Update: Beyonce’s label, Columbia Records, has issued an official statement, reprinted below:
Due to human error at the Celebrate Records plant in Germany, which Sony uses to manufacture vinyl, a small amount of the European run of the Beyoncé “Lemonade” vinyl included music from Canadian punk band, ZEX, on Side A. Beyoncé and ZEX were not aware of or responsible for the mispress. Fans who purchased the vinyl will be refunded and given a replacement copy. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.
Apparently, a few copies of Beyonce’s recently-released vinyl LPs for Lemonade were pressed up with a completely different album on them. In fact, they were pressed with an entirely different artist and genre. The Hive certainly will not like this one bit, especially given the cost of of the vinyl collection.
Somehow, first half of Canadian punk band Zex’s 2017 album Uphill Battle wound up on select Beyonce Lemonade records after an apparent mixup at the plant. According to Pitchfork, select A-sides of the lemonade-yellow vinyl were printed with the A-side of the Zex album, published by Magic Bullet Records, and featuring songs such as “Burn the Flag,” “Child Soldier,” and “No Sanctuary.”
The mistake was actually revealed by the band itself, with a Facebook post featuring a video of the LP playing their songs, and the caption “Those of you who got the new BEYONCE record ‘Lemonade’, will be surprised to hear what will be playing on the A-Side….” A representative for Magic Bullet Records confirmed the legitimacy of the mixup with Pitchfork.
Given the BeyHive’s penchant for astonishing levels of overreaction to even the perception of a slight against their queen Bey, Zex, Magic Bullet Records, and the production plant may become targets for the latest wave of online Hive rage when the news becomes common knowledge — especially if any member who spent that $300 receives a mis-pressed copy instead.
