Facing the Music: The Issue with Overconsumption

 In the music industry, physical forms of music are making a comeback. Vinyl albums have been growing for the past 16 years, selling over 40 million albums in 2022, according to Statista. Many artists are taking advantage of this opportunity, including big names like Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa. These artists and labels are combining this interest in physical albums with the idea of exclusivity. They will release an item in a limited amount or only make it available for a short period of time. This makes consumers feel they need to order right away in order to obtain this collectable item. For example, with the release of her upcoming album, Taylor Swift has announced 4 different "variants" of the album. Each one has a different cover and an exclusive song only available on those physical copies. With each of these, she initially has them for sale for just a few days, enticing fans to get them before they are gone. Usually, they become available again closer to the album release, so any fans that feel they missed out have another opportunity to get these products. Here are four of the options for The Tortured Poets Department, which doesn't include any indie store or chain exclusives. 

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwiftVinyl/comments/1b5mzuk/compilation_of_the_tortured_
poets_department_vinyl/

In order to understand why this marketing tactic is successful, we first have to look closer at the consumers and their behavior. When these products are released and made available for purchase, what makes so many fans purchase them so quickly? The first could be due to the types of motivation that push consumers to purchase items. One motivation could be social status needs. Fans feel that they need this specific item in order to gain a higher social standing. If they have friends who have similar interests, they may feel they are "cooler" if they are able to get their hands on these items. An example of this is when Taylor Swift releases her cardigans. These sell out within minutes, so when fans are able to purchase them, they feel like "more of a fan" when they wear them out. They also engage in positive social interactions when they encounter another fan. This need for a higher social standing is one main cause of why purchases are made almost impulsively. 

This marketing strategy also takes advantage of impulse shoppers. While there are many impulse shoppers who purchase merchandise, many people may like to debate and think on the value of the item before they commit. However, when there is a time limit on the site, this impulsive need to purchase is heightened. The time users would consider a purchase has to drastically decrease, leading to a lot more purchases than when things are constantly available. Fans may also be nervous of sell-outs, since many merchandise products do not come back in stock. So, when there is a time limit and the threat of not enough inventory, fans tend to move quickly. 

With such a successful strategy, these big names do not have to worry about price sensitivity. Most fans are willing to pay more than the average cost for these items to achieve the social standing and value they perceive. They also do not have time to consider the price, which helps increase revenue drastically. The companies and artists have built loyalty with this strategy. People will buy a product, enjoy the benefits and reputation associated with achieving something exclusive, and will most likely come back to purchase again. This almost endless loop could be extremely detrimental to consumers, especially depending on how far these manufacturers go. An album recently released by Olivia Rodrigo totaled 15 different variations available for purchase. Not only were there different colors, there were four different songs hidden across versions, which enticed fans to purchase at least four variants in order to access all the music. Below is a guide for all most of the variants and their "secret track."

Source: https://twitter.com/vinylswift89/status/1700315640207433873

This issue has been getting a lot more attention recently, after Billie Eilish called out the bigger name artists releasing so many variants. She is looking at the issue not just from an overconsumption standpoint, but how it impacts the environment. She says artists having so many of the same album is "really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable." Although she did release a few variants of one of her albums, the artist has been vigilant about utilizing recycled materials as much as possible. It will be interesting to see how some artists, if any, respond to this. 

Overall, this is ultimately a very successful marketing strategy. Artists are able to maximize both album sales and profits while carefully using exclusivity in a few different ways to encourage sales. From a consumer standpoint, it is easy to see the issue with this, but from a business standpoint it may be a little more difficult. What are your thoughts on having so many variants of one album? Is there a way to still encourage collecting but not overconsumption?

Sources:
https://deadline.com/2024/03/billie-eilish-blasts-artists-release-multiple-vinyl-variants-boost-album-sales-1235872705/
https://twitter.com/Ammarlovereto13/status/1716382414212145525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1716382414212145525%7Ctwgr%5E5f23ca9f011a9830b334fed4529a34bb0291b539%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fatrl.net%2Findex.php%3Fapp%3Dcoremodule%3Dsystemcontroller%3Dembedurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FAmmarlovereto13%2Fstatus%2F1716382414212145525%3Ft%3DKHUusu-zOweWP8-sE52y-A26s%3D19

https://www.statista.com/chart/7699/lp-sales-in-the-united-states/