Two of pop culture’s reigning blonde music-makers are out this month with reissues of their big hit albums: Taylor Swift’s repackaging of Fearless is available Read the full post.
Oct 27
2009
05:42 PM ET
Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga reissues: Super awesome bonus fun, or money-grubbing ripoffs?
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My boyfriend is a super huge Taylor Swift fan (in his defense he is a bit younger than I), but I went to both the local Best Buy & Target around dinner time this afternoon and was shocked that BOT stores were sold out of the “Fearless” re-issue. Now, mind you, I live in Philadelphia, & the Target & Best Buy in South Philly serve a large area…but seriously?! I am wondering if they just did not receive large quantities of the release, OR there are alot more Taylor Swift fans out there than I had thought willing to pay money for a year old cd with a couple new songs. I haven’t been that shocked in a while. But who knows til next week’s Billboard charts are released…but to everyone going remember when they released EPs? I have hated the concept of album re-issues since their inception, and but didn’t get overly upset until artists like 50 Cent and Fergie who both had already reached well past platinum status hit issued hit discs “The Massacre” and “The Dutchess”. I understand when labels started tacking on 1 or two new songs to a struggling album and re-issuing it, but now to re-release already platinum albums with a few new songs and a bonus dvd disc is just overkill. We all know the recording industry is taking blows year after year…but to continue working a year old album with a couple new tracks to keep it on the charts…I think they should just release new album or maxi singles like they used to with B-Sides. Kids today probably don’t even know what a b-side is! Fave b-side ever: Janet Jackson “On & On” from the “Anytime, Anyplace” maxi. I still pop that on every Spring/Summer. Sad its not going to be on her career spanning “Number Ones” next month.
Normally agree on reissue. Swift’s CD may be different. 19 songs, 6 new. 11 Video Features, 50 pictures and 24 page booklet.
Paid $13.98. Her last collector piece, if you can find it, selling for $25+ on Ebay sometimes more.
why would anyone still buy a CD (other than to have as a collectors item–like MJ’s Thriller?). don’t people just put the songs from the CD on their computers and then put those songs onto their MP3 player and then the CD never gets used again? do a lot of people still use discmans and boomboxes/stereos? just curious.
I like to own CDs. it makes me feel like I exist somehow. if too much stuff goes digital I start to wonder when we’re all just gonna up and disappear into the matrix.
lol. yes. but that’s what DVD libraries and books are for–they’re tangible. i will only buy a CD if it’s amazing, like a work of art–hence MJ’s Thriller.
They both should have been allowed to release totally new albums- I’m sure they had the material. But at least its better than most rereleases that add two songs
I think that some artists have a tendency to act lazy after a super successful album and not release an all new album after that. Both Taylor and Gaga could have released new albums even after all that touring in 2009 (Taylor writes a lot of songs–she could have released a new one on the 23rd and Lady Gaga oould have done 12 to 14 new songs of her dance pop with that ’80s influence and released it that same day). Don’t fool and rip off your fans; those reissues will make us gravitate to another artist’s music instead!
Definately GAGA! I wish I could afford the deluxe edition, only because that hair-bookmark sounds so ridiculous I have to experience it.
Everyone knows its just for the record companies to make more money! No one is dumb enough to buy re-issues or “deluxe” editions or whatever anymore. I’m sorry, but you’re basically buying the whole album AGAIN except there are two or three new songs. People are just keeping the original and then buying the handful of new songs off iTunes. >_<
For Taylor Swift–I think it’s an excuse to make her album Fearless 79 minutes long (I saw a whopping 19 (!) songs on the new one), something most country artists hardly do. And Lady Gaga could have recorded an all new album, not add 8 songs to the 14 of her original The Fame album. But maybe they’re attracting people that never got their original album the other 51 or 52 weeks, so they’re doing these reissues. Some people do wait a year to get an already successful award-winning album just to get a complete listening experience instead of a just the “hit” singles.
I am surprised at the flood of artists releasing their albums on November 23rd. They like to do that just in time for Thanksgiving and the Black Friday after Thanksgiving sales. Those artists want the big sales that first week instead of an anonymous week. Last year on Thanksgiving week didn’t have a glut of artists because of the recession. But this is big with Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle, Rihanna, Jay Sean and several other big names releasing on the 23rd!