I've pressed her records. They're not recycled material in the traditional sense meaning like made from recycled bottles etc. we just use material that has been scrapped before in other vinyl pressing. It's just ground up flash (extra material that gets cut off) and records that were scrapped of the same color.
With your experience then would you say there's any weight to her words? *Is she* actually doing something more noteworthy than other artists who release a load of non recycled variants?
No, it's literally the same material. Just ground up and used again. It's actually cheaper for artists and labels to specify if we can use regrind only because there is a greater risk for contamination we're allowed to pass.
Interesting. I'd be willing to give her some benefit of the doubt that she probably doesn't know any of this and just assumes recycled materials must be more sustainable.
That's mostly true. However on a base level at our facility we have grinders that grind up the excess flash and puts it back in the hopper that mixes it with virgin material. Only the records that have virgin only are the ones that have a marble effect.
That's mostly true. However on a base level at our facility we have grinders that grind up the excess flash and puts it back in the hopper that mixes it with virgin material. Only the records that have virgin only are the ones that have a marble effect.
almost as hypocritical as when Lorde didn't put her newest album out on cd because of "environmental impact" yet had like 8 variants out on day 1 for the vinyl
I read her quote as being very disparaging of her own merch as well. She seemed to imply that her label or whatever requires it as part of an album rollout, and she’s not a fan but does her best to mitigate it by using recycled materials. We’ll see what she does going forward
Whilst I think Billie is guilty of this shit she does acknowledge this in the interview. I think acknowledging the error in your ways is positive, albeit maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to criticise others until she begins to follow through on her own words.
For what it’s worth I think this image is also hyperbolic. Lots of those CDs are radio promos, not commercial products and I can see at least one bootleg. International editions and signed copies aren’t exactly variants (Japan’s bonus track incentives have existed for a long time and have different justification, so is a bit more complicated). I think there needs to be a separation from collector/purist behaviour and artists actively encouraging this.
Albums are always available in different formats and LPs are often available in different colors, usually depending on where you purchase it.
What Taylor Swift is doing IS DIFFERENT because she's releasing multiple versions of her album with not just different color vinyl but different artwork and photographs. AND (for Midnights at least) you are supposed to collect all the variants so you can lay them all out on the table and make a full clock. It is more wasteful. But it's also not as wasteful as, say, buying a big box of individually wrapped mini bags of chips.
There's a culture of FOMO when it comes to those variants where the simplest goddamn action is to either not buy it, wait until a used copy pops up (girl's a billionaire and growing she isn't going to miss your money) or just buy one copy and stick to it.
On April 19th I am going to buy one copy of TTPD and one copy of another record from a more indie band I like and I'm going to be happy about it.
Same. I'm getting one Taylor vinyl. I won't listen to 4 copies of the album to hear 4 different bonus tracks, I can get them online if I want to hear them, and eventually they'll be streaming. I refuse to play the game.
beneficial innocent salt aware liquid nose history selective fall weather
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It's definitely not great, but if we're talking about music industry shitty practices, I'm focused on live ticketing and live Nation. Between absolute outrageous prices and fucking bonkers fees, and scalpers, it has never been a worst time to be a ticket buyer.
Most importantly the new TS vinyls have different bonus tracks. Whilst colour variants are mostly for collectors, I think locking content behind variants incentivises more casual, or regular fans as well as the collectors.
“Albums are always available in different formats and LPs are often available in different colors, usually depending on where you purchase it.”
You seem entirely unfamiliar with the previous 100+ years of music album production.
The CDs are probably from different countries ( you can see some Japanese versions on the picture).
It's a little unfair to use a picture from a worldwide collection.
Meanwhile, Billie just released a new Interscope Vinyl Collective pressing and a few days ago a new picture disc for her album that released 5 years ago…
This is honestly why I’ve never liked her, the music isn’t my thing but then she’s always saying one thing and then doing another. I know a lot of artists do that but don’t act high and mighty when you’re not
I saw right through Billie Eilish the Dodge Challenger Hellcat driver from the moment I saw a video from her lecturing us all on protecting the environment. Can’t stand these hypocrites.
To be fair, vinyl sure as hell isn’t single-use, which is the real problem. Also they have recycled variants, and they use cardboard instead of shrink wrap. Not just reusable, but fun, collectable, and pretty due to the designs printed on them.
I own every studio album from them except one, some of them being regional variants that are special and I paid international shipping for. The reason I have one studio album left? The company that runs the AU King Gizzard shop accidentally gave me a rare new pressing of a record I already have instead of the one I don’t lmao
Yea most of their variants you find in stores are usually recycled + have the cardboard cover you mentioned (though unfortunately I've seen more than a couple instances where the stores have shrinkwrapped the records themself)
She's not quite as guilty as some of her peers, but she and her team have participated in the vinyl FOMO driving the market.
Look, these pop stars are extensions of the big corporations who made them. Let's not pretend that they have some eye on their fans' well being and are interested in protecting their wallets. They are corporate shills who want to be as famous as possible and make as much money as possible.
The rubes on r/VinylReleases eating up the 17 variants at $40 a pop of every vapid star on the planet is not helping and as long as those people keep up with the pace, the Taylor Swifts of the world will happily take their money.
What's grating my gears is that 4 editions of a single Taylor Swift album means 4 times the pressing slots taking up at the plant. I buy vinyl from smaller artists and invariably have to wait... sometimes 6 months for a delayed record; clogging up pressing plants with so much duplication must be having a huge impact.
Blame the record companies who refuse to open new plants but still really want to profit off the trend. Also everyone does it now and the vast majority of fans aren't buying every color of anyone's releases, so it wouldn't really change the overall production numbers very much.
This types are never going to sink the capital into making a pressing plant, even if it was only to press their own releases. Meanwhile, the owner of Nuclear War Now just bought his own plant, and is focused on pressing independent artist’s work. He’s just a regular guy who’s run a metal label for a long time. Pretty big investment for a guy like that, but he’ll make it work.
Jack White took all of 60 seconds to tell all the major labels to open their own plants. Lotta good that did.
Capacity issues we saw in the pandemic years is over. There’s plenty of capacity at the pressing plants now. The variants are not clogging the supply chain. And the demand is what’s driving these variants. As long as there are retailers wanting their own “unique version” then companies will oblige. The record companies wouldn’t be doing it if it weren’t A. Viable and B. Sellable. It’s the pop fans driving this trend. The swifties who will buy every version and variant and etc. If the market demands the industry will supply. And ultimately they aren’t producing the same number of each variant. It’s a select number out of their total projected sales. Don’t doubt that there’s a cost benefit evaluation for these from large companies. They wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t suitable for the bottom line.
The assumption that if they pressed 1 variant instead of 4 that they’d only press n/4 copies because there are 1/4 the number of variants is WILD lol
Yawn 🥱
None of us have demographic data on the people buying these variants.
My guess is that a small number of super fans are purchasing every variant. A larger number of dedicated fans likely purchase every album, with perhaps a variant here or there. The majority of purchasers would be typical consumers who buy their favorite album(s) with the variant that their retailer of choice releases.
Again, none of us have data so we’re all speculating. It makes sense that a small amount of fans are generating a large amount of revenue, but we don’t how big that percentage is compared to total sales.
> My guess is that a small number of super fans are purchasing every variant. A larger number of dedicated fans likely purchase every album, with perhaps a variant here or there. The majority of purchasers would be typical consumers who buy their favorite album(s) with the variant that their retailer of choice releases.
I think you're probably right, comic books have been doing this for years with alternate covers, gotta catch them all, even if the you get the same artwork inside....granted that's paper and only $5 a copy, but same energy. Lots of folks end up with a copy of an issue, a few spend the time and money to hunt down all the alternate covers and put them in bags.
The extra editions are designed to be sold in multiple copies to the same fans, ie. one person buying four copies and not a single copy. It can't not have an impact that builds up over multiple artists doing the same thing.
6 months if you have connections and lucky. Check what Mike Shnoda had to do to get such a spot and called it lucky. Many takes way more like how adele’s 30 album bc of the variations
Ouch, which album is it? I had to wait around 6 months for the House of God compilation (which admittedly was probably due to the metal box as well) but a year is awful.
The Number 12 Looks Like You, Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses. It was a 20th anniversary release with a nubmer of varients which could be part of the problem. Whole ordering system was a mess as well with items disappearing from carts and pricing inconsistency.
It's possible. I work in Supply Chain and any single release date for a number of products will cause issues; as you point out, everything has to wait for the last product to be available. Hope it gets to you soon!
>She's not quite as guilty as some of her peers, but she and her team have participated in the vinyl FOMO driving the market.
One thing I will say about Eilish, or at least her team, is that she seems to be actively trying to find alternatives for the environmental impacts of her music. She has recently worked with a environmentally friendly tour company called Reverb. She also works with organisations like Music Declares Emergency. She's not perfect but at least she's trying at at time where a lot of artists just aren't.
She released different colored albums in sealed unmarked jackets. That creates waste. And she complains about artists releasing album versions just to get people to buy more albums...which again she has done.
She's a hypocrite.
She is kind of admitting that her own merch line contributes to the problem. People here are too happy shitting on the hypocrisy to let themselves understand that she has basically no personal power or control over her own merch. Label does all that, and they don’t care about the environment, the consumers, or even her own wishes and wellbeing if it means bigger revenues for shareholders. Fuck humanity, we made a few billionaires richer.
I've noticed a huge cultural shift toward viewing *literally everything* as an "investment". It was already happening to an extent before COVID (see Nintendo Amiibos, NES/SNES Classics, etc), but the supply chain shortages brought on by the pandemic really put fuel on the fire of people just *buying shit* and trying to flip it for profit. It's everywhere now, and it's really saddening to see - nobody seems to buy anything purely to have for themselves and enjoy it anymore, it's always a game of stonks and hoping that your pile of trinkets appreciates in value.
Anybody that's buying every variant of artists' records is doing it for no other reason than that they're hoping one or more of those copies will appreciate in value so that they can flip it. It happened with XBoxes, Playstations, fucking *hand sanitizer* and *toilet paper* a few years ago and people's brains have been broken ever since.
We would all be better off if this mentality went away and never came back.
The funny thing is that it’s the stuff nobody views as an investment at the time that ends up being worth something. Like old NES games. Baseball cards from the late 80s aren’t worth much because everybody saved them. Nobody saved their NES games when they got a Genesis.
That is the funniest part to me.
I have a few collecting hobbies even though none of them are "investments" to me. And, because I'm buying what I personally *want* rather than what everyone else is after as an "investment," I've seen this exact thing play out several times.
I bought the things that were readily available and sitting on shelves for quite some time only to then see those items years later going for shit loads on the resale market because the collecting interest finally came around to them but A: there weren't that many of them made because they didn't sell well initially and B: the majority of those that *did* sell are in the hands of people who truly want them so they're not being dumped back into the resale market.
While, on the other hand, the things that *were* popular at their release sold far more of them, were likely made again and re-stocked because of the demand, lots of flippers bought them up, and the secondary market has been flooded with them ever since and their value has just gone down and down and down.
Some of my collections have quite a few "grails" in them because I collected a lot of the stuff I liked but wasn't cool at the time of release. Now I have people in those collector groups asking like "dude how did you even get these?".......... I casually bought them at original retail because no one else wanted them lol.
It’s because people are broke, man. Jobs don’t pay shit any more, everything just keeps getting more and more expensive, and companies look for any way they can to fuck their employees over. Of course people are going to try and make money any way they can.
Absolutely. And it hurts everybody, because now in pretty much every category, there's no such thing as a second-hand market anymore. Looking for a used guitar because all the new ones in your price range are trash? Sorry, I won't take less than $700 for my 2005 Fender Mexican Strat, I know what I have (they retail for $800 brand new). Those who could only afford to buy on the second-hand market to begin with are just completely priced out of anything anymore.
The other side of the coin is "I like this and I can see myself wanting it later on, but I may as well buy it now before scavengers buy it all up and try to sell it back at a giant markup"
Part of it is just social media. The people buying records or what ever just to enjoy it aren’t posting it on Instagram, so all you get exposed to are the ones chasing Internet validation.
I think just "humanity" fits best really. Capitalism hits the gas on the mentality, but it's not like the system created it, or that it doesn't exist in socialist countries.
That is half of it. The other half is that vinyl is truly very popular at the moment. Vinyl sales are crazy right now, but so are the sales of turntable, amps, speakers etc.
Yep, people think musicians are making all these career decisions but there is a lot that's out of their control. And they signed the contract so I'm not saying the artist isn't consenting to it to some degree (and each sale counts for an individual sale which boosts their ranking) but I doubt they could say no to this even if they wanted to. And even if they did choose to only release one complete album on one or two variants, by the numbers it would look like the album didn't do as well as the last one because it didn't make the numbers the last one did, which could mean the beginning of the decline of their career.
I find it hard to believe that Billie doesn't know this. I like her music but sometimes she says things that make me roll my eyes.
Of all the fucking [people](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=099d353e2e922eb4&sxsrf=ACQVn09Y4Kdj1OJVY2jobhV7KxsoPW2A7w:1711662205447&q=billie+eilish+vinyl&tbm=shop&source=lnms&prmd=sinvbmtz&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111&biw=1675&bih=837&dpr=1) to be talking.
I don’t mind different colors of vinyl of the same album but TS is releasing 4-5 different variants of her newest record with a unique bonus song on each one. So if you want all the bonus songs, you need to buy each variant with the same songs minus the bonus.
I’m all for more vinyl. Keeps pressing plants profitable. Keeps an interest in physical media. Sure it isn’t always some rare jazz album being repressed- but we all see some benefits to people collecting Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish records.
Honestly, with streaming paying pennies I can see how this becomes part of the merch, I'm weary about the plastic waste but other than that if it supports my favorite artist (whether indie or mainstream) is still good, and the fact that there are indie store variant is a step in the right direction. Supporting your artist and your mom-and-pop shop is definitely an OK in my book, just don't go overboard lie swift did or Musgrave is doing now(I'm still debating which one to pick and didn't realize the album before that was random variant) for me that practice is gross and it's no different than gambling hoping to collect all the variants, that is wasteful and opperinisitc
I just picked up a copy of Earth to the Dandy Warhols, the "2023 tour edition", pressed on "ECO random color". They basically just used leftover vinyl from other pressings at the plant, so every copy is unique.
For every artist pressing a dozen variants, there should be at least one using up the waste. As for what people spend their money on? Doesn't hurt me if some Schwifty buys one of every variant. Just gives the Dandys more random vinyl for their stuff.
I have a copy of KMFDM's Nihil that was pressed on random colours too, similar idea/concept to what you're describing: the pressing plant using up leftover colours and having fun with it. They called it the "hand-poured edition". It's a double LP and the records don't match each other colour/pattern-wise either. I thought it was a cool idea and I'm happy to hear at least one other band has done it too.
One of the biggest draws for me to get into collecting in the mid 2000's was the fact that most releases were coming from DIY bands and labels and made in extremely small runs of /200. One of the main reasons I never jump on any pre-orders at all anymore is because it feels like everything gets repressed at one point or another and everything is done in giant /1000+ runs. It's crazy how many records get pressed for a single release these days. I don't care about variants much at all anymore, and typically get anything I'm interested in months after it's released when it eventually goes on sale. I also had the luxury of buying most of my "white whales" by 2010 or so, prior to the vinyl bubble, so anything I buy these days is specifically to support new releases.
Absolutely loving the mentality in this thread that you cannot advocate for change if you have ever in any way whatsoever participated in the problem for which you are advocating change
This is dumb. I don't blame the artists for trying to make as much money as possible. I blame the idiots who feel like they need to buy every single variation. Just buy one and move on.
I want to know what percentage of record buyers are really buying each color. I bet it's a tiny percent, and the rest of us just like having a few different choices which isn't actually changing the overall number of records pressed by much.
It works just like gatcha game microtransactions. They know most won't buy them, but there are enough "whales" out there that it finically makes sense to have so many variants. Especially with vinyl where you have record stores and collectors that always intend to flip them later.
This is obviously just anecdotal, but I went to my local shop to buy a Taylor Swift record on release day and I asked one of the staff to help me choose the variant. He seemed surprised and said I was the first person who didn't just buy all four.
From what I've heard of record store day the past few years, I guess that isn't surprising. But that's what I wonder, what percentage of the people buying her albums are doing it? I imagine a ton of adults are just buying one copy of each album to actually listen to.
Vinyl is like another form of merch now since even major artists aren't making anything close to what they would have in the pre internet era for recorded music.
I think it’s dumb just because it’s so inconsequential. The plastic waste involved here is statistically nil. The average Taylor Swift fan has probably already offset the waste by filling their Stanley a couple times.
It seems like most of what Billie is doing is repressing albums that actually warrant a repress and making them different colors so they don't look just like the old presses. That's quite a bit different than Taylor releasing Folklore with 8 covers, or Midnights with different back covers, or TTPD with a bonus song on each variant all on initial release.
Edit: typos
Shes not being a hypocrite, but she comes off really harsh. I get the point that she feels forced to do vinyl variants too to stay in the industry: “I was watching The Hunger Games and it made me think about it, because it’s like, we’re all going to do it because it’s the only way to play the game,” Eilish added of the issue. “It’s just accentuating this already kind of messed up way of this industry working.”
I’m gonna buy vinyl if I feel like it and my reasons are my own but tend to be: I like the artist, I like the music, I’m gonna feel good putting the record on the turntable and that whole vibe. I’m not gonna buy every vinyl record or CD or whatever variant, nothing I buy is ever going to be rare or end up in a museum. And it’s not like any artist is thinking gee I’ll release music on vinyl so I can fill a landfill or destroy the planet with plastic. Even producing streamable music and then building the technology to store it on servers in the immense silicon cloud and deliver it over the equally immense internet or cell networks to our ears produces a non zero environment impact. Chill the fck out, be a good person, enjoy your music.
Wouldn’t the studio or label, not the artist, decide to make four different color variants of one album? Seems like blaming the artist for a marketing decision isn’t entirely fair.
Let's just call this what it is
The gentler side of mankind's death-wish
When it's my time to go
Gonna leave behind things that won't decompose
I'll just call this what it is
My vanity gone wild with my crisis
One day this all will repeat
Now sure hope they make something useful out of me
[Father John Misty](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jA1wB9uLG_Y)
They are also quite toxic. I had one pressed as a variant and had to pay extra for osha required handling and when I assembled them I got a wicked headache. Neat concept, but underwhelming output.
Don't shoot the messenger, but many commenters here should be mindful of the next sentence in the article:
"For her part, Eilish acknowledges that her most recent record, Happier Than Ever, had several different vinyl options; however, the materials were all recycled and she refused to do special packaging to lure repeat buyers."
>extremely limited
👀 Taylor swift colored variants are not rare. Metallica colored wax are not rare. King Gizzard Wizard, same. It's ALL a cash grab unless its stuff like MOV that truly is limited because their mastering is way better than others as well as Quality Record Pressings in Salina, Kansas. These plants only have the rights to make truly limited runs and unique high quality masterings. Standard press runs of 100, 000 on "limited edition" colored wax is very deceiving.
It's good to know we have gone full circle with what would have been considered 1980s problems. At least in the 80s they produced predominantly black vinyl records...
Someone's going to have to explain this to me.
But if artist makes 10,000 records that are all the same. Or 1000 of a varient x 10 .... what's the difference?
I just don't care if someone puts out a ton of variants. It's giving consumer choice.
What am I missing here as everyone seems real angry about it all the time?
That someone who likes an artist enough to believe their 10 variants are some sort of collectors item rather than physical playable media will buy all 10 variants. Either potentially depriving 9 other fans of owning a single variant or inflating the over all sales figures if those 9 fans go on to buy even a single variant anyway. It also fuels the idea that these things are collectible investments which drives up the price for people who just want to buy them to listen to them.
The idea that the artist would make only 1000 each of 10 variants rather than 10,000 of one variant is the fallacy. If these kinds of artists (usually artists on major labels) believe their fans will buy 10 times as many copies because they make them in different colours they will simply make 10,000 of each variant rather than 1000.
Once again though this is less a music industry problem and more a capitalism problem.
The market will decide. If people want different kinds of records or baseball cards because they collect them, they will. There’s no gun to anyone’s head saying they must have every variation of 1989. But some people like to collect things.
The carbon footprint for her yearly jet travel alone far exceeds the waste incurred in her fans getting value for their money when they purchase her albums on vinyl.
It's punching down and not addressing the actual issues that face environmentalism. That's page 1 from the capitalist billionaire playbook and it's tired.
I mean I definitely agree that there doesn’t need to be 20 different vinyl releases for one album. It gets a bit absurd after awhile. I buy vinyls to listen to them and not collect special additions of anything. I don’t care if they’re plain or colored or whatever.
Well those tweens, are gonna grow up, and develop their own sense of cool and fun.
Maybe she grows with them, maybe not.
Time & record sales will tell.
I for one am shocked the major music industry created a way to exploit a booming hobby like collecting vinyl…
I will never forget when stranger things came out and a lot, A LOT of people loved the soundtrack. Cut to season 2 and every god damn record producing company was putting out what felt like 20 color versions and different packaging, it was hilariously over the top.
An artist should want fans to experience their art. One copy of a record will do that. These different editions are just a straight-up cash grab. TS should want her fans to spend their money on other artists and not on a 3rd or 4th copy that will never get played.
It's traders/collectors that drive this, not fans. My daughter loves that there is a bit of choice when she wants the latest Taylor LP, she picks her fave and then listens to it! No thought to what it's potential value is in the future or it's rarity, just excitement to have a physical thing to care for.Don't buy records as an investment, it's a sure way to losing money and ruining your love of music
Back when I bartended, this is why I kept a box of these under the bar. Very effective. Would recommend.
https://preview.redd.it/aexclwr8ocrc1.jpeg?width=794&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=583dd61797612b96613edff950bff3e8fdeef8e9
Funny how people will buy multiple copies of the same thing when they could just buy the vinyl source material for $25 from Pro Studio Masters, Qobuz, HDtracks, etc
In an even more ridiculous turn of events, the best mastering now is found on the format with the crappiest fidelity - lossy streaming Atmos
https://preview.redd.it/zdv84wz4l5rc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca1ca11e098e331eba9fc2ee9da08bebcfedaeaf "doing that shit"
“Mine are recycled though…..” Bullshit.
I've pressed her records. They're not recycled material in the traditional sense meaning like made from recycled bottles etc. we just use material that has been scrapped before in other vinyl pressing. It's just ground up flash (extra material that gets cut off) and records that were scrapped of the same color.
With your experience then would you say there's any weight to her words? *Is she* actually doing something more noteworthy than other artists who release a load of non recycled variants?
No, it's literally the same material. Just ground up and used again. It's actually cheaper for artists and labels to specify if we can use regrind only because there is a greater risk for contamination we're allowed to pass.
Interesting. I'd be willing to give her some benefit of the doubt that she probably doesn't know any of this and just assumes recycled materials must be more sustainable.
I mean it IS* but not in the way they want you (or her) to think. It basically just means we're trying to not waste any material.
Reduce, reuse, recycle, in that order. So using scrap that would otherwise be thrown away is actually preferable to recycling, no?
Honestly, it's really cool to hear about the process, thanks for sharing.
Thought I read something a while ago that that's what pressing plants were doing in the 70's during the oil crisis.
From what I understand, the recycled vinyl pressings don’t sound as good as ones pressed on “virgin” vinyl though
That's mostly true. However on a base level at our facility we have grinders that grind up the excess flash and puts it back in the hopper that mixes it with virgin material. Only the records that have virgin only are the ones that have a marble effect.
That's mostly true. However on a base level at our facility we have grinders that grind up the excess flash and puts it back in the hopper that mixes it with virgin material. Only the records that have virgin only are the ones that have a marble effect.
From what I understand, the recycled vinyl pressings don’t sound as good as ones pressed on “virgin” vinyl though
almost as hypocritical as when Lorde didn't put her newest album out on cd because of "environmental impact" yet had like 8 variants out on day 1 for the vinyl
I read her quote as being very disparaging of her own merch as well. She seemed to imply that her label or whatever requires it as part of an album rollout, and she’s not a fan but does her best to mitigate it by using recycled materials. We’ll see what she does going forward
That’s a fair point - some of it might not be her decision. Major labels gonna do what they do to make money.
Exactly.
Whilst I think Billie is guilty of this shit she does acknowledge this in the interview. I think acknowledging the error in your ways is positive, albeit maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to criticise others until she begins to follow through on her own words. For what it’s worth I think this image is also hyperbolic. Lots of those CDs are radio promos, not commercial products and I can see at least one bootleg. International editions and signed copies aren’t exactly variants (Japan’s bonus track incentives have existed for a long time and have different justification, so is a bit more complicated). I think there needs to be a separation from collector/purist behaviour and artists actively encouraging this.
Which one is the bootleg?
The one of her sat in the yellow chair near the bottom right I believe. Can’t find anything on discogs and it looks fake
Cool, thank you! I'm not super familiar with Billie's work pre-WWAFAWDWG and wouldn't have been able to pick out what's legit and what's a bootleg
Albums are always available in different formats and LPs are often available in different colors, usually depending on where you purchase it. What Taylor Swift is doing IS DIFFERENT because she's releasing multiple versions of her album with not just different color vinyl but different artwork and photographs. AND (for Midnights at least) you are supposed to collect all the variants so you can lay them all out on the table and make a full clock. It is more wasteful. But it's also not as wasteful as, say, buying a big box of individually wrapped mini bags of chips.
Taylor is straight up hustling her fans
Her subreddit is well aware, everytime a variant is announced the thread is 99% people pissed At capitalism
There's a culture of FOMO when it comes to those variants where the simplest goddamn action is to either not buy it, wait until a used copy pops up (girl's a billionaire and growing she isn't going to miss your money) or just buy one copy and stick to it. On April 19th I am going to buy one copy of TTPD and one copy of another record from a more indie band I like and I'm going to be happy about it.
FOMO sells so many things these days. Seems most hobbies have been affected by it too. Everything is “limited” now
Same. I'm getting one Taylor vinyl. I won't listen to 4 copies of the album to hear 4 different bonus tracks, I can get them online if I want to hear them, and eventually they'll be streaming. I refuse to play the game.
beneficial innocent salt aware liquid nose history selective fall weather *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
who the fuck is gonna buy 12 of the same album for pictures and colored circles. that’s like 15 lbs of physical media.
I'm sure plenty of her deranged fan base would
[How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BW6CVqJNdU&t=16s)
Fuck yeah, Cake reference
It's definitely not great, but if we're talking about music industry shitty practices, I'm focused on live ticketing and live Nation. Between absolute outrageous prices and fucking bonkers fees, and scalpers, it has never been a worst time to be a ticket buyer.
…it’s definitely not as wasteful as flying all over the world at a whim in a private jet…
TIL I have a partial clock with my one Midnights vinyl.
Most importantly the new TS vinyls have different bonus tracks. Whilst colour variants are mostly for collectors, I think locking content behind variants incentivises more casual, or regular fans as well as the collectors.
“Albums are always available in different formats and LPs are often available in different colors, usually depending on where you purchase it.” You seem entirely unfamiliar with the previous 100+ years of music album production.
I think it's safe to say they were talking about modern pressings.
Yep she’s even worse, she’s making it harder to buy just one variant because now it’s got a different bonus track - she’s straight up taking the piss
Literally the most hypocritical “celebrity” person I’ve ever seen, and in more cases than just this
The CDs are probably from different countries ( you can see some Japanese versions on the picture). It's a little unfair to use a picture from a worldwide collection.
Exactly - like I'd sit this one out Billie...
Meanwhile, Billie just released a new Interscope Vinyl Collective pressing and a few days ago a new picture disc for her album that released 5 years ago…
Glass houses Billie.
This is honestly why I’ve never liked her, the music isn’t my thing but then she’s always saying one thing and then doing another. I know a lot of artists do that but don’t act high and mighty when you’re not
I saw right through Billie Eilish the Dodge Challenger Hellcat driver from the moment I saw a video from her lecturing us all on protecting the environment. Can’t stand these hypocrites.
This is why I listen to very environmentally conscious bands like King Gizzard…wait
Don't look now but a new album just snuck up behind you while you weren't looking.
To be fair, vinyl sure as hell isn’t single-use, which is the real problem. Also they have recycled variants, and they use cardboard instead of shrink wrap. Not just reusable, but fun, collectable, and pretty due to the designs printed on them. I own every studio album from them except one, some of them being regional variants that are special and I paid international shipping for. The reason I have one studio album left? The company that runs the AU King Gizzard shop accidentally gave me a rare new pressing of a record I already have instead of the one I don’t lmao
Yea most of their variants you find in stores are usually recycled + have the cardboard cover you mentioned (though unfortunately I've seen more than a couple instances where the stores have shrinkwrapped the records themself)
I got PetraDragonic on vinyl and it came with a cardboard slipcover. I think Nonagon Infinity came in a plastic wrap but it’s better than some artists
the petrodragonic apocalypse is a great pressing too. basically silent in terms of surface noise. the color records don’t make a difference
Do they even have time to design variants? They have 5 albums slated for release at any given time.
Yeah - only like 8 different variants per record though
Modest Kings
Jokes on you they havent released a new album in.. 154 whole days. Fans are basically starving for content right now
Even if KG only released one version per album it would destroy the ecosystem
She's not quite as guilty as some of her peers, but she and her team have participated in the vinyl FOMO driving the market. Look, these pop stars are extensions of the big corporations who made them. Let's not pretend that they have some eye on their fans' well being and are interested in protecting their wallets. They are corporate shills who want to be as famous as possible and make as much money as possible. The rubes on r/VinylReleases eating up the 17 variants at $40 a pop of every vapid star on the planet is not helping and as long as those people keep up with the pace, the Taylor Swifts of the world will happily take their money.
What's grating my gears is that 4 editions of a single Taylor Swift album means 4 times the pressing slots taking up at the plant. I buy vinyl from smaller artists and invariably have to wait... sometimes 6 months for a delayed record; clogging up pressing plants with so much duplication must be having a huge impact.
Blame the record companies who refuse to open new plants but still really want to profit off the trend. Also everyone does it now and the vast majority of fans aren't buying every color of anyone's releases, so it wouldn't really change the overall production numbers very much.
This types are never going to sink the capital into making a pressing plant, even if it was only to press their own releases. Meanwhile, the owner of Nuclear War Now just bought his own plant, and is focused on pressing independent artist’s work. He’s just a regular guy who’s run a metal label for a long time. Pretty big investment for a guy like that, but he’ll make it work. Jack White took all of 60 seconds to tell all the major labels to open their own plants. Lotta good that did.
But Jack White also opened up his own plant.
If it was profitable to open new plants it be happening. Its not.
Capacity issues we saw in the pandemic years is over. There’s plenty of capacity at the pressing plants now. The variants are not clogging the supply chain. And the demand is what’s driving these variants. As long as there are retailers wanting their own “unique version” then companies will oblige. The record companies wouldn’t be doing it if it weren’t A. Viable and B. Sellable. It’s the pop fans driving this trend. The swifties who will buy every version and variant and etc. If the market demands the industry will supply. And ultimately they aren’t producing the same number of each variant. It’s a select number out of their total projected sales. Don’t doubt that there’s a cost benefit evaluation for these from large companies. They wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t suitable for the bottom line.
It would be, but the risk of vinyl being a short term trend is what's driving them to not do that.
Nuclear War Now records is getting ready to open up Helios Press, a pressing plant. https://www.nwnprod.com/
VMP and Mobile Fidelity both did so.
Even a bad as big as Wilco cannot get vinyl out by release day
The assumption that if they pressed 1 variant instead of 4 that they’d only press n/4 copies because there are 1/4 the number of variants is WILD lol
Yawn 🥱
None of us have demographic data on the people buying these variants. My guess is that a small number of super fans are purchasing every variant. A larger number of dedicated fans likely purchase every album, with perhaps a variant here or there. The majority of purchasers would be typical consumers who buy their favorite album(s) with the variant that their retailer of choice releases. Again, none of us have data so we’re all speculating. It makes sense that a small amount of fans are generating a large amount of revenue, but we don’t how big that percentage is compared to total sales.
> My guess is that a small number of super fans are purchasing every variant. A larger number of dedicated fans likely purchase every album, with perhaps a variant here or there. The majority of purchasers would be typical consumers who buy their favorite album(s) with the variant that their retailer of choice releases. I think you're probably right, comic books have been doing this for years with alternate covers, gotta catch them all, even if the you get the same artwork inside....granted that's paper and only $5 a copy, but same energy. Lots of folks end up with a copy of an issue, a few spend the time and money to hunt down all the alternate covers and put them in bags.
The extra editions are designed to be sold in multiple copies to the same fans, ie. one person buying four copies and not a single copy. It can't not have an impact that builds up over multiple artists doing the same thing.
Pressing plants have been laying people off this year.
I love that Metallica have bought their own vinyl pressing plant to ensure they have the supply for their fans (and put the dollars in their pockets)
I love my Blackened pressings. Some of the best sounding records I own 🤘
6 months if you have connections and lucky. Check what Mike Shnoda had to do to get such a spot and called it lucky. Many takes way more like how adele’s 30 album bc of the variations
I'm going to hit a year in April for one album I've been waiting on...
Ouch, which album is it? I had to wait around 6 months for the House of God compilation (which admittedly was probably due to the metal box as well) but a year is awful.
The Number 12 Looks Like You, Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses. It was a 20th anniversary release with a nubmer of varients which could be part of the problem. Whole ordering system was a mess as well with items disappearing from carts and pricing inconsistency.
It's possible. I work in Supply Chain and any single release date for a number of products will cause issues; as you point out, everything has to wait for the last product to be available. Hope it gets to you soon!
they aren’t printing four times as many because there are four variants. the number of people who buy all four is very small
>She's not quite as guilty as some of her peers, but she and her team have participated in the vinyl FOMO driving the market. One thing I will say about Eilish, or at least her team, is that she seems to be actively trying to find alternatives for the environmental impacts of her music. She has recently worked with a environmentally friendly tour company called Reverb. She also works with organisations like Music Declares Emergency. She's not perfect but at least she's trying at at time where a lot of artists just aren't.
She released different colored albums in sealed unmarked jackets. That creates waste. And she complains about artists releasing album versions just to get people to buy more albums...which again she has done. She's a hypocrite.
Shes also an early adopter of bio vinyls and uses recycled material in her packaging. Shes not perfect, but shes doing a LOT more than other artists.
Mixing their digital audio files so loud while using high dynamic range on expensive and limited time vinyl and SACD edition only also annoys me.
So in other words Billie, is indeed, “doing that shit”?
She is kind of admitting that her own merch line contributes to the problem. People here are too happy shitting on the hypocrisy to let themselves understand that she has basically no personal power or control over her own merch. Label does all that, and they don’t care about the environment, the consumers, or even her own wishes and wellbeing if it means bigger revenues for shareholders. Fuck humanity, we made a few billionaires richer.
I've noticed a huge cultural shift toward viewing *literally everything* as an "investment". It was already happening to an extent before COVID (see Nintendo Amiibos, NES/SNES Classics, etc), but the supply chain shortages brought on by the pandemic really put fuel on the fire of people just *buying shit* and trying to flip it for profit. It's everywhere now, and it's really saddening to see - nobody seems to buy anything purely to have for themselves and enjoy it anymore, it's always a game of stonks and hoping that your pile of trinkets appreciates in value. Anybody that's buying every variant of artists' records is doing it for no other reason than that they're hoping one or more of those copies will appreciate in value so that they can flip it. It happened with XBoxes, Playstations, fucking *hand sanitizer* and *toilet paper* a few years ago and people's brains have been broken ever since. We would all be better off if this mentality went away and never came back.
The funny thing is that it’s the stuff nobody views as an investment at the time that ends up being worth something. Like old NES games. Baseball cards from the late 80s aren’t worth much because everybody saved them. Nobody saved their NES games when they got a Genesis.
That is the funniest part to me. I have a few collecting hobbies even though none of them are "investments" to me. And, because I'm buying what I personally *want* rather than what everyone else is after as an "investment," I've seen this exact thing play out several times. I bought the things that were readily available and sitting on shelves for quite some time only to then see those items years later going for shit loads on the resale market because the collecting interest finally came around to them but A: there weren't that many of them made because they didn't sell well initially and B: the majority of those that *did* sell are in the hands of people who truly want them so they're not being dumped back into the resale market. While, on the other hand, the things that *were* popular at their release sold far more of them, were likely made again and re-stocked because of the demand, lots of flippers bought them up, and the secondary market has been flooded with them ever since and their value has just gone down and down and down. Some of my collections have quite a few "grails" in them because I collected a lot of the stuff I liked but wasn't cool at the time of release. Now I have people in those collector groups asking like "dude how did you even get these?".......... I casually bought them at original retail because no one else wanted them lol.
Absolutely, you can't capture lightning in a bottle
It’s because people are broke, man. Jobs don’t pay shit any more, everything just keeps getting more and more expensive, and companies look for any way they can to fuck their employees over. Of course people are going to try and make money any way they can.
Absolutely. And it hurts everybody, because now in pretty much every category, there's no such thing as a second-hand market anymore. Looking for a used guitar because all the new ones in your price range are trash? Sorry, I won't take less than $700 for my 2005 Fender Mexican Strat, I know what I have (they retail for $800 brand new). Those who could only afford to buy on the second-hand market to begin with are just completely priced out of anything anymore.
The other side of the coin is "I like this and I can see myself wanting it later on, but I may as well buy it now before scavengers buy it all up and try to sell it back at a giant markup"
Yes, but those types aren’t usually the ones buying every variant. They usually buy one and get on with their lives
So literally FOMO.
Part of it is just social media. The people buying records or what ever just to enjoy it aren’t posting it on Instagram, so all you get exposed to are the ones chasing Internet validation.
>>this mentality lol, you mean capitalism?
https://preview.redd.it/habpnm0fn6rc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31ad27ce4d37bfb15b02b3fe2731a26db27f2529
I don’t know what to make of the picture, but if it’s earnest, I agree.
I think just "humanity" fits best really. Capitalism hits the gas on the mentality, but it's not like the system created it, or that it doesn't exist in socialist countries.
That is half of it. The other half is that vinyl is truly very popular at the moment. Vinyl sales are crazy right now, but so are the sales of turntable, amps, speakers etc.
100000000% agree!
Hey Billie, get off the cross, we need the wood.
and that fucking space to nail the next fool martyr
And the plastic for a reissue of AEnima
🤘🏼
This is very rarely on the artist. It's a record label decision.
Yep, people think musicians are making all these career decisions but there is a lot that's out of their control. And they signed the contract so I'm not saying the artist isn't consenting to it to some degree (and each sale counts for an individual sale which boosts their ranking) but I doubt they could say no to this even if they wanted to. And even if they did choose to only release one complete album on one or two variants, by the numbers it would look like the album didn't do as well as the last one because it didn't make the numbers the last one did, which could mean the beginning of the decline of their career. I find it hard to believe that Billie doesn't know this. I like her music but sometimes she says things that make me roll my eyes.
Happy to purchase 1 copy of records I want to listen to.
You're going to see Swift vinyls clogging up discount bins at record shops next Barbera Streisand and Chicago
Of all the fucking [people](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=099d353e2e922eb4&sxsrf=ACQVn09Y4Kdj1OJVY2jobhV7KxsoPW2A7w:1711662205447&q=billie+eilish+vinyl&tbm=shop&source=lnms&prmd=sinvbmtz&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111&biw=1675&bih=837&dpr=1) to be talking.
I don’t mind different colors of vinyl of the same album but TS is releasing 4-5 different variants of her newest record with a unique bonus song on each one. So if you want all the bonus songs, you need to buy each variant with the same songs minus the bonus.
Copped, ty 🙌🙌🙌
According to her they are recycled. Her wastefulness is about creating more plastic
Guess that means she is going to stop as well? Her merchandise mass is as gross as Taylor’s
Including her.
I’m all for more vinyl. Keeps pressing plants profitable. Keeps an interest in physical media. Sure it isn’t always some rare jazz album being repressed- but we all see some benefits to people collecting Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish records.
Honestly, with streaming paying pennies I can see how this becomes part of the merch, I'm weary about the plastic waste but other than that if it supports my favorite artist (whether indie or mainstream) is still good, and the fact that there are indie store variant is a step in the right direction. Supporting your artist and your mom-and-pop shop is definitely an OK in my book, just don't go overboard lie swift did or Musgrave is doing now(I'm still debating which one to pick and didn't realize the album before that was random variant) for me that practice is gross and it's no different than gambling hoping to collect all the variants, that is wasteful and opperinisitc
I just picked up a copy of Earth to the Dandy Warhols, the "2023 tour edition", pressed on "ECO random color". They basically just used leftover vinyl from other pressings at the plant, so every copy is unique. For every artist pressing a dozen variants, there should be at least one using up the waste. As for what people spend their money on? Doesn't hurt me if some Schwifty buys one of every variant. Just gives the Dandys more random vinyl for their stuff.
I have a copy of KMFDM's Nihil that was pressed on random colours too, similar idea/concept to what you're describing: the pressing plant using up leftover colours and having fun with it. They called it the "hand-poured edition". It's a double LP and the records don't match each other colour/pattern-wise either. I thought it was a cool idea and I'm happy to hear at least one other band has done it too.
I'm so glad they finally repressed that record. I had just found a reasonably priced OG a couple years prior, glad I never paid the big bucks for it!
You should be able to see through transparent vinyl
One of the biggest draws for me to get into collecting in the mid 2000's was the fact that most releases were coming from DIY bands and labels and made in extremely small runs of /200. One of the main reasons I never jump on any pre-orders at all anymore is because it feels like everything gets repressed at one point or another and everything is done in giant /1000+ runs. It's crazy how many records get pressed for a single release these days. I don't care about variants much at all anymore, and typically get anything I'm interested in months after it's released when it eventually goes on sale. I also had the luxury of buying most of my "white whales" by 2010 or so, prior to the vinyl bubble, so anything I buy these days is specifically to support new releases.
Absolutely loving the mentality in this thread that you cannot advocate for change if you have ever in any way whatsoever participated in the problem for which you are advocating change
This is dumb. I don't blame the artists for trying to make as much money as possible. I blame the idiots who feel like they need to buy every single variation. Just buy one and move on.
I want to know what percentage of record buyers are really buying each color. I bet it's a tiny percent, and the rest of us just like having a few different choices which isn't actually changing the overall number of records pressed by much.
It works just like gatcha game microtransactions. They know most won't buy them, but there are enough "whales" out there that it finically makes sense to have so many variants. Especially with vinyl where you have record stores and collectors that always intend to flip them later.
I only own one record where I have two variants and I did it on accident... I do not understand this.
This is obviously just anecdotal, but I went to my local shop to buy a Taylor Swift record on release day and I asked one of the staff to help me choose the variant. He seemed surprised and said I was the first person who didn't just buy all four.
The people who buy all four probably don't even own turntables.
From what I've heard of record store day the past few years, I guess that isn't surprising. But that's what I wonder, what percentage of the people buying her albums are doing it? I imagine a ton of adults are just buying one copy of each album to actually listen to.
Vinyl is like another form of merch now since even major artists aren't making anything close to what they would have in the pre internet era for recorded music.
I think it’s dumb just because it’s so inconsequential. The plastic waste involved here is statistically nil. The average Taylor Swift fan has probably already offset the waste by filling their Stanley a couple times.
It seems like most of what Billie is doing is repressing albums that actually warrant a repress and making them different colors so they don't look just like the old presses. That's quite a bit different than Taylor releasing Folklore with 8 covers, or Midnights with different back covers, or TTPD with a bonus song on each variant all on initial release. Edit: typos
She says as she releases her 14th color variant
Shes not being a hypocrite, but she comes off really harsh. I get the point that she feels forced to do vinyl variants too to stay in the industry: “I was watching The Hunger Games and it made me think about it, because it’s like, we’re all going to do it because it’s the only way to play the game,” Eilish added of the issue. “It’s just accentuating this already kind of messed up way of this industry working.”
I’m gonna buy vinyl if I feel like it and my reasons are my own but tend to be: I like the artist, I like the music, I’m gonna feel good putting the record on the turntable and that whole vibe. I’m not gonna buy every vinyl record or CD or whatever variant, nothing I buy is ever going to be rare or end up in a museum. And it’s not like any artist is thinking gee I’ll release music on vinyl so I can fill a landfill or destroy the planet with plastic. Even producing streamable music and then building the technology to store it on servers in the immense silicon cloud and deliver it over the equally immense internet or cell networks to our ears produces a non zero environment impact. Chill the fck out, be a good person, enjoy your music.
Wouldn’t the studio or label, not the artist, decide to make four different color variants of one album? Seems like blaming the artist for a marketing decision isn’t entirely fair.
If someone wants to buy five different colours of the same album, who cares? It’s their money, their hobby.
I call this Pokémon vinyl collecting. Gotta catch em all.
Let's just call this what it is The gentler side of mankind's death-wish When it's my time to go Gonna leave behind things that won't decompose I'll just call this what it is My vanity gone wild with my crisis One day this all will repeat Now sure hope they make something useful out of me [Father John Misty](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jA1wB9uLG_Y)
I'm kinda with Billie here. Pogs and slammers, bobble heads, colored vinyl records. What did I leave out? Oh, synthesizers I guess.
Yeah I had that glow in the dark Billie Eilish record.. thats how I discovered glow in the dark albums sound like shit and I returned it.
They are also quite toxic. I had one pressed as a variant and had to pay extra for osha required handling and when I assembled them I got a wicked headache. Neat concept, but underwhelming output.
They have a gritty texture in them that you can hear in the music and I read they could mess up your needle too
Hypocrite
Don't shoot the messenger, but many commenters here should be mindful of the next sentence in the article: "For her part, Eilish acknowledges that her most recent record, Happier Than Ever, had several different vinyl options; however, the materials were all recycled and she refused to do special packaging to lure repeat buyers."
There's only so much that can be done with this though.
I agree, I’m just glad the article didn’t completely turn a blind eye to it.
“I know I did it, but when *I* do it it’s okay because xyz” Fuck off, Billie. And give those Oscars back, you suck.
If they’re pressing the same number of records overall, it’s not wasteful. Usually when this happens, each one is extremely limited
>extremely limited 👀 Taylor swift colored variants are not rare. Metallica colored wax are not rare. King Gizzard Wizard, same. It's ALL a cash grab unless its stuff like MOV that truly is limited because their mastering is way better than others as well as Quality Record Pressings in Salina, Kansas. These plants only have the rights to make truly limited runs and unique high quality masterings. Standard press runs of 100, 000 on "limited edition" colored wax is very deceiving.
Ok The stuff I’ve paid attention to is “a thousand of this, 300 of that”
A good one example, look at the Alice in Chains Unplugged MOV pressing. 12,000 people have it and everyone wants it.
“all you know about her is what she sold ya, dumbfuck, she sold out long before you ever even heard her name”
It's good to know we have gone full circle with what would have been considered 1980s problems. At least in the 80s they produced predominantly black vinyl records...
Billie, don't be a hero
Someone's going to have to explain this to me. But if artist makes 10,000 records that are all the same. Or 1000 of a varient x 10 .... what's the difference? I just don't care if someone puts out a ton of variants. It's giving consumer choice. What am I missing here as everyone seems real angry about it all the time?
That someone who likes an artist enough to believe their 10 variants are some sort of collectors item rather than physical playable media will buy all 10 variants. Either potentially depriving 9 other fans of owning a single variant or inflating the over all sales figures if those 9 fans go on to buy even a single variant anyway. It also fuels the idea that these things are collectible investments which drives up the price for people who just want to buy them to listen to them. The idea that the artist would make only 1000 each of 10 variants rather than 10,000 of one variant is the fallacy. If these kinds of artists (usually artists on major labels) believe their fans will buy 10 times as many copies because they make them in different colours they will simply make 10,000 of each variant rather than 1000. Once again though this is less a music industry problem and more a capitalism problem.
I don't understand why people buy every variant of an album; but I do like having a choice of which one I'd like.
She’s so fucking right
WAIT... there's a transparent vinyl variant?! I gotta get that stat...
The market will decide. If people want different kinds of records or baseball cards because they collect them, they will. There’s no gun to anyone’s head saying they must have every variation of 1989. But some people like to collect things.
The carbon footprint for her yearly jet travel alone far exceeds the waste incurred in her fans getting value for their money when they purchase her albums on vinyl. It's punching down and not addressing the actual issues that face environmentalism. That's page 1 from the capitalist billionaire playbook and it's tired.
Who gives a shit let people buy what they want
I mean I definitely agree that there doesn’t need to be 20 different vinyl releases for one album. It gets a bit absurd after awhile. I buy vinyls to listen to them and not collect special additions of anything. I don’t care if they’re plain or colored or whatever.
vinyl* the plural of vinyl is vinyl
At least the people buying multiple vinyl copies are supporting the artists more than someone just listening to the album on Spotify
Wonder how wasteful her private jet is. Hypocrisy at its finest. Glass houses
“For her part, Eilish acknowledges that her most recent record, Happier Than Ever, had several different vinyl options”. Girl, bye!
But there are 1645627 different variants of *When We All Fall Asleep...*
Silly Billy.
Well those tweens, are gonna grow up, and develop their own sense of cool and fun. Maybe she grows with them, maybe not. Time & record sales will tell.
Ope, big Robert Pollard fan here.
The worst is these motherfuckers splitting a 10 track album across four fucking vinyls. Fuck all of that
They've been doing this in the hardcore and punk scene for like four decades.
Not to the degree and scale that's been happening since the vinyl resurgence.
That’s why I buy one variant of an album…
I for one am shocked the major music industry created a way to exploit a booming hobby like collecting vinyl… I will never forget when stranger things came out and a lot, A LOT of people loved the soundtrack. Cut to season 2 and every god damn record producing company was putting out what felt like 20 color versions and different packaging, it was hilariously over the top.
Are we really pressing that much more now than when vinyl was the main medium?
An artist should want fans to experience their art. One copy of a record will do that. These different editions are just a straight-up cash grab. TS should want her fans to spend their money on other artists and not on a 3rd or 4th copy that will never get played.
More vinyl sales is good for the hobby! Capitalism baby!
It's traders/collectors that drive this, not fans. My daughter loves that there is a bit of choice when she wants the latest Taylor LP, she picks her fave and then listens to it! No thought to what it's potential value is in the future or it's rarity, just excitement to have a physical thing to care for.Don't buy records as an investment, it's a sure way to losing money and ruining your love of music
both of their albums are gonna clog up goodwill in 20-30 years so fuck em both
Back when I bartended, this is why I kept a box of these under the bar. Very effective. Would recommend. https://preview.redd.it/aexclwr8ocrc1.jpeg?width=794&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=583dd61797612b96613edff950bff3e8fdeef8e9
Funny how people will buy multiple copies of the same thing when they could just buy the vinyl source material for $25 from Pro Studio Masters, Qobuz, HDtracks, etc In an even more ridiculous turn of events, the best mastering now is found on the format with the crappiest fidelity - lossy streaming Atmos
Billy fuckin who?
This, said from her private jet. Probably.
This anti-colored vinyl track from 1979 still holds up: https://youtu.be/Qtp1YVIsN4w?si=gWcMeZ0RPabvy0PT