base talk ATRL Decides: Are Variants Embarrassing or Not?

[Princess Aurora]

If only they released a special edition like they do in Japan, maybe it wouldn't be that embarrassing 

[Forevermore.]

Only when artists I don't like releases them, it's ok otherwise! And I'll keep moving the goalpost until the description of what I have a problem with fits only the artists I don't like!   - ATRL

[Bussea]

no. who cares. buy it if you want or don't if you do no want to   literally doesn't effect anyone at all

Edited May 23 by BLΔCKP!NK

[Punky Rooster]

I don't agree with an artist making their fans buy an entire album again for 1 bonus track, but especially doing that 5 times, it's nothing but chart obsession and greed. 

[Zari]

Only when other artists aside from Taylor do it because they can't get the same results 

 

 

(Except for Beyoncé, we love you muvva)

[PoisonedIvy]

9 minutes ago, Punky Rooster said:

I don't agree with an artist making their fans buy an entire album again for 1 bonus track, but especially doing that 5 times, it's nothing but chart obsession and greed. 

Who has done that? Olivia and Taylor both uploaded those tracks for streaming. So no one made their fans do anything as of yet.

[Don]

Watch the exclusive song variants be the standard next year … Olivia and Taylor did it, others will follow 

[Flower]

I don't get why color variant vinyls are less embarrassing then other variants that at least tries to put effort to distinguish itself to other variants? To me they are the most embarrassing ones. Imagine the variants are so bad and boring, no one wants to buy a second one. At that point, might as well just sell the standard one only?   

 

OT: Not embarrassing. Let people sell whatever they want, and let people buy whatever. At the end of the day, you could say all collectables, even outside of music, are embarrassing and wasteful regarding to each perspective. 

[JoeAg]

variants are what make humans beautiful!! i've been in a lot of wikipedia wormholes lately about vestigiality and birth variations/defects and I think preauricular sinuses are f*cking cool and I lowkey wish I had one,? weird ik but anyway i discovered yesterday that i DO have a darwin's tubercle on my left ear, i can feel it and my best friend noticed it immediately when i pointed it out. yes, so obviously i love variants! 

[JoeAg]

OH THIS IS ABOUT ALBUM VARIANTS 

 

uhmmm idk yeah i don't love them. i miss the days of cd bonus tracks/b-sides tbh

[pimmelfratze]

34 minutes ago, Forevermore. said:

Only when artists I don't like releases them, it's ok otherwise! And I'll keep moving the goalpost until the description of what I have a problem with fits only the artists I don't like!   - ATRL

This quote serving comprehension and simplification problems 

[WhateverYouWant]

Idk why but I feel like it cheapens the album. Like it's not actually a body of art but just a source to make money. But that's what most of them are so oh well I suppose. 
 

I guess it's a little different if your adding new songs of quality and not just a different cover or a remix. I don't even like deluxe versions most of the time. Its usually just a few songs tacked on that aren't good enough to make the standard version. Or opposite and some of the best songs are on the deluxe and you have to go out of your way to get that version. 

Edited May 23 by WhateverYouWant

[mike_int]

Nothing embarrassing about it.

 

It is a simple market mechanism of supply and demand.

 

Due to streaming there was an unbelievable decrease of sales of CD in the last 20 years.

 

For example in US in year 2000 over 900 million CDs were shipped and in 2022 only 33 million which was also significant decrease from 2021 when 46 millions were shipped.

 

Record companies realized fans are willing to buy multiple versions of the same album so they simply started to make them. It is a very simple business answer to customers demand.

 

 

[TaggedGalaxy]

Embarrassing when they release 20+ variants of a sleepy album to try and beat a 5 week old album on the charts whose first 5 songs alone are out steaming your entire 10 track album

 

[Comedor]

I think extortion is a bad look but I'm not being affected by it in any way. I'm not the one making money off variants, and I'm certainly not the one paying for them.

 

 

[GreatestLoveofAll]

Its a lot more nuanced than the options show but i lean on embarrassing. most of the variants are literally just remixes or acapellas that really dont need to be on physical copies-its such a waste. just drop different versions on streaming if you really want your fans to hear it.

[makeawish]

idk if they're embarrassing to the artist, i think i'd be embarrassed tho if i'd spent £150 on 6 copies of the same vinyl with a different picture on the front and i wasn't going to to listen to them anyway

[Feanor]

No more embarrassing than forum users wanting to dictate to artists when, how and in what way they should be promoting & pushing their own works and careers.

[byzantium]

I think some of you do too much over these pop girls.  

Edited May 23 by byzantium

[ShadeIena]

9 hours ago, PoisonedIvy said:

Why are you singling out Swifties? (1) I don't buy every variant she puts out, a lot of us don't. & (2) pretty much every other artist in recent years releases more variants than Taylor does. Either attackthem all or attack none. 

Maybe YOU. You haven't seen the videos of fans crying over getting a cardigan? Over buying a 'exclusive' edition after having 10 copies of the same album? Taylor has more like a fanbase that think they owe her something or they workshop her like a Goddess.

 

Taylor or whatever artists does this is embarrassing. I called out Selena for dropping (one) "deluxe" of Revelación with just a new cover instead of adding a bonus track to make it more special. Just one deluxe variant should be fine