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Throughout her 17 years in the industry, Taylor Swift has earned several nicknames from her devoted fanbase — from Blondie to Miss Americana to T-Swizzle.
But lately, Swifties have been referring to their idol as their “capitalist queen” more and more often thanks to Taylor’s excessive limited edition merch drops that fans are encouraged to buy.
Back in August, even the star’s most dedicated fans accused her of a “shameless cash grab” when she released multiple vinyl versions of her 1989 rerelease.
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While the music on each vinyl was the exact same, they came in different colors and had a different photo of Taylor on the cover.
Creating a sense of urgency and exclusivity around the first limited edition drop, Sunrise Boulevard Yellow, Taylor warned fans on social media that it was only available to buy for 48 hours.
But just days after those 48 hours had passed, fans were caught off guard when Taylor surprise-dropped yet another version of the vinyl, Aquamarine Green, which was also only available to buy for two days.
Each edition of the vinyl was listed on Taylor's official store for $31.89, and each one also incurred its own shipping cost because orders for multiple versions were not able to be placed at the same time.
In a subreddit on Taylor’s dedicated Reddit thread, many of her hardcore fans accused the singer of exploiting them. One Swiftie wrote at the time: “Why. So. Many. Version. Of. The. Same. Damn. Album. Taylor.Why. So. Many. Version. Of. The. Same. Damn. Album. Taylor. I cannot deal with the money grabbing feel."
Another wrote: “The capitalist era will never end, will it,” while one more admitted: “I’m actually getting annoyed she keeps doing this.”
And it’s true that this was far from the first time that Taylor had used these merchandise tactics; back when she released her album Midnights last year, the star excitedly took to social media to show fans that if they bought four versions of the vinyl then the back of the jackets would create a clock.
Taylor also released multiple versions of the album, with each one having different bonus tracks — meaning that if fans wanted to hear all of the songs, they had to buy more than one copy of the album.
With all of this in mind, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Taylor apparently reached billionaire status last month, with Bloomberg reporting that she was sitting on a $1.1 billion fortune.
And this contributed to the bad taste that was left in fans' mouths on Monday, when Taylor revealed that an extended version of her Eras tour concert film would be available to rent on streaming sites as of Dec. 13.
In case you missed it, the film has already been in movie theaters for several weeks, where an adult ticket cost $19.89 plus tax in homage to her 1989 album.
And this homage has continued into the streaming world, with a press release stating that it will also cost $19.89 to rent the film for 48 hours on various digital platforms, "honoring the legendary artist’s birth year and the title of her Grammy Award-winning album.”
But fans are not impressed with this price tag and have criticized Taylor for taking an opportunity to make even more money by only letting people rent the concert film instead of allowing them to buy it to keep or stream as part of their subscription.
“And why can’t we buy it once?” one more asked.
And once again, Taylor’s most dedicated fans were expressing their disappointment over on the star’s Reddit page, with one commenting: “she is really finding a way to get every single dollar she can get out of this. renting is crazy.”
“Capitalist queen for real,” another wrote. One more agreed: “Enough with the cash grabs girl. You have like a billion dollars. Releasing every CD with 8 different versions was already too much but this just feels egregious. Just let it stream or let people straight up buy it. This feels icky.”
Somebody else wrote: “I’m kinda tired of her releasing one thing and then different versions of it later. I want to buy the thing and that’s it, I know I’ve gotten the complete item. Not dribs and drabs of it,” to which another fan replied: “The general vibe is that people are unimpressed by this blatant cash grab.”
And others were uncomfortable with the fact that Taylor had withheld three songs from the movie theater release of her concert film that would now be available in the rented version. This means that even if fans had paid to see the film in the theater, they have to pay again if they want to watch these additional performances.
Mocking Taylor’s Instagram announcement, one person wrote: “‘It would be a really fun way to celebrate my birthday by making more money off you so you can watch the three songs I strategically cut from the movie. Happy birthday to me!’ I love her but it has really gotten out of hand.”
Others noted that Taylor’s performance of “Cardigan” still isn’t included in this extended version of the concert film, and speculated that she will soon find another way to charge fans who want to watch that.
“For new years she'll release the extended (3 am version) that includes cardigan for rent,” one joked. Another mused: “Cardigan will be added in the extended extended version.”
Taylor completed her 2023 Eras Tour dates in Brazil on Sunday and will return to the stage in Tokyo, Japan on February 7.
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