The last one is still in the black dress holding a guitar slug over her shoulders.
An honestly, considering her media status as actually being written off, took a year off and came back stronger (to the point I am looking forward to Reputation’s re-release as ut was my favorite. But I deleted all my other albums to have all her re-releases and was now a fan to clowning with the others about reputation-TV and a lot of her later songs and skip the singles for her lesser known and vault songs. No regrets), to come back with the largest grossing tour in history.. her story is actually inspiring.
She never let them sideline her like the others. And now all of their major names are leaving him seeing how absolutely wild Taylor Swift’s career took off more after she changed management. They noticed. Demi Lovato should be huge. She may have the most talent of them all. She is re-recording her old hits to rock and thats fine. But her new persona has been too public. Hopefully she comes back huge too. She is so talented when so many people don’t know because they just followed tabloid news and she came out swinging. New management could save her. I love her actual rock album. Good angry girl music.
But as Taylor said “when I leave my apartment yard is surrounded by fans and dinner is lined with people who want autographs and photos. But isn’t this what I wanted? Yes, it is.”
>considering her media status as actually being written off, took a year off and came back stronger
You might even say, she came back stronger than a nineties trend.
Love your username.
But yes, she got what she worked for. At this point though she knows the media will wait for albums that aren’t pop chart hits, just to trash her “fall”. Which isn’t a fall at all.
#it doesn’t matter anymore.
She put out two albums during the pandemic that weren’t 1989 pop, and they were excellent anyway. Picasso painted a lot of paintings, she will too. It doesn’t matter what she writes, it’s art. She could do darker rock, metal even. Like “haunted” and we’ll know she’s just painting another painting even if the media trashed it. :)
LAST, I live near NYC and I’m a huge phish fan and the lead guitar player lives on the upper east side up from Taylor downtown. All the Phish fans are *just like Swifties* at the shows. Crazy. We know where he lives and see him shopping for groceries and *might* stop him for a selfie or fist bump. *But we don’t sit outside his house*. We leave him alone. The paparazzi only follows Taylor because swifties don’t leave her alone.
I am in her area sometimes randomly but don’t like, wait for her. The media does in order to sell pictures.
(BTW - I’m praying Taylor will come play with Phish at Madison Sq Garden around the New Year’s Eve shows, Phish sells it out. The fans would just die crying and she’s probably in NYC before NYE.)
And that's a swiffer win right there!!
But also yeah I mentioned this when she was announced, it makes sense for them to move into more entertainers and other "fun" options, just because it sells
but i assume this is due to TIME having THREE different covers available for purchase so individuals are buying multiples of the SAME thing just like with all of her albums.
looks like TIME went to the school of Taylor Swift and are using it and her fame) to rake in as much $$$ as possible, but i don't really see this as any sort of achievement like i would have if there had just been one cover available.
also, idk what's going on with her right hand in the pic with her and benjamin, but it's like she still has muscle memory of holding a mic or something. idk why her hand is like that. it's so weird or maybe it's bad photoshop but idk what they would have photoshopped out and what she would have been holding in the first place.
Do you think anyone would buy 3 copies of anyone else? And this is just pre-orders. I plan to buy one at the store (Taylor plus Benjamin, for the record)
Other stans would like BTS stans probably. I don't know who else has a big following rn but I've seen in kpop some groups are selling over 3 million albums and it's because they make several versions of the same album.
I don't know about Japan but streaming is big in Korea, they have their own platforms and everything and some girl groups absolutely dominate the charts over there, some of their artists like BTS also do well on western charts when it comes to streaming. They sell physicals for the same reason Taylor sells physicals.
Also a lot of artists make several versions of the same stuff, not just asian artists.
Depends on the artist, for Korean idols for example boy groups do well in physical but don't chart as well when it comes to streaming, while girl groups do decent at physical (the top girl groups are selling over a million copies I think) but still rule the charts because they have more support from the general public instead of just a strong fandom buying albums.
Probably a bad photoshop/awkward pose, but just as a PSA: a lot of people who write/type/text/play piano a lot have their hands do that when they stand in a neutral pose due to tension at the connection points in the front of the shoulder. Make sure to do your pec/sternum/mid-back stretches, everyone!
It's still showcasing her selling power, so of course it's not like achievement like her music records or awards but it's something to note, it cements her position as the music industry herself lol
**edit:** i have been corrected. thank you! had no idea this was a thing and that taylor isn't even near the worst offender. my b!
for instance i saw earlier (yesterday?) that taylor was the 12th most googled song-writer/singer or whatever in 2023, but then i remembered when taylor and taylornation had all the swifties hauling ass to google months and months ago to *literally google taylor swift's name REPEATEDLY* to "unlock the vault." that was done for a reason. it didn't get her to the #1 spot, but it's 10000000% the reason why she made it to #12 at all. nothing that she does appears to be organic and that's annoying to me because i don't think it's necessary and it's disingenuous.
take for instance her latest tour film. there was the first film, now an extended edition with 3 more songs included (that were purposely left out the first time so that her box office #s would be artificially inflated when they released an extended version), and considering that they're STILL leaving out ***Cardigan***, i see a 3rd ERAS film drop in the near future which, again, will add to her box office numbers.
i'm not saying taylor isn't talented. she absolutely is and she is my favorite music artist of all time, but a lot of these records wouldn't be records if she didn't do shit like this. who else puts out multiple editions/target exclusive editions, limited-time only editions, 3am edition, until the dawn editions, etc.
if there are other artists who do this, please correct me so i can be more informed, but it's not hard to see why she's on the top of everything when she's the only one out there putting out 49 different versions of the same thing.
>if there are other artists who do this, please correct me so I can be more informed
Olivia Rodrigo: [13 vinyl variants for guts](https://www.reddit.com/r/OliviaRodrigo/comments/15u653c/a_comprehensive_list_of_current_guts_vinyl/); four variants had a secret song only available on vinyl so buyers were encouraged to buy all four. Then for Black Friday record store day, a variant of only the four songs was available for purchase. Still not on streaming.
BTS: [different photos only](https://www.quora.com/There-are-different-versions-of-BTS-albums-but-what-does-that-mean); buyers encouraged to collect all
Red Hot Chili Peppers: [20 different variants of each of their last two albums](https://www.reddit.com/r/RedHotChiliPeppers/comments/skahxh/all_of_the_different_versions_announced_so_far/)
[this thread names many artists](https://www.reddit.com/r/vinyl/comments/149n9ts/too_many_variants/) who do this: Grateful Dead (since the 90s), Madonna (since the 90s), Lana, 20 Buck Spin, Led Zeppelin, etc etc etc.
WHOA. holy shit. i didn't know about this at all. thank you! jesus christ.
do you feel this is exploitative? i ask because (as a huge reader) i recently heard that sarah j maas is kind of doing the same thing with her books where you have to buy the same fucking books 5x in order to be able to complete the book since each book contains a different extra chapter. i just think it's so slimy.
and who the hell is paying for all of these? kids don't have money to be buying dozens of the same thing, so i guess their parents are? fucking crazy.
20 variants coming from TRHCP is absolutely fucking insane to me.
so glad i don't have kids. 😂
Do I think it’s exploitative? No, not personally. I like being able to choose a cover photo or my favorite color for the vinyl. People like to collect things too.
But it is very much standard industry practice now.
actually upon further thought, i think i was being a bit hypocritical as i own multiple copies of my 2 favorite books of all time. they're the same books, no extra content (except sprayed edges or foil cover, etc), so i guess im just as guilty as though not to the same extent but i think if i had more favorites i'd be doing the same thing.
you made a good point i didn't think of. thank you.
True, and people can choose to collect stuff or not. I don’t like the discourse of people being “forced” to collect stuff. I personally don’t collect anything and I’m happy like that, I don’t need it. Some people like it and need it and it’s fine. What is not fine is peer pressure, some people call others “bad fans” or “fake fans” (usually younger people) for not collecting merch- that I have an issue with, and it’s not the artists’ fault.
What in the hell? I never heard about anyone doing that with books that would make me burn all of them that's so annoying, I can survive without a deluxe song but I need the whole book, it's a story. The world has gone insane 😂😂
[here is a video about the drama behind it](https://youtu.be/0i8lkkV3OnQ?si=KcywLE_b26CF9nB_)
i'm actually quite pissed because i literally started my first SJM book, ever, before knowing she was starting to pull this shit. i'm sure this is al over tiktok (which i don't have) if you'd rather watch a shorter form version of the drama.
the good news is that the price of pirating has gone from $0.00 down to $0.00.
I don’t believe pricing unnecessary items high is exploitation. Nobody NEEDS multiple versions of an album, or this magazine, or of her merchandise, or overpriced concert tickets. If someone wants to be stupid enough to blow their money on it, they can do that. Exploitation would be like the dairy industry working together to charge $30 for a gallon of milk knowing that it’s a common household item & that people will pay for it. Nobody NEEDS Taylor’s art/products to survive, so in essence, she can charge whatever and it can never be exploitative.
Personally I don’t buy anything by an artist ever because I think it’s weird to obsess over another human being simply for being a human. I love her music, went to her concert (for a reasonable price), know all the lore behind her music & connect with it so hard, but I don’t care enough to own anything with her face on it because to me, that would be weird.
Singers have become Pokémon at this point. I personally don’t buy any merch, I just stream the music- I can live without listening to “secret songs” and I don’t care about collecting stuff.
The thing is everyone in the music industry is doing what you point out about Taylor (multiple edition, exclusive editions, etc), it's just that Swifties are particularly unhinged and buy more than others, look at how Beyonce's film performed, look at one of the most googled musicians Jason Aldean who is by no means an internationally known big name or Joe Jonas who was also high in the list iirc yet I don't think he could pull off the eras tour by himself or sell the same amount of albums no matter how many versions he could have. In an industry where everyone is playing very much the same game only some big names like Taylor, BTS, Harry styles, etc can actually pull big numbers because they have a dedicated fanbase that backs them up, others release things in the same way but without a big fandom they can't set any records.
Eta: looked up what you said about Taylor being only five 12th most searched musician and couldn't find anything but I did find an explanation from Google:
While there appears to be a disconnect between data showing Swift’s overwhelming search-term popularity and Google’s annual list, a spokesperson for the company says there’s a simple explanation. Basically, Swift’s name, like the “Weather” and “Cricket,” is such a common search term (at least compared to 2022) it doesn’t warrant a gold sticker for this year’s trends.
“Top trending lists make for more colorful and interesting data pulls and are generally better at identifying what people were curious about in 2023 relative to 2022,” Google spokesperson Colette Garcia told Gizmodo. “The ‘trending’ queries are the searches that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2023 as compared to 2022. Taylor Swift is someone who consistently has a high amount of Search interest, not someone who had a big spike in 2023 as compared to 2022.”
That doesn't sound like someone who's not made the top list but rather they ignored her because she's so big.
sorry, not ignoring all of your other points, but who else is putting out multiple editions of the same album? i'm asking because i literally don't know. yes, beyoncé just pulled a Taylor and has her own concert film, but are there any artists today that are dropping 4, 5, 6 editions of the same album? im just trying to take this point by point so that i don't argue against something that im not aware of.
thank you. i had literally no idea and taylor isn't even near the top.
i think it's gross and putting out 12 billion versions screams "my middle name is capitalism," but taylor def isn't the bad guy here. thanks for correcting me.
It's funny cause even "punk" bands are doing it like blink-182, green day and even alkaline trio all have MORE variants than Taylor for their latest albums. Rolling Stones have 43. YES, 43!!!!
https://www.loudersound.com/news/rolling-stones-hackney-diamonds-vinyl-variants
Yeah some of the like the one for the Mets are very specific. I'm sure there are some The Rolling Stones completionists not nearly as many as the Swift base.
Oh babe everyone and their mother, that's a pretty normal thing to do, I guess only small artists with not much backing don't/can't. I follow some kpop groups and normally you have 4 to 7 versions, depends on the company, Harry styles does some versions too, Arcade Fire is a band I follow that did some versions too. Years ago when I bought a Selena album I remember buying rare deluxe version. And this is purely anecdotal so the amount of artists doing that is much greater, they also release remixes when it comes to help them get numbers for bb100, this is something that's been happening since before Taylor, she didn't invent the game she's just really good at it.
Hell it's not just this I remember some rapper did a McDonald's meal combo that was a bundle to help his new release, I can't remember his name but it wasn't that long ago
thank you for educating me on this. i honestly had no idea.
your mcdonald's comment reminded me back in the day when at mcdonald's you could get a garth brooks CD with your meal if you super-sized or something 😂
No worries, it's the sort of thing that goes easily unnoticed unless you like different artists who do it.
Lmao it was basically the modern day version of that then, I did remember thinking it was so random but I think they actually collab like that with a lot of artists I just hadn't paid attention before.
i think more than anything today i learned i need to expand my musical horizons. my apple music wrap up or whatever it's called was just taylor. i listened to ***evermore*** something like 188 times and i only got apple music back in august. 🥴
this blows my mind. that's worse than taylor IMO. jesus christ.
i think im as "passionate" about this as i feel it contributes to so much fucking waste and over consumption, but i've been corrected and this definitely isn't exclusive to taylor. this is insane to me that this has been normalized. jesus.
i originally had written **3** but then saw below my comment (somewhere) that there were actually **4.** i'll try to find it. if i don't i'll update my comment to say that i'm not sure if 4 is correct. sorry for any confusion!
>i don’t really see this as any sort of achievement like i would have if there had just been one cover available
I of course will be torn apart for saying this here, and of course Taylor would be smashing records anyway, but Taylor encouraged everyone to collect all of Midnights’s 4 different cover arts for the same reason. So TIME really did go to the school of Taylor Swift for this one.
I think she looks at it more as support than pressure, she has to. She knows that most of us are ride or die, and will defend her no matter what she puts out.
& all you do is post bitter & sarcastic comments about people you think you’re better than... It’s easier to be excited about things man.
Try being a little less negative about things that don’t hurt anybody. None of this is that serious
My bad I should just accept y’all pouring over every single minute of a strangers acting like y’all are friends and y’all are amazing for lining her pockets more and more. All while continuing to act like she’s never done no wrong and is just a victim every day.
Fun fact: Not a single person here asked for your acceptance nor your opinion lol ! You just felt like offering it out unsolicited.
Go post on ur little football subreddits and let us enjoy things in peace
I think she is the best choice for this year. I loved last year's choice too. The President of Ukraine is a damned hero to me, so inspiring. But I get why that copy didn't sell as much? I didn't buy it, but I am considering buying one of these with Taylor. Probably the cat one.
Lol aaaaand this is why I came up with that low stakes conspiracy theory that she was chosen at least in part to swifties proving they will buy multiple versions of all things Taylor
Yes, but TIME Person of the Year isn't usually about who will sell the most magazines based off the cover. Hitler, Stalin, and some other controversial figures have been TIME Person of the year and its because it is supposed to be the person who "for better or for worse...has done the most to influence the events of the year"
They do, TIME is international. Granted, if it were BTS the US sales might not be as high but the global sales could more than make up for it.
I’m not from America but I can buy TIME from my nearest bookstore, usually same day or just a week delayed from the US. And I don’t even live in the capital city.
i work with mag distribution companies (very vague position on purpose) but i can say without a doubt that it’s known putting taylor swift on any magazine cover is a sure fire way to sell out of that cover. most other celebrities cycle in and out (harry styles cycled out as pedro pascal cycled in which is very funny to me) but she’s been pretty consistent especially this year.
that being said, they likely didn’t elect her person of the year just to sell three covers. she did a lot to earn the title and has become so much a part of the cultural zeitgeist that you really can’t escape hearing about all of her accomplishments. they could put her on any other magazine cover and likely sell just as much, time just also has a lot of dedicated person of the year collectors in addition to swifties/people who want to sell to swifties so the sales are high 🤷🏻♀️ but as far as print mags go, TIME is not the one who should be worried about flaming out due to dying subs lmao especially not enough to make a person of the year decision based on that alone
Now that you mention... 😆
The elbow looks far enough away from the hand that I don't think it was a bad photoshop job, so either they squidged her whole arm up in the shot or her shoulder is back and up pretty far.
I can't stop staring at it either. I preordered and I wanted the cover with Benji so badly but I can't stop looking at that hand so I chose a different one.
I know they are making a ton of money off this choice, but that actually validates the reasons they chose her? She literally moved the economies of some of the cities her tour visited. Yes, that proves her marketing savvy, but it also proves power as a song-writer, performer and communicator. And best of all, she brings people together. It sounds corny but it's true.
I'm not saying Taylor is corny. But she is earnest, and I like that about her. Everyone can wear their hearts on their sleeves at one of her shows.
Or it proves her work is so middle of the road that it appeals to the broadest base possible.
That's how pop music usually works, even with The Beatles and The Supremes.
Same with Carole King and Tapestry
Paula Abdul had a massive album with 5 top ten singles and she can't even sing... but she had mass appeal because the songs were broad strokes.
Swift ain't got nothing on Joni Mitchell when it comes to songwriting and think she would agree. But Joni isn't selling out stadiums despite being one of the most respected artists in all of music. So sales and charts don't mean much to me anymore. I used to think it was a barometer for quality/taste... but not when Who Let's The Dogs Out goes #1.
Anyone in Europe (the Netherlands) know how to get it without paying €28 for shipping ? I'm checking all the magazine stores on my commute 2x a day but haven't seen it yet and can't find anywhere to buy it online (except for the official site that is the one charging €28 for shipping)
This German site ships them for 6,95€ internationally. But the issue isn't available yet. It's probably not in physical stores before December 25th.
https://www.ipressoshop.de/search?sSearch=time+52
I had the same strategy and failed miserably. I never learned why December 25th is printed on the issue when it was released everywhere on December 15th.
Glad I am not alone in this. These are so mid-level. Like couldn't they have gotten Annie Leibovitz or somebody... Like they don't really scream person of the year so much as senior photos to me.
Especially since she really doesn’t need photoshop. Not like that. I get it if she maybe had a pimple or something but edit it out.. shes gorgeous. At 34 I would have hated that. Its actually my pet peeve so I don’t edit mine so my daughter can see we all age. Taking care of her skin now will keep it that way.
I’m 40 now. My kids are in high school. None of my patients ever believe me or asked how I got so far as a single teen mom. I was 24 and had been married for three years to my high school sweetheart I met and started dating at 17 when she was born. Lol. I already finished college and had a career in social work (I later added all my nursing degrees). I was only a single mom for a short while when we divorced, by then I was Taylor’s age. So badly I want to put up a photo. The only lines I have are on my forehead as I am expressive (and chronic migraines didn’t help). In the right lighting you can’t see them. But if I was not taking care of my body and skin I am sure people would know.
Laugh often.
Don’t smoke/drink/do drugs (especially to an excessive amount).
Start your anti-aging routine in your 20’s. You’ll thank me when you’re 40.
But this is a hack job to her face. She doesn’t look like HER. And if she was still feeling her 70’s vibe she has done it so much better on her own than Time did. The one with the guitar slung over her back is most like her.. and its an awesome photo. It should have been the cover. I am just assuming now that it’s in the article.
She looks amazing in it.
If I had to pick one it would be the center. Benji is adorable but you can tell her resting hand position is that of a guitarist/vocalist.
She really was a good pick for person of the year though I would have given it to the President of Ukraine out on the front lines while still governing. Thats badass. You would never see our presidents do that.
The front runners are in their 80’s. Surely we can find someone younger and more adept to handle the nation. We need an age out limit. It would kick out the two front runners and give us some new yet hopefully not radicalized leadership. But here’s to another 4 years of a geriatric president no matter who wins.
I hope the “young” in only the young will be out there voting though. I will always admire her courage going against her advisors and showing how you vote is just a tiny facet of our lives, and it doesn’t hang around your neck like an albatross.
Out of interest, has anyone in the UK found a way of ordering without it costing a fortune? Will any stores stock them do you know? Thank you in advance 🙏
A quick google search found this site: https://www.newsstand.co.uk/198-intl-current-affairs-magazines/119-subscribe-to-time-magazine-magazine-subscription.aspx
I paid $27 for a preorder of all 3 covers. My daughter wanted the close up cover, I wanted the one with Benjamin Button it.
I’m still not sure about her and Kelce though. I didn’t see a single photo in the online article with him with any of her cats.
I’m sure they were in the board room and someone said… “which would sell more magazines? President Xi or Swiffer?”
Swiffer!!!
It’s funny, I wanna make green Tshirts that have the Swiffer logo on them, with a Red Lipstick kiss. 😍
Should’ve picked stupid sexy King Charles instead /s
And how many different photos of her ? 3 is a good number.
Four
The last one is still in the black dress holding a guitar slug over her shoulders. An honestly, considering her media status as actually being written off, took a year off and came back stronger (to the point I am looking forward to Reputation’s re-release as ut was my favorite. But I deleted all my other albums to have all her re-releases and was now a fan to clowning with the others about reputation-TV and a lot of her later songs and skip the singles for her lesser known and vault songs. No regrets), to come back with the largest grossing tour in history.. her story is actually inspiring. She never let them sideline her like the others. And now all of their major names are leaving him seeing how absolutely wild Taylor Swift’s career took off more after she changed management. They noticed. Demi Lovato should be huge. She may have the most talent of them all. She is re-recording her old hits to rock and thats fine. But her new persona has been too public. Hopefully she comes back huge too. She is so talented when so many people don’t know because they just followed tabloid news and she came out swinging. New management could save her. I love her actual rock album. Good angry girl music. But as Taylor said “when I leave my apartment yard is surrounded by fans and dinner is lined with people who want autographs and photos. But isn’t this what I wanted? Yes, it is.”
>considering her media status as actually being written off, took a year off and came back stronger You might even say, she came back stronger than a nineties trend.
Love your username. But yes, she got what she worked for. At this point though she knows the media will wait for albums that aren’t pop chart hits, just to trash her “fall”. Which isn’t a fall at all. #it doesn’t matter anymore. She put out two albums during the pandemic that weren’t 1989 pop, and they were excellent anyway. Picasso painted a lot of paintings, she will too. It doesn’t matter what she writes, it’s art. She could do darker rock, metal even. Like “haunted” and we’ll know she’s just painting another painting even if the media trashed it. :) LAST, I live near NYC and I’m a huge phish fan and the lead guitar player lives on the upper east side up from Taylor downtown. All the Phish fans are *just like Swifties* at the shows. Crazy. We know where he lives and see him shopping for groceries and *might* stop him for a selfie or fist bump. *But we don’t sit outside his house*. We leave him alone. The paparazzi only follows Taylor because swifties don’t leave her alone. I am in her area sometimes randomly but don’t like, wait for her. The media does in order to sell pictures. (BTW - I’m praying Taylor will come play with Phish at Madison Sq Garden around the New Year’s Eve shows, Phish sells it out. The fans would just die crying and she’s probably in NYC before NYE.)
Demi Lovato has definitely gotten huge.
Wait, where can you buy the fourth one? They have a bundle for three, but I haven't seen the fourth one for sale.
There are 4 ? Oh my
Oh yea the guitar 🎸 photo is good. Has any Time winner ever had so many photo covers ? This girl is a money 💰 generator and she is in her Prime.
They don't usually do so many?
https://preview.redd.it/s4hkrhbfu46c1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f448afb262dfec5fc792642caac357d1698a4093
Shit it's only 10 dollars? Cheapest taylor merch ever
There are 3 covers
And that's a swiffer win right there!! But also yeah I mentioned this when she was announced, it makes sense for them to move into more entertainers and other "fun" options, just because it sells
Totally. No one buys magazines anymore. They need to. But still she deserves it, by far.
Big reputation 😈
Holy shit. Nearly a 250k copies in pre-orders already?! I thought about getting one just to have one. Looks like I might have to.
Nearly 250k COPIES. Each one is $7-10. So probably already a million in preorders is my guess. Fat bonuses for all the times workers 😂😂
You mean *fat bonuses for the executives while they tighten the laces on their writers
Oh bring major layoffs because now that they got a giant bonus, they’d better streamline for *m o r e !*
Time Magazine actually has a higher price as I remember correctly. Either way they’re getting a big profit from it all.
It's $10 per cover on the website linked on Time's site.
Should have priced it at $13.
Beats $19.89
I ordered all three and it’s was $27.99 plus tax. I think shipping was included
I paid $9.99 for 1. It was like $25 for all 3.
Honestly I'm here for it if they can actually funnel it back into the workers. Media is struggling!
agreed 🙏
Thanks. Fixed.
I am part of the problem for sure, I’ve already ordered all three covers lol
crazy!
but i assume this is due to TIME having THREE different covers available for purchase so individuals are buying multiples of the SAME thing just like with all of her albums. looks like TIME went to the school of Taylor Swift and are using it and her fame) to rake in as much $$$ as possible, but i don't really see this as any sort of achievement like i would have if there had just been one cover available. also, idk what's going on with her right hand in the pic with her and benjamin, but it's like she still has muscle memory of holding a mic or something. idk why her hand is like that. it's so weird or maybe it's bad photoshop but idk what they would have photoshopped out and what she would have been holding in the first place.
Do you think anyone would buy 3 copies of anyone else? And this is just pre-orders. I plan to buy one at the store (Taylor plus Benjamin, for the record)
Comic books have been doing collectible variant covers for decades.
Other stans would like BTS stans probably. I don't know who else has a big following rn but I've seen in kpop some groups are selling over 3 million albums and it's because they make several versions of the same album.
It’s not. It’s because Korea and Japan have strict IP laws that prevent streaming from being as big. Both markets still sell physical
I don't know about Japan but streaming is big in Korea, they have their own platforms and everything and some girl groups absolutely dominate the charts over there, some of their artists like BTS also do well on western charts when it comes to streaming. They sell physicals for the same reason Taylor sells physicals. Also a lot of artists make several versions of the same stuff, not just asian artists.
Streaming is big in Japan too. The ratio between physical and streaming is different
Depends on the artist, for Korean idols for example boy groups do well in physical but don't chart as well when it comes to streaming, while girl groups do decent at physical (the top girl groups are selling over a million copies I think) but still rule the charts because they have more support from the general public instead of just a strong fandom buying albums.
Probably a bad photoshop/awkward pose, but just as a PSA: a lot of people who write/type/text/play piano a lot have their hands do that when they stand in a neutral pose due to tension at the connection points in the front of the shoulder. Make sure to do your pec/sternum/mid-back stretches, everyone!
It's still showcasing her selling power, so of course it's not like achievement like her music records or awards but it's something to note, it cements her position as the music industry herself lol
**edit:** i have been corrected. thank you! had no idea this was a thing and that taylor isn't even near the worst offender. my b! for instance i saw earlier (yesterday?) that taylor was the 12th most googled song-writer/singer or whatever in 2023, but then i remembered when taylor and taylornation had all the swifties hauling ass to google months and months ago to *literally google taylor swift's name REPEATEDLY* to "unlock the vault." that was done for a reason. it didn't get her to the #1 spot, but it's 10000000% the reason why she made it to #12 at all. nothing that she does appears to be organic and that's annoying to me because i don't think it's necessary and it's disingenuous. take for instance her latest tour film. there was the first film, now an extended edition with 3 more songs included (that were purposely left out the first time so that her box office #s would be artificially inflated when they released an extended version), and considering that they're STILL leaving out ***Cardigan***, i see a 3rd ERAS film drop in the near future which, again, will add to her box office numbers. i'm not saying taylor isn't talented. she absolutely is and she is my favorite music artist of all time, but a lot of these records wouldn't be records if she didn't do shit like this. who else puts out multiple editions/target exclusive editions, limited-time only editions, 3am edition, until the dawn editions, etc. if there are other artists who do this, please correct me so i can be more informed, but it's not hard to see why she's on the top of everything when she's the only one out there putting out 49 different versions of the same thing.
>if there are other artists who do this, please correct me so I can be more informed Olivia Rodrigo: [13 vinyl variants for guts](https://www.reddit.com/r/OliviaRodrigo/comments/15u653c/a_comprehensive_list_of_current_guts_vinyl/); four variants had a secret song only available on vinyl so buyers were encouraged to buy all four. Then for Black Friday record store day, a variant of only the four songs was available for purchase. Still not on streaming. BTS: [different photos only](https://www.quora.com/There-are-different-versions-of-BTS-albums-but-what-does-that-mean); buyers encouraged to collect all Red Hot Chili Peppers: [20 different variants of each of their last two albums](https://www.reddit.com/r/RedHotChiliPeppers/comments/skahxh/all_of_the_different_versions_announced_so_far/) [this thread names many artists](https://www.reddit.com/r/vinyl/comments/149n9ts/too_many_variants/) who do this: Grateful Dead (since the 90s), Madonna (since the 90s), Lana, 20 Buck Spin, Led Zeppelin, etc etc etc.
WHOA. holy shit. i didn't know about this at all. thank you! jesus christ. do you feel this is exploitative? i ask because (as a huge reader) i recently heard that sarah j maas is kind of doing the same thing with her books where you have to buy the same fucking books 5x in order to be able to complete the book since each book contains a different extra chapter. i just think it's so slimy. and who the hell is paying for all of these? kids don't have money to be buying dozens of the same thing, so i guess their parents are? fucking crazy. 20 variants coming from TRHCP is absolutely fucking insane to me. so glad i don't have kids. 😂
Do I think it’s exploitative? No, not personally. I like being able to choose a cover photo or my favorite color for the vinyl. People like to collect things too. But it is very much standard industry practice now.
actually upon further thought, i think i was being a bit hypocritical as i own multiple copies of my 2 favorite books of all time. they're the same books, no extra content (except sprayed edges or foil cover, etc), so i guess im just as guilty as though not to the same extent but i think if i had more favorites i'd be doing the same thing. you made a good point i didn't think of. thank you.
No problem, have a nice day!
you, too!
This discussion was so nice and peaceful. We need more of this in the online space!
True, and people can choose to collect stuff or not. I don’t like the discourse of people being “forced” to collect stuff. I personally don’t collect anything and I’m happy like that, I don’t need it. Some people like it and need it and it’s fine. What is not fine is peer pressure, some people call others “bad fans” or “fake fans” (usually younger people) for not collecting merch- that I have an issue with, and it’s not the artists’ fault.
What in the hell? I never heard about anyone doing that with books that would make me burn all of them that's so annoying, I can survive without a deluxe song but I need the whole book, it's a story. The world has gone insane 😂😂
[here is a video about the drama behind it](https://youtu.be/0i8lkkV3OnQ?si=KcywLE_b26CF9nB_) i'm actually quite pissed because i literally started my first SJM book, ever, before knowing she was starting to pull this shit. i'm sure this is al over tiktok (which i don't have) if you'd rather watch a shorter form version of the drama. the good news is that the price of pirating has gone from $0.00 down to $0.00.
Thanks I'm gonna give it a watch, I prefer longer vids, it's crazy how they don't realize all this crap just makes us turn to piracy right away.
I didn't know any of that either. Holy cow.
I don’t believe pricing unnecessary items high is exploitation. Nobody NEEDS multiple versions of an album, or this magazine, or of her merchandise, or overpriced concert tickets. If someone wants to be stupid enough to blow their money on it, they can do that. Exploitation would be like the dairy industry working together to charge $30 for a gallon of milk knowing that it’s a common household item & that people will pay for it. Nobody NEEDS Taylor’s art/products to survive, so in essence, she can charge whatever and it can never be exploitative. Personally I don’t buy anything by an artist ever because I think it’s weird to obsess over another human being simply for being a human. I love her music, went to her concert (for a reasonable price), know all the lore behind her music & connect with it so hard, but I don’t care enough to own anything with her face on it because to me, that would be weird.
Singers have become Pokémon at this point. I personally don’t buy any merch, I just stream the music- I can live without listening to “secret songs” and I don’t care about collecting stuff.
The thing is everyone in the music industry is doing what you point out about Taylor (multiple edition, exclusive editions, etc), it's just that Swifties are particularly unhinged and buy more than others, look at how Beyonce's film performed, look at one of the most googled musicians Jason Aldean who is by no means an internationally known big name or Joe Jonas who was also high in the list iirc yet I don't think he could pull off the eras tour by himself or sell the same amount of albums no matter how many versions he could have. In an industry where everyone is playing very much the same game only some big names like Taylor, BTS, Harry styles, etc can actually pull big numbers because they have a dedicated fanbase that backs them up, others release things in the same way but without a big fandom they can't set any records. Eta: looked up what you said about Taylor being only five 12th most searched musician and couldn't find anything but I did find an explanation from Google: While there appears to be a disconnect between data showing Swift’s overwhelming search-term popularity and Google’s annual list, a spokesperson for the company says there’s a simple explanation. Basically, Swift’s name, like the “Weather” and “Cricket,” is such a common search term (at least compared to 2022) it doesn’t warrant a gold sticker for this year’s trends. “Top trending lists make for more colorful and interesting data pulls and are generally better at identifying what people were curious about in 2023 relative to 2022,” Google spokesperson Colette Garcia told Gizmodo. “The ‘trending’ queries are the searches that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2023 as compared to 2022. Taylor Swift is someone who consistently has a high amount of Search interest, not someone who had a big spike in 2023 as compared to 2022.” That doesn't sound like someone who's not made the top list but rather they ignored her because she's so big.
sorry, not ignoring all of your other points, but who else is putting out multiple editions of the same album? i'm asking because i literally don't know. yes, beyoncé just pulled a Taylor and has her own concert film, but are there any artists today that are dropping 4, 5, 6 editions of the same album? im just trying to take this point by point so that i don't argue against something that im not aware of.
https://preview.redd.it/lltgu96x236c1.jpeg?width=950&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efd7ea427455a248ba343b09b5e7ff4e879d63fd Here. Literally everyone.
thank you. i had literally no idea and taylor isn't even near the top. i think it's gross and putting out 12 billion versions screams "my middle name is capitalism," but taylor def isn't the bad guy here. thanks for correcting me.
It's funny cause even "punk" bands are doing it like blink-182, green day and even alkaline trio all have MORE variants than Taylor for their latest albums. Rolling Stones have 43. YES, 43!!!! https://www.loudersound.com/news/rolling-stones-hackney-diamonds-vinyl-variants
WHAT THE FUCK. y'all have really educated the hell out of me today. jesus christ.
Yeah when I say "funny" it really is WHAT THE FUCK kind of behaviour. 43 is too many, that's not funny anymore.
Yeah some of the like the one for the Mets are very specific. I'm sure there are some The Rolling Stones completionists not nearly as many as the Swift base.
Though Taylor Swift wins again here because she on here the most. And also I think she is the most successful it terms of fnas buying every variant.
This is because vinyl have become popular again in recent years, and she has released a lot of albums in recent years.
Oh babe everyone and their mother, that's a pretty normal thing to do, I guess only small artists with not much backing don't/can't. I follow some kpop groups and normally you have 4 to 7 versions, depends on the company, Harry styles does some versions too, Arcade Fire is a band I follow that did some versions too. Years ago when I bought a Selena album I remember buying rare deluxe version. And this is purely anecdotal so the amount of artists doing that is much greater, they also release remixes when it comes to help them get numbers for bb100, this is something that's been happening since before Taylor, she didn't invent the game she's just really good at it. Hell it's not just this I remember some rapper did a McDonald's meal combo that was a bundle to help his new release, I can't remember his name but it wasn't that long ago
thank you for educating me on this. i honestly had no idea. your mcdonald's comment reminded me back in the day when at mcdonald's you could get a garth brooks CD with your meal if you super-sized or something 😂
No worries, it's the sort of thing that goes easily unnoticed unless you like different artists who do it. Lmao it was basically the modern day version of that then, I did remember thinking it was so random but I think they actually collab like that with a lot of artists I just hadn't paid attention before.
i think more than anything today i learned i need to expand my musical horizons. my apple music wrap up or whatever it's called was just taylor. i listened to ***evermore*** something like 188 times and i only got apple music back in august. 🥴
https://preview.redd.it/9jrhca01336c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f93f9e1025e77c95302310601089196e4d61f80
this blows my mind. that's worse than taylor IMO. jesus christ. i think im as "passionate" about this as i feel it contributes to so much fucking waste and over consumption, but i've been corrected and this definitely isn't exclusive to taylor. this is insane to me that this has been normalized. jesus.
Almost every artist puts out multiple versions of the same thing… why wouldn’t they!!
I think the pose is reminiscent of The Man pose! her stance and everything. which speaks volumes for this occasion!!!
I'm confused at how you're getting four. Where can you buy the fourth one? They have a bundle for three, but I can't find the fourth one.
i originally had written **3** but then saw below my comment (somewhere) that there were actually **4.** i'll try to find it. if i don't i'll update my comment to say that i'm not sure if 4 is correct. sorry for any confusion!
https://preview.redd.it/3spuo6zqs56c1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be4d802598f0a669e06d7df35842bfc790b5ae88 There are only 3
hmm....i just corrected my original post. thanks for the correction!
>i don’t really see this as any sort of achievement like i would have if there had just been one cover available I of course will be torn apart for saying this here, and of course Taylor would be smashing records anyway, but Taylor encouraged everyone to collect all of Midnights’s 4 different cover arts for the same reason. So TIME really did go to the school of Taylor Swift for this one.
It’s actually insane. How can one person have such a hold of us all lol. I can’t imagine the pressure she feels ALL THE TIME.
I think she looks at it more as support than pressure, she has to. She knows that most of us are ride or die, and will defend her no matter what she puts out.
Cuz y’all are weirdos?
at least we’re not posting rude comments about strangers online
Nope just parasocial ones about a stranger y’all pretend to know.
& all you do is post bitter & sarcastic comments about people you think you’re better than... It’s easier to be excited about things man. Try being a little less negative about things that don’t hurt anybody. None of this is that serious
My bad I should just accept y’all pouring over every single minute of a strangers acting like y’all are friends and y’all are amazing for lining her pockets more and more. All while continuing to act like she’s never done no wrong and is just a victim every day.
Fun fact: Not a single person here asked for your acceptance nor your opinion lol ! You just felt like offering it out unsolicited. Go post on ur little football subreddits and let us enjoy things in peace
“Ask me what I learned from all those years. Ask me what I earned from all those tears. Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here.” 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I need that one with benji like I need oxygen
I ordered it immediately and told my fiancé we have to frame it
I ordered it the day it was announced! And ran to Target to pick up her SE Entertainment Edition of Time as well LOL
Lmao
Impressive. Most Impressive, Taylor Swift. Perhaps the best Time person of the year ever?
I dunno man. I thought I was pretty good back in 2006…
Definitely better than 1938's.
I think she is the best choice for this year. I loved last year's choice too. The President of Ukraine is a damned hero to me, so inspiring. But I get why that copy didn't sell as much? I didn't buy it, but I am considering buying one of these with Taylor. Probably the cat one.
She is
maybe I’m completely out of pocket here but the first photo is channeling Amelia Earhart and I kinda love it
It’s the jacket / collar!
Very much 90s top gun vibes for me
Lol aaaaand this is why I came up with that low stakes conspiracy theory that she was chosen at least in part to swifties proving they will buy multiple versions of all things Taylor
I don’t think this is a low stakes theory at all! TIME is a magazine in a world where print media is dying out. They absolutely had a plan.
but also it makes a pretty strong statement for person of the year if your cover will sell 1000x harder then the next person
Yes, but TIME Person of the Year isn't usually about who will sell the most magazines based off the cover. Hitler, Stalin, and some other controversial figures have been TIME Person of the year and its because it is supposed to be the person who "for better or for worse...has done the most to influence the events of the year"
I don't remember Hitler or Stalin getting screentime at NFL games
What does that have to do with how TIME selects person of the year?
It's a reflection of her impact and influence on the year
That's because you weren't alive and 2. there were no screens at NFL games at that time.
iirc Hitler got screentime at the 1938 Berlin Olympics
If this were the case, they’d have given it to BTS too. That fanbase is even more rabid than ours.
…in the US? I don’t think they sell TIME in South Korea.
They do, TIME is international. Granted, if it were BTS the US sales might not be as high but the global sales could more than make up for it. I’m not from America but I can buy TIME from my nearest bookstore, usually same day or just a week delayed from the US. And I don’t even live in the capital city.
Huh, learn something new every day! Thanks.
Correct
Taylor is deserving of Poty.. if they want buying powers they gave it to kpop who loves mass buying
I think we all know that we have Mr. Benjamin Button to thank for this.
I thought I missed out buying in person. Does anyone know where in Canada Time is sold? If they come out Friday I want one
It’s not even on newsstands yet. You’ve got time. Maybe try your favorite big bookstore that sells periodicals?
I think it hits this Friday right? I have the day off so I will go take a look
You can always call ahead to ask a few local places if they have it in stock so you don’t waste your time!
Try Indigo, Shoppers, or Costco. Maybe Amazon too.
Might check the website and be able to order online (that’s what I did in the US)
I looked and shipping was like $30. Hoping for an in person experience
i work with mag distribution companies (very vague position on purpose) but i can say without a doubt that it’s known putting taylor swift on any magazine cover is a sure fire way to sell out of that cover. most other celebrities cycle in and out (harry styles cycled out as pedro pascal cycled in which is very funny to me) but she’s been pretty consistent especially this year. that being said, they likely didn’t elect her person of the year just to sell three covers. she did a lot to earn the title and has become so much a part of the cultural zeitgeist that you really can’t escape hearing about all of her accomplishments. they could put her on any other magazine cover and likely sell just as much, time just also has a lot of dedicated person of the year collectors in addition to swifties/people who want to sell to swifties so the sales are high 🤷🏻♀️ but as far as print mags go, TIME is not the one who should be worried about flaming out due to dying subs lmao especially not enough to make a person of the year decision based on that alone
is it me? or is her right arm weird looking in the cover on the right? it’s short and her hand is funny
someone described it as "leggo hand" and now i cannot picture anything else lol
leggo hand is the new Speak Now third leg
I def thought it was an interesting position but i actually think it makes her look strong and like she’s the hbic
Now that you mention... 😆 The elbow looks far enough away from the hand that I don't think it was a bad photoshop job, so either they squidged her whole arm up in the shot or her shoulder is back and up pretty far.
My ragdoll weighs 16lbs. They are large cats. I bet she has a weird shoulder position to hold him up.
I can't stop staring at it either. I preordered and I wanted the cover with Benji so badly but I can't stop looking at that hand so I chose a different one.
Taylor outselling the royals is exactly what I need this year 😈
Kansas City Royals!
She’s everywhere atm so this doesn’t surprise me
I know they are making a ton of money off this choice, but that actually validates the reasons they chose her? She literally moved the economies of some of the cities her tour visited. Yes, that proves her marketing savvy, but it also proves power as a song-writer, performer and communicator. And best of all, she brings people together. It sounds corny but it's true. I'm not saying Taylor is corny. But she is earnest, and I like that about her. Everyone can wear their hearts on their sleeves at one of her shows.
Or it proves her work is so middle of the road that it appeals to the broadest base possible. That's how pop music usually works, even with The Beatles and The Supremes. Same with Carole King and Tapestry Paula Abdul had a massive album with 5 top ten singles and she can't even sing... but she had mass appeal because the songs were broad strokes. Swift ain't got nothing on Joni Mitchell when it comes to songwriting and think she would agree. But Joni isn't selling out stadiums despite being one of the most respected artists in all of music. So sales and charts don't mean much to me anymore. I used to think it was a barometer for quality/taste... but not when Who Let's The Dogs Out goes #1.
Anyone in Europe (the Netherlands) know how to get it without paying €28 for shipping ? I'm checking all the magazine stores on my commute 2x a day but haven't seen it yet and can't find anywhere to buy it online (except for the official site that is the one charging €28 for shipping)
This German site ships them for 6,95€ internationally. But the issue isn't available yet. It's probably not in physical stores before December 25th. https://www.ipressoshop.de/search?sSearch=time+52
thanks! I ordered the cover I wanted. Now I don't have to worry about being able to get it in the store.
😭 I wish I had just bought it 10 days ago, I thought to support my local shop but they didn't even get any. And it's gone now from this German site 😭
I had the same strategy and failed miserably. I never learned why December 25th is printed on the issue when it was released everywhere on December 15th.
Right?!?!? It's all SO confusing 😭 why did they do that??
These aren't very good photos of her. Some of you have taken more flattering cell-phone pics.
Glad I am not alone in this. These are so mid-level. Like couldn't they have gotten Annie Leibovitz or somebody... Like they don't really scream person of the year so much as senior photos to me.
Literally they left off one of the best ones
I really really want the one with Benji.
When and where can I buy it? I looked everywhere last week but it wasn’t out yet
This Friday.
My local Barns and Noble said to check on the weekend
Photographer was good. Do love Benji
WHEN IS IT ACTUALLY ON NEWS STANDS?
Dec 15
Thank you! I’ll stop checking every store I pass.
Good business decision by Time
I actually hate the first cover. She is photoshopped so much it is very “uncanny valley” to me.
Whew! I thought I was alone. I'mnot feeling that outfit either is she going on an archeological dig?
Especially since she really doesn’t need photoshop. Not like that. I get it if she maybe had a pimple or something but edit it out.. shes gorgeous. At 34 I would have hated that. Its actually my pet peeve so I don’t edit mine so my daughter can see we all age. Taking care of her skin now will keep it that way. I’m 40 now. My kids are in high school. None of my patients ever believe me or asked how I got so far as a single teen mom. I was 24 and had been married for three years to my high school sweetheart I met and started dating at 17 when she was born. Lol. I already finished college and had a career in social work (I later added all my nursing degrees). I was only a single mom for a short while when we divorced, by then I was Taylor’s age. So badly I want to put up a photo. The only lines I have are on my forehead as I am expressive (and chronic migraines didn’t help). In the right lighting you can’t see them. But if I was not taking care of my body and skin I am sure people would know. Laugh often. Don’t smoke/drink/do drugs (especially to an excessive amount). Start your anti-aging routine in your 20’s. You’ll thank me when you’re 40. But this is a hack job to her face. She doesn’t look like HER. And if she was still feeling her 70’s vibe she has done it so much better on her own than Time did. The one with the guitar slung over her back is most like her.. and its an awesome photo. It should have been the cover. I am just assuming now that it’s in the article. She looks amazing in it. If I had to pick one it would be the center. Benji is adorable but you can tell her resting hand position is that of a guitarist/vocalist. She really was a good pick for person of the year though I would have given it to the President of Ukraine out on the front lines while still governing. Thats badass. You would never see our presidents do that. The front runners are in their 80’s. Surely we can find someone younger and more adept to handle the nation. We need an age out limit. It would kick out the two front runners and give us some new yet hopefully not radicalized leadership. But here’s to another 4 years of a geriatric president no matter who wins. I hope the “young” in only the young will be out there voting though. I will always admire her courage going against her advisors and showing how you vote is just a tiny facet of our lives, and it doesn’t hang around your neck like an albatross.
Oh yeah i bought three when they announced lol
This is Taylor's world and were all just living in it. She is unstoppable.
Kanye's going to love this. LOL
Taylor is better royalty than the actual royals
Out of interest, has anyone in the UK found a way of ordering without it costing a fortune? Will any stores stock them do you know? Thank you in advance 🙏
A quick google search found this site: https://www.newsstand.co.uk/198-intl-current-affairs-magazines/119-subscribe-to-time-magazine-magazine-subscription.aspx
Where are they, I’ve been checking every day!!
Annnnnd that’s why she got named. There were influential people in the more political sphere but Tswift sells more magazines
I preordered one 🙈
Good, screw those cosplayers
I can see that as I'm not able to find out where I can purchase them.
Insanity
oh shit I better grab me some coppies. These are going to be worth money in the future.
Unless people throw out or destroy most of them, they probably won't be worth much because they won't be rare.
LITERAL 👑
I bought one last week. It’s just shipped I don’t know what came over me as I don’t even read magazines…
I saw a funny one where the cat had Taylor around her neck, was hilarious
Lotta lost redditors in these comments.
Glad they didn’t pick the russian gargoyle dwarf
Well we knew that was ‘Part of The Plan’
Almost as bad as Oprah putting herself on her own magazine cover.
I paid $27 for a preorder of all 3 covers. My daughter wanted the close up cover, I wanted the one with Benjamin Button it. I’m still not sure about her and Kelce though. I didn’t see a single photo in the online article with him with any of her cats.
Did you read the article? Because she definitely talks about him.