It would appear that an HMV store in Birmingham, U.K. has received physical copies of Taylor Swift’s new album Reputation early, and made the decision to play the album over the storewide PA for browsing shoppers. Though the album will be available for purchase before the week is out and 500 fans across the world have already heard it alongside Swift herself, Australian site Girlfriend reports that Swifties are not happy with Birmingham HMV’s decision to leak the album, taking to Twitter to deem the leak “just rude” and to threaten legal action, with some even having called the store to inquire “why they weren’t following orders.”
https://twitter.com/lara_disco/status/926851859020697601
@hmvbirmingham Just wondering if your manager has actually done anything about @taylorswift13 ‘s album being played yesterday? Just so you know hundreds of us have let her team know, so if you’re in breach of contract an apology would be nice. Looking forward to your response
— Lara Disco 🪩 (@lara_disco) November 5, 2017
JUST SPOKE TO THE MANAGER. HE WAS PANICKING. ASKED ME AGAIN WHO I WAS. WHY I WAS CALLING. HE'S TAKEN MY NUMBER AND HMV HEAD OFFICE ARE GOING TO CALL ME. @taylorswift13 NOT SURE WHAT ELSE I CAN DO
— Lara Disco 🪩 (@lara_disco) November 4, 2017
‼️HELP‼️JUST CALLED BIRMINGHAM HMV & THEY HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THEY HAVE PLAYED THE ALBUM TODAY. SHE ASKED ME WHY I WAS CALLING. I SAID THAT IT ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYED UNTIL IT IS RELEASED, & WAS QUERYING WHY THEY WEREN’T FOLLOWING ORDERS FROM @taylorswift AND HER TEAM… JUST SPOKE TO THE MANAGER. HE WAS PANICKING. ASKED ME AGAIN WHO I WAS. WHY I WAS CALLING. HE’S TAKEN MY NUMBER AND HMV HEAD OFFICE ARE GOING TO CALL ME. @taylorswift13 NOT SURE WHAT ELSE I CAN DO… @hmvbirmingham Just wondering if your manager has actually done anything about @taylorswift13 ‘s album being played yesterday? Just so you know hundreds of us have let her team know, so if you’re in breach of contract an apology would be nice. Looking forward to your response…
WTH HMV YOU HAVE NO RESPECT IN ALL LEVEL YOU NEED TO BE SUED THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!! @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 @scottborchetta https://t.co/S2rvr9c8lX
— ì v y 🧣 (@shookethswift) November 4, 2017
https://twitter.com/PaigeCox13/status/927919571025190913
@hmvtweets @hmvbirmingham I️ hope it’s false that u played Taylor’s album when you know it’s not released! #ShameOnYou #hmv @taylornation13
— Christy 🫶🏼 (@christyann20) November 4, 2017
IM FUCKING PISSED JUST WENT TO HMV BIRMINGHAM AND THEY TOLD ME THEY PLAYED THE ALBUM AND THEY ARE ALLOWED TO @taylorswift13 @taylornation13
— you (@taintedRep) November 4, 2017
no joke they are playing the new Taylor Swift album in this HMV like its no big deal
— cam hump (@Cameron_Hump) November 4, 2017
Neither swift nor HMV has commented on the reported in-person leak, and the tracks still have yet to appear online. However, a reported tracklist has been floating around, showing a song that features contributions from both Ed Sheeran and Future. Assuredly, fans are similarly unhappy with the revealing of the fifteen-song tracklist, with a Swift fan site taking to Twitter to call for the site Has It Leaked to be reported and removed for sharing the tracklist and threatening to leak Reputation as a whole.
https://twitter.com/tsupdatesny/status/927657548760670209
Swift’s Reputation is officially out this Friday.