Trigger warning: Mention of suicide.
Taylor Swift’s album comes out this Friday (though by the time you read this, it has already been out for a few days. Is it good? What kind of question even is that? Of course, it is). Yet, according to one TikTok, the album has been leaked.
Oftentimes, albums get leaked before their release date. Harry’s House by Harry Styles was leaked a few days before May 20th, 2022 and honestly, even I felt the urge to go look it up and listen to it. Is it all that bad, getting a sneak peek before the artist wanted us all to listen to it?
The artist presumably worked tirelessly on the music they are making. The amount of people, time, and effort required to construct an entire album is incredible, so listening to it before the decided release date could be somewhat disrespectful towards the artist.
The release date is when the artist decides they want their art to be put out into the world. And art can be very personal! A lot of popular songs are very personal to the artist and tell stories that are held very close to their hearts.
For example, Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi is telling the heartbreaking story of his aunt who committed suicide. Or Cherry by Harry Styles is depicting the end of his relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
As you can see, music can hold very dark and personal stories and meanings.
But what difference does it make if I listen to it before it’s released? I’m just one person, and it’s going to be released at some point anyways.
Imagine you have this heartbreaking moment in your life, and you go to tell someone, but they already know. Perhaps you went through a breakup or someone close to you has passed away and you decide to open up to someone and they reply with “I already heard this”. That isn’t the response anyone wants. This could relate to someone’s art being leaked before they release it themselves.
Maybe you think it doesn’t make any difference, and I’m just being dramatic. Everyone’s allowed to have their own opinion. But I think we should reconsider consuming someone’s content before they intended for us to.
Anyways, enough with the serious stuff. How do people even find the music for it to be leaked in the first place!? I am, regretfully, slightly impressed.
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