How Many Variants Of A Taylor Swift Album Are Enough Variants Of A Taylor Swift Album?

Back in the early noughties, there were two types of album. The one you bought in the shop, and the deluxe edition that you got for Christmas six months later, including two (maybe three!) new tracks, and fresh, updated artwork.

Artists would sometimes include remixes on singles – CDs that cost anywhere between two and five euro that would allow you to purchase the song and a few b-sides before the record came out.

There were booklets featuring entire photoshoots. There were lyrics, which in an era before easy internet access was particularly exciting. Sometimes there was even a poster.

Like many things, the CD market has fallen into the abyss, replaced by streaming platforms and the later, somewhat surprising resurgence of the vinyl.

To make money now, an artist largely needs to focus on live shows, touring, and brand collaborations. Some of the most successful pop stars make the bulk of their money by launching their own beauty lines; think r.e.m. beauty, Rare Beauty, and of course Fenty.

Then there’s Taylor Swift – an artist who has strayed far from brand deals over the course of her career, instead choosing to focus on two-year long world tours and… 28 variants of the same album..? 

I think Taylor has already released all the possible variants before release day! I got Wintergreen & Onyx Marbled vinyl and Photo 4 of the signed CDs! WHAT VARIANT(S) DID YOU GET? #tsthelifeofashowgirl

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— Daily Taylor Swift Lyrics (@dailytslyrics) September 28, 2025

In case you were somehow blissfully unaware, Swift dropped her twelfth studio album, the Life of a Showgirl, last week to less than favourable reviews.

Critics and fans alike lamented its lack of substance, the tired lyrics, the fact that it seemingly had very little to do with the eponymous life of a showgirl at all. Sure, there’s a few catchy beats but from the biggest pop star in the world, people have come to expect a little bit, well… more.

Taylor unfortunately seems to have misunderstood the assignment. Instead of giving fans more in terms of quality, she has decided to simply increase the quantity of album versions she’s releasing – a number that at the time of writing has risen to a staggering 28.

28 variants of the same record, each with its own minute differences ranging from acoustic versions to artwork to songwriting memos only available on iTunes for 24 hours, for some reason.

And while many of Taylor’s diehard fans are only delighted by these pay as you go snippets into their favourite artist’s songwriting process, so many others are left wondering whether expecting young girls (because it is young girls) to spend hundreds of dollars on different versions of the same record is truly the slay she thinks it is.

This isn’t the first time Taylor’s profit-focused, wealth-driven escapades have been exposed. During the roll out of her last album, the Tortured Poets Department, she was criticised for releasing 19 physical versions of the record ranging from CDs to vinyl to cassette tapes.

On the Graham Norton Show she joked about wanting to invest in beads following the prevalence of friendship bracelets at the Eras Tour. She writes music that feeds the TikTok algorithm. Her most expensive VIP tour packages will set you back the guts of a grand.

Let it be known – I am not a Swiftie. But nor do I hold an unwavering, unshakeable dislike for everything that Taylor does.

When Folklore came out I listened over and over. The album has a genuinely incredible six track run, and was the first time that I (and so many others) became aware of Taylor as a serious lyricist; one who tells stories with such grace, such consideration.

She has a serious back catalogue under her belt – one that allowed her to perform for three hours a night for 149 shows – and she is far from the only artist capitalising on the dedication of their fandom to stay relevant.

But there is one thing about Taylor that remains resolute: she doesn’t need that money, and nor does she need the acclaim. She just wants it.

What began as a genuinely empowering act of re-recording her masters to own all of her own work has quickly descended into a sour display of power and greed. It’s not good enough to not be number one. It’s not worth it if she’s not winning.

As Taylor says herself: baby, that’s show business for you, I guess.