Whenever there’s a problem, or a bit of drama, the internet is quick to see if they can figure out the reason and place blame. Nothing illustrates this more clearly than the constant supply chain problems that have resulted during the pandemic. One area that has really been hit during the pandemic is vinyl production, although, it was already a tricky business to begin with.
So when massive pop stars like Taylor Swift and Adele started releasing new music that required lots of vinyl copies, it was easy for the internet commenters to assign blame to the biggest stars. However, things aren’t that cut and dry.
Is Taylor Swift The Reason For The Vinyl Shortage?
Back when vinyl for Evermore came out last June — which everyone would do well to remember, was a good six months after the album’s release — Swift’s record-breaking numbers for sales first led the rumors to begin buzzing. Since Evermore sold over a whopping 100,000 vinyl albums during the week of June 7, 2021, and broke the all-time weekly sales record, other artists who were still waiting on their own vinyl production started bringing up their own delays. Vinyl generally takes between nine and twenty-four months to press, so if Taylor turned in Evermore a few months before release, she’s still well within the normal window.
But, when Taylor announced that Red would be coming in November of 2021, and that vinyl would be dropping simultaneously, her peers were even more suspicious that she was somehow cutting the line. Again, looking at that timeline, all she would’ve had to do was submit Red by February 2021 in order to have the suppy in time.
Besides, so many other factors were already playing into longer wait times for vinyl: A huge increase in demand for vinyl that was already underway before the pandemic, the fact that the pandemic gave rise to people listening at home, and led to an increase in both vinyl and record players, and all the other pricing and shortage issues that Covid-19 has caused, including labor shortages.
So no, no matter how powerful and popular they might be, neither Taylor Swift, or Adele for that matter, is responsible for the global vinyl production delays. So go ahead and buy a copy of Red or Evermore without a hint of guilt.