Tell us, did you get the Deeper Well regular, limited-edition, quilted-picture-disc, cardinal-picture-disc, crimson-clover, spilled-milk, or green-splatter vinyl? And for Midnights, how long did it take to choose your preference from the six vinyl marbled colors? That’s too much math for Billie Eilish and her conscience, who, in a new interview with Billboard, lamented how artists have learned to game the charts system and boost sales by releasing “all sorts” of vinyl variations. Earning more money, of course, also fuels this mentality. “I can’t even express to you how wasteful it is,” she said. “It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right … it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making fucking 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 shit.”
For her part, Eilish acknowledges that her most recent record, Happier Than Ever, had several different vinyl options; however, the materials were all recycled and she refused to do special packaging to lure repeat buyers. Vinyl records, as well as CDs, cassettes, and digital album downloads, are grouped together as “traditional album sales” on the “Billboard 200” and “Hot 100,” which are widely considered to be the most reputable charts in the music industry. If a fan, say, bought 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in all five pastel variations, it would count as five sales for one person. “I was watching The Hunger Games and it made me think about it, because it’s like, we’re all going to do it because it’s the only way to play the game,” Eilish added of the issue. “It’s just accentuating this already kind of messed up way of this industry working.” Eilish’s mother, quoted in the same interview, noted the systemic issue at Billboard’s hand and suggested a limitation of four designs per vinyl release. Surely more Guts will be spilled before that happens.
