A Taylor Swift fan was shocked to find “creepy” electronic music when she played her new Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) vinyl of the new album.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was released on July 7, 2023 and quickly broke the Spotify record for the most single-day streams for any album in 2023 so far. It is also the most streamed country album in Spotify history.
As well as impressive streaming feats, many fans have also opted for physical copies of the album, with over 225,000 vinyl sales, less than a week into its release.
Rachel Hunter, a British fan of Swift, couldn’t wait to listen to her copy of Swift’s latest re-recording after returning from vacation. But, as she found out, it seems not every vinyl was pressed correctly.
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“This voice started, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, do I have, like, a secret message from Taylor on my album?’” Hunter said Speaking to NBC News. “And I was like, that’s not Taylor Swift.”
In her confusion, Hunter posted a now viral TikTok over the mysterious album, asking “does anyone else’s Speak Now vinyl not have Taylor Swift on it?”
@mischief_maraudersend help I got speak now (not Taylors version) this is so funny #speaknowtaylorsversion @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation #erastour #speaknoworchid
Hunter proceeds to play the album, instead of hearing Swift’s voice, she instead hears the song “Happy Land,” an electronic song by the group Ultramarine. On the B-Side of the album is the song “Soul Vine (70 billion People)” by Cabaret Voltaire.
After posting the vinyl to TikTok fans quickly discovered that the songs appear on the album “Happy Land: A Compendium of Electronic Music from the British Isles 1992-1996 Volume 1.”
“Happy Land” is distributed by the record label Above Board Distribution, whilst Swift’s album is distributed by Universal Musical Group.
“Due to a pressing blunder, some Taylor Swift fans received a misprinted copy of ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),’ which we have learned features audio of ‘Happy Land (A Compendium of Music from the British Isles 1992-1996),’” said Dan Hill, the founder and managing director of Above Board, in a statement to NBC News. “While this error was beyond our control, we sincerely hope anyone who received what is Not Taylor’s Version of the vinyl enjoys the beats. It might very well end up being a collector’s item!”
Hunter said she’s decided to keep the mistresses vinyl, unless someone wants to offer her VIP tickets for Swift’s tour, she joked.
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