Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl – Is the audio performance up to the marketing hype? – Review (CD,colored vinyl records, streaming,Stereo Atmos)

[Jean.Francois]

Hello,

Taylor Swift unveils her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, recorded during the European leg of the Eras Tour in 2024. Singer Sabrina Carpenter appears on the title track.
It’s impossible to ignore this event, as the release was orchestrated masterfully — Taylor Swift has perfected the art of communication and marketing around her work.

Offered as an exclusive pre-sale on her website for over a month before reaching other retailers, the album was released in more than ten different versions, most of them limited editions, including vinyl records in a wide range of colors.

But does this marketing expertise also translate into technical mastery of the album?

For this review, you will find 5 versions tested:
Ed 1: CD – 2025
Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025
Ed 3: Tidal Max – 2025
Ed 4: Opaque Pink And Pale Yellow vinyl – 2025
Ed 5: Orange Translucent vinyl – 2025


The CD version fully aligns with today’s music industry standards, featuring dynamic compression with a DR6 rating. This comes as no surprise — the pursuit of a loud, impactful sound often takes precedence over preserving subtle dynamics.

Waveforms comparison.

The sound of the vinyl version is generally identical to that of the CD (or stereo streaming), both in terms of tonal balance and soundstage. However, the digital version shows slightly greater precision in the high-frequency range. As is often the case, it is difficult to determine whether the vinyl pressing was made from a dynamically compressed digital master, but this is highly likely.

This Dolby Atmos version is a very pleasant surprise. Although present on her previous albums, the format had previously lacked expressiveness and immersion, but it reaches a whole new level on this release. In this album, all channels are carefully utilized, providing precise placement of instruments, music, and vocals.

You can access the high-resolution excerpts to compare the different versions by ear, as well as all the measurements, by clicking HERE (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

Others Taylor Swift's Album reviewed :
Taylor Swift – Midnights – Review (Vinyl Blue Marbred, Vinyl Jade Green Marbled, Qobuz, Tidal Dolby Atmos, Binaural)
Taylor Swift – RED (Taylor’s Version) – Review (Vinyl, Streaming Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon Dolby Atmos)
Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) – Review (test: vinyl, streaming Amazon UltraHD and Tidal Dolby Atmos)
Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – Review – (Test: vinyl record, Tidal MAX Flac and Tidal Dolby Atmos)
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department – The Anthology – Review – (Test: Vinyl record, Tidal MAX, Tidal Dolby Atmos), A Surprise Double Album With 15 Extra Tracks

 

[Somafunk]

It’s impossible to ignore this event, as the release was orchestrated masterfully — Taylor Swift has perfected the art of communication and marketing around her work.

On the contrary, It’s rather easy for those of us with zero desire to listen to anything “Taylor Swift” to ignore this event, she has mastered the art of maximising her capitalist value whilst emptying the pockets of her dedicated/deluded fans with umpteen versions of her releases.

No doubt she’ll release an album of insipid breakup songs when she decides the relationship with her current beau is not good for sales

Offered as an exclusive pre-sale on her website for over a month before reaching other retailers, the album was released in more than ten different versions, most of them limited editions, including vinyl records in a wide range of colors.

10 different versions of her album?, why………are the first 9 versions shit?……..she’s the equivalent of a Starbucks coffee store on every street corner.

 

[Jean.Francois]

On the contrary, It’s rather easy for those of us with zero desire to listen to anything “Taylor Swift” to ignore this event, she has mastered the art of maximising her capitalist value whilst emptying the pockets of her dedicated/deluded fans with umpteen versions of her releases.


10 different versions of her album?, why………are the first 9 versions shit?……..she’s the equivalent of a Starbucks coffee store on every street corner.

I completely understand your point of view. However, I find it interesting to look at this album from a technical perspective.
Given Taylor Swift’s influence today, if she decided to release an album with little or no dynamic compression, it could inspire or influence other productions.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case here.

 

[masterhw]

Haven’t loved the songwriting (and especially lyricism) for a couple albums now, but impossible to ignore the fantastic Max Martin & Shellback production on this album. Truly some of the best pop producers to ever do it.

Opalite is the standout track to me (totally subjective), and yes the Atmos mixes sound great if you have supported devices.

 

[drewdawg999]

For me, Ophelia, the opener, is the best track. Goes downhill from there, but it's not all that bad. I think she looks great in photo shoots, and all the covers are beautiful, but I like the one with her ass sticking out.

Right now on Amazon, the green one's $100. The purple one's my favorite, but it's $140. Ridiculous pricing for non-audiophile pressings, so the most insipid aspect of the whole thing is the gashing of her fan's pocketbooks. She's woken up and gone limited edition, I remember for Midnights they were all 30 bucks, underpriced when the Swifties are willing to pay more. Also, she's considered "The Music Industry", no doubt her sales will warp the sales figures of vinyl, giving an artificial boost to the renaissance.

 

[Sal1950]

It’s impossible to ignore this event, as the release was orchestrated masterfully — Taylor Swift has perfected the art of communication and marketing around her work.

Taylor has, or her marketing, production, and collaborating writers have?
Kind of reminds me of the market success of power, digital, and interface cables.

 

[goat76]

I’m not a “Swiftie”, but I was listening to this album a few days ago just to hear what it’s all about, and the first thing I thought when hearing track 7, Actually Romantic, was that it must have been inspired by the song Where Is My Mind? by the Pixies.

The vinyl version seems to be made from the same dynamically limited master as the digital release, even though it has a DR11 compared to the CD’s DR6. Based on previous tests I have made where the usual vinyl master preparations are done, like applying a high-pass filter and mono-ing the bass, a DR6 of an original master usually lands around DR10 to DR12 after those preparations are made to the mix.

My teenage daughter and her best friend (who’s a big fan of Taylor) said they are a bit disappointed in this new album. The style of most of the songs on this album is of the type they usually don't favor on the previous albums, or something like that.

 

[Soniclife]

the first thing I thought when hearing track 7, Actually Romantic, was that it must have been inspired by the song Where Is My Mind? by the Pixies.

The guitar intro is identical!

Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic”: Pixies or Influence?

Critics hear Pixies in Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic.” Here’s a musicological breakdown— what’s just color, vs what’s composition, and what courts care about.

www.musicologize.com

 

[goat76]

The guitar intro is identical!

Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic”: Pixies or Influence?

Critics hear Pixies in Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic.” Here’s a musicological breakdown— what’s just color, vs what’s composition, and what courts care about.

www.musicologize.com

I see I’m not alone hearing the Pixies song in that Taylor Swift song.

 

[Sal1950]

My teenage daughter and her best friend (who’s a big fan of Taylor) said they are a bit disappointed in this new album. The style of most of the songs on this album is of the type they usually don't favor on the previous albums, or something like that.

Maybe they're finally burning out on her.
The music written by collaborations to have that "Taylor" sound is so similar from song to song, it just mostly ends up sounding much the same with different words?

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

My experience with contemporary pop music, admittedly based on car radio listening, is that it's hard to judge in traditional hifi terms because of the amount of electronics involved. It's not intended to sound like a live performance. It's made to be listened to through speakers or headphones. I'm not criticizing this approach. The sound is part of the package, inseparable from the musical content. It's the logical development from the way amplification changed the sound of the guitar and led to electronic instruments.

 

[Sal1950]

My experience with contemporary pop music, admittedly based on car radio listening, is that it's hard to judge in traditional hifi terms because of the amount of electronics involved. It's not intended to sound like a live performance. It's made to be listened to through speakers or headphones. I'm not criticizing this approach. The sound is part of the package, inseparable from the musical content. It's the logical development from the way amplification changed the sound of the guitar and led to electronic instruments.

The only modern music intended to sound like a "live" performance are the live concert recordings.
Everything else are artist and production crew studio creations, a musical experience all of it's own.
Many offer superior sound quality depending on the people involved in the creation.
And in pure Hi-Fi terms, I've never heard a live concert rock recording that's superior in quality to the studio creations.
YMMV

 

[Axo1989]

On the contrary, It’s rather easy for those of us with zero desire to listen to anything “Taylor Swift” to ignore this event, she has mastered the art of maximising her capitalist value whilst emptying the pockets of her dedicated/deluded fans with umpteen versions of her releases.

Not just for making more money, tactical version releases have served to block competition in the charts.

No doubt she’ll release an album of insipid breakup songs when she decides the relationship with her current beau is not good for sales.

If Showgirl track Wood is the overly figurative apotheosis of this romance, we can look forward to the subsequent nadir Woodchipper.

 

[Tim Link]

No doubt she’ll release an album of insipid breakup songs

Hey, you used insipid! This word came to my mind while on a long road trip with my sister's family. 7 kids in a large passenger van for two weeks. They had their music playing constantly, and it struck me as... insipid. It occurs to me that this word is often taken only in a derogatory sense. But it is really a feature, not a fault with this kind of music. The lack of any real challenge by the music is why they like it so much. Sing along to the punch lines and have fun.

I also noticed that almost every hit pop song can be harmonized to with just two notes played one after each other the entire way through, even for some of the more "complex" sounding songs. I whistled or hummed my two note harmony for seemingly endless songs, often not having to change the notes at all and it just kept working perfectly. A perfect 5th spacing will work with a lot of them. What broke it was when "This is Halloween" came on, from the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack. That song changes key signatures frequently, and in interesting, less insipid ways. I couldn't just harmonize along with 2 notes on that one.

 

[mhardy6647]

My experience with contemporary pop music, admittedly based on car radio listening, is that it's hard to judge in traditional hifi terms because of the amount of electronics involved. It's not intended to sound like a live performance. It's made to be listened to through speakers or headphones. I'm not criticizing this approach. The sound is part of the package, inseparable from the musical content. It's the logical development from the way amplification changed the sound of the guitar and led to electronic instruments.

Did you see this other thread that's currently running?

None of it matters anymore. None of it.

So much music today is generated by AI, does it really matter if your DAC and amplifier have an SNR of >120dB? On a whim, I went to Suno and typed in the keywords that describe my favorite music genre and what it created was surprisingly good and only took a few seconds. I'd dare say it was...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Speaking of in silico generation of music (as folks in my line of work might describe it).

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

The only modern music intended to sound like a "live" performance are the live concert recordings.
Everything else are artist and production crew studio creations, a musical experience all of it's own.
Many offer superior sound quality depending on the people involved in the creation.
And in pure Hi-Fi terms, I've never heard a live concert rock recording that's superior in quality to the studio creations.
YMMV

My point was that it's not intended to sound like a live performance. It's made as a recording. It's true that recordings of people singing and playing "conventional" instruments mostly sound better than a live performance through a PA and that post production has a lot to do with it. Because I'm ancient I tend to think of high fidelity as coming as close as possible to the sound of live music heard under optimal conditions, like a highly realistic painting is supposed to look like something you might see IRL. Modern pop music is more like abstract art and is its own thing, not a reproduction.

 

[Axo1989]

My point was that it's not intended to sound like a live performance. It's made as a recording. It's true that recordings of people singing and playing "conventional" instruments mostly sound better than a live performance through a PA and that post production has a lot to do with it. Because I'm ancient I tend to think of high fidelity as coming as close as possible to the sound of live music heard under optimal conditions, like a highly realistic painting is supposed to look like something you might see IRL. Modern pop music is more like abstract art and is its own thing, not a reproduction.

I don't disagree with your general point at all, but I'll drop by to tease out that analogy. Pure electronic music (cf Autechre, Ryoji Ikeda, Tim Hecker and many more) is certainly abstract. Pop music generally centres on a figurative element, the singer. Usually supported by many other elements including synthetic sources and treatments. In that case we are not looking at Rothko, but rather stylised portraiture, perhaps (Gerhard) Richter recently but you could start a century earlier. Pop art being almost too obvious.

 

[mhardy6647]

100% pop, 100% vocal free.
admittedly not quite purely electronic -- close, though.

 

[diddley]

Such a voice, stripped from any emotion, vibrato, feeling. The pitch software is working overtime here and it's all marketing for the little kids that can spend the money. And Taylor needs lots of it.
My god how I hate the world of modern music.

 

[Axo1989]

100% pop, 100% vocal free.
admittedly not quite purely electronic -- close, though.

Haha, no vocals ... what do we generally expect from 'instrumental version' I wonder?