Avenged Sevenfold's M Shadows says selling multiple versions of an album to boost chart positions is "fan abuse", somehow gets into beef with Taylor Swift fans

News
By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Shadows explained his point further, but 'Swifties' weren't happy

M Shadows and Taylor Swift
(Image credit: Getty)

Avenged Sevenfold frontman M Shadows isn't shy of airing an opinion or two on Twitter, but it's unlikely he envisioned courting the wrath of one of pop music's most dedicated fanbases when offering a somewhat spicy take on the social media platform this week.

Last night (November 7), Shadows offered his thoughts on artists selling multiple versions of albums to try and boost chart positions, going as far as to label it "fan abuse".

"Selling multiple versions, repackages and bundles of your album to the same fan so that you can get a chart position that no one cares about and is manipulated should be called out for what it is…. Fan Abuse," the singer stated, explaining his point further by adding: "I’ll expand: many options are fine. It’s when it becomes : buy the vinyl for ticket discounts… buy the cd version 1 for an extra track. Buy first week 8 track for an exclusive t shirt. Its all bullshit to make you buy the same shit to pump numbers. Thats fucked!"

When asked by one fan if he was taking aim at any artist in particular, Shadows firmly underlined that his point was aimed at "Everyone… the system…. Music as a commodity…. No art left to it… total joke." That, however, didn't seem to stop Taylor Swift fans inexplicably taking Shadows' opinions personally, seeing them as a direct attack on the pop megastar, who has sold numerous versions of individual albums she's released in recent years.

"Taylor Swift would've topped the charts on streams alone, (confirmed by the billboard charts) but sure go off," Tweeted one 'Swiftie', prompting Shadows to respond, "Hell yeah. A truly huge artist and she deserves it," adding: "Btw. I wasnt even talking about Taylor… literally the furthest thing from my mind. We are getting “options” from our label but its all a cash grab (hence the tweet)… but dont you find it strange one fan base is so upset about my tweet which names no one?"

After being bombarded with more Tweets from angry Swift fans, Shadows then Tweeted: "I was actually trying to figure out how a bunch of little kids started commenting on my post… and now I see all of taylors fans think I’m talking about her because they all bought multiples of the same album. . Gotta love the twitter cults!"

After engaging with a few more fans on the subject, Shadows finally drew a line under the matter, announcing: "Let me expand: I will not reply to swifties…. Not because its Fan Abuse but because it’s Child Abuse."

All in a day's work on the world's strangest social media platform. A new Avenged Sevenfold album - the band's first since 2016 opus The Stage - is expected to finally be released next year. News on how many versions of the new record will be released remain unconfirmed. 

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.