What artist should be the next to have their own version?

[ilikemilk]

Taylor Swift has one, but no one else does, why don't others want to do it?

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

There wasn’t really a push too before, with the exception of Jojo, who i assume did it so she could have her music on streaming or simply available. Taylor did it to make a point and it became a marketing boon for her. Beyond that, I imagine it would be expensive for most artists to do it and unless they have a specific need, there might not be a point to it. At least before. Seeing the success Taylor has had, it could be attempted by other artists but at the same time, it’s kind of become her domain so I doubt anyone else would have the same level of success doing it.

[jenglisbe]

Oct 30, 2023 11:53:12 GMT -5 ilikemilk said:

Taylor Swift has one, but no one else does, why don't others want to do it?

It's not correct to say no one else does. As has been mentioned, JoJo did it in 2018. Prior to that in 2014 country star Trisha Yearwood re-recorded 10 of her hits for a combo set of hits and new songs when she went to a new label. Even before that Def Leppard released a re-recorded version of Hysteria in 2013 due to disputes with their old label over digital royalties. A pattern for these acts seems to be trying to take back some control of their songs and royalties. The Righteous Brothers re-recorded their own song "Unchained Melody" back in 1990 as they were on a new label, and it charted alongside the original version when Ghost renewed interest in the song.

As has been said, though, it's expensive and most artists aren't going to sell enough to make it worthwhile. Swift is a major exception in that regard.

[johnm1120]

Bryan Adams re-recorded a bunch of his songs last year as well.

[Joe1240]

Demi Lovato just had rock versions of her hits released and Michelle Branch re-recorded her debut album. There has been new versions of old hits by artists in the past such as Xtina releasing Genie 2.0 and Beautiful 2.0 for her greatest hits album in 2008. Taylor Swift is the exception to the rule as her new versions sell and aren’t forgettable plus extra incentives with the vault tracks.

[Leigh]

We also saw Mariah re-recorded AIWFCIY before she was back with Sony

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

Alexander O'Neal re-recorded his "Hearsay" album for its 30th anniversary.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

In cases I can think of where an artist has re-recorded a song, it's usually a different version on purpose and while it's always nice to revisit an updated version (or acoustic version, or whatever) of an older song, I don't think I can think of a single instance where it was improved upon - and Taylor has done that across her re-releases so far. Not every song, of course. Her intention wasn't really to change the songs at all but to make them as similar as possible, at least that's what it was in the beginning.

All that said, I don't think I can think of a single example of an artist I love who I'd want to re-record their music with this same idea in mind. I couldn't imagine someone like Lady Gaga, or any pop artist whose music relies a lot on producers and current sonic sounds and trends, redoing her old stuff and it sounding anywhere near as good as it did. Maybe more acoustic/folk artists because the strength of their songs tends to be around the song itself and its melody, but even then, if I've already liked them, I don't need them rerecorded again. Taylor is an anomaly in that respect too I guess.

[jenglisbe]

Oct 31, 2023 10:04:37 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

In cases I can think of where an artist has re-recorded a song, it's usually a different version on purpose and while it's always nice to revisit an updated version (or acoustic version, or whatever) of an older song, I don't think I can think of a single instance where it was improved upon - and Taylor has done that across her re-releases so far. Not every song, of course. Her intention wasn't really to change the songs at all but to make them as similar as possible, at least that's what it was in the beginning.

All that said, I don't think I can think of a single example of an artist I love who I'd want to re-record their music with this same idea in mind. I couldn't imagine someone like Lady Gaga, or any pop artist whose music relies a lot on producers and current sonic sounds and trends, redoing her old stuff and it sounding anywhere near as good as it did. Maybe more acoustic/folk artists because the strength of their songs tends to be around the song itself and its melody, but even then, if I've already liked them, I don't need them rerecorded again. Taylor is an anomaly in that respect too I guess.

I agree with all of this, but what also works in Taylor's favor is that her voice has improved. She was really young when she recorded her first few albums, of course, but she also seems to have really done some work to improve her singing. For that alone the re-recordings had hope of being an improvement. (I'm excited to get the new version of "Our Song" as I like that one as a song, but her vocal was always grating to me.) For most artists, they're doing re-recordings of music recorded in their prime so of course it's going to be inferior now. For me to be interested in anyone else doing it, it would have to be someone who is just so clearly a better singer/artist now than when they first came out.

In addition to that and Swift's ability to develop a true cult-like following, she's also doing this in a time when nostalgia is working in her favor. I can't remember a time when people were nostalgic for things from just 5-10 years ago, for one. We've also seen movies and TV shows rebooted in lots of ways in general, and Swift re-recording her catalog is working along those same lines.