\n<\/p>\n
Eilish, 22, said later<\/a> that she had not meant to single out any artist and added that she had participated in the practice, too. (Both artists\u2019 work remains available in a variety of physical formats, though Eilish has stressed sustainability<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Still, when Swift pre-empted the release of Eilish\u2019s album last week with three special digital editions of \u201cTortured Poets,\u201d available for 24 hours and including previously unheard \u201cfirst-draft phone memo\u201d demos, many saw the move as pointed<\/a>. Especially online, where pop fan allegiance can be a blood sport<\/a>, the matchup became one to watch.<\/p>\n Eilish soon released her own new digital edition of \u201cHit Me Hard and Soft,\u201d which added isolated vocal tracks for each song. Such maneuvers \u2014 in which listeners invested in the chart success of their favorites are incentivized to stream and buy more with bonus content \u2014 are popular and common, especially amid close contests for bragging rights, in the chess game that is the modern music business. But it didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Swift released a remix of her hit \u201cFortnight\u201d; on Wednesday, Eilish posted a new remix of \u201cL\u2019Amour De Ma Vie.\u201d And on Thursday, the final day of Billboard\u2019s tracking week, Eilish expanded her album again, releasing limited edition versions of each song both slowed down and sped up. (Eilish\u2019s labels, Darkroom\/Interscope, also discounted \u201cHit Me Hard and Soft\u201d to $4.99 as an iTunes download \u2014 a more popular chart-minded move in an earlier era of digital sales \u2014 while Swift\u2019s \u201cTortured Poets\u201d remained at $14.99. Swift\u2019s \u201cFortnight\u201d remix was priced at 69 cents, less than the typical single price of 99 cents or $1.29.)<\/p>\n