Olivia Rodrigo has announced that her "secret songs" from the album GUTS will be released in one collective vinyl this Black Friday.
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In collaboration with Jack White's Third Man Records, Olivia Rodrigo’s bonus tracks from the separate editions of her album GUTS will finally appear in one place. But don’t get “deja vu” from last month’s album releases -- this will be a new vinyl entirely.
“I'm a big @thirdmanrecords fan and I’m so stoked to have my songs on their vinyl!!!” Olivia wrote in her social media announcement. And her excitement makes sense, as the vinyl appears truly well-designed. Pressed on opaque deep purple wax, the 12-inch vinyl features her four bonus songs, “Obsessed,” “Scared of My Guitar,” “Stranger” and “Girl I’ve Always Been.” While there are no side b tracks, the vinyl’s backside instead features etched artwork of a butterfly. It will be sold exclusively at participating record stores on Record Store Day this Black Friday, November 24, 2023.
You have to applaud Olivia and her team for this genius move. By first releasing one bonus track exclusive to each vinyl version of GUTS, fans have been in a buzz about tracking these songs down. Songs “Obsessed,” “Scared of My Guitar,” “Stranger” and “Girl I’ve Always Been” were each matched to one of four specific limited edition vinyl albums. This encouraged a frenzy of die-hard fans to collect them all. Now, Olivia’s accumulative release of all the secret tracks presents as another collectible and is seemingly more accessible for those who couldn’t purchase all 4 full albums. This limited edition vinyl thus reactivates that same buzz over her secret songs.
The songs are still held back from any digital release, making the fans go record shopping or go without. That restraint alone is a brave move for Olivia, given the high demand for music streaming. Her secret songs have morphed into a battle of exclusivity that fans are thrilled by rather than annoyed by - especially as Olivia and her team are promoting the vinyl aesthetic that her teenage fans already enjoy. Surely the young singer and her team must be taking notes from Taylor Swift’s mastermind industry approach, because this marketing move is full of prowess.
To learn more about this release, and find which of your local record stores are participating in Record Store Day this Black Friday, visit the official webpage here. Prepare yourself to wait in those classic, Black Friday lines -- this release will be in high demand!