The music industry has become one of the biggest businesses in the whole world. Being an artist no longer solely entails making music or singing. The success of an artist is no longer solely determined by the quality of their songs. It’s also about revenue generation, from selling tickets to merchandise. It’s a whole different game out there.
Billie Eilish, who is just a Tony away from becoming an EGOT winner, recently spoke out about sustainability, calling out big artists who choose to release multiple vinyl variants of the same album for fans to purchase. Fans couldn’t agree with what she had to say.
Billie Eilish Calls Out “Big Artists” for Vinyl Releases!
Billie Eilish, in an interview with Billboard, shared her thoughts on the importance of sustainability in her life and how she strives to maintain this aspect in her work as well. Although she tries to keep all aspects of her business sustainable, she couldn’t help but call out artists who don’t.
Selling vinyl records has always been a common practice, but in recent years, some excessive methods have emerged. Artists like Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo, for instance, release multiple vinyl editions of the same album, and Eilish believes it’s nothing but wasteful. She said,
” 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…”
Although this practice does increase the numbers that artists are generating, it’s also important to note that it’s incredibly wasteful, as Eilish further highlighted,
“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”
She added,
“And then it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making f–king 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.”
Although she is indeed working hard to help save our planet from ruin, she believes that everyone has to work together in order to achieve this goal. Ultimately, it’s the music itself that is important, regardless of where you’re listening to it from.
The Swifties and Billie Eilish Fans Are at War!
However, at the very end of the day, it’s the fans who hold the real power. If fans continue to purchase multiple versions of the same vinyl, artists will continue to produce them. These are plain and simple facts.
Consequently, the Oscar-winning singer’s comments have the internet divided. While many agree with the What Was I Made For singer, despite being avid fans of those “big artists,” others perceive it as a direct attack on their favorite artists.
Here is what the fans have to say about this matter,
This is the kind of greed they talk about in the Bible pic.twitter.com/fE5sFvXlMh
— Pob Base (@PobBase) March 28, 2024
as much as i love taylor, i have to agree with billie on this one
— manon 🔱 | fan acc (@percysgrant) March 28, 2024
they care abt their fans who love collecting vinyls
— chronicyapper (@bitinguranklez) March 28, 2024
The photo 🌚 we all knew who the desperate greedy person she was talking about
— imani 2.0 (@mafiapositions) March 28, 2024
The hypocrisy…. pic.twitter.com/2UlJJD3m7p
— Miky (@myselfmiky) March 28, 2024
Another reason I don’t understand her appeal or so called “talent” go away Billie! Taylor got the rights to her music that was being held hostage by disgusting record executives! She’s not a girls girl at all!
— Mcscruffy02 (@mcscruffy02) March 28, 2024
As she should.
— Andrew Adkins (@Drewdemort) March 29, 2024
While the two fandoms of Swifties and Eilish fans may currently find themselves at odds, it’s crucial to clarify that Billie Eilish’s album Happier Than Ever was released in eight vinyl variants. However, it’s noteworthy that she opted for 100% recycled black vinyl, incorporating recycled scraps for colored variants and employing shrink-wrap made from sugar cane. Although she acknowledges the importance of the business aspect of the music industry, she urges fellow artists to prioritize sustainability in their practices.
