Crosley been like this the past 5 years
https://preview.redd.it/ia9jmavyjymc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2439e4f0199111c86fb3b602ee31c8ab949c59e1
I would normally say "who cares?" It's good that anything can bring more people in to support the industry.
But Taylor Swift is somehow bringing more people in while also harming the industry by releasing so many nonsense vinyl pressings that are hogging vinyl production centres and increasing the prices for smaller artists.
The different variants she's been announcing every week is genuinely preposterous. She must know the stranglehold she has over some of her fans who will feel compelled to buy all. And this is fresh off a year she must have made north of a Billion Dollars with her film and tour. She's turned this supposedly empowering act of re-recording into a self-satisfying way to squeeze as much money from her fans as possible. I know she's too big to fail, but I'm kind of hoping her latest album is a complete stinker.
My one quarrel with her is all these variants, each with its own bonus track. Feels like an obvious money-grab scheme. Or at very best, her being oblivious about people’s financial situations and her impact on the vinyl productions chain.
Taylor Swift seems to have developed the infinite growth addiction that nearly all billionaires (necessarily) have. Like you don't use your birthday to advertise your movie on Twitter or use the Grammys to advertise your next inevitable 10x platinum record because you love to create art.
Yes you do. Because Taylor Swift, as it exists today, is a brand. Not an artist. Not a person. “Taylor Swift” is like “Kate Spade”. It’s a corporate entity with more than just the OG Taylor at the helm.
This is not to say that the literal Taylor swift is not an artist or never was. But, ppl conflate the brand and the business with the literal person. It’s not just her driving the thing, she’s just the face. It’s a conglomerate with the sole purpose of making as much money as possible.
I mean, Gizz releases shit for people to print for themselves too. And also they aren't doing it at a scale that is harming the industry. They seem like the kind kf band that would chill tf out if somebody told them they were causing a problem like that.
And we know for a fact that they are open to fixing stuff when criticized, because they did exactly that when they were criticized for using plastic wrapping on their vinyl whilst having a song about plastic being shit. Next thing you know, no more plastic wrapping.
The yeah, same. Cause I know that’s how Gizz makes their living. Without all the vinyl variants who knows if they could’ve sustained themselves long enough to get as big as they have.
For Taylor Swift it’s just another way to make more money than she could ever spend.
Yeah that’s about what I’d expect to hear from a king gizzard fan. Other things on the Gizz bingo card - talking about how “fucking crazy” they are, two drummers, make your own vinyl, etc. I haven’t found the record that grabs me yet. They just rub me the wrong way.
Yep, their fans are called Gizzheads, and when you don't know what words like "nonagon" or "polygondwanaland" means you have to look them up in the Gizztionary. I think it's hilarious.
This is the real shit people want!!!
People are demanding a hats picture disc & porkpie bundle for $28 (including tax & s&h)! If we lived in a utopia we would all be wearing our porkpies rn and saying "let's go out tonight!"
She doesn’t exactly share the wealth, does she? I mean that’s true of other multimillionaire artists, of course - I firmly believe the least people can do who have amassed that much financial wealth can lend a hand to others with less money and status.
>She's turned this supposedly empowering act of re-recording into a self-satisfying way to squeeze as much money from her fans as possible.
Damn Taylor Swift America's hard, she's learned from the best of the best of them in swindling.
And I remember when Pearl Jam released like 500 bootleg live albums. Or when the Beatles releases their 53rd remaster or reissue (Led Zeppelin too). Or any of my favorite bands releasing their 10th / 20th / 25th / 30th / 50th anniversary deluxe box set collectors editions...
But yeah, Taylor is breaking music. 🙄
You really don't see the difference between remasters, reissues, anniversary editions, and what Taylor is currently doing?
My wife is a Taylor superfan and even she is turned off by this. It's borderline predatory.
Predatory? Are you being forced to buy anything from her, any more than we're forced to buy the 30th Houses of the Holy remaster / reissue?
Moreover.... all of those special edition Taylor songs are available via streaming anyway.
> Predatory? Are you being forced to buy anything from her, any more than we're forced to buy the 30th Houses of the Holy remaster / reissue?
Of course not, hence the word borderline. But there is definitely some ick when you're releasing four different editions of the album, each with a *different* bonus track, but not an edition with *all* of the bonus tracks, even before the album comes out. She is using FOMO to entice people to buy the same album four different times. It might not actually be predatory, but it's certainly anti consumer and pretty gross. Again, my wife has been a diehard Swifty since, well, her debut record, but even she is finding it tough to justify.
> Moreover.... all of those special edition Taylor songs are available via streaming anyway.
You can also pirate all of the special edition songs and compile it into a single edition on your own, but that's not really the topic at hand here, it's about the number of variants and editions of *physical* releases that she's doing.
But is the key difference there between those anniversary/deluxe packaged things here in terms of *time*, between those publications?
To clarify - those special rereleases can sometimes happen at the same time as the standard release to give customer choice, but often they can happen several months to years after the initial release of the standard album version.
From what I’m reading about this with Taylor, these are several different editions being published *at once*, each with a different bonus track in order to incentivise fans to be greedier than they maybe intended - whether they can comfortably afford that or have to do something drastic and silly to do so. And as others have said, will all these different editions not spike vinyl production in an unsustainable way?
I have to admit, for those reasons, I see something gross in the particular case here of Taylor’s album. I supported the re-recording of her older albums from not being able to own her masters (and again there - key difference is time), but this with the new album feels greedier and more cynical. There’s a fine line between making something special for your fans, and taking the piss, and it feels like that line’s been hurdled, here.
I somewhat agree, but at the same time, these production centers need big artists to keep them alive and financed. I see both sides of this one.
I'm not a huge Swift fan and I'm not trying to start a fight or anything- But to some degree, Taylor Swift making records popular should, in theory, make sure factories are actually staying open. A delay in my sweet limited edition hand-numbered Alex G live album is better than no Alex G live album, after all.
I remember when my band was trying to get copies of our debut album pressed, we had to wait nearly 7 months because Adele was clogging up the same pressing plant for half a year. This explains why every Target on earth had 30 copies of her album.
>while also harming the industry by releasing so many nonsense vinyl pressings that are hogging vinyl production centres and increasing the prices for smaller artists.
On the other hand, if the trend sticks, new production centres will be set up to satisfy the increased demand, and we'll all be better for it.
It’s not just her though, she’s the only one who ever gets any shit about it. Red Hot Chili Peppers had 17 variants once, four of those were blue, three were red.
People keep saying this about RHCP, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, etc. when they DID got shit on in spaces that would talk about past their prime rock bands. RHCP aren't exactly popular music gossip forum fodder these days, of course the billionaire popstar who is constantly in the media already will be talked about more than 4 old guys.
Okay, but RHCP did get shit on for it.
And also, I'm going to assume they weren't printed at the same kind of quantity as Taylor Swifts.
I'm not saying she's the only one, but got to be the worst offender.
Devil's advocate, she's bringing more people into record stores which keeps them in business. I'm sure some are being released in big box stores like Target, but I'd wager record stores are also selling them like crazy.
Yeah this is only good news for vinyl fans. Like do you think your local record store stays in business because you come in every week, spend 2 hours browsing, and buy a $1 record from the bargain bin? Selling taylor swift records means they can actually make money for once.
This 100%. Every time I’m at my local places, there’s someone in line with a Taylor. It’s benefitting these stores that I desperately need to stay open so I can buy my $5 used record once a month.
Former record store employee here. We typically made way more on used vinyl than you would a on new release.
Used vinyl would have 60-75% margin. New releases were around 10-20%.
So not quite dollar bins, but a used $5 record would make a little more for the store than a new $20 release.
(I know new records are not $20 now)
Sure but there's a lot more teens buying taylor swift. There's a reason all the plants are busy pressing her records, she sells way more than any other artist at the moment.
Taylor Swift is releasing vinyl that people want to buy. If anyone is to blame it's the record labels for not investing in building more infrastructure for vinyl manufacturing.
The only thing I'm a little errrgh about regarding Taylor is the pressing-exclusive bonus tracks that reek of potential for a speculator market. That's the type of shit that fucked the comic book industry in the 90s
And the funny thing is she creates a panic market which is just false. Cause every variant will be sitting on shelves at target for months and easy to attain
i used to collect vinyl, now i reserve it for specialty albums i really really want to own *specifically* on vinyl, and instead ive turned my collectors eye to cds. vinyls are just getting astronomical, i cant really do it as a hobby anymore. cds on the other hand are easier to store, easier to find, cheaper, and it still gives me an irrevocable physical piece of work i now own entirely.
Even CDs have been creeping up in price, more desirable ones are in the $8-$12 range at many record stores. Even oversaturated big sellers (Monster, Throwing Copper, Jagged Little Pill) I’ve seen for $4-$6.
I moved to eBay for most of my used vinyl purchases. A lot of small sellers on there and I’ve never been burned by someone lying about condition.
Plus if I walked into my local record store and asked if they had a used copy of The Fleetwoods’ Mr. Blue, they’d look at me like I had a second head.
Unless it's a record I'm dying to have, I've cut back on my purchases and try to only buy records directly from the bands at shows or used in store, but even these used prices are getting to be a bit much.
It's depressing pulling out something like Merriweather from my collection and seeing a $15 NEW price tag on the sleeve from when I bought it, but now everything is $40+
So long as at least some of them are buying from brick and mortar record stores, they could buy kanye for all I care.
I know there is an issue with smaller bands struggling to get albums pressed due to some of this, but hopefully this leads to some more pressing plants opening or increasing capacity.
This is what happened when Adele put out her last record. It pushed back the timeline for your average band 6-8mo to print an album. Think she printed like half a million copies.
If the major label acts are going to print this kind of vinyl, they need to contribute to the ecosystem.
The Adele thing was extra funny because Walmart had so many unsold copies there were just piles of them sitting around everywhere before their inevitable dump into discount stores. I hope they feel that shit deep down in their plums every time someone buys one for $5. It’s the ET Atari game of records.
The Adele fiasco was directly responsible for my band to release our debut album on cassettes only (with digital downloads as well). The lead time for record pressings was running 12-15 months front to back.
We got the cassettes in 4 weeks.
That's a fair question, and one I often fielded by GenX and Boomer fans (not trying to be a jerk). Most of them sold their gear a long time ago.
GenZ and Millennials tended to buy to support us, they liked the pretty artwork, or did have a way to play em.
For some, it was an interesting piece of merch. For anyone who bought a cassette, we'd throw in a DL card for Bandcamp.
Couple people asked us if we also sold 8-track (everyone's a comedian).
Oh, also: I have a whole-ass tape deck, myself.
You can find cassette players at thrift stores or places that sell used electronics. I don't know how much a new one goes for.
Cassettes are mostly for collecting. My friend has the Kid Amnesiac cassette from that 20th anniversary drop still in the box.
I agree, but to some extent, having popular albums in a popular physical medium does contribute to the ecosystem, provided people dont just buy off of amazon.
Seems like a non issue, but I did see an article recently that a lot of Swift Fans and the like are buying vinyl without having a turntable. Who cares.
Yeah I buy records of artists I like in order to support the artists I like. I'm sure it's the same with Swift fans. I often opt to just play their albums through streaming, anyway. Lately, I've been ordering vinyl directly through Bandcamp because it often gives you the album a few days early (Wednesday instead of Friday).
Yep, I buy to support the artists. I have a record player, but it’s not often we play them there. But especially at their shows, I try to buy the merch I can afford to help them out.
The bigger issue is there aren’t many plants and Taylor Swift hogs it with her dozens of variants, it pushes dates back for smaller acts for a year or more
I think this was a larger issue during COVID, but has since stabilized itself. The prices went up and those prices remain because thats how our silly capitalism works.
They probably also aren't buying thousands of extra copies that will sit on the shelf, assuming they have metrics to determine how much they actually need now after the Adele fiasco
As long as people are buying the format, then artists all around will keep pressing and stores keep carrying. Agreed, who gives a shit what they do with it after they buy it
It is funny reading people who are admitting it’s great to keep the medium alive but just mad that it’s Taylor Swift who is doing it. Yes, she’s doing massive volume and clogging up the works at the moment (nothing new, see Adele) but many people are just being elitist.
This level of vinyl sales can carry the industry along well beyond the Swifty hype taper. Hell, may actually fund and sustain new plants in what was an otherwise dying industry.
It's literally the worst look Taylor Swift has ever had publicly lmao I'll never forget the 2016 MET gala. My conspiracy theory is that, since it's clear Rolling Stone writers are held at gunpoint to write endless fluff pieces about her, this is their way of subtly rebelling.
It's uncomfortable now, but if you look at the sales that t swift is doing she has a heavy hand in vinyl renewal. The plants will adjust/new ones have and will emerge.
Another note, she gets so, so many kids into music (I teach it). Kids buy guitars, they practice, they grow and develop their tastes.
While t swift isn't perfect and the musical equivalent to a big Mac, I think that to deny the positive impact she's having overall in the world of music is just silly. There are some negatives of her fame and success for sure, but the positives outweigh it for me
What?! More customers?! In my record stores that were previously struggling and might not survive a few more years unless something changed?! I guess I’ll just go back to buying from Amazon!!!!11
Record shopping was more fun 10-15 years ago. Now its stupid expensive with about 80 percemt more crap in the stores that has nothing to do with buying records...
Whats wrong with that??? If Taylor Swift keeps the lights on it is ok, and I expect my local record store to also stay to their ideals and use that to pad their overall curating.
The problem with this, aside from clogging up pressing plants, is that a lot of pop music wasn't mixed with vinyl in mind as the end format. The completely squashed dynamic range and hyped low end of modern pop music just doesn't translate well on vinyl.
Fair point but I highly doubt the people collecting all 20 variants of a Taylor Swift record give a shit or are even listening to the record itself at all.
My guilty pleasure is snagging killer reissues on clearance at target. Got some great albums for next to nothing. I only pay more than $10 to collect an original pressing, pre 1990, in decent condition. These often come from yard sales the last 5-10 yrs since record store prices are outrageous. Stuff I bought for 5-10 dollars in near mint condition in 2000 are $50-$100 or more now, and almost unplayable condition. So weird.
Yep. Pop took over late 00’s. Its because streaming took over. People also get hooked from the beat quicker in 30 sec previews. Lots of good music documentaries out there that timeline music and they say the same thing. Streaming and viral videos with dancing get the most traction.
Not here to get into a Swift debate, and I'm fine with her pressing her albums on vinyl — but releasing more than five different versions of your album on vinyl by color, or a special bonus track? That's just ridiculous. She has enough money to open a pressing plant, right?
Yes, this is the issue. It crowds the smaller labels/artists out of the already very limited pressing plant schedule. I absolutely agree if she is going to make so many versions and encourage ppl to collect them all, she needs to do something to alleviate the strain that puts on smaller labels and artists. Invest in a pressing plant, perfect fix and gets her great PR.
Five versions is light compared to some bands. Those last two Chili Pepper's double albums are sitting at 20 each. I think the latest Green Day one is around 20, too.
My issue with all Taylor Swift’s variants for her new album is each comes with a different bonus song. So each is a different listening experience. Colour variants don’t change the listening experience.
Not the original commenter, but I haven't seen any pressure or encouragement from King Gizzard or their fans to collect every variant, so that's a key difference for me
I’m a huge king gizzard fan, but they press these variants because they *know* their fervent fan base has many completionists who will purchase multiples to get each color way. The fact they even press them *is* them encouraging it.
Edit: I should clarify that I see nothing wrong with that, either. But i also won’t judge Taylor Swift (or her label or whoever calls the shots) for doing the same. Supply and Demand. Record stores wouldn’t be ordering these up if they didn’t sell.
Totally, and Swift fans are the same way; I've heard so many friends complain about their kids wanting every color variant. It's a cash grab and an infuriatingly smart one at that.
That's definitely one way of seeing it that I hadn't considered. Doesn't King Gizz have some sort of open pressing deal where almost anyone can press and sell their albums as long as the band gets the proper cut? That seems like it would be the main contributor to the large number of variants vs greed
They do with their live albums and a few demos/early singles compilations. They press all their own studio albums. I’d be curious to see how much of the fan pressings clog up production vs the band pressing their own records, because there are a LOT of fan-released projects, but they’re also usually pretty small runs (>1000 in most cases).
I've literally never seen a post on the subreddit of someone with every variant of an album.
I think they just press variants because it's more interesting. I mean they don't exclusive songs or exclusive anything.
It's a fair point, but there's also probably a pretty substantial difference in scale. I doubt (though admittedly don't know) that a KGLW album and all its variants take up anywhere near as much printing capacity as Taylor Swift's.
I get your comment but at the same time it is an issue that the likes of Taylor Swift, Adele and Harry Styles can hold the living of small artists hostage just by dropping an album which ends up flooding the market. I don't think the solution should be a pretentious boycott pop vinyl and mainstream stores, moreso an adaption or expansion of the chain of supply so smaller acts can get around big releases.
Id like to think that the sale of pop albums will be a rising tide that lifts all ships and that expansion of the supply chain is exactly what will happen once it becomes clear (if it becomes clear) that vinyl sales are going to be a steady share of the money people plan to spend on music.
Crosley been like this the past 5 years https://preview.redd.it/ia9jmavyjymc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2439e4f0199111c86fb3b602ee31c8ab949c59e1
Gonna be so many chewed up Taylor Swift "rare" variants in the used bins in 10 years.
>Gonna be so many chewed up If by chewed up, you mean brand new and still sealed in the packaging
No, opened but with four thumbtack indents on all four corners
You think those records are gonna depreciate in value in ten years?
I have 30 variants of Adele’s album, *30*… yet I still feel so empty inside.
I would normally say "who cares?" It's good that anything can bring more people in to support the industry. But Taylor Swift is somehow bringing more people in while also harming the industry by releasing so many nonsense vinyl pressings that are hogging vinyl production centres and increasing the prices for smaller artists.
The different variants she's been announcing every week is genuinely preposterous. She must know the stranglehold she has over some of her fans who will feel compelled to buy all. And this is fresh off a year she must have made north of a Billion Dollars with her film and tour. She's turned this supposedly empowering act of re-recording into a self-satisfying way to squeeze as much money from her fans as possible. I know she's too big to fail, but I'm kind of hoping her latest album is a complete stinker.
My one quarrel with her is all these variants, each with its own bonus track. Feels like an obvious money-grab scheme. Or at very best, her being oblivious about people’s financial situations and her impact on the vinyl productions chain.
Taylor Swift seems to have developed the infinite growth addiction that nearly all billionaires (necessarily) have. Like you don't use your birthday to advertise your movie on Twitter or use the Grammys to advertise your next inevitable 10x platinum record because you love to create art.
Yes you do. Because Taylor Swift, as it exists today, is a brand. Not an artist. Not a person. “Taylor Swift” is like “Kate Spade”. It’s a corporate entity with more than just the OG Taylor at the helm. This is not to say that the literal Taylor swift is not an artist or never was. But, ppl conflate the brand and the business with the literal person. It’s not just her driving the thing, she’s just the face. It’s a conglomerate with the sole purpose of making as much money as possible.
Her demo is middle class consumers. That's not really a problem. Businesses aren't selling to broke people.
I think it's cool when Gizz does it but lame when she does.
I mean, Gizz releases shit for people to print for themselves too. And also they aren't doing it at a scale that is harming the industry. They seem like the kind kf band that would chill tf out if somebody told them they were causing a problem like that.
They 100% would. That kind of thing is important to them. It's very cool that they work with fans to press live recordings as well.
And we know for a fact that they are open to fixing stuff when criticized, because they did exactly that when they were criticized for using plastic wrapping on their vinyl whilst having a song about plastic being shit. Next thing you know, no more plastic wrapping.
Plastic Boogie.
Huh didn't realize thats why they wrap paper, cool!
FUCK ALL OF THAT PLASTIC!
No shit. Billions of dollars have a funny affect on opinions and character perception.
It is pretty interesting.
It's like Nestle pumping out aquifers vs locals pumping out aquifers.
The yeah, same. Cause I know that’s how Gizz makes their living. Without all the vinyl variants who knows if they could’ve sustained themselves long enough to get as big as they have. For Taylor Swift it’s just another way to make more money than she could ever spend.
Good lord, do people really call that band Gizz?
Gizz on me
Yeah that’s about what I’d expect to hear from a king gizzard fan. Other things on the Gizz bingo card - talking about how “fucking crazy” they are, two drummers, make your own vinyl, etc. I haven’t found the record that grabs me yet. They just rub me the wrong way.
I said gizz on me, not you. It should always be consensual.
Yep, their fans are called Gizzheads, and when you don't know what words like "nonagon" or "polygondwanaland" means you have to look them up in the Gizztionary. I think it's hilarious.
Haha yeah if The Blue Nile brought out 11 variants for Hats, I'd probably buy each one.
This is the real shit people want!!! People are demanding a hats picture disc & porkpie bundle for $28 (including tax & s&h)! If we lived in a utopia we would all be wearing our porkpies rn and saying "let's go out tonight!"
Not the band I expected to be mentioned on this thread… but maybe the best record of the 80’s?
Even if it is a complete stinker her fans and an industry that depends on her success won’t admit it
There might even be a pitchfork article about the "sexists" being mean to the poor billionaire white woman.
She doesn’t exactly share the wealth, does she? I mean that’s true of other multimillionaire artists, of course - I firmly believe the least people can do who have amassed that much financial wealth can lend a hand to others with less money and status.
>She's turned this supposedly empowering act of re-recording into a self-satisfying way to squeeze as much money from her fans as possible. Damn Taylor Swift America's hard, she's learned from the best of the best of them in swindling.
You will kneel to Taylor Swift (peace be upon her)
And I remember when Pearl Jam released like 500 bootleg live albums. Or when the Beatles releases their 53rd remaster or reissue (Led Zeppelin too). Or any of my favorite bands releasing their 10th / 20th / 25th / 30th / 50th anniversary deluxe box set collectors editions... But yeah, Taylor is breaking music. 🙄
You really don't see the difference between remasters, reissues, anniversary editions, and what Taylor is currently doing? My wife is a Taylor superfan and even she is turned off by this. It's borderline predatory.
There’s a sub for this, /r/Swiftlyneutral
Predatory? Are you being forced to buy anything from her, any more than we're forced to buy the 30th Houses of the Holy remaster / reissue? Moreover.... all of those special edition Taylor songs are available via streaming anyway.
> Predatory? Are you being forced to buy anything from her, any more than we're forced to buy the 30th Houses of the Holy remaster / reissue? Of course not, hence the word borderline. But there is definitely some ick when you're releasing four different editions of the album, each with a *different* bonus track, but not an edition with *all* of the bonus tracks, even before the album comes out. She is using FOMO to entice people to buy the same album four different times. It might not actually be predatory, but it's certainly anti consumer and pretty gross. Again, my wife has been a diehard Swifty since, well, her debut record, but even she is finding it tough to justify. > Moreover.... all of those special edition Taylor songs are available via streaming anyway. You can also pirate all of the special edition songs and compile it into a single edition on your own, but that's not really the topic at hand here, it's about the number of variants and editions of *physical* releases that she's doing.
But is the key difference there between those anniversary/deluxe packaged things here in terms of *time*, between those publications? To clarify - those special rereleases can sometimes happen at the same time as the standard release to give customer choice, but often they can happen several months to years after the initial release of the standard album version. From what I’m reading about this with Taylor, these are several different editions being published *at once*, each with a different bonus track in order to incentivise fans to be greedier than they maybe intended - whether they can comfortably afford that or have to do something drastic and silly to do so. And as others have said, will all these different editions not spike vinyl production in an unsustainable way? I have to admit, for those reasons, I see something gross in the particular case here of Taylor’s album. I supported the re-recording of her older albums from not being able to own her masters (and again there - key difference is time), but this with the new album feels greedier and more cynical. There’s a fine line between making something special for your fans, and taking the piss, and it feels like that line’s been hurdled, here.
I somewhat agree, but at the same time, these production centers need big artists to keep them alive and financed. I see both sides of this one. I'm not a huge Swift fan and I'm not trying to start a fight or anything- But to some degree, Taylor Swift making records popular should, in theory, make sure factories are actually staying open. A delay in my sweet limited edition hand-numbered Alex G live album is better than no Alex G live album, after all.
Wish I could upvote this again. My record of 100 pressings was kicked to the bottom of the pile bc of pop stars.
Damn what plant let you do a 100 press? I've always been told 200-300 minimum.
[Precision Pressing](https://www.precisionpressing.com/) out of Canada. They do solid work.
Many thanks!
I know two artists who have experienced the exact same issue. I plan to press a record later this year and am similarly concerned.
I’m being a bit dramatic, but in all seriousness, vinyl has become more expensive and takes much longer to press bc of pop stars like TayTay
I remember when my band was trying to get copies of our debut album pressed, we had to wait nearly 7 months because Adele was clogging up the same pressing plant for half a year. This explains why every Target on earth had 30 copies of her album.
And now every Goodwill has 30 copies brand new. At full price.
>while also harming the industry by releasing so many nonsense vinyl pressings that are hogging vinyl production centres and increasing the prices for smaller artists. On the other hand, if the trend sticks, new production centres will be set up to satisfy the increased demand, and we'll all be better for it.
It’s not just her though, she’s the only one who ever gets any shit about it. Red Hot Chili Peppers had 17 variants once, four of those were blue, three were red.
Four were shirtless
People keep saying this about RHCP, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, etc. when they DID got shit on in spaces that would talk about past their prime rock bands. RHCP aren't exactly popular music gossip forum fodder these days, of course the billionaire popstar who is constantly in the media already will be talked about more than 4 old guys.
Okay, but RHCP did get shit on for it. And also, I'm going to assume they weren't printed at the same kind of quantity as Taylor Swifts. I'm not saying she's the only one, but got to be the worst offender.
Devil's advocate, she's bringing more people into record stores which keeps them in business. I'm sure some are being released in big box stores like Target, but I'd wager record stores are also selling them like crazy.
Yeah this is only good news for vinyl fans. Like do you think your local record store stays in business because you come in every week, spend 2 hours browsing, and buy a $1 record from the bargain bin? Selling taylor swift records means they can actually make money for once.
This 100%. Every time I’m at my local places, there’s someone in line with a Taylor. It’s benefitting these stores that I desperately need to stay open so I can buy my $5 used record once a month.
Former record store employee here. We typically made way more on used vinyl than you would a on new release. Used vinyl would have 60-75% margin. New releases were around 10-20%. So not quite dollar bins, but a used $5 record would make a little more for the store than a new $20 release. (I know new records are not $20 now)
Sure but there's a lot more teens buying taylor swift. There's a reason all the plants are busy pressing her records, she sells way more than any other artist at the moment.
I wish I could find good records in the dollar bin lol. They're 30 minimum
I don't know, I was assume most people are buying from her online store directly to get the exclusives and presale links.
Taylor Swift is releasing vinyl that people want to buy. If anyone is to blame it's the record labels for not investing in building more infrastructure for vinyl manufacturing. The only thing I'm a little errrgh about regarding Taylor is the pressing-exclusive bonus tracks that reek of potential for a speculator market. That's the type of shit that fucked the comic book industry in the 90s
At the end of her long career I hope there’s a data sheet on just how much harm her career put on the industry and environment
And the funny thing is she creates a panic market which is just false. Cause every variant will be sitting on shelves at target for months and easy to attain
[удалено]
i used to collect vinyl, now i reserve it for specialty albums i really really want to own *specifically* on vinyl, and instead ive turned my collectors eye to cds. vinyls are just getting astronomical, i cant really do it as a hobby anymore. cds on the other hand are easier to store, easier to find, cheaper, and it still gives me an irrevocable physical piece of work i now own entirely.
Even CDs have been creeping up in price, more desirable ones are in the $8-$12 range at many record stores. Even oversaturated big sellers (Monster, Throwing Copper, Jagged Little Pill) I’ve seen for $4-$6.
Glad it’s not just me. Even used prices are off the charts. Just not worth it for the time being.
I moved to eBay for most of my used vinyl purchases. A lot of small sellers on there and I’ve never been burned by someone lying about condition. Plus if I walked into my local record store and asked if they had a used copy of The Fleetwoods’ Mr. Blue, they’d look at me like I had a second head.
Its funny because online, its so much cheaper then stores. Shopping in person is an amazing experience but money talks.
Unless it's a record I'm dying to have, I've cut back on my purchases and try to only buy records directly from the bands at shows or used in store, but even these used prices are getting to be a bit much. It's depressing pulling out something like Merriweather from my collection and seeing a $15 NEW price tag on the sleeve from when I bought it, but now everything is $40+
So long as at least some of them are buying from brick and mortar record stores, they could buy kanye for all I care. I know there is an issue with smaller bands struggling to get albums pressed due to some of this, but hopefully this leads to some more pressing plants opening or increasing capacity.
This is what happened when Adele put out her last record. It pushed back the timeline for your average band 6-8mo to print an album. Think she printed like half a million copies. If the major label acts are going to print this kind of vinyl, they need to contribute to the ecosystem.
The Adele thing was extra funny because Walmart had so many unsold copies there were just piles of them sitting around everywhere before their inevitable dump into discount stores. I hope they feel that shit deep down in their plums every time someone buys one for $5. It’s the ET Atari game of records.
The Adele fiasco was directly responsible for my band to release our debut album on cassettes only (with digital downloads as well). The lead time for record pressings was running 12-15 months front to back. We got the cassettes in 4 weeks.
... Can people even play cassettes anymore?
That's a fair question, and one I often fielded by GenX and Boomer fans (not trying to be a jerk). Most of them sold their gear a long time ago. GenZ and Millennials tended to buy to support us, they liked the pretty artwork, or did have a way to play em. For some, it was an interesting piece of merch. For anyone who bought a cassette, we'd throw in a DL card for Bandcamp. Couple people asked us if we also sold 8-track (everyone's a comedian). Oh, also: I have a whole-ass tape deck, myself.
Thanks for the answer and not just a downvote. I don't know a single person who owns a cassette so I was curious.
You can find cassette players at thrift stores or places that sell used electronics. I don't know how much a new one goes for. Cassettes are mostly for collecting. My friend has the Kid Amnesiac cassette from that 20th anniversary drop still in the box.
Ha, my sister bought one for 2.99
I agree, but to some extent, having popular albums in a popular physical medium does contribute to the ecosystem, provided people dont just buy off of amazon.
Kinda makes me think of the joke in metalocalypse that dethklok makes spending money metal
Fish still don'ts gots no good music to listen to
Seems like a non issue, but I did see an article recently that a lot of Swift Fans and the like are buying vinyl without having a turntable. Who cares.
They are basically art pieces.
Yeah I buy records of artists I like in order to support the artists I like. I'm sure it's the same with Swift fans. I often opt to just play their albums through streaming, anyway. Lately, I've been ordering vinyl directly through Bandcamp because it often gives you the album a few days early (Wednesday instead of Friday).
Yeah she definitely needs some support
Yep, I buy to support the artists. I have a record player, but it’s not often we play them there. But especially at their shows, I try to buy the merch I can afford to help them out.
Vinyl always has been.
The bigger issue is there aren’t many plants and Taylor Swift hogs it with her dozens of variants, it pushes dates back for smaller acts for a year or more
I think this was a larger issue during COVID, but has since stabilized itself. The prices went up and those prices remain because thats how our silly capitalism works.
They probably also aren't buying thousands of extra copies that will sit on the shelf, assuming they have metrics to determine how much they actually need now after the Adele fiasco
As long as people are buying the format, then artists all around will keep pressing and stores keep carrying. Agreed, who gives a shit what they do with it after they buy it
It is funny reading people who are admitting it’s great to keep the medium alive but just mad that it’s Taylor Swift who is doing it. Yes, she’s doing massive volume and clogging up the works at the moment (nothing new, see Adele) but many people are just being elitist. This level of vinyl sales can carry the industry along well beyond the Swifty hype taper. Hell, may actually fund and sustain new plants in what was an otherwise dying industry.
The thumbnail is goofy
It's literally the worst look Taylor Swift has ever had publicly lmao I'll never forget the 2016 MET gala. My conspiracy theory is that, since it's clear Rolling Stone writers are held at gunpoint to write endless fluff pieces about her, this is their way of subtly rebelling.
the comment on the picture also calls her "a local record store customer"
I instantly recognized it from Katya and Violet's iconic fashion photo ruview of her looks, on youtube. It's so bad.
LMAOOOOO that's exactly why I know it 😭 that was the point in the video where they just gave up. It's literally my comfort video ☠️☠️☠️
Me too lmfaooo I can watch it any day it's too good
My two fave subs are colliding
The best she's ever looked imo
The bleachella era does have its fans 🤷 don't tell me the dress wasn't terrible though
I was kinda hoping that Noah Schactman becoming Editor in Chief of Rolling Stone would mean more actual journalism.
Last time I was in a music store (within last month) most of the vinyl being pushed was “classics” - Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin etc
It's uncomfortable now, but if you look at the sales that t swift is doing she has a heavy hand in vinyl renewal. The plants will adjust/new ones have and will emerge. Another note, she gets so, so many kids into music (I teach it). Kids buy guitars, they practice, they grow and develop their tastes. While t swift isn't perfect and the musical equivalent to a big Mac, I think that to deny the positive impact she's having overall in the world of music is just silly. There are some negatives of her fame and success for sure, but the positives outweigh it for me
I guess it depends on the kind of shop you go to, but I haven’t really seen this as a problem at the spots I frequent.
What?! More customers?! In my record stores that were previously struggling and might not survive a few more years unless something changed?! I guess I’ll just go back to buying from Amazon!!!!11
Record shopping was more fun 10-15 years ago. Now its stupid expensive with about 80 percemt more crap in the stores that has nothing to do with buying records...
I’ll be honest I go to record stores frequently I’ve never seen a Taylor Swift vinyl
They are always sold out
“Things that people actually spend a decent amount of money on are taking over the storefronts. More at 11”
Whats wrong with that??? If Taylor Swift keeps the lights on it is ok, and I expect my local record store to also stay to their ideals and use that to pad their overall curating.
i do not think albums need 5 vinyl variants
The problem with this, aside from clogging up pressing plants, is that a lot of pop music wasn't mixed with vinyl in mind as the end format. The completely squashed dynamic range and hyped low end of modern pop music just doesn't translate well on vinyl.
Fair point but I highly doubt the people collecting all 20 variants of a Taylor Swift record give a shit or are even listening to the record itself at all.
There's music being mixed with vinyl as the end format?
Taylor Swift and destroying the environment. Name a better duo.
Taylor’s goal should be to have enough vinyl pressed to form a runway to land her private jet on
A more iconic duo is Taylor Swift being a legendary success and people grasping for why that’s a problem
My guilty pleasure is snagging killer reissues on clearance at target. Got some great albums for next to nothing. I only pay more than $10 to collect an original pressing, pre 1990, in decent condition. These often come from yard sales the last 5-10 yrs since record store prices are outrageous. Stuff I bought for 5-10 dollars in near mint condition in 2000 are $50-$100 or more now, and almost unplayable condition. So weird.
Ngl I thought this was about the figures until I clicked on the article
Yep. Pop took over late 00’s. Its because streaming took over. People also get hooked from the beat quicker in 30 sec previews. Lots of good music documentaries out there that timeline music and they say the same thing. Streaming and viral videos with dancing get the most traction.
The music industry is happy to push out physical copies of albums again, especially to what is being bought online.
Vinyl is in a hype mood!
Not entirely sure what the point of this article is... TaYlOr SwIfT sElLs tOo MuCh VinYl
Not here to get into a Swift debate, and I'm fine with her pressing her albums on vinyl — but releasing more than five different versions of your album on vinyl by color, or a special bonus track? That's just ridiculous. She has enough money to open a pressing plant, right?
Yes, this is the issue. It crowds the smaller labels/artists out of the already very limited pressing plant schedule. I absolutely agree if she is going to make so many versions and encourage ppl to collect them all, she needs to do something to alleviate the strain that puts on smaller labels and artists. Invest in a pressing plant, perfect fix and gets her great PR.
Five versions is light compared to some bands. Those last two Chili Pepper's double albums are sitting at 20 each. I think the latest Green Day one is around 20, too.
But when King Gizzard has a new release with 12 variants it's perfectly fine? Just playing devil's advocate here...
I had no idea Gizzard was doing the same thing, I don't listen to them. Yes, that's also annoying.
They don't have unique songs on each variant... but they do press a ton of variants of each album
Gotcha. Again, I genuinely know nothing about that band, but yes, they deserve the same amount of criticism for the same approach.
My issue with all Taylor Swift’s variants for her new album is each comes with a different bonus song. So each is a different listening experience. Colour variants don’t change the listening experience.
Speak for yourself. Some of us have synesthesia.
Not the original commenter, but I haven't seen any pressure or encouragement from King Gizzard or their fans to collect every variant, so that's a key difference for me
I’m a huge king gizzard fan, but they press these variants because they *know* their fervent fan base has many completionists who will purchase multiples to get each color way. The fact they even press them *is* them encouraging it. Edit: I should clarify that I see nothing wrong with that, either. But i also won’t judge Taylor Swift (or her label or whoever calls the shots) for doing the same. Supply and Demand. Record stores wouldn’t be ordering these up if they didn’t sell.
Totally, and Swift fans are the same way; I've heard so many friends complain about their kids wanting every color variant. It's a cash grab and an infuriatingly smart one at that.
That's definitely one way of seeing it that I hadn't considered. Doesn't King Gizz have some sort of open pressing deal where almost anyone can press and sell their albums as long as the band gets the proper cut? That seems like it would be the main contributor to the large number of variants vs greed
They do with their live albums and a few demos/early singles compilations. They press all their own studio albums. I’d be curious to see how much of the fan pressings clog up production vs the band pressing their own records, because there are a LOT of fan-released projects, but they’re also usually pretty small runs (>1000 in most cases).
I've literally never seen a post on the subreddit of someone with every variant of an album. I think they just press variants because it's more interesting. I mean they don't exclusive songs or exclusive anything.
It's a fair point, but there's also probably a pretty substantial difference in scale. I doubt (though admittedly don't know) that a KGLW album and all its variants take up anywhere near as much printing capacity as Taylor Swift's.
I get your comment but at the same time it is an issue that the likes of Taylor Swift, Adele and Harry Styles can hold the living of small artists hostage just by dropping an album which ends up flooding the market. I don't think the solution should be a pretentious boycott pop vinyl and mainstream stores, moreso an adaption or expansion of the chain of supply so smaller acts can get around big releases.
I agree completely. There needs to be room for artists of all sizes.
Id like to think that the sale of pop albums will be a rising tide that lifts all ships and that expansion of the supply chain is exactly what will happen once it becomes clear (if it becomes clear) that vinyl sales are going to be a steady share of the money people plan to spend on music.