When the Fandom Becomes the Cash-Register

By The Beat Boss, Boss Global Radio

Taylor Swift performing during the Folklore act of The Eras Tour in Arlington, Texas, April 2, 2023. Photo by Ronald Woan (CC BY-SA 2.0).

I’ve always liked Taylor Swift. The writing, the melodies, the raw moments when she sounds like she’s actually feeling something. But lately, I’m not liking the machine behind her.

A few weeks back I went to Qobuz to buy two singles off The Life of a Showgirl. Just two songs. Simple. Except it wasn’t. Qobuz wouldn’t let me buy individual tracks. I had to buy the entire album. That’s not a choice. That’s control. It’s a form of forced sale, and to me that feels like theft.

I’m not alone in thinking that. A DJ I know from another country told me the same thing. He wanted one song off the album, tried to buy it, and found the same restriction. His words were, “I’m not buying an entire album for one track I like.” He ended up ripping it off YouTube instead, and he hated having to do that. He’s a professional, not a pirate. But when artists and labels block fair access, they push people toward it.

Then there’s the variant overload. The Life of a Showgirl has more versions than any modern pop album I’ve seen. Reports say around 38 total variants if you count physical and digital editions combined. CDs with alternate covers, vinyls in every color, and “exclusive” versions at different stores. She started selling these more than a month before the album even dropped. Fans were buying products before hearing a single note.

This kind of rollout used to be rare. Now it’s a business model. It’s built to drive up first-week numbers, Billboard stats, and RIAA certifications. But it’s not built for listeners. It’s built for sales optics.

As a DJ, I’ve been around music long enough to know the difference between art and marketing. This feels like the latter. And it’s sad, because Taylor doesn’t need these tactics. She’s one of the few artists who can move hearts with a verse and a piano. But now it feels like the art is trapped behind a paywall of vinyl colors and collector hype.

If the only way to hear two songs is to buy twelve, fifteen or twenty, then something is wrong. If the biggest name in music is normalizing that, it’s worse. I’ll always respect her talent, but I don’t respect what her team is doing to the audience.

This isn’t about hate; it’s about fairness. People deserve to buy what they love, not everything they don’t.

Fair Use Notice:

This article and any images herein are used under fair use for the purposes of news reporting, commentary, and criticism. All rights belong to their respective owners. Images and references are presented solely for illustrative and educational context. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by the artist, photographer, or publisher.

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