Taylor Swift's new album will be the biggest debut of the year when it drops near the end of October and her first single "Shake It Off" was the highest selling debut song of the year when it dropped as well. New single "Out Of The Woods" probably won't quite reach the levels its predecessor hit but that doesn't mean it won't be huge. Hence the surprise of many UK fans when they found out they couldn't get the pop star's new track via iTunes in their homeland, despite it being available in the United States and other markets.
Swift explained via her Tumblr account that the decision was made by her record label, although she didn't try to blame Big Machine. She noted that the strategy was based on Ed Sheeran's x releases where fans received new single "One" download when preordering the album.
"I've never been one to hold my music back from any of you so I will be watching closely to see if this is ultimately a better experience for you, the fans," she wrote. "My good friend Ed Sheeran utilized the same strategy with 'One' in the UK and he seemed very happy with the feedback from his fans. But, ultimately, it's down to you. Let me know."
Fans "let her know" well before she made the post: They want "Out Of The Woods" NOW. So when will they be able to preorder the album in the UK? It will be out in less than two weeks after all.
Some people smell a rat however. Heidi Moore, editor of finance and economics for The Guardian's U.S. office, suggested someone else was operating Swift's Tumblr, based on one linguistic distinction.
"First of all, no American would ever say 'it's down to you,'" she tweeted.
