Taylor, the re-releases need to stop

Taylor Swift, aged 34, is currently touring the world on The Era’s Tour, making it the highest-grossing tour in history. Source: Wikimedia Commons.  

Taylor Swift is a woman who prides herself on female empowerment, often giving speeches about how women in her industry get picked apart for components which make them unique. She is also a hustler, and when she gets to the top of the charts, she will do what she can to stay there. This hustle leads to dozens of releases of alternate versions of her music, causing a lot of disruption in the newly released world of BRAT which is quickly developing its own lore.  

But this relevant topic also sparked when Billie Eilish released Hit Me Hard And Soft. Here, the internet is doing what it does best – pinning women against other women – let us have a little look into what might be the reality behind it all. 

Charli XCX released her sixth studio album on the 7th of June, and just as she was climbing the charts and predicted to be number 1 in the UK, Taylor Nation announced a new The Tortured Poets Department digital album with bonus tracks and first draft phone memos for UK fans.  

After the news broke that Charli was just in front of Swift for number one, Swift dropped the variants and jumped right back on top. The facts prevail that Swift didn’t actually need the variants to go number one, she could’ve done it without them. As much as I’d like to break down the nitty gritty of how she did it, I can put it simply by saying her jumping to the top was due to the number of streams, which was comparatively larger than BRAT’s streams. The sale of variants through digital downloads was only about 500 more than BRAT, but the gap of streaming was thousands.  

Don’t get me wrong, BRAT is everything that is good about artistry and music. Especially with the release of “The girl, so confusing version with lorde”, because what is more to love than two pop icons working it out on a remix. The album is fantastic and deserves every acclamation it gets. But so does The Tortured Poets Department. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no idea what Swifts team was thinking behind the constant variant releases, but all signs look toward trying to stay above other artists like Billie Eilish and Charli XCX. But if we can see that the re-releases barely make an impact, and she’d be on top anyway, what’s the real problem here? 

One of the problems is indefinitely the ingrained nature to presume women are always fighting against each other within the music business. Sam Murphy, a pop culture music commentator, noted that the relationship between pop stars and their fans is unusual and imbalanced.  

"When you stan somebody you’re more likely to really support them and feel like you have to give them everything to do that," he said. Fans expect value in return, and while a three-hour concert or a vinyl album can offer that, Murphy argued that releasing digital variants of the same album is unfair. "If you’re going to do it, give fans all of the tracks in the one version. Because they are essentially buying an album again that they already have, that is not valuable to them."  

In the heated moments of chart battles, artists should provide genuine value to their fans rather than exploiting their loyalty with unnecessary re-releases. "In the music industry in general fans deserve better than this, and that’s the hill I’m gonna die on," Murphy emphasised. Another take I adore is from Shaad D’Souza who writes for The Guardian. He touches on Lana Del Ray’s admiration for Swift and her popularity.  

In an interview with the BBC, Del ray commented on Swift’s determination in the industry. “[S]he wants it. She’s told me so many times that she wants it more than anyone. And how amazing – she’s getting exactly what she wants. She’s driven, and I think it’s really paid off.” D’Souza believes Del Ray’s words allude to the fact that Swifts commercial drive is “outpacting the meticulous songcraft and image control that made records like 2012’s Red and 2010’s Speak Now era-defining classics.” And he’s dead right.  

It’s starting to appear with Swift’s re-releases of her albums that creative success is not as satisfying as spending multiple weeks at number 1 on the charts. Charli XCX caused online disputes with her comment that music is not important but, “artistry is what is important. And some artists don’t have artistry”. And to top this all off, she shaded Swift by saying, “I just feel like…artistry shines through you”. But at the end of the day, every artist is doing it in some capacity, and it’s just not good enough.  

Re-releases might keep artists relevant on the charts, but they come at a cost. This culture pits women against each other and exploits fan loyalty. Fans deserve genuine value, not constant re-packaging. It's time to prioritise true artistry over commercial tactics and support artists without burning a hole in our pockets. Let's celebrate music for its creativity, not just its chart success.