article Taylor Swift sparks chart-blocking accusations with new “Patient Zero” alternate versions
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/taylor-swift/taylor-swift-sparks-chart-blocking-accusations-with-new-patient-zero-alternate-versions228
u/CelestrialDust 4h ago edited 3h ago
I just refuse to care about charts this much, a billboard position has never ever influenced my listening decisions
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u/Khaeos 3h ago
Obviously now it means less than ever before
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u/The_Bat_Voice 2h ago
It still means something to the million dollar corporations. They use the metrics to decide who to invest in for things like licensing music for commercials, shows, and movies.
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u/KanyeWest_2029 2h ago
I will agree with you.... however, a lot of people for example use spotify.
They will put on say "top 100 billboard"... or whatever it's called... and just listen.
The algorithm spotify uses will play her music more than others, since it's so highly ranked.
You hear it, you might or might not like it... but if you do, they you start playing it... pushing the rating on that song higher....
It's a cycle... she does it to keep her music played more than others... IF YOU LISTEN TO TOP 100 HITS... if you don't do this... then yes you're right.. it doesn't affect you.
However... A LOT of people do... you and me might be 2 people who like their own music... but the other Million people who "just want something new on"... aren't us.
The people who manage her music know this... and abuse the system... if you wanna call it that. "game the system"... if you wanna call it that.
Some people find it scummy.
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u/Physicist_Gamer 4h ago
Genuine question — do charts even matter in present day?
Never in my life have I made a decision about listening to a song or not based on its position in any chart.
Is Olivia Rodrigo is going to have meaningfully less exposure?
I honestly dont get why any of this matters in a world of streaming platforms and social media. The whims of the algorithms probably have more impact on exposure.
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u/ERSTF 2h ago
It matters to her... otherwise she wouldn't be doing this weird thing of releasing new versions of songs every so often
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u/DontFearFailure 31m ago
I mean she is young, she doesn't know how to let go of attention so be prepared to see the next Madona or what have you keep doing the same shit at 50.
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u/danabrey 9m ago
Or she's old, compared to everyone else who is popular right now, and holding on to chart positions nobody else cares about.
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u/Maccai3 4h ago
Charts absolutely matters for lesser known artists. I'd agree I don't look at a songs chart position but some people would only know about certain songs because of radio play and they play charted music mostly. A song thats top of the charts will get more airplay, the knock on effect of the charts will be pretty big.
I think the problem people have with Taylor Swift doing it is the amount she does it and how little she needs to do it, she's a billionaire blocking younger artists from potential success. Her last album has roughly 30 versions.
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u/Justboy__ 3h ago
Yea so it’s radio play that matters, no one pays any attention to the charts anymore. Would you even know what was currently number 1?
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u/ramengangster 2h ago
I think charts are mainly for music industry people. Music labels would use a singer’s charting music (and also their streaming numbers) as a metric of their popularity and commercial success. This pushes them for bigger promotion by their label.
Also, it opens doors to accolades like Grammys etc
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u/Maccai3 3h ago
I couldn't tell you what's been number one in any period of time in the past decade but like I said, radios will play songs that are number 1 moreso than ones that arent
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u/lawdjesustheresafire 4h ago
Agreed, look at Stella Lefty. You can’t tell me people are actually listening to that shit and it’s not just billionaire daddy buying numbers
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u/Hazel_Evers 3h ago
And paying to have those songs placed on every single ai playlist Spotify and apple create
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u/lawdjesustheresafire 3h ago
It’s so depressing. I follow so many singers on instagram that have like 2000-10,000 followers that have more talent in their pinky fingers
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u/dogcaoperro 3h ago
This is the reason. Someone like me doesn't know any of the drama usually so I will just listen to a Playlist.
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u/Forward-Sky1437 rocking’ and rollin’ and whatnot 3h ago
I bet there has been quite a few of those….
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u/hodgsonstreet 4h ago
It doesn’t matter in any meaningful way. It’s just clout. TS wants to be able to say she spent x weeks at #1 or she had x #1 singles, and for that number to be as high as possible. It’s the same as chasing more money when you’re already a billionaire.
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u/HALLOWEENYmeany 3h ago
I dont think the charts are for the fans but more like a marketing thing for endorsements and corporations. Like McDonald's is going tonuse someone in the top 25 for their next commercial kindnof thing.
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u/HeldnarRommar 4h ago
To the average person they do not matter. The the vain and narcissistic artist they mean everything to
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u/Apprehensive-Storm95 2h ago
I don’t think she’s necessarily doing it to block others directly (though I doubt she’s sad about that!). I think she has a longer goal which is to be in music’s hall of fame as being the artist with x amount of songs / albums whatever what were in the charts for x amount of time.
I think this is a legacy thing for her. She wants us to place her on the list ahead of Elvis, the Beatles etc.
Not defending it, because it seems really blatant and not classy. But that’s what she’s doing I reckon! She doesn’t really care about the weekly charts per se, but the longer view.
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u/xNotJosieGrossy 1h ago
But she coincidentally always releases on the exact same date as other artists.
For example, she released 6 UK-exclusive editions of TTPD on the same date Charli XCX released her album to block Charli from getting - what the media predicted to be - her first UK #1.
It seems very targeted and calculated to always time her releases with other artists.
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u/jbaker1225 1h ago
Other female artists exclusively.*
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u/Fluid_Drummer1665 1h ago
I have no skin in the game here, but from literally everything I've ever seen or read about Swift, she honestly just seems to be a bit of a cow.
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u/Beelzabubba 3h ago
It probably has more to do with their legacy. They want their achievements (for whatever chart placement and Grammy awards are worth) to be talked about long after they’re gone.
I could also imagine there being contract incentives in place for awards and chart placement. Not sure why a billionaire like Swift would care about a few extra bucks but it might be meaningful to some flash-in-the-pan pop star.
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u/mybotanyaccount 4h ago
They probably never did, I worked at a music store long time ago and the newest release was always number 1... Before we even sold 1 cd.
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u/BB808BB 4h ago
I don’t think charts are “truthful” and they don’t matter in the sense that I know Taylor and Drake are not breaking Michael Jackson records, I can’t believe they are breaking Madonna and Janet records.
If MJ rereleased Thriller but the limited edition Totally Thriller edition. Collect all colours. Or Badder with a special voice note his records would have broke his own.
I’ve always said it needs to be BM before Michael Jackson and AM after Michael Jackson.
But with all that said I do like Taylor Swift and I do like Drake‘s music. Every artist wants broken records and accolades.
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u/soufeas616 4h ago
And ironically the music of Drake and Taylor very much gives “broken record”
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u/Neither_Transition_7 3h ago
MJ did somewhat start these shenanigans with the release of Invincible in 2001. He released the CD with four separate + different colored covers to boost sales. Some of his most devoted fans (he had many) wanted to buy all four colors. Sales were disappointing in the end (relative to Thriller/Bad/Dangerous) so it wasn’t super successful -but he tried. And I’m sure the worst offenders now have used it as inspiration in their goals to become “The Biggest Artist in the World.”
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u/Malaysa11 3h ago
I agree that the charts aren’t truthful, but I don’t think it’s super far fetched to think records from the 80s could be broken when there’s basically double the number of people on earth as there was back then and access to global music is at an all time high (even with the death of the monoculture).
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u/Gay_Asian_Boy 5h ago
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u/classyrock 4h ago
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u/Recent-Day3062 4h ago
She’s the queen of selling the same thing multiple times to teenage girls.
Remember when she put out the same vinyl album with four covers that made a picture when you arranged them together in a square? 4 times the sales for doing nothing.
And people think she’s kind and sweet. She’s a vulture
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u/SecretAnxious6619 2h ago
Her fans base isn’t teenage girls anymore. They’re women in their mid 20s - 40s. Who do you think is buying all of this? It’s women with adult money.
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u/watduhdamhell 3h ago
Exactly. No more kid gloves with this one. She's a blood sucking billionaire just like the rest of them, and no it doesn't matter that "you don't have to buy her stuff." She herself is deliberately milking her own fans for profit. It's scumbag behavior now matter how you slice it.
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u/ThrowAwayAccountAMZN 2h ago
Agreed. It's sad how brainwashed people are with the billionaire class. Whether it's politics or music or sports, people always come out to support an extremely small and elite group who couldn't care less that they exist.
They try to argue that some of them are "just like us" which is absolutely batshit insane to me. They are nothing like us. They don't care who you are. You fund their lavish lifestyle and pine over it while they actively jet set around the world, and in most cases actively participating in it's destruction
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u/DynamiteDuck 3h ago
No one becomes a billionaire without loving money first and foremost
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u/Hippyedgelord 1h ago
Taylor Swift is a capitalist masquerading as a musician. She’s really good at it.
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u/TheCh0rt 3h ago
She’s a billionaire. That’s what you gotta do to get there. Predatory tactics.
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u/Hazel_Evers 3h ago
She doesn’t even behave like a person, more like a board room full of execs. A semi sentient LLC
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u/For_serious13 5h ago
Like clockwork honestly. She’s ridiculous and I hope Tate and Olivia both top her this week
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u/Rococo13 3h ago
Wait but Olivia isn't blocking Tate?? She released on the same day
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u/mountain_rivers34 3h ago
Right? Taylor is blocking both but Olivia’s surprise remix for some reason isn’t blocking Tate as well? There’s only so many Fridays in a year to release music. People need to chill with this “blocking” bullshit.
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u/vemboTonbo 1h ago
Its exclusively online nonsense. Average fan of all three of these artists also listens to the other two. (Bonus for the implication that being 'blocked' from #1 means your song might as well not exist?)
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u/Dnashotgun 4h ago
Always chuckle when a female artist announces new music and the comments and quotes on the tweet are some version of "here she comes with 3 new versions"
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u/whypiwhyaline 3h ago
Honestly though, Taylor did announce this version coming out like a week ago, and Olivia announced the feature this Tuesday. They both suck, but I will say all fault is not just on Taylor but Olivia too (this is coming from someone who loves both their music).
I feel for Ashe though, her single Stop The Wedding! off her new album that debuted yesterday, Girl of Your Dreams, was on the rise and I think could have gone number 1 if both Taylor and Olivia pushed to next week, hopefully it still goes number 1 worldwide. Don’t know much about Tate’s music but I would just love to see some new music hit the top of the charts for a change rather than new remixes/versions of songs already released. Billboard needs to make a new category for that.
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u/InstanceOk1920 2h ago
Seems like Olivia is purposely releasing the song the same day as Taylor and hoping to capitalize on the existing narrative of this “feud” between them.
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u/InstanceOk1920 2h ago
But why did Olivia release her song the same day as Tate? Seems like she’s trying to block Tate with a remix
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5h ago edited 3h ago
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u/rutfilthygers 4h ago
Why is it okay for Olivia to release on the same day as Tate?
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u/Coriolanuscangetit 4h ago
If people are choosing to buy variants of an already released Taylor Swift song over buying an another artist’s music, the problem isn’t Taylor Swift. The consumers make the choice.
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u/Obvious_Gap727 4h ago
What about listening to whatever you like
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u/pocketchange2247 4h ago
But how am I going to convince everyone my cult fanbase is the best if I don't artificially pump up the numbers by having my five Spotify accounts play her songs on repeat???
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u/Expensive-Ad-5032 4h ago edited 4h ago
Like I know that the charts are competitive to a degree. But the people who are probably the most competitive when it comes to that are the labels. They care more about that any artist, besides Swift, because it’s their job and they want to make sure their artists are turning a profit that benefits them, since they’re investing so much into them. But for Swift to care this much about getting every chart record she can, even out of some random, low-effort bonus tracks, is just sad and desperate and. And it shows how threatened she is by other artists and the attention they get. No other artist is like that besides her and even if they are, it’s not anywhere near to the same degree. It’s the capitalism and over-commercialization of music that everything she puts out represents, that is just the biggest turnoff. She’s not even the best example of great confessional songwriting and storytelling anymore. There are other artists that have surpassed her in that regard and all legacy is gonna be is the fake awards she creates for herself and the meaningless records
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u/Berserkshires- 3h ago
So you think it’s the label pushing charts for every other artist, but big bad Taylor is doing it on her own.
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u/fnordal 4h ago
As an old metalhead... That song is a banger
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u/theStrawberryRoam 4h ago
Expectations?
You might like more Roan then... She's got a LOT of metalhead purists as fans. Weirdly a lot of "I only listen to x music" people find her to be their top pop star, I think her music has ... Idk how to put it... More music per second? Than other pop
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u/fnordal 4h ago
BPM? Could be part of it, I also like some edm, punk, etc . A lot of prog tho and mixed stuff, that definitely doesn't have hip BPM!
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u/BlackOutDrunkJesus 4h ago
I think by “more music per second” they mean it sounds more full and you might get more out of your listening experience, rather than speed.
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u/theStrawberryRoam 4h ago
Bpm is certainly part of it, part of the first reason I listened to her was in fact bpm related... But it's also instrumentation I think. There's no shying away from big full sound, and I find the HUGE majority of 2010s pop to be practically anemic ... Including her first EP tbh
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u/woolworths 4h ago
Such a shit take lol. Are you also telling olympians to stop winning gold medals and let other countries ‘share’? Are you gonna stop going for promotions at work because you’ve been promoted too much and other people deserve pay rises for not doing as much? It’s a competition end of.
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u/iceunelle 1h ago
Ok, but where’a this blocking anger for Olivia?? She is more popular than Tate and released her remix on the same day. I don't even like any of Taylor’s recent music, but if you’re going to criticize artists for “blocking” other artists, don’t cherrypick which artists are blocking and which aren’t. There are only so many Fridays in a year for artists to release music on.
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u/Amazing-Put1412 3h ago edited 3h ago
This whole chart "blocking" argument has gotten out of hand these are peoples careers not a pow wow. Even Olivia chose to release this song with multiple variants to boost it on the charts the same day as tate McRaes new single was released. There's nothing wrong with wanting to chart and it's not others responsibilities if they can or cant keep up with others in the charts, that goes for everybody.
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u/FriendlyDrummers 4h ago
Patient Zero is also just not a good song. It's not awful, but it's not very good either. The song comes off like an attempt to be a girl's girl but ends up coming off as self centered.
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u/RubbleHome 4h ago
The song comes off like an attempt to be a girl's girl but ends up coming off as self centered.
Not so hot take, but this is what every Taylor Swift song sounds like to me.
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u/ZanthrinGamer 4h ago
i was literally going to say that, feel;s like par for the course
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u/eddiewachowski 4h ago
Yep. She used to be the relatable, awkward girl next door. Now she's a billionaire living in excess. She literally has nothing in common with her fanbase.
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u/stvura 4h ago edited 4h ago
Yeah I mean for some reason we all keep pretending she isn’t a hack?? I mean this sincerely like I’ve tried to give Taylor Swift a fair shot and she is just very middling at best as a songwriter, quite mediocre really. I feel genuine sympathetic pity for these people who are so moved by the most shallow kind expression, it’s sad to me. Anyone I’ve ever met that thinks otherwise seemingly has not heard a lot of music generally speaking across time. The collective gaslighting that occurs around her songwriting is unfathomable.
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u/Bigassbird 2h ago
You should meet me. I love some of her stuff and yet I saw Pink Floyd live, Nirvana live twice, Metallica four times and Queen four times too.
Yes, I am an old.
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u/Slight-Owl4300 4h ago
You can dislike Taylor Swift's songwriting without implying that everyone who appreciates it is intellectually inferior or hasn't been exposed to enough music. Music is subjective. The fact that something doesn't resonate with you doesn't mean it lacks depth, and the fact that it resonates with millions of others doesn't mean they're incapable of appreciating more complex art. The irony of calling other people shallow while demonstrating such a limited understanding of how people experience art is pretty funny.
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u/scenior 2h ago
Her weirdo fans need to stop accusing people who don't like her music as being too damn stupid to understand it, too. I have an English lit and writing degree and work in publishing at a major publisher, and so many of her fans will say I would love her music if only I could understand how deep and smart it is. 💀 it's like, no, I just don't think she's a good writer.
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u/PleadInsanity 4h ago
Does reddit actually care about who is at the top of the charts this week or do they just post these things so they can gather around and hate on people they don't like
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u/eatcrayons 4h ago
Did we hate when Lil Nas X did the same thing with Old Town Road remixes for half a year?
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u/PeachCobbler96 4h ago
Hilariously, I have seen this same discourse by Tate McRae fans saying that Olivia is the evil one blocking Tates “comeback single” with this remix. It’s just a constant circle of finding any reason to hate on people and make excuses for their fav’s shortcomings. It’s exhausting. Who cares.
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u/loveheaddit 4h ago
it's so dumb. "how dare they do their job!!! i'm so angry they didn't let me fav artist get #1 easily this week!!"
if you were running a race and the leader decided to back out last minute to let you get first would you feel good about it? i would feel like i got second still and now have this weird talking point "well i got first but its only cuz X let me"
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u/a2cthrowaway4 4h ago
She always puts the remixes on streaming during the 4th week it had nothing to do with anyone else releasing. If she actually was trying to block someone she would release new remixes for sale not put out already released remixes on streaming when streams count far less for the charts than sales.
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u/Sad_Intention7584 4h ago
Who did she block? Tate McRae is #1 and Olivia hit #23 with expectation’s. It didn’t even hit top 10?
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u/Mariasolvv 4h ago
Olivia hit #4 tho
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u/Sad_Intention7584 4h ago
MB I read the Popbase Tweet about charting but it’s Global Spotify, not BB
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u/Complex_Cow1184 3h ago
If your song gets blocked on the charts by an acoustic version of someone’s song, then I don’t think Taylor is the problem here. Lmao
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u/Appropriate_Scar_262 4h ago
When will people learn that this isn't an artist thing, its UMG.
Look at every artist under UMG, they've all got at least 10 varients.
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u/estedavis 4h ago
So Olivia releasing a remix = good
Taylor releasing a remix = bad
Got it.
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u/NooblordBG 4h ago
The notion that there's a point where you as an artist become successful enough that you have to be careful about releasing music is so beyond ridiculous that it's not funny.
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u/Dense_Medicine_3866 4h ago
It's right about the point where you stop doing it for art's sake and become known for doing it for greed's sake.
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u/EhWhateverDawg 2h ago
There's releasing a regular single or even a remix, then there's having 12 versions of a song (or album) waiting that you strategically release whenever it looks like somene else might take over the number 1 spot from you.
It is not against the rules mind you, so she's just playing the chart game. She's allowed, more power to her. But it is disingenuous to pretend like "oh so what everyone else does it ((shrug))" when people complain, because no everyone else does not do that LOL.
People do a bunch of variants release week and then a deluxe album later on, and maybe a remix or two during the era. Taylor deploys these things like missles to keep her chart position.
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u/doublegoodproleish 4h ago
"Releasing music." You mean releasing remixes of a song you just released for the express purpose of blocking another artist's success?
There's a sports term for that. "Running up the score."
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u/Fuzzy_Worldliness320 3h ago
olivia released a remix the same day of tate’s comeback. so olivia was trying to block tate’s success? do yall realize how slow yall sound?
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u/Dry-Mongoose-5804 4h ago
It doesn’t block anybody she made them free on streaming which takes away sales. Digital sales are worth more on billboard than streams. If her goal was maximising charting here she’d have not made them free.
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u/estedavis 4h ago
You realize Olivia’s release this week is also a remix right? ….right?
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u/loveheaddit 3h ago
expectations is a remix?
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u/estedavis 3h ago
Yes, it’s a remix of the song Expectations on her album that came out in June.
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u/shes_a_gdb 4h ago
How is it running up the score? She's not stopping anyone from scoring. It's her fault that she got this big? She can't release more music because it might effect someone else releasing music at the same time?
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u/Shockingandawesome 3h ago
I agree. She's not stopping other songs being purchased. Perhaps chart companies shouldn't include remixes of other chart songs, but it's not a big deal.
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u/bndwgnfn 3h ago
I’m confused, has she come out and said that she does this to stop other people from getting a number one? Or is it speculation based on her release pattern
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u/estedavis 3h ago
It’s entirely speculation based on her release pattern, but also no one pays attention to the millions of times she doesn’t drop music when another pop girl drops music. They just apply malicious intent to whenever Taylor decides to drop music.
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u/bndwgnfn 3h ago
Ah I see. Kinda what I figured but people talk about it with so much certainty that I wasn’t sure
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u/RoseTheta 51m ago
It's especially blatant with this one because Taylor's release of these was known weeks ago, Olivia is the one dropping on the day someone else is releasing new music. If she was actually trying to block someone she'd release a full album the same day as Olivia, Arianna, B8llie ,Miley, whoever, but that hasn't happened.
The amazing thing is everyone can listen to Taylor's for free and you don't have to buy anything at all. Also you can listen to all the songs or none of them so "blocking" makes zero sense.
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u/Round-Guarantee4948 4h ago
She's a businesswoman who doesn't give a flying fuck what anyone thinks as long as she's making $$$
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u/CaBBaGe_isLaND 3h ago
Honestly that sounds like a charts issue. I'm not a big fan of some shit she's done but just making more music and releasing it is not a crime. How we view and judge music through an obsolete lens is what's wrong here.
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u/Wildflower_Dancing78 4h ago
with logic did olivia purposely try to block tate, but then did lana and zach also want
to block someone. this take is so stupid
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u/EngineeringDry7230 4h ago
Taylor would have released the piano and acoustic versions this week to maximally extend Patient Zero’s time at the top whether Olivia had a new collab or not. It’s not specifically an attempt to block. It’s just trying to manipulate the sales charts to stay on top. That’s the game.
And for those saying versions shouldn’t count toward billboard- you do realize expectations with Chappell is itself a (banger!) version of an already released song, right?
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u/drumrhyno 3h ago
"Billionaire games the system" What's new?
The more frustrating part of this is how her and a select few other pop artists have tied up the vinyl manufacturing industry with endless "Special Editions"
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u/prohammock 2h ago
I mean, that may be frustrating, but the billionaire scamming is more frustrating.
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u/Lanky-Football1645 33m ago
It took almost a year for me to press 1000 copies of something because it coincided with the run-up to Midnights
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u/serene_queen_x 4h ago
Olivia's song is a remix too. So is she also getting accusations of blocking Tate?
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u/Experiment626b 3h ago
I’m sorry, she’s being accused of using a remix to block… another remix? Who cares about this nonsense? I’m a Taylor fan more so than Olivia but I love them both and I’ve been blazing Expectations way more than Patient Zero.
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u/Top_Currency_8608 4h ago
Taylor is following the same release schedule she always follows. Swifties knew these would be put on Spotify yesterday. We knew that before Olivia announced her remix.
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u/gettitreddit1 4h ago
Exactly. This is nothing new for Taylor or other artists. It just seems like hating on Taylor is the new 'thing' right now.
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u/Rude_Celebration_164 4h ago
Yeah, this one’s blatant. These types of mixes for songs usually come on the deluxe versions, not weeks after the deluxe releases.
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u/iceunelle 1h ago
No it’s not. Olivia released a remix on the same day as Tate’s new song, and AFTER Taylor announced her remix release, so if anything Olivia is blocking Tate. (The whole “blocking” concept is stupid).
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u/Wildflower_Dancing78 4h ago
she’s following her exact same release pattern she does every time, week 4 goes up on streaming like every single she’s put out
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u/dudewheresmyplane1 4h ago
Except she always releases them on streaming weeks after. Physical sales, digital sales and then she puts them on streaming.
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u/Rude_Celebration_164 4h ago
Yeah, she always does that because she’s constantly attempting to block others from rising the charts lmao. Thank you for agreeing with the point being made!
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u/MYSTICALLMERMAID 4h ago
Except she only releases them when other pop stars release new music or albums****** ftfy
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u/estedavis 4h ago edited 3h ago
You realize Olivia’s song is also a different version of an already existing song, right? People are mad but don’t even know the details. Olivia’s song is a remix of a song that’s been out since June.
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u/Dry-Mongoose-5804 4h ago
What’s blatant? She made old variants free. This is not something that helps you on the charts, it actually hurts you because people start streaming more and buying less and sales are worth more on billboard than streams.
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u/Fuzzy_Worldliness320 3h ago
olivia announced a remix for the same day tate’s new comeback single was released and yet she gets no blocking allegations? literally this is just how the music business works. why is everyone so dense?
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u/theStrawberryRoam 4h ago
She hasn't put out anything as catchy as expectations in the amount of time it gets to be old enough to have a driver's license
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u/The_Pandalorian 4h ago
They should have a separate "Reissues Chart." Definitely enough reissues to do it.
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u/MidTario 2h ago
I don’t care about charts at all. “If it’s in the public interest, it will interest the public”
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u/TarArov 2h ago
The constant debate over chart-blocking strategies obscures a much larger systemic shift in how modern music is valued and consumed,, Instead of viewing these rollouts as personal rivalries,, we should recognize them as the logical conclusion of a streaming economy that treats music as a high-frequency trading commodity rather than a static piece of art,, The system is built to reward total market optimization,, and any legacy artist with the resources will naturally utilize the infrastructure available to maximize their metrics,,
Ultimately,, this hyper-fixation on weekly decimal points highlights a growing fatigue with numbers-driven pop culture,, When charts are treated like active financial ledgers,, it changes the conversation from the quality of the music to the efficiency of the distribution pipeline,, The real question isn't about individual artist ethics,, but whether these metric battles are completely alienating casual listeners who just want to enjoy a son
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u/Halloqween 4h ago
I’m actually so fucking sick of hearing about her.
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u/PenguinStardust 3h ago
Then stop interacting in every post you see about her.
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u/Unoriginal4167 3h ago
Yeah, the algorithm is just going to show more of her to rage bait the user.
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u/MotherofOtters25 1h ago
Personally I don't really think her creating variants helps her streaming that much. She usually releases most of her variants at the same time of the album release. Showgirl variants were all preorder last year. Meaning before the album even came out.
Even though she had like 8 of them, only the first 4 count towards record record sales. Meaning the rest are essentially just for funesies and fans/collectors.
Sure, her maybe releasing extras a few months down the line might help keep showgirl on the charts, but it was already the highest selling album ever.
It's been charting for months. 4 variants or 30, it doesn't matter. They stop counting for sales at 4, and they all came out before the album did.
Many artists have remixes, and I'm not saying whether they should or shouldn't be counted individually. That's not my call, but she's not the only one doing it. So it's not fair to say "she posted this one songs remix after an artist did her album and they didn't get number one".
If one remix of Taylor's song knocked an artists whole album out of number one, than tbh, the album was probably never going to get number 1. Every artist in the world doesn't know when something is going to drop, and a song doesn't relate to an album. Dates overlap.
It happens. Artists goal is literally to chart and sell albums. It's like their only job.
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u/LimeLauncherKrusha 3h ago
🙄 every time she releases a song its the same song and dance. "She's blocking other artists" gmafb
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u/Shot_Department1080 2h ago
literally who fucking cares. you people cannot seriously expect artists not to release music to give other artists a “chance”. olivia debuted #3, taylor did not block her from number 1.
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u/Dry-Mongoose-5804 4h ago
A hundred comments so far on this post and every single one just completely misinformed and spreading blatant misinformation. It is honestly sad this is the current state of our media environment.
These were not “new” versions. She just made old versions free on streaming which doesn’t block anything. Actually it hurts her more than it helps her in the charts because it decreases sales because now people can stream the songs for free.
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u/AnAussiebum 5h ago
Charts should just ban alternative versions from being listed. Or give them one remix/deluxe edition, only. If the majority of the album has not changed it just shouldn't be considered.
There, problem solved.