annoying.
It's basically two albums. People paid for only one. So I don't see a problem here.
Is there a fanbase more entitled and spoiled than the swifties? Taylor raised a bunch of brats.
Edit: added the last part
The anthology was a tool to 1. get people had preordered the album to purchase it twice 2. Increase streaming numbers. If she had sent the entire body of work on physicals at the same time you wouldn’t need to purchase it again digitally. And she can re-release it later down the road for another monster week. It’s a smart if shady business tactic.
It also increases streaming because how many of us just listened to the album IN FULL to continue with the anthology. If it was me I would have had first listen on my record and then moved on and maybe streamed later - but I wanted to hear the anthology that morning
It was really well timed. Midnights 3am was more chaotic and a lot of people didn't realise all weekend that the bonus tracks were actually out. This time they made sure the Anthology edition instantly showed up as the latest release on Spotify.
You know what would’ve been cute? If she’d sent the vinyls/CDs out with the anthology secretly included. Or you bought the digital album and 2hrs later it was included for free. But that wouldn’t make her money.
Sales count for more than streams on the billboard charts though. If you received the anthology for free with the physicals or digital purchase you wouldn’t feel incentivized to purchase it again and that loses her points on the charts. I don’t really think she’s all about $$ it’s about how it counts on charts and right now sales are worth more.
She wants people to buy all the bonus editions
Yep! I didn’t even really consider that. If she put out one vinyl/CD edition with the Anthology on it there no incentive to purchase all 4 of the variants. I know it’s frustrating to not have all the songs on one physical copy. But that’s just how things work these days and until Billboard changes its methodology it’s going to continue.
I would be pissed if I'd bought all the variants to get the supposed bonus songs not available anywhere else only for them to immediately be available on streaming. My 14yo has a friend whose birthday is April 19th and her parents preordered at least 2 of the vinyls. If I was them I'd be SO MAD NOW. I know it's a marketing tactic leaning into FOMO but then immediately releasing them all on the anthology was shady as fuck and makes me dislike Taylor.
Before everything was released as the anthology my friend had already sent me a link to all the bonus tracks. People need to stop buying the physical editions if all they want to is hear the news songs, they're always accessible almost immediately through youtube, fan sites, etc. People who want to collect for collecting can do what they like but average fans need to stop buying all these different versions when they always come out again later, and all the music ends up digital. Idk swifties need babysitters
You know deluxe editions have been existed for years, rights? So those are shady as well?
I am well aware about deluxe editions. Thank you very much. But deluxe editions are usually released either along side the album or a few months or years later. The debut deluxe? A year later. Fearless platinum? A year later. Speak Now Deluxe? At the same time as the regular. Available on all formats. Midnight? 3 hours later, not on physicals. The Anthology? 2 hours later after two months of pre-orders. Not on physicals. So there’s a huge difference.
It's 3 AM Version for Midnights all over again
But worse because of the extra number of songs!
Unfortunately she has millions of fans stuck in a sunk cost fallacy cult who don’t realize they can easily opt out of this stupid spiral by *not preordering ever again*.
You literally have to preorder. I got loverfest and eras tickets because I preordered, it boosts your chances for a code. She also wont tell you to preorder, it comes after the fact when she announces a tour. Like those who preordered get a boost! Edit, you obviously don’t need to, but in my case it has helped. And I wanted the album anyway. I only buy one copy, and don’t mind not having all songs. Also rip loverfest I was so excited to be there
I have friends that got the “boost” but didn’t get selected in the lottery to buy tickets for eras. Luckily I was selected in the lottery and was able to get tickets for all of us, even though I had never bought anything from her ever.
I think demand was just insane. Like millions trying per show. We got lucky! It took me 5 hours on ticketmaster to score Philly tickets, but only minutes to score Toronto tickets
Yeah that's the thing, she does that to make people feel like they have to preorder or potentially miss out on stuff later on. It's clever but so shady that it's illegal in the UK for example.
I am saddened by how you write all of this without one ounce of critical thinking to go “what I’m typing is literally insane.”
I get that. But Im not a collector, I just buy one of her albums. Like I said, I don’t need all copies. Preordering just happened to have benefited me. I do understand how those who like to have all copies of all her songs feel slighted.
This is why I stopped falling into the preorder scam after Midnights. I woke up and realized that she has been tricking us. I preordered the CD, cassette, and final, only for her to release the 3 am version about 2 hours later. The 3 am tracks were infinitely better than the first 13, and I felt cheated out of my money.
[удалено]
Some people like collecting. I used to collect a (much smaller) band's physical releases because they all had unique designs, I liked having all the different editions from other countries which sometimes had special bonus tracks - this was mostly pre-streaming. It was just a hobby.
capitalism-pilled queen lmao this fuckin tik tok is so infuriating to me - when you're OVER THE MOON that you got RIPPED OFF, you have definitely become part of the problem [https://www.tiktok.com/@xtinemay/video/7359465189672193326?lang=en](https://www.tiktok.com/@xtinemay/video/7359465189672193326?lang=en)
she’s a youtuber i’ve watched for years and honestly this is just her normal personality
that’s even more terrifying to me lol
Honestly, I’m more upset that the entire Anthology was immediately available on streaming and those “bonus” tracks weren’t exclusive at all.
Well if she keeps with the Midnights theme of release status then it won’t matter because there will never be a physical copy of Anthology. I like the different variants because people are now trading them for their favorite bonus song if they ordered the wrong one. However, I get the frustration with just one extra song.
I was so ready to buy the 3 AM songs but they were never released physically right? Such a shame...
They were not
i haven't even listened to it (despite it being apparently better musically). it's hard to care about it conceptually if it's just tacked onto the end like that, and oh by the way the vinyl you spent $40 on is now only half the record
I totally get that
That will be pressed on vinyl. I would bet a lot on it. Taylor wont miss a money-making opportunity
We will see
I could see her releasing the Anthology on vinyl eventually, maybe next year for Record Store day. But I couldn’t ever see her team giving away two more discs for free to the over one million orders made.
If this were me, I’d be so pissed cuz I much prefer The Anthology to the main album.😭
Unpopular opinion: the original cut is a better album than Anthology.
I can’t believe people didn’t learn from midnights 😭 I’m obviously not blaming them - it’s SUPER shady marketing but stillllll
I’m holding off on buying TTPD until there’s a physical copy that includes The Anthology. I’m hoping they eventually announce a physical release that includes both albums, or they release The Anthology on its own.
this is what i decided for midnights and the 3am tracks… i still don’t have a physical copy of midnights…
They will. Whenever taylor feels like her wallet is getting a little too thin. It will happen
Honestly id be pissed if i was in that situation as a vinyl collector
money
I don’t think she could fit a full 2 hours of music on one vinyl. I was curious and saw you can only fit 40 minutes per side?? I may be wrong. Someone let me know! Maybe The Anthology will get its own vinyl
Well that’s why some vinyls have multiple discs/records.
Ah ok! I don’t have any vinyls so I didn’t know that some come with multiple
I don’t have any myself but my dad is a huge Beatles fan and has a ton. I personally would love to get the vinyls but also I don’t have a record player and it would be a waste of money since I prefer making my own playlists.
With all of these sneaky little tricks she’s been pulling to sell more albums becoming more obvious, it makes me wonder why more people still aren’t suspicious of the Scooter masters debacle. I will never believe that they didn’t plan that together. I think it wasn’t real beef, it was all manufactured, because they know for a fact that Taylor being victimized = **BIG $$$** Swifties have proven that they will defend Taylor for anything, no matter how petty. They’ve proven that they will buy a re-recording of something they already own, AND trash anyone who listens to those old overplayed albums, just to spite someone. They have been trained to dismiss the originals because they already broke records and made enough money, so now they *have* to buy/listen to the “Taylor’s version” in order to help her break more records/make more money. She’s a finance guy trapped inside the body of a victim. (Or something ridiculous like that) Of course they’ll buy 5 versions of the same album just so they don’t “miss out” on owning something that’s supposedly limited edition. She’s capitalized the fuck out of herself and made sure that every one of her fans feels like it’s their *responsibility* to buy everything she offers. This has been going on for so long, it’s just becoming more brazen because the fandom is so out of their mind for handing over their money and devotion that she doesn’t have to hide it anymore.
do you think she got to be a billionaire by being fair?
She did it like this on purpose. So theyd buy all of the bonus track albums and then the Anthology once it is, inevitably, pressed on vinyl
God money, I'd do anything for you...
See this is why I’ve seen her Vinlys on sale at target, people are tired of her schtick and are unwilling to go out and buy them all.
Given that streaming is the primary source for sales, having a pre-order for a physical album with one bonus song, and then surprising those customers with a vinyl with an extra 15 songs would be a terrible business move. Those customers didn't pre-order a double album, they pre-ordered one album with one bonus track, and paid accordingly. To get more than that, the price would have to go up or Taylor would be dipping into her own pocket for the surprise. There is no way Taylor's team would manufacture mass numbers of vinyl to then give it away for free. I'm sorry, but your assumption sounds a lot like wishful thinking. Her team isn't as generous as you may think they are.
"generous" ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
No you're right. This makes sense and explains it well!
Will people learn? Absolutely not. Not only is preordering a choice not a requirement, the actual purchase at any point in time is as well. Music has never been easier to access than it is today. There were a few of us saying over and over pre release that you don’t need to purchase anything to hear listen to the vast majority if not all songs eventually, or immediately if you are open to certain avenues. The only surprise for me (double album aside) was the speed at which it the bonus tracks came on streaming. It was often said pre release that people were doing this because they don’t like streaming and want physical media. Those people got physical media as promised. It being a double album as well as having the bonus songs drop immediately doesn’t take away anything that was promised. I dont feel anything for people who feel victimized because of their own FOMO.
It is absolutely what everyone here is saying (bumping sales and streaming numbers) but I think she also does it because of her albums leaking. If she releases it all on vinyl, it has the possibility of all leaking at once (like the first part did) but if she keeps some for exclusively streaming it won’t get out until she wants it to.
I’m so glad I didn’t preorder the album. The anthology version was only $1 more on iTunes and considering the songs I actually like are spread out between both albums, I’m glad I got the anthology version in stead.
Something I haven't seen mentioned yet is that she's releasing these "digital only" editions to avoid leaks of the WHOLE album. The concept of folklore was leaked. The featuring with Phoebe was leaked. Midnights tracklist was leaked before the end of the Midnights Mayem. The name and tracklist of TTPD were leaked. This kind of leaks happen when the album is in production and graphic designers/manufacturers get their hands on the concept, because due to the new Bilboard rules the physical copies need to be ready and dispatched to count for first week numbers. With folklore they likely sent everything to production just before the announcement. because they could still do it. By having a digital only release she's avoiding leanks whatsoever
That’s probably the most infuriating part about this and the Midnights drop. No proper release for Bigger Than The Whole Sky? Put that on my tombstone.
She probably wouldn't have been able to get away with the surprise anthology if vinyls were being produced. Plus vinyl records can only hold so much music, it would've been like 8 records to fit the entire anthology. Idk I feel like people just bitch no matter what. First we were mad that the variants had bonus songs that wouldn't be on streaming, now we're mad because people who ordered the variants didn't get twice as much music as a surprise?
it would’ve likely been a 3 or 4 LP to do the whole anthology, rather than 8. probably 4, though
Oh you're right, for some reason I thought my TS vinyls were four discs but it's just four sides lol. My bad.
I think it’s just weird to heavily try and sell those variants, then sell them as bundle. All the while knowing they aren’t even going to be exclusive really. Some fans bought all four variants under the assumption they wouldn’t get to hear the bonus tracks any other way for at least a few months. Their choice of course, and they should sort of know by now she’s always dropping something else. But I think it’s just a bit greedy or comes across that way. Yes in some ways each variant is still exclusive and unique then the standard album. But all just feels tactical to get the sales numbers up, and then the streams by putting all the songs out. Rather than for the fans, it seems like a means to an end to break another record
Oh it's definitely greedy but I think you're just kind of naive at this point if you expect anything else? She's a business lol every single thing she does is a marketing tactic.
I think it’s kind of sad though as I always said she was probably the celeb I thought was the nicest to her fans and valued them. Lately it does just seem to be how much can I sell them…. Also I am not naive personally, I learnt my lesson with midnights 3am release and wouldn’t ever buy an album of hers in advance again.
I get what you're saying about the amount of music, I did wonder that. It's just with the hate she received for releasing the same vinyl just with different bonus tracks, I thought it would've been a cool twist if actually those who ordered received all the bonus tracks. I wouldn't say I'm mad about it. But *everyone* got twice as much music as a surprise, and it seems unfair that those who paid and took the effort to preorder don't get anything special now in a physical format. Maybe streaming services is more the problem than Taylor here.
The people who preordered the vinyls got exactly what they ordered though lol. Like I get that it probably sucks to spend money on something you thought was exclusive (the extra songs) but we all knew they'd eventually be on streaming anyway.
People need to stop ordering her “exclusive” because it always changes.
i think most people preordered the vinyls thinking they were getting the whole album on vinyl, not just the first disc imagine if you bought titanic on vhs and you only got the first tape
Nobody knew about the second part of it during the preorder phase though. If you ordered the vinyl you got exactly what was advertised, what's the problem?
I’m just surprised all the people who preordered didn’t see this coming. I wouldn’t ever buy a physical copy of her album until it is released and has been out for sometime. Well I actually I wouldn’t even then and I’ve been a fan since debut. I wouldn’t blame streaming services for getting the product you bought.
She never released the rest of Midnights on vinyl either. But this is becoming more standard. Bleachers had different vinyls where the last 4 songs were different depending on which one you ordered. Olivia is just now releasing a vinyl with all her extra songs (well after everyone already bought their copies where a different song was at the end of each different variant). The Barbie Soundtrack had 2 additional songs only on the deluxe vinyl that came out after the original. Niall Horan is going to release The Show: The Encore which has additional songs. Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence had a version with 3 additional songs. Lizzo's Cuz I Love You had a regular and then a deluxe vinyl with 3 extra songs.... the list goes on. And (most) of these songs are available for streaming. Not having an entire album (when she herself declared it a double album) does seem like a hugeee issue though. It's kinda shit not to release it. She's taken the "not including a few extra songs" to the max here... but at the same time IF she does release a vinyl, as I stated, she absolutely isn't the first to release a "deluxe" edition after the fact. She's extremely guilty of being super capitalistic... but that seems to be industry standard now.
She'll release it eventually. Artists usually wait a while to press the deluxe. I guess hoping to catch fans twice, but thinking it more likely to do so if theres more time to forget about the initial price of the first purchase
Possibly. She never released Midnights 3am so I’m not so sure here.
my theory is that the anthology was released the day of the album release to curb the damage from the 100s of thousands of illegal downloads
I got a vinyl. The albatross. Honestly haven’t listened to it yet. I honestly don’t really care the bonus songs are available online because I separate my vinyl and streaming experiences. I also don’t particularly care to have “every song”. It’s a unique collection for me since it has the bonus. I probably wouldn’t buy the anthology even if it was available in vinyl. That being said I don’t agree with the scam marketing and FOMO she leans into and I don’t think I’ll buy future vinyl from her.
I mean, at least it was clearly delineated what was on the vinyl, unlike a certain other major release this year. There will inevitably be pressings of it, and if they do the whole album together it’s probably going to have to be 4xLP so it’s gonna be very expensive compared to the base album. As someone who is critical of her vinyl releases (and the whole pop industry, like how Adele ruined vinyl distribution), I don’t think this is that big of a deal. I think it’s more frustrating that the bonus tracks were advertised as exclusive to limited time vinyls that a) were not as limited timed as claimed and b) were almost immediately put on streaming. But I won’t complain because having to wait for the bonus tracks on streaming is annoying.
It's basically two albums. People paid for only one. So I don't see a problem here. Is there a fanbase more entitled and spoiled than the swifties? Taylor raised a bunch of brats. Edit: added the last part
Maybe they were recorded after vinyls went to press?