April 21, 2026

Part One: A Brief History From 2022-2025

In my three years of research and gaining a better understanding of the vinyl manufacturing world, I've come to conclude that they are several key things about Taylor's vinyl discography: her back catalog has been more inconsitently documented than her Republic catalog has, and that there are gaps in the manufacturing and documentation process: namely, they are more visually identical and identifiers simply are missing that would distinguish years of manufacturing.

Scouring the internet and most prominently Discogs, I was able to piece together a preliminary timeline of Taylor's most recent 4 years of production. Starting in 2022, a Discogs contributor first noted in February 2022 that a new version of Reputation has been spotted: sporting "Made in Canada" packaging, a differently cut hype sticker (see images below), and different paper finishing. Also note here, the European edition of 1989 (which features Taylor's name written out entirely instead of just her initials, T.S.) recieves another reissue (only the third known one, since 2018) that was identified using a new job number that was sequentially higher than the ones used in 2018 and were similar in value to other 2022 releases. As part of my research, I determined that GZ releases from 2022 has job numbers from 22XXXX through 25XXXX. The 1989 reissue has job number 253795E on Side B.

In the subsequent years, we begin to see patterns with a balance between Taylor's new projects as well as efforts to replenish inventory of her Big Machine catalog. In 2023, as the popularity of the Eras Tour's popularity grew, Speak Now and 1989 received American reissues. Notably, both albums received re-recordings in July 2023 and October 2023, respectively.

In 2024, at the height of Taylor's post-COVID popularity (Taymania, if you will) as a result of the international leg of the Eras Tour, we have definitive proof that every single of Taylor's original six Big Machine albums recieved a reissue or repress (don't know the difference? here's a guide that helps explain that)

• Taylor Swift

  • US release – metalwork from GZ with a new job number '283540E' dates the release to squarely within 2024

  • EU release – runouts indicate a production year of 2024: "[MPO logo]®24"

• Fearless (Platinum Edition)

  • US release – metalwork from Vantiva with sequential job numbers '1241046', 1241047', '1241048', and '1241048' date the release to 2024

    • in fact, these number are sequentially larger than the Red job numbers, indicating they were ordered afterwards

  • EU release - runouts indicate a production year of 2024: "[MPO logo]®24"

• Red 1241042

  • US release – metalwork from Vantiva with sequential job numbers '1241042', 1241043', '1241044', and '1241045' date the release to 2024

    • in fact, these numbers are sequentially smaller than the Fearless job numbers, indicating they were ordered first

  • EU release – runouts indicate a production year of 2024: "[MPO logo]®24"

• 1989

  • EU release – metalwork from GZ with a new job number '283604E' dates the release to squarely within 2024

• Reputation

  • An image posted by the Precision Record Pressing instagram page features boxes of sealed copies of Reputation. This image has since been taken down, but I took a screenshot at the time, and it can be seen below:

At this point in my research, several trends became clear: publicly, user contributed, documented data showed that Taylor's Big Machine back catalog were being reissued on a rolling basis with no signs of stopping, but I did not find enough evidence to definitively show they were repressed continuously across more than two years–the introduction of new metalwork and year indicators in runouts provided the insight that there were gaps in the production process.

Just from the tenetative timeline put together, the bulk of the reissuing took place in 2023 and 2024, then Taylor's popularity was at it's highest as a result of renewed interest in her back catalog. Once the tour ended in 2025, it appeared that no more new copies were known of–that, or collectors simply stopped cataloging new copies as a whole (a shockingly unlikely concept, given the hundreds of millions of fans that Taylors has amassed, it's not unlikely that new data has gone unnoticed and/or undocumented–for example, it wasn't until 2023 that I myself pointed out to the collecting community that submissions for the red vinyl release of folklore available at Target had been unintentionally documented as one release instead of the 3+ pressings that have different manufacturers and identifiers).

Part Two: Into the Database & Forums

While many users are familiar with the Discogs database and it's (mostly) user-intuitive app for collection tracking, another prominent feature of the site is the forum discussion boards. In the forums, users can create threads to discuss an unlimited plethora of topics that range from site features, data accuracy, and general music topics.

The database forum is the most popular one, hosting the most threads that aim to verify, correct, and maintain the data in the Discogs database that all users see. One such thread, is a topical one: a dedicated thread about the GZ Media pressing plant, occasionally monitored by a engineer that works at the plant.

Jiří Zita, primarly known online by the pseudonym GeorgeZ_CZ on various vinyl discussions forums such as Lathe Trolls and Discogs, is a premastering specialist at GZ Media in the Czech Republic, whose vinyl engineering knowledge has shaped the community's knowledge of the vinyl mastering, plating, and pressing processes as a whole but particularly those having to do with the GZ plant and its three subsidiaries around the world (Precision Record Pressing, Memphis Record Pressing, and Nashville Record Pressing in Canada, Memphis, and Nashville respectively). 

For more information about GZ Media and it's runouts matrices, you can visit other pages on my blog here: the GZ section in the Vinyl Companies A-Z page and the dedicated GZ runout examples section in the runouts guide. 

GeorgeZ_CZ's expertise has provided insight about the application and meaning of many of GZ's runouts indicating its plating and galvanoplasty processes, include: GZ's original /X indices, 7-digit machine-engraved nickel mother IDs, and 8-digit laser-etched stamper IDs.

To bring up my question to thread, I felt that it was only appropriate that I brought some kind of research ahead of time. To determine the production trends of the Reputation picture disc, I took a look at all of the runouts submitted for the vinyl in question. As of 2026-04-20, these are the seven existing entries:

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 1): BMRCO0600F-A BMRC 00600F-A 166646E1/A3
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 1): BMRCO0600F-B BMRC 00600F-B 166646E2/A3 RKS STERLING
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 1): BMRCO0600F-C BMRC 00600F-C 166646E3/A5 RKS STERLING
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 1): BMRCO0600F-D BMRC 00600F-D 166646E4/A3 RKS STERLING

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 2): BMRC 00600F-A BMRC00600F-A RKS STERLING 1096072 166646E1
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 2): BMRC 00600F-B BMRC00600F-B RKS STERLING 166646E2/A2
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 2): BMRC 00600F-C 166646E3/A6 RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-C
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 2): RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-D BMRC 00600F-D 1142295 166646E4/A4

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 3): BMRC 00600F-A RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-A 166646E1 1365450
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 3): BMRC 00600F-B RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-B 166646E2 1365294
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 3): BMRC 00600F-C RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-C 166646E3 1238086
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 3): BMRC 00600F-D RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-D 166646E4 1299425

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 4): BMRC00600F-A 166646E1 1257894 RKS STERLING BMRC 00600F-A
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 4): BMRC00600F-B 166646E2/A2 RKS STERLING BMRC 00600F-B
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 4): BMRC00600F-C 166646E3 1238086 RKS STERLING BMRC 00600F-C
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 4): BMRC00600F-D 166646E4/A4 1142295 RKS STERLING BMRC 00600F-D

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 5): BMRC 00600F-A RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-A 166646E1 1365450
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 5): BMRC 00600F-B RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-B 166646E2 1438800
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 5): BMRC 00600F-C RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-C 166646E3 1238086
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 5): BMRC 00600F-D RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-D 166646E4 1299425

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 6): BMRC 00600F-A BMRC00600F-A RKS STERLING 1219890 166646E1
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 6): BMRC 00600F-B BMRC00600F-B RKS STERLING 166646E2/A2
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 6): BMRC 00600F-C RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-C 1217798 166646E3
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 6): RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-D BMRC 00600F-D 1142295 166646E4/A4

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 7): BMRC 00600F-A BMRC00600F-A RKS STERLING 1096072 166646E1
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 7): BMRC 00600F-B BMRC00600F-B RKS STERLING 166646E2/A2
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 7): BMRC 00600F-C 166646E3/A6 RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-C
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 7): RKS STERLING BMRC00600F-D BMRC 00600F-D 166646E4/A4

New Order: 

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 1): 166646E1/A3
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 1): 166646E2/A3
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 1): 166646E3/A5
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 1): 166646E4/A3

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 7): 166646E1 1096072
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 7): 166646E2/A2
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 7): 166646E3/A6
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 7): 166646E4/A4

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 2): 166646E1 1096072
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 2): 166646E2/A2
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 2): 166646E3/A6
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 2): 166646E4/A4 1142295

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 6): 166646E1 1219890
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 6): 166646E2/A2
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 6): 166646E3 1217798
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 6): 166646E4/A4 1142295

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 4): 166646E1 1257894
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 4): 166646E2/A2
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 4): 166646E3 1238086
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 4): 166646E4/A4 1142295

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 3): 166646E1 1365450
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 3): 166646E2 1365294
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 3): 166646E3 1238086
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 3): 166646E4 1299425

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 5): 166646E1 1365450
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 5): 166646E2 1438800
Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, variant 5): 166646E3 1238086
Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, variant 5): 166646E4 1299425

We can see that between the first set of runouts (variant 1), submitted in 2020–possibly part of the first pressing run or more likely from runs shortly after it–features exclusively /X indices. This puts the runouts squarely from 2017-mid 2020, before the nickel mother IDs were introduced.

The next four runouts sets (variants 7, 2, 6, and 4, in that order) feature a mix of both /X indices and nickel mother IDs. Since we can see that the nickel mother IDs are 7-digits and they sometimes accompany /X indices, it's clear that these pressings were from a time when the phasing in and phase out of galvanoplasty systems overlapped. These are likely from early 2021, if I had to give a best guess. The earliest, variant 2, was submitted March 2022. Variant 6 is my personal copy, which I acquired in 2023 secondhand. It features a hype sticker with round corners–as pictured above in Part One. I suspect my copy is a Canadian one, given that Czech stickers are notoriously sharp-cornered.

The last two runout sets are clear cut: only featuring 7-digit nickel mother IDs, meaning they were pressed after 2021-ish. Variant 3 was submitted December 2022 and variant 5 was April 2023.

I sent a message detailing my findings to the thread.

I also took the chance to ask if the orange vinyl release was really pressed by Precision Record Pressing, given the 'Made in Canada' sticker on many of the sealed releases.

GeorgeZ_CZ responded, and the answers were riveting .

There's nothing like receiving confirmation of your guess from someone whose entire job is to know the activities of their workplace and the vinyl industry. You can read the interaction here, too. 

Part Three: As It Was Foretold In Previous Communication, Reasonably

Predictably, Reputation has been pressed a multitude of times across the years (something that I assumed given the RE-15 in that one screenshot from Precision Record Pressing), but more importantly: the vinyl album has been repressed following Taylor's ownership of her masters, once and for all eliminating concerns that production would cease entirely.

To break down GeorgeZ_CZ's answer, he explains the PD (picture discs) were pressed many times at GZ (pressing plant in Czech Republic) in the years he outlined. He also clarifies that stampers with 166646E (metalwork from the original pressing) were sent abroad (namely, to the Canadian pressing plant Precision Record Pressing) in some years as well.

The confirmed timeline also answers some lingering questions from previous research: in 2022, the rounded square corners found in (then) new copies can be attributed to Precision Record Pressings' ongoing repressing process, which occurred between '20 and '24. Importantly for me, it means that my copy logically can be pressed in the timeline I predicted.

Lastly, it also confirms an odd but minuscule possibility: copies of Reputation have been manufactured since the most recenty runouts were entered (recall that the most 'recent' runouts when sorted by galvanoplasty and sequential nickel mother IDs were submitted in April '23). We know copies we made in both plants in '24 onwards. So, despite the massive army that is the Swifties community... it appears that data cataloguing has stalled.

Logically (and economically), no artist is going to spend $360 million to regain ownership of her albums, repress vinyl albums across two consecutive years multiple times, just to lock them away in a warehouse–it's clear that these vinyl albums will see the light of day in the future.

Part Four: So Where Are These Copies?

Truly, this is the most curious part of it all–when are we actually getting these repressed copies? Why hasn't Taylor restocked her original discography on her webstore?

It's all speculation, really. But the data and manufacturing industry show that she plans to. Perhaps Taylor is just waiting out her current album release cycle before she inundates the market with hundreds of thousands of copies of her first six albums. You'd ask the same of Taylor in 2023 and why she chose to wait over 7 months to release Speak Now (Taylor's Version) after Midnights came out in October 2022. Remember, we have proof that the album was being manufactured as early as December 2022 and was only announced in May 2023 and released in July. Almost everything having to do with Taylor's music is calculated–it's rarely random or done just to get it over with.

Part of me wonders if a large restock is simply unfeasible, somehow. From my limited interactions with users in various chat forums & groups, it doesn't appear as if Reputation has entirely disappeared from storefronts... the occasional user will report seeing a copy at Barnes & Nobles the other week, or a copy that restocked at a brick & mortar indie store for a fleeting moment... I wouldn't count out the likelihood that very small quantities are making their way out there when they can, just not at the rate that we'd want (the optimal rate to keep up with demand, that is).

Alas, at the conclusion of all of this research, I'm afraid, Dear Reader, that I don't have more than statistics for you. While I would love to have temporal news beyond "They exist!", reports of widespread restocks in February 2026 failed to materialize, and most record stores and retailers have yet to indicate that additional stock is incoming as of the writing of this piece in April 2026.

  If you've reached this far, other than the data and my confidence that they will return to shelves one day, I hope you can at least takeaway the importance of patience and economical logic.