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A man says over and over "There are 70 billion people of earth. Where are they hiding?" while a woman talks about "flakes of flesh" on the now instantly collectible misprints
Some Swifties received a shock when their Speak Now (Taylor's Version) vinyl albums didn't play Taylor Swift's most recent album at all, but British electronica music.
A viral video showed one fan's brand new record playing "Soul Vine (70 Billion People)" by Cabaret Voltaire, not Swift.
"Does anyone else’s 'Speak Now' vinyl not have Taylor Swift on it?" asked user @myschief_marauder.
Prior to Universal Music Group acknowledging there had been a printing error, some commenters online declared the vinyl version was a "haunted" or "cursed" album.
Those disturbed comments seemed inspired by one track on the record, which featured a spoken word piece with the phrase: "I quit seeing people, I quit looking at the flakes of flesh and dancing organisms."
While the B-side has a man repeating: "There are 70 billion people of earth. Where are they hiding?"
"We are aware that there are an extremely limited number of incorrectly pressed vinyl copies in circulation and have addressed the issue. If you have purchased one of the affected goods, please contact customer service at your respective retailer for a replacement or refund," said Universal Music Group in a statement to Billboard.
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Taylor Swift's Version of Speak Now Includes Controversial Lyrics Change -- How Fans Are Reacting
View StoryAbove Board Distribution also acknowledged the error on their Instagram, reposting the viral TikTok that exposed the error.
"Due to a delicate pressing blunder, some Taylor Swift fans received a misprinted copy of 'Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),' which we have learned features audio of our in house compilation 'Happy Land (A Compendium of Music from the British Isles 1992-1996)'," captioned the company, filling their post with a slew of Swift-related puns.
I quit seeing people, I quit looking at the flakes of flesh and dancing organisms.
"Never in our wildest dreams could we imagine this situation. While we know all too well this error was beyond our control, we sincerely hope anyone who received what is Not Taylor's Version of the vinyl is enchanted by the blissful electronica," the continued. "Keep your eyes peeled for this special edition we're sure it's going to be a Discogs rare pressing classic in years to come."
Taylor dropped a re-recording of Speak Now on July 7, 2023, over a decade after the original hit the shelves of now-defunct record stores back in 2010.
Swift has been re-recording and re-releasing her first six albums in an effort to regain control of the master recordings of her efforts after a very messy sale of said masters.
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