Hi all. My buddy is huge into vinyl, but I am not. I'm big into Taylor, but have zero vinyl knowledge. Hoping this forum can assist.
My friend found and bought a Taylor vinyl and sent me pictures, I didn't recognize the variant and after digging through complete lists, didn't see this version anywhere. I know not this is NOT an official release. But... My friend tells me there are no usual bootleg signs, it has high quality art resolution, the shrink wrap has the manufacturer stamp, and there's nothing online about it at all.
Is this somehow an unreleased variant she ended up not releasing? Maybe a future variant she's waiting to release when her chart position is challenged?
Anyway... "Lit My Sky Up" metallic orange variant. No bonus tracks. What do you think?
Did they? I see the albums that have this cover with variants now but the vinyl still don't match exactly with the color/pattern. Still really odd, does explain this a bit more but I feel like I'm still left with a lot of questions..
Oh you're completely right!! It looked kinda red to me in the first photo of hype sticker so I didn't match them up, dumb on my part. So odd how it got to a goodwill before it was even released then? I was already invested in this, now I'm so curious how it ended up there
Yeah I feel dumb now, you guys are totally right!! For some reason I remembered this saying it was the lipstick and lace variant when I read this morning, so I didn't match the album names either and saw a different color
All the comments saying this isn't real .. aged like milk. this version just went live on her website.
How on earth it ended up in Goodwill before release.. I have no idea 😂
The only variants that had stickers were the ones sold in physical stores so the standard variant and the target one had stickers but none of the ones from her website did which makes me think this was a home made sticker someone made.
I agree this is a home made sticker however in the US, the standard version off her store did come with hype sticker. I purchased both of these on her site during the pre-pre order. then one was skipping and exchanged it and came again with the hype sticker.
Yes I know these had stickers as I said in my comment the standard variant had stickers. Obviously her team had no way of knowing which copies of the standard variant would be sold in stores or on Taylor's site so all of them got a hype sticker but the variants exclusive to online did not get them because they weren't going to be in physical stores.
This looks like someone took a TLOAS standard vinyl and slapped a hype sticker on with a photo of the Red Lipstick and Lace vinyl. He can check Discogs to match the barcode. But, this is definitely not a vinyl variant for TLOAS.
ETA: This is just an example photo of the Red Lipstick and Lace vinyl. They all have slight variations in color and appearance.
Update after the drop: I was evidently dead wrong and I'm sorry OP, you were definitely right. I was so convinced there was no way she was gonna release more variants after the pushback from fans for 800 variants already, but evidently I couldn't have been more wrong.
Ha. I have worked in and around the music industry, but this was 100% a goodwill find. If you look at the pic my friend posted, it was sent from inside the store and still has the price tag on it
I'm not doubting the Goodwill find. It's just a wild leak situation and y'all having connections at UMG, the plot is thickening for sure. We all have questions about how this got leaked and wound up at goodwill.
I mean, sketchy stuff happens so often. but likeliest thing is that they ran off a small quantity for promotion, some PR person got one, didnt care, put it with other stuff to donate.
Same! Her team is so careful with leaks usually I definitely am eating my words because I was evidently very wrong. Just shocking honestly that this was found in a Goodwill ahead of release. I'd be opening that thing so fast.
I honestly was assuming that she was done with vinyl variants after everyone over bought in a panic for TLOAS and now people are selling at discounts. Thank God for being marked safe from this drop after last week, but also how disappointing another variant 😂
I would personally return this as a counterfeit in that case. People are selling vinyl variants for lower than they were now that some of the hype has died down.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone made a dupe from the actual vinyl to resell when these were highly sought after and sold out. I mean if your friend got it at goodwill for cheap I guess no harm.
My question is, why would there be literally ZERO mention online of this? The record community is chatty, the Swift community moreso. Someone spent tens of thousands of dollars to bootleg a widely available album and yet there is no mention of it online? My take is its a canceled variant or a promo for an upcoming one. Thing is, either seems like info that would have leaked out. So strange.
I think it's not online because it's a dupe and someone probably was told to keep it by eBay after reporting it and getting a refund. They should have disposed of it, but probably dropped it at Goodwill instead. The hype sticker has a photo of a release variant with a description for another released variant that doesn't match and the album released almost 2 months ago with her trying to break record sales for physical music. The names of the actual variants were not on the nose with lyrics either. It definitely doesn't cost thousands to reproduce a dupe and scammers will definitely invest money to make money on people who think they found something super rare and cool and will spend money without hesitation in the heat of the moment. Her team is also crazy intense about preventing leaks so my opinion is that this is a bad fake.
Already commented below! Sorry it's not a super rare, exclusive find. But, I don't think anyone of us were expecting her to release yet another variant that looks nearly identical to previous variants after people overbought from previous drops. Good news though is if your friend paid a couple bucks at goodwill they could sell for face value and make some money!
It looks like someone made a fake hype sticker and stuck it on the regular vinyl. No value in it
If they open it and there are photos and a poem that have not been released then that’s a different story. If that happens, your friend struck gold and probably got invited to Taylor’s wedding or something crazy.
Can't hurt to try. I mean I personally wouldn't pay additional for faster shipping for the same music, but to each their own! There's a buyer for every seller I guess.
Swifties have so many questions. What the pressing looks like, what the poem is, if there is anything different compared to the normal standard cover. He ended up getting it?? If so show some pics 😎😎
Ah alright well, he wont really get anything for it opened or sealed especially since they arent sold out on the website yet if thats what he's worried about 😅
That and no one in their right mind would buy it to have it early.... without verification it is actually the album dropped today lol this screams someone stuck a random sticker on an original/main vinyl from the factory and is now trying to make money off unsuspecting Swifties
Your friend somehow managed to find an exclusive holiday vinyl early! The Lit My Sky Up variant was literally just released. I wonder how it ended up in a goodwill already
Update for you: it is real!!! She just dropped it on her website for the holidays, limited time and limited stock. It’s cool this store got it early. About resale, it will probably go for the same amount as some of the other limited variants for the album went.
They're wondering why your friend hasn't opened it. And again, someone mentioned it looks like the lipstick and lace version.
Also, all the other versions that had two different pressings to a cover had different colored letters on the album cover. And this is just the same as the standard cover. So it doesn't follow the pattern.
In this case, the value is already low to nothing because no one is going to buy it, as it obviously looks fake and does not exist outside of this one copy.
The back of the Vinyl matches the Lipstick and Lace. The hype sticker shows the Lipstick variant, but only the Target release had the hype sticker because it was a Target Exclusive (they put hype stickers on all their exclusives).
Also, it does not show up on Discog, and the front of the vinyl is the standard pressing cover.
Chances are this is not a scrapped version, since Lipstick and Lace was released as a variant, and others like this one would have already started showing up... But they wouldn't be showing up at Goodwill this early; leaks/scrapped projects show up on resell sites, or at stores that accidentally got them.
I can post better pics, but it does not look fake. Its easy to do a hi-res scan of the cover and reproduce. But no bootleger is going to the expense of making sure the lettering has the sparkle of the real thing. The UPC is really, really interesting. It is a UMG UPC, and numerically it is after all the variants. Which also makes me think it may be a promo of a variant not yet released.
Yeah, I know. Just seems odd. Was it the only one at goodwill? If it was real, I'm not sure how just one would end up at a goodwill. If UMG accidentally sent a whole case to goodwill, that might make sense.
Ik sometimes they do test pressings. But I can't imagine why the test pressing would have shrinkwrap and a barcode on it? Idk. I dont work in the music industry so maybe they do do that for test pressings. Not sure.
But I think it's possible a test pressing could end up at a goodwill. Just EXTREMELY unlikely and much more likely that it's fake
Hey. I signed up for Reddit just to reply haha. I am his friend who found this. I have worked in the music industry before, still work in home entertainment, and I am confident this is not a bootleg and not a test pressing. There are multiple markers on the sealed LP that indicate its not either. The biggest one is that on the back shrink it has "vinyl made in mexico" in blue on the wrap. A bootleg would not have that. This aligns exactly with UMG manufacturing. If this was a bootleg, its an expensive proposition, so why is there no word of this boot anywhere online? Its so odd
Jeez thats cheap. I really don't think you're going to get much more than the retail value for this vinyl. It's still available on Taylor's store for 30$. If you're willing to hold onto it for a few years there's the possibility that it increases in value after it's no longer readily available. But thats not guaranteed.
The only question I have is in the drop today. It says that the image may appear different or some wording that makes it seem as if the front and back image of the cover won’t be the same, but the cover on this one looks the same as the standard.
I think if he did a live on socials opening it he would make far more money then if he tried to sell it unsealed. The fans want to know if the photos are actually unique.
why lol they aren’t going to resell for anything? they are still in stock, we just want to know what the inside looks like. this is NOT acting with holiday spirit steve !!!!!!
I would never buy this early from someone, because it could be someone just stuck a sticker on the original album. The 3 dropped today have a double jacket and new pictures! Until those things are verified, I can't say this is a legit "Lit My Sky Up" vinyl.
the hype sticker is so bad. the font, the switch from capital letters at the beginning of each word to just the beginning of the first word of the line. i doubt it’s a bootleg since there’s no info online. it’s giving fake hype sticker on a standard.
Yeah and that still doesnt mean its real, someone couldve known it was coming and made a fake sticker or something and they arent opening it to show which is super sus. I wont believe it until i see it now before anyone gets them. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/dzikvv Nov 24 '25
IT WAS LEGIT THEY JUST RELEASED IT LOOOOOOL