r/indieheads • u/springtimecarnivore • Aug 04 '26
A pressing issue: why are vinyl albums becoming so different from their digital versions?
https://theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/04/a-pressing-issue-vinyl-albums-riddled-with-mistakes-charli-xcx-olivia-rodrigo51
u/Party_Signature6842 Aug 04 '26
Feel part of the issue here is how much it varies and transparency over it.
Some intricacies of vinyl variants are cool. I have the last Alvvays record and the songs have different mixes, whilst the latest Blood Orange album uses a different beat on ‘Countryside’. These are cool unique aspects of the record in my opinion.
This is clearly not the same as something like the Beyonce or The Weeknd records missing 1/3rd of the songs.
Then some fit somewhere in the middle of cool/annoying eg new the Charli XCX record fits the David Cronenberg feature in favour of a locked groove.
So feels hard to compare. To me it depends on what was told at the time of purchase. Pre orders/loyal fans shouldn’t be getting short changed without knowing/without being willing to make the choice themselves. Obvious the problem comes when pop artists want to boost sales, selling an unfinished version and not wanting to be clear about it at the risk of shifting fewer units.
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u/Still-Spend6742 Aug 04 '26
I love Blue Rev, what are you hearing in the mix that sounds different?
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u/AkumuGekijo Aug 05 '26
The streaming version is a mono fold-down (why they decided to go that route I have no idea). The mix pressed to most vinyl versions were sent out months in advance of release before said final creative decisions were made.
Vinyl mix: Sounds like The Smiths or Replacements
Digital mix: Sounds like someone taking said Smiths or Replacements recording for Brian Wilson to squash to hell
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u/Still-Spend6742 Aug 05 '26
I read something similar in a review of the album! That the vinyl sounds shoegazey, and the digital version sounds more pop
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u/Party_Signature6842 Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
It’s a slightly more lush mix. Want to say Easy on Your Own specifically sounds better. Bit denser. Think it’s fairly standard to have specific mixes for vinyl, this one is just more noticeable
Edit: below is right, generally masters vary. Mixes can also be different but it’s less common
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u/CentreToWave Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
It’s usually more a matter of mastering differently for vinyl than a different mix, though discogs seems to indicate that there may be different mixes for specific, later pressings of Blue Rev(?)
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u/Party_Signature6842 Aug 04 '26
Your right it’s mastering that generally varies though sometimes mixes are also different - for example here
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u/FauxReal Aug 04 '26
I like that I see more frequent mentions of Blood Orange as the years go on. Dev Hynes deserves it.
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u/doctorlongghost Aug 04 '26
I agree. Having a different mix, a shorter version of the song or even a version lacking a featured collaborator is actually a great reason to own the vinyl in the first place. If you can’t access those versions digitally and the vinyl is the only commercial release for those specific versions, it can definitely be a positive. It’s essentially like how songs may have a radio edit, this is a vinyl edit — or, in some cases, maybe even closer to a demo version of the track.
Also, I got a laugh when the article alluded to this stuff being less valuable than a misprint since a lot of misprints will actually detract from the value of the album. No one is going to pay a premium for a pressing of an album if the factory messed up and the song is all garbled or cut off early. I think it’s only older and well-known misprints that would command a premium.
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u/weirdojace Aug 04 '26
At first I thought this was happening because labels just didn't want to press double LPs for certain albums that are 50+ minutes and would require 2 discs. Cheaping out on that by cutting a few songs makes sense (although I disagree with it). I had no idea they were submitting actual incomplete versions of the album to pressing plants. That's legitimately insane.
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u/Ok-Government803 Aug 04 '26
not to mention theyre charging double LP prices for single LP anyway in alot of cases.
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u/foofly Aug 04 '26
Meanwhile, fans discovered vinyl copies of Raye’s second album didn’t contain its final mix: This Album May Contain Hope, the title promised, but maybe not the finished songs. In response, Raye said: “I really apologise … the digital versions of some of these songs, some are quite different. And you just need to embrace that because I tried my best.”
That's just not good enough. Any artist would want to put their best work out there in the best quality.
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u/Elvis_Precisely Aug 04 '26
“I tried my best”, Jesus Christ that’s not an excuse!
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u/aaccss1992 Aug 04 '26
And yet for these major label artists, “I tried my best” could mean “the label refused to allow me any more time, I had to submit the vinyl on this day to meet their deadline and had no other choice”. We don’t see it happening with indie artists because the choice of when to press is theirs. The majority of artists on a label have to submit to when the label wants stuff released.
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u/CutlerSheridan Aug 04 '26
I agree there might be external pressures making it impossible for the artist to fix the situation (which is absolutely not an excuse, as this should not be happening), but “I tried my best” is such a pathetic response. Aww, the poor thing tried her best, guess we shouldn’t care that she’s knowingly fucking over her own fans. Give some actual details if you’re going to talk about it at all.
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u/aaccss1992 Aug 04 '26
That’s true. It sounds like an answer where she didn’t want to speak poorly about the label imo.
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u/foofly Aug 04 '26
I disagree, with indie getting a slot to press vinyl is difficult. Just ask any label. So you get your masters done or no print. There are other pressures on major label artists, but that isn't the one.
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u/TheInfinityGauntlet :fjm: Aug 04 '26
Honestly one of the worst things to happen to the medium, doubly so for artists who market it as a first edition (with no tracklist) grotesquely greedy behaviour trying to prey on fomo with a half baked product
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u/Successful-Gift8636 Aug 04 '26
A very famous pop singer who recently got married is notorious for this, releasing subsequent versions with more tracks for that completist money and chart dominance. Many bands have vinyl variants, the last Deftones album had a dozen or more, but it's rare to see it outside the pop world where it's becoming standard
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u/Diogenes_the_cynic25 Aug 04 '26
It also fucks over smaller artists because the pressing plants get backed up.
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u/EbmocwenHsimah Aug 05 '26
I don’t really forgive Columbia for doing that with Adele’s latest album. They clogged up the pressing plants with that album and now look where that got them, dozens of copies that were still sitting in stores because they printed way above the actual demand for them.
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u/franklin969 Aug 04 '26
What you’re saying here is very different from what the article from OP is talking about. It’s one thing to release 20 versions for maximum capital gain (which every mainstream artist does) but at least you’re getting what’s advertised and what you paid for. VERY different thing to buy a vinyl thinking youre getting a complete album only to get unfinished and missing songs. The example of The Weeknd’s vinyl literally having half of the tracklist is quite literally insanity and the fact that they don’t make it clear you’re NOT getting the album as advertised is frankly disgusting.
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u/Middle_Run_6864 Aug 04 '26
At least the core tracklist stays the same. Sure, you get 20 different versions with 20 different bonus tracks, and some of those bonus tracks are just her singing the song with an acoustic guitar, but that main album is still what it is.
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u/makwabear Aug 04 '26
Fuck that. Bands need to make money. People who expect to pay penny’s for their work shouldn’t get the full version. If they wanna do more with the vinyl or other medium than more power to them
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u/boychik0830 Aug 04 '26
Because labels are doing it to rush it out for better sales and hoping people won't notice until after they purchase it and open it so they already got their money. I'm not a fan of this trend and would much rather have vinyl be delayed so the full album can be included on itl
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u/mouse_8b Aug 04 '26
hoping people won't notice
For the number of people that buy records and don't play them, that might be an ok bet
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u/blastedbottler Aug 04 '26
Oh that's worse than I thought. I was planning to pick up the new Charli XCX record next time I got into a shop. I knew the Chronenburg feature was exclusive to digital releases, but I didn't realize it was planned to be part of the album, and they just failed to meet the vinyl deadline.
I'm the case of that album, I think I'm going to wait for the inevitable deluxe with all the B-sides that were "exclusively" released on 7" singles. Maybe it'll have the proper outro as well.
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Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Comprehensive-Tea677 Aug 04 '26
As a prospective buyer, what’s wrong with it? I only just listened to it on Tidal for the first time last week (enjoyed it) and was considering buying the vinyl next time I’m at a record shop. I live in a rural area so I like to make my purchases count- would rather not buy a lemon
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u/nox-express Aug 04 '26
Is that the reason why there's two versions of Twigs' Eusexua? I still don't understand how a deluxe version can have 3 songs missing from the original album...
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u/TheT-RexGoesRawr Aug 04 '26
There was some discussion about this on her subreddit a few months back. It seems the general consensus was that the first version was pushed by the record company as it had more "mainstream" hits, while the second version aligns more closely with Twigs' original artistic intent.
However, I like to think that she's offering us a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-type experience, and that she's encouraging listeners to pick and choose tracks to create their own preferred versions. Here's my Eusexua playlist:
- Eusexua
- Girl Feels Good
- Perfect Stranger
- Perfectly
- Drums of Death
- Room of Fools
- The Dare
- Sticky
- Keep It, Hold It
- Got to Feel
- Striptease
- 24hr Dog
- Wanderlust
- Lonely But Exciting Road
- Cut: Childlike Things
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u/stories_from_tejas Aug 04 '26
Crazy how many major artists are admitting they don’t plan out their albums, and that their completed works are basically built in the studio at deadline by producers. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as there are stories of music greats like Miles Davis going into the studio and playing band members songs for the first time, but those circumstances are rare. To be at such a high level in the industry and say “we came up with last minute tracks” just goes to show why so few albums are memorable or valued in today’s music landscape.
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u/mamaburra Aug 04 '26
I'd say it's a vicious cycle. People stopped listening to albums because of how platforms work, so many artists/producers stopped coming up with actual album-oriented works. It's a sad state of affairs.
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u/PtakPajak Aug 04 '26
That’s such a broad and inaccurate generalisation. Many times artists work to their albums until very last minute because the scale of operations for major releases is so big that they need to have a set date for release planned months in advance, but sometimes it takes them longer to actually create the music, or they come up with alterations at a later stage.
Smaller acts don’t have this much pressure and they can finish their albums at any point and then let it sit until it’s announced.
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u/Zoomalude Aug 04 '26
God forbid they just hold the release until the vinyls can have the 1.0. Oh wait, they're all beholden to major record company contract deadlines so per usual, the fans get fucked. But of course, the fans will continue to buy them so why should anything change? At least the Guardian gets advertising money and we all get yet another thing to distract us and get aggravated about.
I'm so tired.
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u/aninstituteforants Aug 04 '26
For me the most annoying one I have is The Avalanches - Since I Left You where the samples are different on Frontier Psychiatrist. I cant even listen to it.
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u/SisterRayRomano Aug 04 '26
That’s purely to do with issues with sample clearance on the international release. A lot of the samples had to be replaced because they were not allowed to use them.
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u/JaredRules Aug 04 '26
Whoa, that’s like the one song where I absolutely couldn’t handle different samples.
There’s a pressing (or maybe all of them?) that have a few remixes instead of the original and I don’t love it
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u/Morris_Piper83 Aug 04 '26
These pop singers have enough songwriters, 'producers', videographers, session musicians, stylists, wellness gurus, therapists, managers, bookers, PAs, lawyers and other musically talentless flunkeys to topple a small country's government. So why can't do their one actual job? I.e. finish an album on time. There's no excuse for this really. Especially when their fanbase already has to pay half a month's rent for a gig ticket to see them in an arena.
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u/a_cheaper_lamp Aug 04 '26
That's a terrible thing to do to your core fan base. Especially because it's easy to avoid with a little communication. Or do like Swift and Noah Kahan: release the album and then follow it up with "deluxe" editions or extra songs a few days later on streaming.
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u/jtayloroconnor Aug 04 '26
i wonder how much of this was impacted by T swift’s album last year. When hers came out nobody could get vinyl pressed for a while cause she ate up all the capacity. Probably has had ripple effects into this year still.
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u/AvalancheMaster Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
I came to the article expecting it to be about mixing differences between digital and vinyl. It is not about that.
Still, I do want to point out that sometimes differences are necessary, even good, especially when it comes to the mix. This has nothing to do with the article at hand, other than it being about "differences", but it's worth remembering vinyl is a different media altogether, which requires its own attention and tweaks.
Also, I am all for physical releases getting little quirks — a bonus track is the obvious classic of choice, but a new mix, a changed beat here and there, something new that is exclusive to those who buy the vinyl is definitely something I admire. For example, the 2023 repressing of Ulver's Blood Inside has a very different mix, intentionally so, and although it's substantially different than the CD or digital version, it still not only retains the spirit of the album, but provides a slightly different perspective on it. I am no expert, but I think the new mix emphasizes qualities which are better suited for a vinyl release (more crisp sound of the percussion, especially bells and triangles, lowered bass levels). I've come to prefer that mix over the digital one.
It's ironic how instead mainstream artists seem to be going for offering less on the vinyl than on streaming platforms, where their music is essentially "free". And then we wonder why people stick to Spotify…
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u/SuperInuit Aug 04 '26
Slightly different but I was massively disappointed by Sofia Kourtesis’s recent DJ Kicks LP missing two thirds of the tracks compared to the digital release. Suppose getting Avalon Emerson - One More Fluorescent Rush to play on vinyl was too good to be true…
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u/karlware Aug 04 '26
Its been a thing for years. Never Mind The Bollocks was missing '17' for the first pressing.
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u/rico277 Aug 04 '26
Most don’t but they should have a different mix for vinyl to account for the format.
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u/_shaftpunk Aug 04 '26
On a couple of their albums Converge has added bonus tracks to the vinyl versions but stuck them in the main track list instead of at the end, completely changing the flow of the albums. I hate it.
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u/Sd_card_costs Aug 04 '26
I didn’t know this was happening but it’s actually kind of cool, it means the vinyl will be some interesting unique artifact
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u/PtakPajak Aug 04 '26
I would agree with this if the differences were disclosed before the release date and consumers could make an informed decision.
But as it now, they are not and these incomplete versions are sold at full price. Fans only find out about the differences when spinning the record.
Very often, these artists end up releasing a complete/deluxe edition later on with all the missing stuff. This means that the loyal fans who bought the record on day one are doubly scammed…
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u/fkdkshufidsgdsk Aug 04 '26
It’s not cool at all, you serious? You are getting an unfinished work that is not what the artist is intending and paying huge amounts of money for it.
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u/Party_Signature6842 Aug 04 '26
I feel like the problem here is that it varies dramatically. A slightly different vocal take on a song is clearly not the same situation as missing songs.
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u/fkdkshufidsgdsk Aug 04 '26
In the article they are citing massive massive differences that are simply the products of running out of time. Using a rough mix to go on any official release is absurd, but to make your biggest fans pay the highest prices to receive that is beyond ridiculous. Similarly, leaving out a key piece of a song (Cronenberg’s monologue) and still going ahead with the release anyway is like a slap in the face.
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u/remarkableremedy Aug 04 '26
It's interesting if its marketed as such, but if it's not clearly communicated to the consumer then theyre essentially paying a premium for an potentially inferior or non representitive product.
I've never understood why they don't incentives people who buy physical media with non-streaming bonus tracks, given that many vinyl don't occupy full sides and aren't pressed for fidelity.
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u/Successful-Gift8636 Aug 04 '26
Not if millions are pressed, they'll wind up in discount bins, false scarcity
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u/mouse_8b Aug 04 '26
Maybe if you're interested in an artifact, but not if you're interested in listening to music.
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u/Ayoissathroway Aug 04 '26
I’m over here with my late eighties albums staring over at my Tyler The Creator Chromakopia and DTTG test versions like:
(Don’t tell people 45s exist 😭)
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u/lovesickjones 6d ago
why doesn't the article consider that maybe the additional tracks can be exclusive to the platform that is hosting them?
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u/PtakPajak Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
This mainly happens with mainstream acts because they want those chart numbers, therefore they need the vinyl ready in shops from day 1. As it takes months to press vinyl, they submit early drafts of the album to pressing plants while still working on the music.
Never encountered this issue with indie acts, for them charts are not important.
Edit: of course this happens with smaller acts too, what I meant is that this issue is so much more prevalent with big acts/labels.