Deluxe Albums: How and Why Do They Happen?
Ariana Grande for Positions (via Instagram)
On February 19th, four big artists dropped a deluxe version of their album. Positions (Deluxe) by Ariana Grande, Women in Music Pt. III (Extended Edition) by HAIM, Remote (Deluxe) by Wallows, and Pegasus: Neon Shark vs. Pegasus Presented by Travis Barker (Deluxe) by Trippie Redd were released on the same day. Future Nostalgia (Moonlight Edition) by Dua Lipa was released a week earlier. Of course, deluxe albums are certainly not a new phenomenon, but it’s hard to deny that there has been a rise in the number we see now.
The rise of deluxe albums during the COVID-19 pandemic has happened because of a confluence of factors, including the Grammy awards season. The months of February and March saw the release of a deluxe edition from Grammy nominees Ariana Grande, HAIM, Dua Lipa, Chloe x Halle, and Giveon, among others. In this case, the deluxe album plays a part in an artist’s awards campaign. Campaigning is a common practice for awards shows – studios spend millions of dollars on a “for your consideration” campaign for a chance to get an Academy Award. The same goes for the Grammys. Labels spend money on advertisements and interview slots to remain relevant in the minds of the voting members. For artists, releasing new songs or a new version of a nominated project can increase the buzz around their work for the public and Grammy voters alike. The albums tend to take different forms, ranging from only a couple of new tracks being added to a significant expansion of the album.
Beyond the Grammys, many deluxe albums tend to be released just to prolong the relevance of the original project. Amine released Limbo (Deluxe) about four months after its initial release with a few more tracks featuring interesting collaborators. Dua Lipa has steadily released editions of Future Nostalgia for the last year, including Club Future Nostalgia (DJ Mix), a remix album with features from artists like Mark Ronson and Gwen Stefani, as well as Future Nostalgia (Moonlight Edition), with eight new tracks. This accomplishes two goals: it keeps fans engaged with the artist and the specific project for longer, and it allows for higher album sales. Sales of re-releases and deluxe editions count towards the sales of the original project, giving record labels an incentive to have their artists release another version of their album.
This fact about album sales can also explain another reason why artists might release a deluxe version – trying something new. On Trippie Redd’s latest project, Pegasus: Neon Shark vs. Pegasus Presented by Travis Barker (Deluxe), he adds 14 tracks to the 26 in the original version. However, in these new songs, he deviates from his usual sound, shifting from trap to emo and pop-rock with the help of Travis Barker, blink-182’s drummer. Trippie Redd was able to explore a new genre without it reflecting poorly on his album sales. The deluxe edition of Pegasus gave him the freedom to experiment with a new sound and, if successful, his next album may delve even further into pop-punk.
Despite all of the compelling reasons that artists have for releasing deluxe albums, they also pose a danger to the quality of the album, since adding extra songs to the tracklist may detract from the album’s impact. Nathan Zed has a great video about album sequencing, in which he highlights how great albums create a tightly crafted “auditory journey”. Great albums are designed so that another song cannot be added without disrupting the flow. Zed cites Ctrl by SZA and To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar as albums that exemplify great album sequencing. Neither artist released a deluxe edition. Now, artists may feel more pressure to tack on more songs to the end of their albums, sacrificing quality for quantity.
Despite their rise in popularity over the past year, deluxe albums aren’t a new idea. They have existed for a while, getting the idea from re-releases of popular movies. Even the backlash against deluxe albums isn’t new – there are articles from 2012 and before describing a glut of deluxe albums. However, we’ve seen the number rise as COVID-19 has reshaped the music industry. The pandemic has made it impossible to tour and very difficult to promote music through other conventional means. The industry has adapted by utilizing TikTok and doing virtual interviews, but deluxe albums have become more popular as a result of the industry doing anything to get more listeners. The ultimate goal through all of these releases is to remind listeners of the album’s relevance, and ultimately, to increase profits for the industry.
To emphasize, deluxe albums are not necessarily a bad thing. It totally comes from labels wanting to increase sales but deluxe albums can definitely be really nice for both artists and fans. Artists can provide more material to their fans as a token of appreciation and fans graciously accept it. Personally, I’m so thankful for the two extra songs we got from the late Mac Miller on Circles (Deluxe).
So basically, deluxe albums are neither all good nor all bad, they just exist. And since deluxe albums help labels maximize profits, they are here to stay. I just hope that artists and labels prioritize the quality of the album over the potential gain they can get from adding in a few throwaway songs to a tracklist.
Edited by Sha Frasier, editor of News
Cover art by Miriam Sills