Still "brat summer": Why album cycles are longer than ever
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Top musical artists are releasing more new songs than ever, flooding the zone with expansive deluxe and remixed versions of their albums to keep listeners locked in.
Why it matters: In the streaming era, huge raw listening numbers can grant you Billboard dominance and favor from Spotify's algorithm. That feedback loop of success can win the war for consumers' attention and cash, greatly extending an album's release cycle.
- If you're trying to entice fans to listen to your new project and buy tickets to your eventual tour, why not keep them hooked with 30 brand-new tracks instead of the traditional 12?
Driving the news: Pop star Charli XCX on Friday dropped a remixed version of her album "Brat" — appropriately titled "Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat" — reminding us all that "brat summer" and its season of presidential memes is alive and well.
- The original version of "Brat" was released on June 7, followed by a deluxe version with three more songs on June 10.
- The remixed version comes amid Charli XCX's nationwide arena "Sweat" tour alongside Troye Sivan.
The backdrop: The current deluxe album trend can be traced back to rapper Lil Uzi Vert's 2020 album "Eternal Atake," which saw a follow-up with 14 additional songs just a week later.
- That kick-started a COVID-era scramble as artists tried to make up for lost tour income by releasing more and more music, unlocking a new way to gamify the industry in the process.
- The trend's theory of the case quickly crossed genres. Country star Morgan Wallen's "One Thing at a Time" actually doesn't have a deluxe version, but its original 2023 release included a staggering 36 tracks, all of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in its first week.
By the numbers: Taylor Swift took chart gamification to the next level with 2024's "The Tortured Poets Department," supplementing the double album's release with nearly three dozen different variants — often pushed for a "limited time" at a discounted price during competitive weeks.
- You don't get to be the industry's reigning queen if you don't know how to play the game, and Swift's methods helped her hold the top spot on the Billboard 200 for a career-high 15 weeks.
- The first big variant bump came during the album's fifth week of release, allowing Swift to block Billie Eilish's "Hit Me Hard and Soft" from the top slot. The other releases helped her to stave off new albums from Zach Bryan and Ye and Ty Dolla $ign.
Between the lines: This trend likely isn't going anywhere because today's streaming-first consumers haven't already invested in a CD or vinyl and don't feel ripped off getting more music from their favorite artists.
- Listeners who buy physical editions often do it for the aesthetic anyway.
- One 48-year-old Swift fan who collected nearly every "Tortured Poets" variant told Variety, "We're gonna spend [our disposable income] on something. Why not spend it on this as opposed to whatever else?"
The bottom line: It might feel like fall, but Charli XCX's label wants you to think it's brat summer and it's completely different but also still brat summer.
