By Solé Scott
Editor-in-Chief
The music artistry has declined significantly in the last 15 to 20 years due to how music is being distributed.
With Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” being the most talked about album right now, I and other people on social media are calling in to question the validity of all the records broken with this album and the dangerous trends of variants.
Shockingly, Adele’s album “25” record for biggest first week debut in history with 3.4 million sold was squashed by Swift, who sold a staggering 4.1 million copies.
I have strong mixed feelings on how Swift acquired this title since she was selling a plethora of variants left and right.
We all see the difference in the music industry and how artists are not only marketing their new music but also their personal brands.
What bothers me about artists today is the influx of special edition albums and deluxes that are only available for a limited time. Now Swift may be the artist that is best known for this, but as quiet as it is kept, she is not the only one who scams her fans.
Charli XCX released a plethora of CDs and vinyls of her infamous “BRAT” album that was released in the summer of 2024. The aggravating part is that Charli was just repressing the same album in different fonts.
Nicki Minaj is another artist who in recent years has resorted to bundles and variants after criticizing other artists for doing so during her “Queen” era. For her latest album “Pink Friday 2,” she had at least seven different variants in vinyl and CD format.
Travis Scott does not get as much flack for indulging in the same practices, but he is guilty as well. He has alternate artwork pressings for multiple albums such as “ASTROWORLD,” and no new songs were added.
Post Malone has managed to be under the radar as well with multiple pressings of the same album. His last album released in 2024 had sign editions, splatter pressings, and different colored records.
Lastly, Sabrina Carpenter, who I love dearly, has unfortunately joined the money grab trend. She started with “Short n’ Sweet” and released at least six or more vinyl variants, four CDs and two cassette tapes.
Another aspect of this is the music business who values numbers and good press. The output is more important than the authenticity of one’s work.
Why cannot artists just release a deluxe album that has a different artwork than their original. This will simply eliminate all talks of financial profit being prioritized over creativity and talent.
I believe this generation of artists are in it for the money, awards and accolades rather than for the love of music. This clearly shows in their tour prices and anything else they cram down consumers’ throats like a capitalist.
Artists being pressed and fixated on numbers have truly destroyed this glorious business that once housed talent and possessed a love for music. We are too far gone in the streaming era to revive the old passion of making music for fans without ulterior motives.
