The startling cost of buying all of Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl variants right now

• Taylor Swift is on course to have the biggest album release of the year, only a week after the release of The Life of a Showgirl.
• The release has seen a wave of commercially released variants, akin to her previous works, The Tortured Poets Department and 1989.
• Benjamin Jackson looks at the total number of TLOAS variants released as of writing and the reasons behind why she might have released them in such a short timeframe.

It’s been the most-streamed album on Spotify in a single day in 2025, while on Apple Music and Amazon Music, the most-streamed period, and it also became the most pre-saved album in Spotify history, surpassing her own record.

By the time you read this, many more records will no doubt be broken by Taylor Swift, as fans have reached a fever pitch since the announcement of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl. Having sold 1.2 million units in the United States in a single week, besting her own record for The Tortured Poets Department and has become the biggest single-day album sales in modern U.S history, with 2.7 million sold across both physical and digital formats.

The press tour has been swift (pardon the pun) but all-encompassing. With her appearances on Graham Norton, Jimmy Fallon, BBC Radio 1 and Zane Lowe’s Apple One show, you’d be forgiven for thinking that perhaps Swift is worried that, since her engagement to Travis Kelce, we might have forgotten she’s a musician.

Despite the lukewarm reviews to the work, and the ‘beef’ with Charli XCX making its way to the album (Actually Romantic), it’s once again become a commercial success, with the Taylor Swift train showing no sign of slowing down.

But there are cynics out there who are questioning the volume of versions of the same album being released, albeit with different marketing... sorry, different bonus items that ardent Swifties can’t afford to miss out on. Hence the numbers.

So how many versions of The Life of a Showgirl have been commercially released? How much is it going to cost a Swifties to collect them all, and is there a good reason for such a large number of variations to be released in such a short amount of time?

I’m waiting for the arrows from Swifties, but I promise, this isn’t a hit piece.

How many variants of The Life of a Showgirl have been released?

As of this moment is the important caveat right now, as the moment I started writing this piece, another countdown timer dropped on Taylor Swift’s merchandise store, adding to the frenzy and given editorial deadlines, it's a race to get the official count.

But looking at the master release catalogue on Discogs, and omitting any promotional editions or unofficial releases, we are currently on 35 official, commercial variants.

Again, this tally is valid as of writing. The count may well have risen by the time you've finished reading this sentence.

Current variants (as of October 8)

Vinyl LPs (10 variants):

• Portofino Orange Glitter (US pressing)
• Portofino Orange Glitter (Europe pressing)
• Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer (US pressing)
• Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer (Europe pressing)
• Golden Yellow Metallic with Orange and Red Splatter ("Baby, That's Show Business")
• Blue Translucent with Black Marbling and Gold Glitter ("Baby, That's Show Business")
• Pearlescent Cream with Splatter ("The Tiny Bubbles in Champagne")
• Clear with Red and Orange Splatter ("The Tiny Bubbles in Champagne")
• Green Translucent with Black Marbling ("The Shiny Bug")
• Violet with Black and Gold Marbling ("The Shiny Bug")

CDs (16 variants):

• Sweat and Vanilla Perfume Edition (US pressing)
• Sweat and Vanilla Perfume Edition (Europe pressing)
• It's Beautiful Edition (US pressing)
• It's Beautiful Edition (Europe pressing)
• It's Frightening Edition (US pressing)
• It's Frightening Edition (Europe pressing)
• It's Rapturous Edition (US pressing)
• It's Rapturous Edition (Europe pressing)
• Signed Photo 1 (US pressing)
• Signed Photo 2 (US pressing)
• Signed Photo 3 (US pressing)
• Signed Photo 4 (US pressing)
• Deluxe Box Set with Jewelry ("Sweat and Vanilla Perfume")
• Deluxe Box Set with Jewelry ("It's Rapturous")
• Deluxe Box Set with Jewelry ("It's Beautiful")
• Deluxe Box Set with Jewelry ("It's Frightening")

Cassette (1 variant):

• Sweat and Vanilla Perfume Edition (Europe pressing)

Box Sets (3 variants):

• CD + Box Set (Sweat and Vanilla Perfume, with Cardigan)
• CD + Box Set (Sweat and Vanilla Perfume, with Crewneck)
• CD Box Set (Sweat and Vanilla Perfume, US)

Digital Releases (5 variants):

• The Life of a Showgirl (12xFile, AAC, Album, Clean)
• The Life of a Showgirl (12xFile, FLAC, Album, Clean)
• The Life of a Showgirl (Deluxe Alone In My Tower Acoustic Version)
• The Life of a Showgirl (Deluxe Dressing Room Rehearsal Version)
• The Life of a Showgirl (So Glamorous Cabaret Version)

How much would it cost me to pick up all the variants of The Life of a Showgirl?

If you were lucky enough to pick them up at face value, it’s still been quite the pricey affair, and currently, there are those limited edition versions floating on Discogs and auction sites such as ebay and Vinted for a (naturally) inflated price.

But based on all the commercial variants we looked over and their original prices, allowing for a slight adjustment regarding currency conversion rates between the US and the UK, all up, you’ll be looking at £646.55 to collect them all.

This doesn’t include the cost of shipping and handling, and the figure does assume that the collector can (or has) acquired all of the releases before their journey onto the secondary market. Again, and I know I sound like a broken record (variant), that is as of writing this article - who knows how many more variants will be released by the time you read this sentence.

Here is the cost broken down by format:

• Vinyl LPs: £246.92
• CDs: £233.45
• Cassettes: £16.99
• Box Sets: £131.22
• Digital: £17.97

Is this the largest number of variants Taylor Swift has released for one album?

I thought that myself when remarking, “Kurt Cobain didn’t need no variants in his lifetime.”

I’m old, Swifties. So old.

But while the number of variants on offer so far regarding The Life of a Showgirl seems like a lot in a short amount of time, it pales in comparison to some of her other releases, as 1989 currently holds the record with 77 official, commercially released variants, closely followed by Folklore and the Midnights. But hey, there’s still time, right?

Top five Taylor Swift releases with the most variants

• 1989 (77 variants- CDs: 58, Vinyls: 15, Digital: 3, Cassettes: 1)
• Folklore (75 variants - CDs: 48, Vinyls: 25, Digital: 1, Cassettes: 1)
• Midnights (72 variants - CDs: 48, Vinyls: 18, Digital: 4, Cassettes: 2)
• Speak Now (71 variants - CDs: 60, Vinyls: 8, Digital: 3, Cassettes: 0)
• Fearless (65 variants- CDs: 56, Vinyls: 8, Digital: 1, Cassettes: 0)

Why have so many variants been released in such a short amount of time?

There are a couple of theories at play here. One is earnest and speaks to her dedicated fanbase, while the other is steeped in music industry cynicism. Again, I’m old, Swifties. So old.

Such a devout fanbase might like the idea of collecting something from their favourite artist, akin to perhaps how people are collecting Labubus or old vinyl fans polishing off their collection. The hunt for each unique variant—with its different cover art, vinyl colour, or bonus content—turns the album into a collectable item and, as one fan on Discogs noted, "It's a completist mentality. If you're missing one edition, it doesn't feel like you really have it."

For many, these albums are a gateway into the world of record collecting. The hype and scarcity of a new Taylor Swift drop can lead fans to buy a record player and begin building a collection of other artists, boosting sales for the entire industry. The different variants are often part of a larger aesthetic or story. Each one might represent a different "mood" of the album, with a corresponding colour palette and design that fans can display as a set. This makes the physical album more than just music; it's a piece of art that a fan can physically own and feel a part of.

From a cynical perspective, the reason for the endless stream of album variants is simple: chartstorming.

The music industry has changed, and in the age of streaming, an artist's success is no longer judged solely on streams, which generate very little money per play. Instead, physical sales of CDs and vinyl are the real gold mine, with each physical product sold counting as a full album unit on the official charts.

This means that a single, loyal fan can effectively become multiple "listeners" in the eyes of the charts by buying every limited-edition variant. The strategy is so effective that The Tortured Poets Department sold over 1.2 million vinyl copies in its debut week, a number that surpasses the full opening-week totals of her earlier albums, largely because of this method.

The "variant game" is built on a few key pillars, all designed to secure a massive first-week boost and maintain chart momentum. By releasing limited-edition variants in a short pre-order window, fans feel compelled to buy them immediately to avoid FOMO. To own all of the bonus tracks, acoustic versions, and demos, fans have to pick up different variants to complete the collection.

While the motivation for the fan is rarely cynical, the strategy itself is a highly calculated business move. It’s a powerful way for an artist to generate massive sales and secure a top spot on the charts without relying on the sheer volume of a hit single alone.

Judging by some of the polarised and lukewarm reviews The Life of a Showgirl has received, maybe it was a tactic Swift felt was necessary on this occasion to ensure a dominant chart performance.