Artists say that a work is never finished, and some do not hesitate to modify it even after it has been published. Rosalía has made changes to ‘LUX’ after sending the album to be pressed and, for example, ‘Mio Cristo’ now “cries diamonds.” Especially memorable was the case of Kanye West, inventor of the “living record” with ‘The Life of Pablo’ (2016), which he subjected to numerous changes once published.
These last-minute modifications particularly affect discs that have been sent to manufacturing in a hurry, when perhaps there were still touch-ups to be polished. For example, the first versions of the vinyl edition of ‘Fossora’ (2022), by Björk, did not include choruses that were later available in streaming. And like this, many other cases.
Music especially suffers from this type of creative process. Although there are films that have their “director’s cut” versions and, in literature, authors review later editions of their books, music should be no less. The problem is that, in the case of music available in streaming, it replaces the original, causing the public to lose access to the “first version.” Artists, then, intervene in the personal experience that the listener has with their work, even manipulating the collective experience.
Certain artists do not agree with the idea that a work ceases to be theirs once published. Matty Healy has not yet gotten rid of The 1975’s latest album, ‘Being Funny in a Foreign Language’ (2023), because this week he has decided to remove one of its tracks, ‘Human Too’, from the version available for streaming. This “tender piano ballad”, as we described it in our review, has “stopped liking it” and, for no other reason, he has deprived his followers of it. He has even threatened to delete one from the previous disk.
It is more of a crime when public feedback encourages artists to modify their works. Tate McRae released ‘So Close to What’ and, shortly after, completely changed the streaming cover and even rearranged the tracklist. In the last few hours, FKA twigs has altered the cover of her album ‘EUSEXUA’: as a user in our forums points out, “she has removed the letters and increased the contrast.”
Especially striking is the case of Beyoncé. In 2022, Houston removed Kelis’ ‘Milkshake’ sample from ‘Energy’ after Kelis complained about not having been consulted. But the current tracklist of ‘4’, his 2011 album, in streaming, is completely different from the original: ‘Love on Top’ opens, when ‘1+1’ initially did, the bonus ‘Schoolin’ Life’ is suddenly track 4, and two of the main singles appear in the second half.
Needless to say, none of this is really important, and artists are well within their rights to modify their works if they wish (as long as the platform in question allows it). The reality is that the plurality of releases also gives rise to a plurality of different versions of the same work. The physical edition, on the other hand, will always remain there: fixed and immutable. And it is appreciated, because sometimes what the body and mind ask is to hold on to what is already known. And that means NOT deleting songs, nor inadvertently altering them.
