Billie Eilish's Attempt To Save Fans' Money Was Not Appreciated By Taylor Swift Fans

Summary

• Billie Eilish criticized wasteful album releases, questioning the need for so many vinyl variants to boost sales and revenue.
• Eilish emphasized the importance of sustainability in the music industry, calling out artists who prioritize profits over environmental impact.
• Despite speculation, Eilish clarified that her comments were aimed at broader industry practices, not specifically targeting Taylor Swift's record variants.

With the release of her newest record, The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift is once again atop the charts. Propelling sales are 19 album variants that her massive fan base was more than happy to splurge on.

Billie Eilish, meanwhile, is taking a different approach with her album releases, and the singer's comments regarding the wasteful ways others use raised some eyebrows, as some felt that these comments were directed at Swift.

If nothing else, Eilish's thoughts on the matter got people talking about consumerism, and the way that it's affected the music industry.

Billie Eilish Took An Alleged Shot At Taylor Swift By Commenting On Wasteful Vinyl Album Release Style

Back in March, it was reported that Billie Eilish was not a fan of artists releasing different vinyl versions of their latest albums.

When speaking with Billboard, the singer was asked about the way she was approaching sustainability with the release of physical records. The artist then took that opportunity to talk about the wasteful release habits of other artists.

"We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money and gets them more…," she said.

After her mom, Maggie Baird mentioned that it helps get artists to number one on the charts, Eilish continued.

"I can’t even express to you how wasteful it is. It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right, and I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable — and then it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more. It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favorite artists doing that sh-t," she said.

This was followed by Baird also acknowledging that the system is designed for artists to do this, and won't punish them for it.

"But to be fair, the problem is systemic, right? Because if Billboard, to be honest, is going to not have limits… I would love to see limits, like no more than four colors," Baird said.

Now, this is an interesting take from Eilish, who appears to be going against the grain. Further, some took it as a shot at Taylor Swift, who just released a staggering number of variants for her latest effort, The Tortured Poets Department.

Swift Released 19 Variants For Her Latest Effort, The Tortured Poets Department

In Billboard's write-up of Swift's album topping the charts, it was acknowledged that the artist used a shocking number of variants to boost album sales, which Maggie Baird previously eluded to.

"The Tortured Poets Department’s sales were bolstered by its availability across 19 different physical configurations (nine CDs, six vinyl LPs and four cassettes, with four of the physical configurations exclusively sold by Target stores) and two digital download offerings (the standard 16-song album, and a surprise deluxe 31-song edition that was released two hours after the original album bowed). All of the variants are itemized later in this story," Billboard wrote.

Circling back to Billie Eilish, many people took her comments as a jab at Taylor Swift, who has never shied away from having multiple versions of her records.

Eilish, however, has denied that her comments were about Swift.

Eilish Has Denied That This Was All About Swift

Per Variety, in an Instagram story, the singer clarified her comments to Billboard.

"It would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what I said in that Billboard article. I wasn’t singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues. When it comes to variants, so many artists release them — including ME! Which I clearly state in the article. The climate crisis is now and it’s about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better. Sheesh," the star wrote.

Whether it was directly about Swift or not, Billie Eilish is clearly taking a stand against wasteful album releases, and is instead actively looking to make a difference in music. Other artists could soon take note and do the same.