Taylor Swift's fans have slammed Elon Musk after he urged the pop singer to share her new music on X.
The X CEO's request came in response to a post Swift had shared ahead of the release of her new album "1989 (Taylor's Version)."
Swift has collaborated with Google to design a series of puzzles. When successfully solved, these puzzles unveiled the titles of new tracks from her upcoming album.
"It's a new soundtrack," she wrote on X. "Here are the back covers and vault track titles for 1989 (my version) I can't wait for this one to be out, seriously. Thank you for playing along, sleuthing, puzzling and making these reveals so much chaotic fun (which is the best kind of fun, after all)."
Replying to the post, Musk wrote: "I recommend posting some music or concert videos directly on the X platform."
It was not long before Swift's fans took aim at Musk for his comment, with many wondering why the internationally renowned pop star would choose to associate her music with the website's new feature.
"With all due respect Mr. Elon sir I think miss Swift knows what she's doing," one commenter wrote.
"Why would she do that lol," another asked.
"You'll swiftly find out that she don't wanna," a third chimed in.
"1989 (Taylor's Version)" consists of newly recorded versions of tracks from Swift's original 2014 album, "1989." This release is part of an ongoing initiative to re-record and re-release a significant portion of Swift's earlier catalog, driven by a dispute over licensing and royalties with her former producer, Scooter Braun.
Braun and Swift have been locked in a feud since 2019, when he purchased her longtime record label, Big Machine Records, as well as the master recordings of her first six studio albums, the Independent noted.
Swift later criticized him as a "bully" and "the definition of toxic male privilege in our industry" after he sold the master recordings.
In November, 2020, Swift said, "[Braun] would never even quote my team a price" and that she was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement that would "silence [her] forever." Braun's team contested the assertion.
Swift subsequently launched the campaign to re-record her albums, aiming to prevent the new masters' owners from benefiting from her music. She urged her fans to instead listen to her highly successful "Taylor's Versions."