Even as a musician who knows that tracks are being used, the level to which everything is being faked here is really quite unbelievable. Your work to prove this Fil is on another level and as others have said you are doing most valuable work - keep it up and maybe us old school musicians have a fighting chance of survival!
The video is all programmed too. Exactly the same shots at the same time. The cameras are setup and then a computer cycles through them exactly the same.
It's amazing that she can keep on track to the fraction of a second. I suppose if the break between songs is long enough, then there's little risk of something unexpected delaying it.
I'm a professional engineer.. it's impossible for the band to play identically in two different shows.. even if the timing was close, you'd still have phasing issues.. but FIL split the shows into Singapore full left pan and Tokyo full right pan.. and the audio isn't phasing? Because it's the SAME AUDIO FILES BEING PLAYED... The entire show is a pre-recorded event.. no one is playing live. If the tracks were different you'd hear a flange effect.. it's extremely obvious when you hear a flange effect...
I wonder how there is no sound from the musicians. I guess the electric guitars or other instruments that need power to make sound are just turned off, but what about the drums? I think the singer in this case sounds flat all the time and all the autotune isn’t helping, but I am curious about the musicians.
@@sunshineflyer The drums are mic'd in a venue like these. Individual mics on each drum/cymbal. Turn them off and you won't hear the drums over everything else running through the speakers.
My guess is its a production / show over a live gig, its a computer triggering the whole sound and lights. Shame if you paid to hear an actual live singer.
I couldn't see the Eras tour so I attended a Taylor Swift night at a local bar. They just played her songs over the speakers and it was a fun night of dancing and singing along... It's good to know I got a similar experience without spending so much money 😅
@@wout123100 You've never seen my last band live then. There was no doubt what so ever that it was all live. The bum notes, the embarrassed and killer stares were all real
@@christopherwoycke1959Yes.. but one of Taylor Swifts guitarists said that he always worried that his guitar performance was being analysed and if he made mistakes he might get fired. It is obvious that Taylor's previous shows were all live. It does look as though a few fishy tricks were being used on the Eras tour.
As a Swiftie who went to the Eras Tour and was blown away by how great it was, I can't help but find it disappointing to discover that parts of the show were lip-synced. I can begrudgingly accept pitch correction, but it's sad to know that this amazing concert experience I had wasn't fully live like I thought it was. Still, I'm really thankful that you've done these analysis videos of the tour, because it's endlessly fascinating to discover the ins and outs of how this whole thing worked, and I'm also really grateful that you've been as objective and unbiased as you've been, since so many people who talk about Taylor are quick to overly praise her or berate her. You stuck only to the facts, and I respect the hell out of that. You've gotten yourself a new fan, Fil. Thanks for these videos.
I suspect that ppl who have never worked with audio waveforms will have a hard time understanding how impossible your findings are. However, the fact that you can play the left and right channels simultaneously from different shows, without it sounding like an absolute incoherent mess, is undeniable proof...and hilarious! Thanks Fil.
Yeah, I mean you don't even really need to have a sophisticated understanding of this to at least grasp the basic notion. If anything, just any reasonable, logical, deductive skills and reasoning should be sufficient. because he keeps accounting for variables that fans mention.
You might be feeling very special for having worked with audio waveforms, but for the rest of us who haven't this video was pretty easy to understand lol. He explains it very clearly and we all have eyes and ears.
You can hear in the bit where he's saying "still perfectly in sync" that there's a difference in the strumming and the drum performance... and yet, no mention of that.
Nobody has explained how the hell she does it! How the hell can she be HEARD singing the wrong lyrics, stop herself, go back and sing the wrong lyrics AGAIN and do that MIMING and STAYING IN SYNC?
@@faz-io He explained a lot of that is the acoustics in each venue. Even two people recording from different places in the same venue can get a very different aural experience.
An ANALYSIS is defined as a detailed examination of the elements or structure of something. You have done exactly that. Genuine FACT!! Now let's put the arguments to bed. Bravo Fil! Excellent in-depth examination!
I just recently watched a live version of "Shake it Off" (in the Live Lounge) and I commented to my wife that it's amazing how she sounds just like the studio version. Now we know why!
To be fair, the vocals they use for concerts are typically re-recordings of the songs, or at least alternate vocals. That way, they sound similar to the studio versions to appease the fans, but just a little different, so it doesn't sound like a copy. Traditionally, i usually didn't like live albums because i always thought, "Gee, their voice isn't as good, and the sound quality isn't as good." Of course, i'm talking about stuff recorded from the 50's through 80's.
As a fan who went to the eras tour, going into it, I knew there was heavy backing tracks and probably some auto tune, but I really appreciate your objective analysis of the tour and her vocals. It’s kind of insane how much of this is pre-recorded. I assumed that with all the visuals and the way every era is connected, it’s essentially pressing play on the screen visuals for the tour and the band and Taylor just kept up with it, but this video was actually crazy. I have no problems with the amount of auto tune but that many pre-recorded things is sad…. I expected some but not this much.
The fact that you can fast forward through both clips and ALWAYS hit the exact same spot in the both these "live" shows is all the proof you need this is from recorded tracks. I used to record our gigs and NEVER would they sync up from song to song, never mind each entire night to the next.
Each show segment (3, 4 songs, usually with little or no talking between them) has its own SMPTE time code that keeps the video, lights, lasers, pyro, and "audio sweetening" playing together, along with sending a click track (metronome) to the band. And the band may well be up there playing its collective booty off, but we're not hearing that in the seats.
Well, not necessarily. The drummer may be playing along to a time code click track which is triggering all the lighting etc. The band then sync to the drummer, obviously. That would mean that every single night the set would procede at the exact same time even though all the band are actually playing. I am not convinced by all of Phil's analysis because I went to the Eras tour on two consecutive nights, and I am 99% certain that Paul Sidoti the lead guitarist played a particular solo that I loved slightly differently on each night.
@@raygunsforronnie847 No way. It makes absolutely no sense that you could skip through an hour of a “live concert”, that was recorded a month apart in different locations, and it’s *NEVER* out of sync!! That’s ridiculous.
@@zx7-rr486 It makes absolutely no sense that you could skip through an hour of a “live concert”, that was recorded a month apart in different locations, and it’s *NEVER* out of sync!! I’m sorry but that’s ridiculous.
@@soude85 My discussion is general in nature, and not specific to the show in question... but it does not invalidate either observation. I think Tay Tay was telling us something when her tour was named "Push Play" a few year back.
I remember seeing two consecutive shows of Prince's Sign of the times tour circa 1986. They changed the arrangements from one show to the next, extended or shortened songs, solos, jams. It was great. It was LIVE. Other great bands could do the same thing back in the day. The point is, there is no excuse. There is no excuse.
The news reported several times that she ran on the treadmill while singing her entire set in the months leading up to the tour. Maybe they were preconditioning fans to not question this. 🧐
you know what when I watched the movie of the tour there is a part she's literally jumping and singing and I though wow how does she do that! now I know I been fooled 😅
He is getting paid plenty by the clicks because he just keeps putting "Taylor Swift" in his description. He will likely put out many more "Taylor Swift" videos to just get a little more off her coat tail. Definitely not a saint
As a drummer, there are tell-tale signs. The tom inflection sound during the fill… that is practically impossible live. The snare sounds identical in intensity but has 4 different sounds. Not only is it triggered, but it’s replaced and is being played over a backing track.
Are you saying the drummer is playing full out the whole show but along with the recording? I am a percussionist but not drum set and have never played in a band. I can see how the electric instruments can be switched “off” but drums are drums and anyone sitting near enough will hear them
@@michaelfelsinger-k2i Kinda/not really. Rob Pilatus and Fabs Morvan were syncing to vocal tracks sung by 5 different singers, of whom they were.... none. Both had actual talent but Rob Pilatus ended his career in 1998 largely because of the scandal.
I thought the demonstration of what ambient noise does to the pitch graph was extremely helpful, showing that the same audio files will only have certain places where they match up and won't sync up perfectly everywhere. It was also helpful to show what autotune does now, but I hope to never hear your wonderful voice autotuned again! You really put a lot of thought and effort into this Fil, well done!
It's just embarassing isn't it. It's good that we have you Fil. Your integrity and analytical skills are top notch and you are serving all of us out here with the one thing that really counts - pure honesty. Thank you for that in a world where it is in such short supply.
My nephew is a professional guitarist. He's played as a studio musician and backed up many well known singers at the Viper Club, etc. He's been telling me about this happening for years but that he's never seen it done more than with Taylor Swift's concerts. It's outrageous considering the price of tickets for her shows. Thank you, Fil, for exposing this hypocrisy. You deserve a medal for exposing yourself to both the "music" and the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Would that be the Viper Room in LA? If so, dang! That's the place in which Johnny Depp owned a share, where River Phoenix OD'd after sitting in with a band of celebs and collapsed right outside the door in 1993.
The ticket prices are different overseas than in America because American law allows outrageous resell prices. She does not get the inflated price and sued Ticketmaster over this. That is why so many Americans got a better deal going overseas for shows. Even if she never toured, she’d be a tremendously popular and wealthy artist. Countries begged her to tour there because of the money brought to the economy hence the length of the tour. As far as the commenter who said she was a joke in Nashville, she was a child when she lived there and got the help of many artists like Tim McGraw who believed in her talent.
It’s insane how expensive her concert tickets are. I used to save my ticket stubs for concerts I used to go to, and I’m looking at them now. I paid $25.50 to see Nsync in 1999, $50 to see them in 2000 (we had better seats), and I saw No Doubt in 1997, in the height of their career, for $25.50 and then again in 2002 for $30.00. Like, it seems unreal, actually lol. We never had super good seats, but I’m pretty sure even the “nosebleed” seets for TS are ridiculously high.
They're paying for the entire experience of seeing her in person, being around the other Swifties, yelling and screaming to their favorite songs etc. They do not care that it's not 100% live performance, I can assure you. For some reason Fil is all worked up over it. It's not 1970 anymore and music is not the same as it was.
@@eric_in_florida He's probably the most calm youtuber who does stuff like this in the world, not worked up at all, just showing details of how it's done.
I was talking to a friend of mine in the Philippines who was going to spend nearly all his savings to go see swift in the states. I told him about your channel and just to check it out (I didn't want to try and duplicate word for word your analysis) Afterwards he called and said he wasn't going to be spending his money to see someone lip sync. I agreed and then told him I hope he wasn't too disappointed. He instead said he was going to use that money to become a Patreon on your channel. Good work and again, keep up exposing these people.
Wow, Fil, you are like a modern day David, up against the Goliaths of the music industry. David won his battle and so have you with your slingshot of truth. Champion. ❤
*Without Auto-tune and backing tracks, I seriously doubt she (and many others) would have a career in music.* *If they weren't considered attractive, they definitely wouldn't.*
@@anthonypapp6349But most people are too far away to even see her, so they’re paying outrageous prices to watch her on a screen and hear prerecorded vocals. 😅
Sorta true. But the people that go are paying for the experience of being in the venue, being with other fans, music all around them, getting concert-exclusive merch, having a communal experience, and making a memory of the event. I wouldn't go to see Paul McCartney if he was doing the same thing as Swift and all the other pop artists do today. ( I mean, i can't afford him anyway). But that is the difference between you and me, and those other fans. They don't likely care, and that's ok. I just wish people were going in with the knowledge first.
@@trekkiejunk How many of the millions of people that see Taylor live even know that it is 100% faked? You make it sound like they all know it's phony.
Sad to say, it was the same with Celine Dion during her 10+ year Vegas show. Long before the current software was available, I recall seeing a TH-camr do something similar to what Phil is doing here. He took two concert performances from Celine done 10 years apart and with the help of equalizers and other analysis he showed Celine was unquestionably lip syncing; this was especially the case with her big power ballads like It's All Coming Back to Me Now and My Heart Will Go On with a very high and wide range. She'd sing the first verse of each song live because it was at a lower register, but by the time the first chorus came, through the bridge, and into the climax, it was all mimed. He proved that she hadn't sung any of her big hits fully live since the mid 90's. To try and avoid making each performance sound identical, she used two slightly different recordings of each song that she would alternate between concerts. Anyway, the story got so much press that eventually, Celine couldn't avoid it publicly anymore. When asked by a reporter if she felt the lip syncing was unethical as a "live" performer, she replied (I'm paraphrasing, but this is very close to what she said) "What is all the upset about? People don't just come to hear me sing. They come to see the sets, costumes, light show, and dancers." Sad. I actually thought she had a higher performance standard as a "singer" but I lost a lot of respect for her after that. This kind of fakery has been going on for a long time, long before the Taylor Swift deception, and with "singers" we wouldn't suspect. We don't have true singers anymore; they consider themselves "entertainers." Very different.
I was at the Bon Iver gig in London when Taylor joined them for a song. It was fine but she definitely wasn't perfectly in tune. I think I may have heard her without autotune 😮.
On top of everything you have mentioned here about the music, I am fascinated at how every single micro second of the show seems to be so similar and "staged", every talking to the audience bit, every wave, every "cute" smile and cheeky moment. it all feels so fake and unauthentic it's actually embarrassing. what is the point of seeing someone live when you might as well be watching a video.
I just kept thinking. This is the exact same vocals. I probably repeated 30 phrases, hearing from one ear at a time, and I couldn't even find one time when they weren't identical. Something that stood out to me: 26:16 Listen to her squeaky breathing sound. It's in both shows. No human could replicate such a small detail at the same spot, and you'd have no reason to. Keep in mind that these are audience recordings. Sounds will bounce differently and the delays will not be identical and consistent across the time and pitch spectrums. But close enough that it sounds the same. Then you have the audience potentially swaying the program. So even for an identical recording, the waves aren't going to align perfectly like they would if they were recorded from the device that gives the speaker feed. The auto-tune also points towards it being recordings. It's risky to use auto-tune in a live setting. Maybe the tech has improved a lot, but to me this sounds way too proper for live auto-tune. Auto-tune makes a singer sound robotic, but most the time it doesn't sound that obvious or strange. But those rare cases will pop up now and then. The examples that Fil pointed out are not that bad. The lack of overt signs of auto-tune is generally a sign that it has been spot-edited on top of auto-tune. And you can't do this on a liveshow, unless it's the official feed. These concerts are most likely (mostly if not completely) live recordings with her and the band in Nashville, which is then played during the show. That's why it doesn't sound like the studio versions. And I guess they all pretend to play and sing. Maybe they re-record everything for each tour. The concept of playing the same songs for every show in the same order is blashemous enough for me. That have never happened to me.
It used to be, in the 80s at least, you'd go to a concert and the band plays a different version of the song than is on the record. When I was a kid, I didn't like that it sounded different. But as an older person, I want them to vary, change, do it differently. Now, they want to sound the same every show.
That's an interesting point. i used to hate when it didn't sound just like the album. Now i appreciate that it doesn't. Many artists also changed how they performed a song live, because studio tricks made the same thing live impossible. So, instead of trying to badly re-create it live, they just did it differently.
I don't like it when bands vary greatly from the album cuts of their songs, but even so, they can still play the studio cuts of their hits as we first heard them without everything sounding like it's pre-recorded or a cookie cutter performance.
If you're referring to Cruel Summer, that's actually one of her discography's most complicated vocal tracks. Like, one of the very few songs of hers that actually require difficult vocals.
As a long time fan who saw her live on her Speak Now tour back in 2011... I am in shock at what she has become. I thought there was a bit of miming and autotune going on during this tour, but nothing to this extent. The craziest part is that it's being justified because of her "choreography", but back when she didn't do stupid dances to her songs, she would actually sing live. I would like to go back to those days (no matter how pitchy she was lol). No one asked for 3 hours of her strutting and shaking her ass when we could have had 3 hours of genuine singing.
She doesn't actually kind of seem to be doing much dancing. I was imagining like Britney Spears style dancing (you can tell my age, hahaha) but actually it's mostly like a bit of walking.
idk how you're believing this dude. the lavender haze incident proved thing wrong the other day, same with the bad blood stop thing, in fearless she sounds completely breathless at times. She just said her band plays live the entire show...right after Dave grohl tried to talk crap about her, she clapped back and said her band plays live. You think she would risk lying about that when she could have just ignored it? thats crazy lol weird.
@pettycrockerxx everything you mentioned is refuted in the video - did you even watch it? Her band plays live to an extent, however not in every song, not with every instrument and often not very audibly. Her response to Dave Grohl's comment is very telling, because she only said *her band* is playing live, but didn't say that *she* was singing live. So she didn't lie, she just avoided the question lol.
May I request a similar analysis of Beyoncé’s concert? I think it would be an interesting conversation. They both did their tours during the same time and they are the top highest grossing tours. I think that even a series of tour’s analysis would be interesting and engaging for your community. Anyways good job with the tour analysis!
@@vegasgirl3538 I have listened to her opening 3 songs for multiple locations and dates and they all seem live to me with minimal if any auto tune or pitch manipulation but I’m open to be proven wrong. I enjoy Beyoncé’s performances immensely but I’m interested in a vocal analysis. I don’t think I have seen one on his channel.
My daughters were young when Taylor first became popular. I remember when Taylor sang on Oprah. She was off key most of the song. When we went to her concert I wondered if it was recorded??
Thsnk you for the videos! As a Swiftie 💜 I appreciate the truth & the magic of live music you explain to us! Im working all 6 shows in Toronto & cant wait 😂 Now i will have the knowledge to understand the difference between LIVE & Autotuned live ❤
While i don't like pop music, nor TS, i appreciate your not getting offended by Fil's info that Taylor is just lip-syncing. And you're STILL a fan because you like the music, and enjoy the experience. Good for you! Keep going to those concerts, meet new people, get the shirts, have fun with your friends, and make great memories that will last a lifetime!
hello from Toronto. I've been following along with the news as she is just about to start a 6 concert series of shows here. I think the thing I find most remarkable is the stunningly escalated rates for hotels and restaurants supporting the shows. Heaven help anyone who has to stay in town for regular personal or business reasons. Rooms and restaurant reservations have been unavailable for months -and City Hall just turned a main street downtown into Taylor Swift Way for the duration. It's nuts. Good luck to Vancouver over on our west coast when she shows up there. I hear it's the same.
It would be interesting to see similar comparision for some well known Nightwish song because it's well know that Nightwish uses both orchestral background tracks and click track but they still perform all the instruments on stage live. Given that they have been doing that decades, it should give you pretty clear demonstration of the best possible sync you can get with real live playing synchronized as much as possible by human players.
@@Martha-jl6eu brave because swiftie is a multi billion dollar machine. I am sure their marketing and legal teams are reviewing these videos as we speak/watch Fil's hard work here.
@@gianthairypanda Well, if the Taylor Swift's people have not gone after Fil by now, I doubt they will. The last thing Taylor's people want is to make a bigger deal out of it than it already is. Fil has been doing this work for years and Taylor Swift has no defense what-so-ever. Fil is SAVING THE MUSIC! The way I see it, it can only help Fil. Not only is Fil on the right side of musical history, he is on the right side of MUSIC!
@@gianthairypanda Do you really think Taylor Swift wants Fil's analysis to be splashed all over the press? Look, she can't go to the grocery store without press all around her. Do you really think the press is going to ignore this, should she make trouble for Fil? No, if her people haven't made a fuss yet, I doubt they will now. Fil has absolute scientific proof. Swift's people aren't going to touch it with a 10 foot pole.
I don't understand the fascination some people have for her music. She's a vocal mediocrity. She doesn't hold a candle to Sarah Vaughn, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Karen Carpenter, Etta James, et al.
My favorite is Linda Ronstadt. I can't imagine her ever lip-syncing a performance. In an interview, she said it was time to retire when she could not sing to her original standards.
And the whole band plays in sync every night. I've been playing drums for many years, and even when I've used clicktrack on stage, it's impossible to keep the tempo 100% straight all night. And there will be different places on different nights that pace varies.
It's not just that, its that all the gaps between songs are in sync, and all of the starts of songs are in sync. It's essentially one massive mp3 file, that, at the start of the show, the play button is pressed and *THAT'S IT.* Obviously, throw some heavy autotune and low frequency harmonies in there, but really that's all it is.
Wait, so the whole show is just one continuous recording playing back, since all the consecutive songs are in sync??? Nothing really spontaneous can happen inbetween the songs since they all start on a set time??? Holy crap, Batman.....
No, sometimes she can talk for more time, the tracks are effectively 'started' by pressing play. Once play is pressed, every song is identical show to show. It would be very risky to try to talk for the exact same time for every show as the track might cut you off mid sentence!
I'm a huge Taylor Swift video ( I like to think I'm a reasonable one) and I really appreciate these videos. It doesn't change the fun and great feelings I had at the Era's tour. But it is also super informative and I learned a lot. So thank you for these videos, from a Swifty!
@craigaust3306 no , it's still an amazing show. The music, sets, choreography etc. I do find it sad that the two acoustic surprise songs are auto-tuned because ... The whole point is showing off her singing. But apart from that I still think it's absolutely amazing and I had the time of my life. I'm also a fan of bands who just play live, just the band on stage and nothing else and if those shows turned out to be auto tuned I would be super disappointed. But with the Eras tour...nah still an amazing show and her music is still super special to me.
What’s so bizarre about some of the comments that excuse Taylor Swift for the auto tune or lip synching, is that it wasn’t so long ago when there was such a scandal regarding Milli Vanilli miming their music, and it was totally Rubio us to their reputation. But now, it’s acceptable. Was Milli Vanilli just ‘ahead of their time’? LOL
@ Kind of. Milli Vanilli was actually 4 people, 2 studio singers and 2 performers. The performers lip synched to the 2 studio singers’ audio. But I get your point.
@@may51973 And how do you know that's actually Swift's voice? Even if it were, the echo and heavy autotune manipulates her voice so much that I see no difference between her and MV.
I'm pretty sure MV could have been a sacrificial distraction from the fact that MANY artists were already doing it. Prince was criticising other artists faking it in the 80s!
The increasing trend of lip-syncing or miming pre-recorded music during live performances does raise questions around authenticity, audience expectations, and potential legal risks. From a consumer perspective, concertgoers paying a premium often expect a genuine live experience, and when that expectation isn't met, some may feel misled. Technically, artists and promoters are at some risk of lawsuits, particularly around claims of "false advertising" if the performances are advertised as live but largely rely on pre-recorded tracks. Legal precedents for false advertising exist, though they're typically more prominent in other industries. If enough fans felt misled and organized, there could be grounds for a class-action lawsuit, especially if tickets are marketed explicitly as “live” or imply that the experience would include live singing or musicianship. Often, the fine print on ticket sales and event promotions contains disclaimers, which can protect promoters and artists legally. For example, tickets might state that the artist’s live performance may incorporate pre-recorded elements, effectively preempting complaints of fraud. Live Nation and similar companies are adept at using such disclaimers to limit liability. If public sentiment intensifies or enough high-profile incidents occur, regulatory or industry standards could emerge, perhaps requiring clear disclosure of pre-recorded elements. The tipping point might come if more fans demand authenticity, leading to a shift in concert marketing, possibly even rating systems indicating the level of “live” performance to set expectations. Ultimately, while fans may be disappointed, the established legal defenses and disclaimers may make it challenging for lawsuits to succeed unless promoters have explicitly misrepresented a show. The industry could face backlash, though, especially if consumers increasingly feel that they are not getting a fair deal, which could spark meaningful change in live music standards.
i just saw this show in person in New Orleans, night 3. I think she was sick or particularly hoarse that night. it was very obvious to me, more than in the videos/livestreams from fans that I have watched from several dates on the tour, when she was lipsyncing to her own track lead vocal and when she was singing live. There was a clear tone difference that night in the two vocal qualities that night. I would say she sang live between 1/2 to 2/3 of her own vocals. Most songs had specific phrases or sections that either 1) she always doesn’t sing and doesn’t pretend to sing, while the track that has her own voice on background for double effect or harmonies sings the melody (eg, the “ooo-ooo-ooo” part of the cruel summer chorus), or 2) and more frequently, she stops singing live, but continues to lip sync to a lead vocal track, and then begins singing again. every section of the show had at least 1 song that was fully lip synced, and some had 2. and every section of the show had at least one song and often 2 that she sang live straight through. You are correct in that sometimes she sings live on a lower harmony while her track intended to be “her own background vocal” takes a higher note or melody line. The sections and songs that are tracked are often in her higher register, which she must find more tiring, and of course also the fast paced ones that have a busier or noiser vibe and aren’t songs meant to show off the vocals (eg shake it off), and they are spaced throughout the show to conserve her voice and pace herself. of course a lead vocal track that “sounds live” exists for the entire show in case something happens and it’s needed, and I have noticed in streaming the full show from fans filming in summer 2023 that sometimes she seemed to use the track on songs I had definitely see her do live before. She also has 3 or 4 backing vocalists as well, who sometimes support her on the lead vocal line instead of singing harmonies, and as your pointed out, she will modify notes, runs, or just take a lower harmony when she normal doesn’t from show to show. i am surprised, but i guess not not surprised at your demonstration of the use of live pitch correction during the times she is actually singing. I don’t quite have an ear to ID the robotic sound on my own, but I would like to develop that. I think the swifties who wanted you to do the acoustic sections wanted you to compare her voice when she is singing and playing without the band at all, when there is a small brown electric piano and acoustic guitar way down on the end of the stage- i would be curious if there’s live pitch correction during those two songs (which are different every night), and my guess would be yes. i had thought that likely a fair amount of the instrumentals/production in the show was not live; there’s too many sound effects that you just don’t do with live music. (i do wish i could get my musical prodigy brother’s take on the band performing!) so the show is tightly timed and sync’d up the whole time, and that doesn’t surprise me- there would never be improv, freestyling, in a show like this. they have added and removed songs from the setlist, and some of taylor’s “speeches” go longer than others, but everything is otherwise really timed really tightly. it also doesn’t surprise me that by the time she gets to Asia, a year into the tour, that her own live sung vocals line up over each other very very closely on most songs. I wonder if they would sync up so well with her vocal on night 1 of the tour. your two shows stayed synced here perfectly between each section, during the costume changes. however they can be occasionally extended if there is a costume malfunction or a hold-up getting taylor to her next point of entry onto the stage. The band just vamps, or sometimes the live audio engineer is in control. i only noticed this because my sister is a theatrical dresser and when i watched the show with her around, she was timing how fast her changes were, and one night a change that took 2 minutes when she first timed it took closer to 4. all in all, i was not disappointed in the slightest how much taylor lip syncs in the show. it clearly wasn’t the whole show, or even a majority. i think the songs she chose to lip sync and the songs she chose to actually sing all the way through were the right ones, and i think it’s clever to jump in and out of lip syncing where needed on some songs. it’s a 3 hr set with 45+ songs; she’s singing as much time per week as someone performing on broadway might (broadway shows also often use tracks for all their ensemble numbers). I wish i could hear her do it without the pitch correction, though, for sure!
Brilliant analysis :). This would hold up in a court of law. I admire your strength. Her melodies are so banal. It is criminal that teenagers (and parents) must spend a FORTUNE to attend these sing alongs. I fear that it has become a religious experience to go to a TS concert for her fans. It is the mass worship night that they are paying for. Also I appreciate your kindness in asking “I don’t know why they used auto tuning so severely”. We know the answer. You’re too polite to say.
…more like a cult as it has a worshiped leader and all of the characteristics of a cult both in practice and blind belief. Not sure how Taylor lives with taking such huge sums of money for tickets to a complete facade… Wouldn’t have a problem if she just came clean and let her fans know she uses backing tracks. It probably wouldn’t hurt her as her hard core fans would probably buy tickets anyway. However the deception at this point is disgraceful. A completely fraudulent concert that fans have paid millions of dollars to see. It’s a long way to fall…
She doesn't set the ticket prices and they are more reasonable in Europe because of that. Place blame in the US where it belongs - Ticketmaster and shenanigans
I remember years ago when Queen toured and they got to the middle part of Bohemian rhapsody. Freddie said they could never do that bit live so they just left the stage and played the record. Class!
@@judithermer7969 They are very good singers! Thank goodness they had Queens song to cover. Noticed they weren’t playing instruments during their performance, which would have made it more difficult to sing a capella part of song. Nobody will leave Queen’s music dead. Plus 3 band members are very much alive.
I remember when Queen first toured Australia and were bottled off stage. The Aussie bands, who all cut their teeth busting their balls night after night in beer barns, and could really play, were far better.
@@swinetrek I remember reading that happened. It was early in Queens career. I also know that they were introduced to the crowd in a very unflattering way. The Aussie bands were in home territory. Doesn’t mean Queen didn’t work hard in their own country, England. All 4 members were in many bands before becoming Queen, but they kept at it, and became a world famous band, giving their all in their live performances. Many bands have rough starts.
I’m an Official Old Fart and I’ve seen concerts by Neil Young, Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention, Arthur Lee and Love to name but a few and they were all wonderful and I can still remember them clearly over 50 years later. If there was the occasional bum note or off pitch moment I didn’t care, I was in the presence of genius and privileged to be there. I feel so sorry for the young today that are being cheated and lied to by this garbage, they deserve so much better. Thank you Fil.
It's great that you included Love. Forever Changes is often cited as the best or most influential pop album. Arthur Lee's live concert indoors with orchestra of Forever Chanes is on TH-cam.
@ Totally agree 👍, Forever Changes will always be my favourite album of all time and Alone Again Or my favourite song. It seemed to me the music had died but then, thank God, I discovered Japan and bands like One OK Rock, Band Maid, Nemophila, Baby Metal, Kalafina (excuse me while I cry) not to mention solo artists like Utada Hikaru, Aimer etc.
I always find the mistakes heard at shows make it more exciting, like a little reminder that anything could go wrong at any time but they're still keeping it together. It's fun.
I've seen Neil Young 7 times. I think Taylor Swift is a better songwriter - her songwriting blows me away. I saw her twice in Edinburgh. I guessed there was some sort of track and I'm fine with it. The shared experience was incredible. Realistically, she's never going to play fully live in a intimate venue that I'll get to see, so that's as good as it'll get for me.
The whole show is absolutely on a track with time code so the light show and video screens are in sync and the sane every night. Most every band I run across on tour that runs tracks does the same thing unless the drummer or a tracks guy starts and stops them between songs to be more organic
Dude, I even switched the output on my interface to mono when you were doing the comparisons. They are ABSOLUTELY IDENTIACAL! P.S. - As a professional audio engineer myself, where do I sign up for FOH for Taylor? You're just a glorified DJ! 😂
@@raygunsforronnie847 What? Daytime Emmy? Cast? Audition? This makes NO sense. If you are trying to pretend to be a part of their crew you are doing a TERRIBLE job.
I really appreciate the work You do with your videos exposing this side of the live music business as it is today. Being in the event industry (sic) for all my adult life, this autotune/pitch correction BS is really no news or surprise to me. But it really needs to be shown to the younger generations that does not seem to have a clue that they are being cheated to believe that their favorite artists are actually playing live, and they are paying money to see someone more or less lipsync to a prerecorded background or just doing some sounds on top of something prerecorded. To gather the "evidence" for the opposite and explaining that and exposing what is actually a sophisticated type of fraud (if You want), in a way that most people can understand is great! For those who wants to pay to see a concert that is no more than a "live video" with their current favorite artist, all I can say is: More fool You! Keep up the good work, Fil! You are very much needed today. And as someone else said in the commentaries, nice of You to take one for the team (and not for the first time)!
As a musician and singer, it is crazy to me that so many people do this now. I got into to music because I love actually playing and singing. It brings me more joy than most things, so I can't imagine just miming or having my vocals autotuned, I would feel so lame, and it would also just be boring to do I think. Thanks Fil! You're the man, so glad you are exposing this stuff.
Totally. That's what I was saying in another comment, what is the fun of singing if you're not singing? Right now I'm making synthpop live and we do use tracks because we don't have a full band, it's just me singing and the synth player (and programmer), I wish I had a whole band and then I would use no tracks but I could never wrap my head around not singing live, that's why I make music, to sing. I guess to some people it becomes more about a visually perfect show and the money.
@MickSupper Yeah I mean I totally get that she's making a ton of money and gets to prance around on the stage while her fans adore her. I just think it would be boring to do that. The reason I started doing music was to actually do music for real because it's fun and exciting.
@@NicholasLyonWright Yeah, I think a lot of musicians feel this way, but I also think a lot of people in the pop music field got into music NOT for the music, if you see what I mean. They're doing something else. For them, the goal of "nailing it" in a live performance is not something that's at the top of their priority list.
I shared this video in a music group on Facebook. I didn't do it to make Taylor Swift look bad. I did it to show people what artists often do; not playing and singing 100% live. I got nothing but negative reactions. One even asked for my post to be removed because it was as he claimed "fake news". I also wrote an article on this video on Reddit, wondering why large parts of music fans don't care about this and if we might not see any live music in the near future and we only watch holograms, listening to computerized music. Here the reactions were far more elaborate and mostly agreed.y
I've had non-musician friends of mine with daughters claiming how AMAZING Taylor is and how she is greater THAN ANY OTHER FEMALE ARTIST EVER. And that's not just them... I keep hearing it over and over and over. It's simply not true. She was chosen to be "the production". That's it. Period. Even Madonna back in the day had more integrity and value. Crissy Hynde, Grace Slick, Aretha, Janis, Whitney, Amy Winehouse, Bonnie Raitt, Cyndi Lauper, Judy Garland, Pat Benatar, Debby Harry, Patti Smith, etc.... there are SO MANY MORE with so much better chops and songs and more integrity.
Which those claims has been going on for more than a decade now. Her fanatical fans would attack anyone that was a Country Music fan and not a fan of hers, and state that none of us knew anything about what real music is, or knew anything about the history of Country Music.
People said the same thing about Madonna. And before her, others were the greatest ever. It's a generational swing. It might take a while for the next one as big as Swift, but it will likely happen. That said, i don't know if TS's popularity is as big as Michael Jackson's was in 1983, or The Beatles in 1964, or Elvis Presley's in 1957, or Frank Sinatra's in 1945, or Bing Crosby's in 1932. The "greatest ever" comes and goes.
I won't deny how others feel about artists they like. Someone's favorite artists are just that. I'm an old fart with favorite artists, mostly older bands, but I do seek out current music that I like. As far as the sounds you hear , that has obviously changed, but not for all recent music, depending on how it is produced. I still hope for a change in production for the better, but I'm just a romantic...
I hope you expose this more and more nice job, she got best live performance that's a joke, the whole system is corrupt now in music. She should be giving the money back 😮😮😮
Shows have been canned in Vegas for years. No mistakes, no timing issues. It's just a show to showcase the musician(s) in person. Of course, they don't all do it... most in residence do.
I am in my 60s and the only time I hear modern music is when I go in shops. Thanks to these videos, I can clearly hear the weird wobbly autotuned bits now! It's natural at my age to think modern music is rubbish, but really...
I wonder if there is something similar with television? I don't watch TV at home, but when it is forced upon me, like in a doctor's waiting room, it is almost unbearable. Certainly the content of daytime TV is lacking, but there is something in the audio that makes me want to turn it off (which of course is not permitted). Maybe it's heavy compression or something. Fill, any thoughts? Could you have a brief listen to a daytime American game show? It's really odd. Great analysis of the TS audio!
I used to think like you, about modern music being trash, but as i've gotten older (i'm younger than you), i've realized that musical preferences are largely a cultural thing, and based on our lived experiences. I no longer think of modern music as trash, but just know that i don't like it. I don't want to get more opinionated and stuck in my ways as i age. I want to be more insightful and understand things that are different.
Well since what year you consider modern music? I enjoy many bands and artists from the 00s and they are or were certainly real singers and musicians , not using ore records and lip syncing like in this case in the video . Example :System of a down, Linkin park, the strokes, Adele, Keane, Evanescence, , etc
I don't know why some people feel like that they have been personally attacked whenever they are told that a artist that they like will lip sync, it is also like when fans will send death threats to plastic surgeons when they say that a celebrity has had work done, celebrity worship is one hell of a drug🤦🏻♀️😅
It's because that artist's work gets broadly discredited. It's really not fair. Taylor is the biggest popstar of modern times, her production is expected to be bigger and bigger every tour. As a result, she won't be able to sing all of 3 hours for 150 shows. Even Michael Jackson lip-synced. It would be another thing if she performed a 3-5 song medley, hell even 10 songs, but we're talking 40+ songs back to back to back.
I don't know if it's so much "celebrity worship" as it is wanting to feel validated. Someone could interpret criticizing something they like, as criticizing them, personally, since they are the ones that chose to enjoy it. Kinda like if i said someone was my favorite guitarist, and someone came around and pointed out how he missed notes here, and here and here. And that they did this or that lick the easy way, instead of a better way. It could make the person feel stupid for liking something they thought of differently. So, they defend it. Also....maybe they just really like the thing.
It's not just a concert, but a demonstration of divine self-control: she can sing and band can play, but they choose not to. On the other hand, noise from the audience seems authentic and somewhat different each time.
FIL - Is it safe to assume Front of House Engineers are signing NDA contracts saying they won’t expose the artists? I assume they are ones held accountable for making sure everything goes perfect every single night.
@@markmooch I can't say anything about the TS tour, but there have been other tours where they have two or three sources running in perfect sync so if one computer crashes, it's of absolutely no consequence.
Sadly, I feel the younger generations are less and less concerned whether it’s live or not and think the constant rise of technology and digital media have a lot to do with that… also just the type of music and artist that est mainstream music pushes including the celebrity worship culture. I truly believe that most fans of this kinda newer highly manufactured music are far less interested in whether they’re actually talented and more obsessed with the overall aesthetic vibe and performance part of its entertainment. I mean let’s be real our culture is now turning TikTok dancers, TH-cam pranksters and onlyfans creators into mega popular wealthy celebs. None of them remotely as talented as the artist actors and entertainers from yesterdecades
Pavarotti was a deep purple fan and was envious of there freedom to make each performance a new event as he was expected to make his the same every time. He was a real professional I wander how much his day to day performance changed
I had some lights technician telling me of some of the kind; it is not an at now thing, it started when technology could provide it, now gone completely out of hand
Pavarotti's job was to do it the same each time, so I can understand his admiration. Rock n Roll fans used to want something a bit more a bit personalised in a concert. Maybe it is like being in the club as these are the fans and not the everybody that likes it on the radio, and fans want all the stuff that was trimmed off to make a commercial radio hit. A bit like being in a club with all the other insiders.
@@nebod1556weird. Are you saying Pavarotti didn’t perform live and mimed or used autocorrect software?One of the greatest tenors of our era cheated in your opinion?
What really bothers me is all her fame is based on lies. They talk about how she is in ways bigger than the Beatles. Well duh!! Anyone who plays a flawless "live" performance and tricks fans into thinking they are that perfect; is going to become that famous. But just like steroids, her fame needs an asterisk (along with all the other current bands) when comparing them to any band from the 60's - 80's
I am fed up also. I think it's laughable that she's hyped as the greatest musical talent in history. After watching Fil's video, I would definitely not go see her in concert. I am very selective of artists who I would go see.
Saw a clip on the news a while back, ts was screaming at her security members (in the middle of a song) and at the same time she kept singing the song perfectly without skipping a beat, now that is raw talent!
I do remember the day after Celine Dion performance in Paris at the Olympic Games opening .. I wrote a post in the first video of that performance that actually showed up saying.. "come on that's lypsinc". And actually knowing the rules of those events since more than 40 years that usually pre record the track in case of last minute technical issues or weather conditions, I didn't find it so odd at the end. By the way I have been attacked and threatened by tons of people addressing me with the worse words possible. Some of my comments were even deleted..I did read about an "amazing performance, a vocal blast, a epic voice!!" 😮 Hey.. Helloooo.. It was on lipsync! And actually even with pitch correction! I'm a musician, I wouldn't consider me an expert as Fil in voice recording , but I had that feeling that was on lipsync. Few days later when Fil videos of that performance came out, and Fil validated my point with instruments analysis.. He was attacked as well as a evil person from bunch of blind and deaf fanboys.. Now after a few months, and after Fill analysis was actually confirmed about Paris .. Still fanboys are calling him ( and me) a lier. And that's exactly what is happening again, with all videos he is making, proving his point with different artists.. And still fanboys are scandalized and horrified by his "audacity" because their idols have been ridiculously grounded. So the conclusion is" people like to be fooled!" even in front of the evidence, they like to be fooled!. Do they really need to spend a lot of money to go and watch those concerts to get fooled?
Any real celine fan who has studied her lipping like I have knows her comeback performance was always going to be lipped. When I first heard it was the Olympics I was relieved knowing the "why did she have to lip?" talking point would be null and void in comparison to her CHOOSING to lip a generic tv performance. Absolutely ridiculous people would actually argue that could have been live
@lorafrost9628 do you give her and her staff a pass for lying to everyone?? Do you give her a pass for her shows in Las Vegas as well??Do you know how much people paid for the ticket? .. And she was on lipsync?? And all the time she performed on lipsync during her career .. For her own admission??
The sad thing is that people who like this sort of music don't care. As a fan of guitar music I've never understood the concept of pop music live, because you simply can't play pop music live - or if you tried people would hate it because it doesn't sound like it does on spotify through headphones.
They had an expression for this in Ancient Rome: Panem et circem. Swift is a manufactured money-maker, it doesn't really matter what trickery is used to produce these shows as long as it all works.
Fil is so chill as he delivers his analysis ,which adds to his credibility . The fans of any artist are generally heavily identified with their idol making for immediate knee jerk reactions based solely on subjectivity . Fil crushes their arguments in a polite manner , not to be mean but to educate those in denial .,
I appreciate his general attitude, I am not pleased with the most obsessive swifties who can’t keep it levelheaded and polite. What I find ridiculous though, is some select members of the comment section (more so last video from what I’ve seen, but maybe it’s just because this one is so fresh) who have literally no stake in this (no beloved fave to defend) and just totally thrive on triumphantly dissing Taylor and her fans. You can voice your preferences/ disappointment whatever, just keep it cute guys? Why be so aggressive? 😅
I’ve worked in tv for decades and with any live performance it was totally normal to run through the gig at least once and record that just in case the performer became “unwell” prior to going on air. Unwell could be panic/drunk/grouchy/whatever. These safety recordings have been happening way back to radio days when opera stars would only sing live to air if they delivered a perfect rendition. These recordings often got called “laryngitis” takes. The opera star would get the jitters and demand they use the practice recording because they had strained their voice and could not perform live. Bear in mind that these gigs would only be for one or two songs. It’s so sad to know that Taylor was feeling awful for so long all over the world. Her real voice must be like Grover from Sesame Street. What a trooper…
This is done all the time on award shows now. They pre-record a live take from rehearsals and play that back for the show so there are no chances for a bad performance. I recall a CMA show where Kenny Chesney fumbled his mic but luckily caught it at crotch level.... While his vocal magically stayed at perfect volume. Know THAT is a magical penis.
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Even as a musician who knows that tracks are being used, the level to which everything is being faked here is really quite unbelievable. Your work to prove this Fil is on another level and as others have said you are doing most valuable work - keep it up and maybe us old school musicians have a fighting chance of survival!
Right! Now we know why we see so few unplugged performances.
Old school??? Call it Real School!! If this is new school, shame on it
The video is all programmed too. Exactly the same shots at the same time. The cameras are setup and then a computer cycles through them exactly the same.
It's amazing that she can keep on track to the fraction of a second. I suppose if the break between songs is long enough, then there's little risk of something unexpected delaying it.
@@CharlesRyan-f3j Oh, I miss the unplugged performances. Now it's all about pre-recorded and auto-tuned performances.
I'm a professional engineer.. it's impossible for the band to play identically in two different shows.. even if the timing was close, you'd still have phasing issues.. but FIL split the shows into Singapore full left pan and Tokyo full right pan.. and the audio isn't phasing? Because it's the SAME AUDIO FILES BEING PLAYED... The entire show is a pre-recorded event.. no one is playing live. If the tracks were different you'd hear a flange effect.. it's extremely obvious when you hear a flange effect...
I wonder how there is no sound from the musicians. I guess the electric guitars or other instruments that need power to make sound are just turned off, but what about the drums? I think the singer in this case sounds flat all the time and all the autotune isn’t helping, but I am curious about the musicians.
@@sunshineflyer The drums are mic'd in a venue like these. Individual mics on each drum/cymbal. Turn them off and you won't hear the drums over everything else running through the speakers.
@ - thanks for the explanation! I tend to watch guitar and drums more than the performers. I wonder if slips would be more obvious.
And don't all rooms have a
different character?
My guess is its a production / show over a live gig, its a computer triggering the whole sound and lights. Shame if you paid to hear an actual live singer.
I couldn't see the Eras tour so I attended a Taylor Swift night at a local bar. They just played her songs over the speakers and it was a fun night of dancing and singing along... It's good to know I got a similar experience without spending so much money 😅
ha, wise, all live shows now are suspect.
And you also knew exactly what you were getting. I hope you enjoyed your experience.
@@wout123100 Not the ones where a band is obviously playing and a singer is obviously singing. Sometimes it's obvious when there are no shenanigans.
@@wout123100 You've never seen my last band live then.
There was no doubt what so ever that it was all live.
The bum notes, the embarrassed and killer stares were all real
I’ll really have to pass on a TayTay night too. Pass on all of it.
I believe you, and well done for not caving. I just came here for the comments.
*Just waiting for the swiftie minions to arrive, triggered & raging at Fil for pointing out the inconvenient truth.*
I would love to get my hands on the NDA’s that production and musicians had to sign. I’m betting they’re pure gold.
It would be interesting
Absolutely!
Not always. I worked in the industry for years and years. If you want to keep working......you keep your mouth shut.
one day in the far future when the earth has run out of oxygen, and the sun dies, we will see those things, and they'll still have redactions.
@@christopherwoycke1959Yes.. but one of Taylor Swifts guitarists said that he always worried that his guitar performance was being analysed and if he made mistakes he might get fired. It is obvious that Taylor's previous shows were all live. It does look as though a few fishy tricks were being used on the Eras tour.
And she won "Best Live" at MTV EMA yesterday. 😂
🤑
🎉😂😂😂😂😂🎉
She should get an Oscar
Against ADELE. What the hell?
wtf
@@yoyoyogames9527 Yeah well you know what they say success over talent
As a Swiftie who went to the Eras Tour and was blown away by how great it was, I can't help but find it disappointing to discover that parts of the show were lip-synced. I can begrudgingly accept pitch correction, but it's sad to know that this amazing concert experience I had wasn't fully live like I thought it was. Still, I'm really thankful that you've done these analysis videos of the tour, because it's endlessly fascinating to discover the ins and outs of how this whole thing worked, and I'm also really grateful that you've been as objective and unbiased as you've been, since so many people who talk about Taylor are quick to overly praise her or berate her. You stuck only to the facts, and I respect the hell out of that. You've gotten yourself a new fan, Fil. Thanks for these videos.
How can you accept pitch correction at a live show? its not possible to pitch correct in real time my dear.
Taylor is a fraud - and yes Fil Rocks.
At least you're willing to accept the truth, where others aren't have some has even wished harm of some form on Fil.
@@petes1742 Fil has already demonstrated that Taylor was pitch corrected at other shows. I don't have the link, but it is here somewhere.
@@anomardolphin Tiny Desk performance i know.
not fully live? the whole thing is a backing track!
I suspect that ppl who have never worked with audio waveforms will have a hard time understanding how impossible your findings are. However, the fact that you can play the left and right channels simultaneously from different shows, without it sounding like an absolute incoherent mess, is undeniable proof...and hilarious! Thanks Fil.
Yeah, I mean you don't even really need to have a sophisticated understanding of this to at least grasp the basic notion. If anything, just any reasonable, logical, deductive skills and reasoning should be sufficient. because he keeps accounting for variables that fans mention.
You might be feeling very special for having worked with audio waveforms, but for the rest of us who haven't this video was pretty easy to understand lol. He explains it very clearly and we all have eyes and ears.
You can hear in the bit where he's saying "still perfectly in sync" that there's a difference in the strumming and the drum performance... and yet, no mention of that.
Nobody has explained how the hell she does it! How the hell can she be HEARD singing the wrong lyrics, stop herself, go back and sing the wrong lyrics AGAIN and do that MIMING and STAYING IN SYNC?
@@faz-io He explained a lot of that is the acoustics in each venue. Even two people recording from different places in the same venue can get a very different aural experience.
"Best live artist 2024" at the grammys. The music industry is such a scam 😂
Seriously?! That needs to be taken back; or they need to define what "live artist" means to them.
It's a circle of jerks
Their entire life is one big deception
There is no such category at the Grammy Awards. Are you thinking of some other awards show maybe? Like the iHeart Radio Awards or something?
"Unreal" -Ed Bassmaster
An ANALYSIS is defined as a detailed examination of the elements or structure of something. You have done exactly that. Genuine FACT!! Now let's put the arguments to bed. Bravo Fil! Excellent in-depth examination!
I just recently watched a live version of "Shake it Off" (in the Live Lounge) and I commented to my wife that it's amazing how she sounds just like the studio version. Now we know why!
Most people on this page listen to actual music so won't know what shake it off is.
To be fair, the vocals they use for concerts are typically re-recordings of the songs, or at least alternate vocals. That way, they sound similar to the studio versions to appease the fans, but just a little different, so it doesn't sound like a copy. Traditionally, i usually didn't like live albums because i always thought, "Gee, their voice isn't as good, and the sound quality isn't as good." Of course, i'm talking about stuff recorded from the 50's through 80's.
@@trekkiejunkyou should listen to Four-Way Street by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. The best live album ever released.
@@chrisb7528 Well, I listen to "real music" and I do what "Shake It Off" is--it played far too often in shops and it wasn't my choice to hear it!
Exactly. And thanks for your service in 1st Cav. I was in 2AD.
As a fan who went to the eras tour, going into it, I knew there was heavy backing tracks and probably some auto tune, but I really appreciate your objective analysis of the tour and her vocals. It’s kind of insane how much of this is pre-recorded. I assumed that with all the visuals and the way every era is connected, it’s essentially pressing play on the screen visuals for the tour and the band and Taylor just kept up with it, but this video was actually crazy. I have no problems with the amount of auto tune but that many pre-recorded things is sad…. I expected some but not this much.
The fact that you can fast forward through both clips and ALWAYS hit the exact same spot in the both these "live" shows is all the proof you need this is from recorded tracks.
I used to record our gigs and NEVER would they sync up from song to song, never mind each entire night to the next.
Each show segment (3, 4 songs, usually with little or no talking between them) has its own SMPTE time code that keeps the video, lights, lasers, pyro, and "audio sweetening" playing together, along with sending a click track (metronome) to the band. And the band may well be up there playing its collective booty off, but we're not hearing that in the seats.
Well, not necessarily. The drummer may be playing along to a time code click track which is triggering all the lighting etc. The band then sync to the drummer, obviously. That would mean that every single night the set would procede at the exact same time even though all the band are actually playing. I am not convinced by all of Phil's analysis because I went to the Eras tour on two consecutive nights, and I am 99% certain that Paul Sidoti the lead guitarist played a particular solo that I loved slightly differently on each night.
@@raygunsforronnie847 No way. It makes absolutely no sense that you could skip through an hour of a “live concert”, that was recorded a month apart in different locations, and it’s *NEVER* out of sync!! That’s ridiculous.
@@zx7-rr486 It makes absolutely no sense that you could skip through an hour of a “live concert”, that was recorded a month apart in different locations, and it’s *NEVER* out of sync!!
I’m sorry but that’s ridiculous.
@@soude85 My discussion is general in nature, and not specific to the show in question... but it does not invalidate either observation.
I think Tay Tay was telling us something when her tour was named "Push Play" a few year back.
I love your work ❤ It's meticulous and unbiased.
I remember seeing two consecutive shows of Prince's Sign of the times tour circa 1986. They changed the arrangements from one show to the next, extended or shortened songs, solos, jams. It was great. It was LIVE. Other great bands could do the same thing back in the day. The point is, there is no excuse. There is no excuse.
The excuse is that she’s actually not a good singer at all, and she’s fooled a lot of people to become a billionaire.
In her defense, she went to the Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy and was told it’d be ok.
😂
Boom!🎉
Boom!🎉
I don't get that joke, but i bet it was funny!
😂😂🎉
With all the dancing, one would hear some breathiness. Yet, she has a very calm, steady and controlled delivery.
Yeah, delivery of a backing track.
That's because Taylor is an angel. Angels don't have to breathe.
The news reported several times that she ran on the treadmill while singing her entire set in the months leading up to the tour. Maybe they were preconditioning fans to not question this. 🧐
you know what when I watched the movie of the tour there is a part she's literally jumping and singing and I though wow how does she do that! now I know I been fooled 😅
@@GardenGirl-uu9ny Was Taylor saying this in Time Magazine.
Really liked the part of this video when you said “still in sync”
one of the better drinking games
Poor Phil had to listen for that long, lol. Even the acoustic guitar song is fake? Dang.
4+ hours of Taylor Swift. You deserve an award for taking one for the team.
@@Sonny_Eclipse Fil should be Knighted for this.
Hats off: that is beyond reasonable endurance
I couldn't even do 1 song.
Thanks for listening so that we didn't have to...jeez. That's yeoman's duty...
Almost as long as a Taylor Swift concert.
Fil, no one could be paid enough to do this particular analysis. You are a saint.
or a masochist.
He is getting paid plenty by the clicks because he just keeps putting "Taylor Swift" in his description. He will likely put out many more "Taylor Swift" videos to just get a little more off her coat tail. Definitely not a saint
@@mtkimbrell Exactly. 4 videos and probably his most viewed 4 ever (when its all said and done)
@@eric_in_florida None are even in his top 50 videos by views.
@@MikeD_ Because they're new. Check back in a month.
As a drummer, there are tell-tale signs. The tom inflection sound during the fill… that is practically impossible live. The snare sounds identical in intensity but has 4 different sounds. Not only is it triggered, but it’s replaced and is being played over a backing track.
Are you saying the drummer is playing full out the whole show but along with the recording? I am a percussionist but not drum set and have never played in a band. I can see how the electric instruments can be switched “off” but drums are drums and anyone sitting near enough will hear them
I think Milli Vanilli should get their Grammy Awards back. They were better than the best of today.
Ashley Simpson deserves a comeback too for that matter.
Un, Milli Vanilli disn't sing those tracks, and Taylor Swift did actually sing hers.
@@cleopuma4322 But nobody is hearing what she actually sounds like.
I feel sorry for those guys. They got hounded to death so bigger stars could do this and get away with it. All the best !
@@michaelfelsinger-k2i Kinda/not really. Rob Pilatus and Fabs Morvan were syncing to vocal tracks sung by 5 different singers, of whom they were.... none. Both had actual talent but Rob Pilatus ended his career in 1998 largely because of the scandal.
I thought the demonstration of what ambient noise does to the pitch graph was extremely helpful, showing that the same audio files will only have certain places where they match up and won't sync up perfectly everywhere. It was also helpful to show what autotune does now, but I hope to never hear your wonderful voice autotuned again! You really put a lot of thought and effort into this Fil, well done!
It's just embarassing isn't it. It's good that we have you Fil. Your integrity and analytical skills are top notch and you are serving all of us out here with the one thing that really counts - pure honesty. Thank you for that in a world where it is in such short supply.
I’ve been waiting for this one! Knew it would be on Taylor after you teased it. Love your detailed videos fil, youre out here doing the lords work ✌️
My nephew is a professional guitarist. He's played as a studio musician and backed up many well known singers at the Viper Club, etc. He's been telling me about this happening for years but that he's never seen it done more than with Taylor Swift's concerts. It's outrageous considering the price of tickets for her shows. Thank you, Fil, for exposing this hypocrisy. You deserve a medal for exposing yourself to both the "music" and the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Would that be the Viper Room in LA? If so, dang! That's the place in which Johnny Depp owned a share, where River Phoenix OD'd after sitting in with a band of celebs and collapsed right outside the door in 1993.
The ticket prices are different overseas than in America because American law allows outrageous resell prices. She does not get the inflated price and sued Ticketmaster over this. That is why so many Americans got a better deal going overseas for shows. Even if she never toured, she’d be a tremendously popular and wealthy artist. Countries begged her to tour there because of the money brought to the economy hence the length of the tour. As far as the commenter who said she was a joke in Nashville, she was a child when she lived there and got the help of many artists like Tim McGraw who believed in her talent.
It’s insane how expensive her concert tickets are. I used to save my ticket stubs for concerts I used to go to, and I’m looking at them now. I paid $25.50 to see Nsync in 1999, $50 to see them in 2000 (we had better seats), and I saw No Doubt in 1997, in the height of their career, for $25.50 and then again in 2002 for $30.00. Like, it seems unreal, actually lol. We never had super good seats, but I’m pretty sure even the “nosebleed” seets for TS are ridiculously high.
They're paying for the entire experience of seeing her in person, being around the other Swifties, yelling and screaming to their favorite songs etc. They do not care that it's not 100% live performance, I can assure you. For some reason Fil is all worked up over it. It's not 1970 anymore and music is not the same as it was.
@@eric_in_florida He's probably the most calm youtuber who does stuff like this in the world, not worked up at all, just showing details of how it's done.
🎉 Thanks , Fil ❤ For keeping it real ! 🌟 Love your amazing channel ! 🥳🩷
4 hours & 40 minutes is 4 hours & 35 minutes more than I could sit through. I commend you for your dedication.
4 hours and 40 minutes above my tolerance. Fil makes masochists look like pussies.
I used to literally work in sewers (making videos) and that was more pleasurable than listening to Swift Taylor for four hours.
*You could replace taylor with a Wal-Mart mannequin and no one would notice and swifties would still claim she's the best.*
Fil you need to release a T shirt saying 'Still in sync' 😉
😂😂
I'd buy a shirt with those words on it!
Me TOO!!
Must have Christmas gift!
What a fantastic piece of sleuthing. You’re like the Sherlock Holmes of music. Just binge watching now and amazed.
Thanks for the donation!
I was talking to a friend of mine in the Philippines who was going to spend nearly all his savings to go see swift in the states. I told him about your channel and just to check it out (I didn't want to try and duplicate word for word your analysis) Afterwards he called and said he wasn't going to be spending his money to see someone lip sync. I agreed and then told him I hope he wasn't too disappointed. He instead said he was going to use that money to become a Patreon on your channel. Good work and again, keep up exposing these people.
Fil admits that it's mostly a live vocal, albeit auto-tuned. I really don't care!
@@RockVeteranPeople SHOULD care when they're being suckered in. She is laughing all the way to the bank.
Oh wow, in "the crazy world in which we live", that is so cool!
🎉 great decision!
her tour in the states is over, so he wouldn’t have been able to see her anyway
Wow, Fil, you are like a modern day David, up against the Goliaths of the music industry. David won his battle and so have you with your slingshot of truth. Champion. ❤
Great way of putting it: Fil being a modern day David up against the Goliaths of the music industry.
Wow, the extent of the backing track and auto-tune throughout the show is mind-blowing. Thanks, Fil!
*Without Auto-tune and backing tracks, I seriously doubt she (and many others) would have a career in music.*
*If they weren't considered attractive, they definitely wouldn't.*
The show is not about the music, it's about TS dancing around and looking good for her fans. Is it live or Memorex?
@@TenFalconsMusichow do you tell if a song is live or mimed if both are autotuned?
@@anthonypapp6349But most people are too far away to even see her, so they’re paying outrageous prices to watch her on a screen and hear prerecorded vocals. 😅
People are paying a lot of money for an auto-tuned backing track, and to watch her strut around the stage.
Sorta true. But the people that go are paying for the experience of being in the venue, being with other fans, music all around them, getting concert-exclusive merch, having a communal experience, and making a memory of the event. I wouldn't go to see Paul McCartney if he was doing the same thing as Swift and all the other pop artists do today. ( I mean, i can't afford him anyway). But that is the difference between you and me, and those other fans. They don't likely care, and that's ok. I just wish people were going in with the knowledge first.
Yes
@@trekkiejunk How many of the millions of people that see Taylor live even know that it is 100% faked? You make it sound like they all know it's phony.
taylor will never be at a lack for kidney donors. they would pay her for the privilege.
Sad to say, it was the same with Celine Dion during her 10+ year Vegas show. Long before the current software was available, I recall seeing a TH-camr do something similar to what Phil is doing here. He took two concert performances from Celine done 10 years apart and with the help of equalizers and other analysis he showed Celine was unquestionably lip syncing; this was especially the case with her big power ballads like It's All Coming Back to Me Now and My Heart Will Go On with a very high and wide range. She'd sing the first verse of each song live because it was at a lower register, but by the time the first chorus came, through the bridge, and into the climax, it was all mimed. He proved that she hadn't sung any of her big hits fully live since the mid 90's. To try and avoid making each performance sound identical, she used two slightly different recordings of each song that she would alternate between concerts.
Anyway, the story got so much press that eventually, Celine couldn't avoid it publicly anymore. When asked by a reporter if she felt the lip syncing was unethical as a "live" performer, she replied (I'm paraphrasing, but this is very close to what she said) "What is all the upset about? People don't just come to hear me sing. They come to see the sets, costumes, light show, and dancers." Sad. I actually thought she had a higher performance standard as a "singer" but I lost a lot of respect for her after that. This kind of fakery has been going on for a long time, long before the Taylor Swift deception, and with "singers" we wouldn't suspect. We don't have true singers anymore; they consider themselves "entertainers." Very different.
I was at the Bon Iver gig in London when Taylor joined them for a song. It was fine but she definitely wasn't perfectly in tune. I think I may have heard her without autotune 😮.
I wonder how the in concert duet with Mick Jagger was handled?
On top of everything you have mentioned here about the music, I am fascinated at how every single micro second of the show seems to be so similar and "staged", every talking to the audience bit, every wave, every "cute" smile and cheeky moment. it all feels so fake and unauthentic it's actually embarrassing. what is the point of seeing someone live when you might as well be watching a video.
Especially when most are so far away they can’t even see anything but her on the screen.
Still in sync... Thank you Fil. You are a star. ⭐
54 minutes of Fil on a gloomy day. Life just got a little better today. Thx brother!
I just kept thinking. This is the exact same vocals. I probably repeated 30 phrases, hearing from one ear at a time, and I couldn't even find one time when they weren't identical.
Something that stood out to me: 26:16 Listen to her squeaky breathing sound. It's in both shows. No human could replicate such a small detail at the same spot, and you'd have no reason to.
Keep in mind that these are audience recordings. Sounds will bounce differently and the delays will not be identical and consistent across the time and pitch spectrums. But close enough that it sounds the same. Then you have the audience potentially swaying the program. So even for an identical recording, the waves aren't going to align perfectly like they would if they were recorded from the device that gives the speaker feed.
The auto-tune also points towards it being recordings. It's risky to use auto-tune in a live setting. Maybe the tech has improved a lot, but to me this sounds way too proper for live auto-tune. Auto-tune makes a singer sound robotic, but most the time it doesn't sound that obvious or strange. But those rare cases will pop up now and then. The examples that Fil pointed out are not that bad. The lack of overt signs of auto-tune is generally a sign that it has been spot-edited on top of auto-tune. And you can't do this on a liveshow, unless it's the official feed.
These concerts are most likely (mostly if not completely) live recordings with her and the band in Nashville, which is then played during the show. That's why it doesn't sound like the studio versions. And I guess they all pretend to play and sing. Maybe they re-record everything for each tour.
The concept of playing the same songs for every show in the same order is blashemous enough for me. That have never happened to me.
Yep! I heard it. 26:16. Helps to close your eyes. Thank you!
It used to be, in the 80s at least, you'd go to a concert and the band plays a different version of the song than is on the record. When I was a kid, I didn't like that it sounded different. But as an older person, I want them to vary, change, do it differently. Now, they want to sound the same every show.
It still is. But it depends on the artists you hear
The improvs used to be a big part of concerts.
That's an interesting point. i used to hate when it didn't sound just like the album. Now i appreciate that it doesn't. Many artists also changed how they performed a song live, because studio tricks made the same thing live impossible. So, instead of trying to badly re-create it live, they just did it differently.
@@trekkiejunk When you take into consideration, how old her core audience is, it makes total sense.
I don't like it when bands vary greatly from the album cuts of their songs, but even so, they can still play the studio cuts of their hits as we first heard them without everything sounding like it's pre-recorded or a cookie cutter performance.
Imagine how far off she must be for the Auto-Tune to get confused on what notes she's trying to hit.
not really.. if you have a complex melody line it'll get confused pretty easily.
If you're referring to Cruel Summer, that's actually one of her discography's most complicated vocal tracks. Like, one of the very few songs of hers that actually require difficult vocals.
As a long time fan who saw her live on her Speak Now tour back in 2011... I am in shock at what she has become. I thought there was a bit of miming and autotune going on during this tour, but nothing to this extent. The craziest part is that it's being justified because of her "choreography", but back when she didn't do stupid dances to her songs, she would actually sing live. I would like to go back to those days (no matter how pitchy she was lol). No one asked for 3 hours of her strutting and shaking her ass when we could have had 3 hours of genuine singing.
She doesn't actually kind of seem to be doing much dancing. I was imagining like Britney Spears style dancing (you can tell my age, hahaha) but actually it's mostly like a bit of walking.
@@vf1923exactly and it isn’t even enjoyable to watch
Great comment. Yeah, i dont need another katy perry thats what katy perry is for!
idk how you're believing this dude. the lavender haze incident proved thing wrong the other day, same with the bad blood stop thing, in fearless she sounds completely breathless at times. She just said her band plays live the entire show...right after Dave grohl tried to talk crap about her, she clapped back and said her band plays live. You think she would risk lying about that when she could have just ignored it? thats crazy lol weird.
@pettycrockerxx everything you mentioned is refuted in the video - did you even watch it? Her band plays live to an extent, however not in every song, not with every instrument and often not very audibly. Her response to Dave Grohl's comment is very telling, because she only said *her band* is playing live, but didn't say that *she* was singing live. So she didn't lie, she just avoided the question lol.
May I request a similar analysis of Beyoncé’s concert? I think it would be an interesting conversation. They both did their tours during the same time and they are the top highest grossing tours.
I think that even a series of tour’s analysis would be interesting and engaging for your community.
Anyways good job with the tour analysis!
I could actually forgive Beyonce because she does a ton of high intensity dancing. Taylor just stomps around on stage.
I think you have to send him an email to make a request.
@@vegasgirl3538 I have listened to her opening 3 songs for multiple locations and dates and they all seem live to me with minimal if any auto tune or pitch manipulation but I’m open to be proven wrong.
I enjoy Beyoncé’s performances immensely but I’m interested in a vocal analysis. I don’t think I have seen one on his channel.
You trying to get the man killed? But, it's probably about the same. She's too busy dancing and changing clothes to sing live.
I wouldn’t waste my time going to either of their concerts. Lip syncing or not.
Thanks for exposing what most of us real rock fans already suspected - great & extensive work Fil. 💯👍
My daughters were young when Taylor first became popular. I remember when Taylor sang on Oprah. She was off key most of the song. When we went to her concert I wondered if it was recorded??
Thsnk you for the videos! As a Swiftie 💜 I appreciate the truth & the magic of live music you explain to us! Im working all 6 shows in Toronto & cant wait 😂 Now i will have the knowledge to understand the difference between LIVE & Autotuned live ❤
don;'t forget all the musicians paid to mime along to the backing track.
While i don't like pop music, nor TS, i appreciate your not getting offended by Fil's info that Taylor is just lip-syncing. And you're STILL a fan because you like the music, and enjoy the experience. Good for you! Keep going to those concerts, meet new people, get the shirts, have fun with your friends, and make great memories that will last a lifetime!
Still by far the best show I’ve ever been to.
You should expect all six shows to sound exactly alike.
hello from Toronto. I've been following along with the news as she is just about to start a 6 concert series of shows here. I think the thing I find most remarkable is the stunningly escalated rates for hotels and restaurants supporting the shows. Heaven help anyone who has to stay in town for regular personal or business reasons. Rooms and restaurant reservations have been unavailable for months -and City Hall just turned a main street downtown into Taylor Swift Way for the duration. It's nuts. Good luck to Vancouver over on our west coast when she shows up there. I hear it's the same.
Phenomenal effort! ... What an excellent surgical analysis!
Taylor Swift and the musicians have been "FIL"leted ...
😆
It would be interesting to see similar comparision for some well known Nightwish song because it's well know that Nightwish uses both orchestral background tracks and click track but they still perform all the instruments on stage live. Given that they have been doing that decades, it should give you pretty clear demonstration of the best possible sync you can get with real live playing synchronized as much as possible by human players.
Don’t think her very young fans will care, but Dave Grohl is vindicated! Good detective work Fil !
💯
I mean even her like boomer fans get really offended when people mention this.
Like her "very young fans" even know it's faked. lol
You are a brave man, Fil!
Thank you for your sacrifice!
🤘 Rawk!
Is it a sacrifice to do the work and tell the truth? I hope this puts Fil up a few pegs on TH-cam!
@@Martha-jl6eu brave because swiftie is a multi billion dollar machine. I am sure their marketing and legal teams are reviewing these videos as we speak/watch Fil's hard work here.
@@gianthairypanda Well, if the Taylor Swift's people have not gone after Fil by now, I doubt they will. The last thing Taylor's people want is to make a bigger deal out of it than it already is. Fil has been doing this work for years and Taylor Swift has no defense what-so-ever. Fil is SAVING THE MUSIC! The way I see it, it can only help Fil. Not only is Fil on the right side of musical history, he is on the right side of MUSIC!
@@Martha-jl6eu Lmao. You could be right. But I have seen my fair share of the Streisand effect playing out over the last couple of years so who knows!
@@gianthairypanda Do you really think Taylor Swift wants Fil's analysis to be splashed all over the press? Look, she can't go to the grocery store without press all around her. Do you really think the press is going to ignore this, should she make trouble for Fil? No, if her people haven't made a fuss yet, I doubt they will now. Fil has absolute scientific proof. Swift's people aren't going to touch it with a 10 foot pole.
I think Mills Vanilli are owed an apology. (Well Fab anyway since Rob is dead.)I wish Taylot Swift would have an Ashlee Simpson SNL event IYKYK
I don't understand the fascination some people have for her music. She's a vocal mediocrity. She doesn't hold a candle to Sarah Vaughn, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Karen Carpenter, Etta James, et al.
A sign of the times.
Or Angelina Jordan .😊
nor is her songwriting in the same universe as Joni Mitchel or Carol King just to name a couple.
My favorite is Linda Ronstadt. I can't imagine her ever lip-syncing a performance. In an interview, she said it was time to retire when she could not sing to her original standards.
She doesn't hold a candle to the average Husky dog.
And the whole band plays in sync every night. I've been playing drums for many years, and even when I've used clicktrack on stage, it's impossible to keep the tempo 100% straight all night. And there will be different places on different nights that pace varies.
This. And this is what we love about live music, the fact that it's played by humans adding human inflections to the playing.
It's not just that, its that all the gaps between songs are in sync, and all of the starts of songs are in sync.
It's essentially one massive mp3 file, that, at the start of the show, the play button is pressed and *THAT'S IT.* Obviously, throw some heavy autotune and low frequency harmonies in there, but really that's all it is.
Doing God's work, here, Fil. Much love...and a long overdue sub.
Wouldn't waste my money on her concert!
I wouldn't go see that fake show for free.
Wait, so the whole show is just one continuous recording playing back, since all the consecutive songs are in sync??? Nothing really spontaneous can happen inbetween the songs since they all start on a set time???
Holy crap, Batman.....
No, sometimes she can talk for more time, the tracks are effectively 'started' by pressing play. Once play is pressed, every song is identical show to show. It would be very risky to try to talk for the exact same time for every show as the track might cut you off mid sentence!
@@wingsofpegasus Ah that makes a tiny bit better, you're the one that synced up the start of the songs.... thanks for the clarification Fil!!
@@wingsofpegasusHow then should I interpret that the two concerts were in sync for over an hour? Did I misunderstand that part?
The same as hearing a record album. So boring
I was wondering that as well!
I'm a huge Taylor Swift video ( I like to think I'm a reasonable one) and I really appreciate these videos. It doesn't change the fun and great feelings I had at the Era's tour. But it is also super informative and I learned a lot. So thank you for these videos, from a Swifty!
Don’t you feel like you were partially ripped off?
bruh you can't even write swiftie right 💀
@craigaust3306 no , it's still an amazing show. The music, sets, choreography etc. I do find it sad that the two acoustic surprise songs are auto-tuned because ... The whole point is showing off her singing. But apart from that I still think it's absolutely amazing and I had the time of my life. I'm also a fan of bands who just play live, just the band on stage and nothing else and if those shows turned out to be auto tuned I would be super disappointed. But with the Eras tour...nah still an amazing show and her music is still super special to me.
She is charging way too much for lip singing
You’re not a swiftie. You don’t even know how to spell SWIFTIE!!
What’s so bizarre about some of the comments that excuse Taylor Swift for the auto tune or lip synching, is that it wasn’t so long ago when there was such a scandal regarding Milli Vanilli miming their music, and it was totally Rubio us to their reputation. But now, it’s acceptable. Was Milli Vanilli just ‘ahead of their time’? LOL
Milli Vanilli didn't mimic their won voices, but other singers voices. I didn't said to to defend Taylor Swift, just to clarify
@ Kind of. Milli Vanilli was actually 4 people, 2 studio singers and 2 performers. The performers lip synched to the 2 studio singers’ audio. But I get your point.
@@may51973 And how do you know that's actually Swift's voice? Even if it were, the echo and heavy autotune manipulates her voice so much that I see no difference between her and MV.
I'm pretty sure MV could have been a sacrificial distraction from the fact that MANY artists were already doing it. Prince was criticising other artists faking it in the 80s!
The increasing trend of lip-syncing or miming pre-recorded music during live performances does raise questions around authenticity, audience expectations, and potential legal risks. From a consumer perspective, concertgoers paying a premium often expect a genuine live experience, and when that expectation isn't met, some may feel misled.
Technically, artists and promoters are at some risk of lawsuits, particularly around claims of "false advertising" if the performances are advertised as live but largely rely on pre-recorded tracks. Legal precedents for false advertising exist, though they're typically more prominent in other industries. If enough fans felt misled and organized, there could be grounds for a class-action lawsuit, especially if tickets are marketed explicitly as “live” or imply that the experience would include live singing or musicianship.
Often, the fine print on ticket sales and event promotions contains disclaimers, which can protect promoters and artists legally. For example, tickets might state that the artist’s live performance may incorporate pre-recorded elements, effectively preempting complaints of fraud. Live Nation and similar companies are adept at using such disclaimers to limit liability.
If public sentiment intensifies or enough high-profile incidents occur, regulatory or industry standards could emerge, perhaps requiring clear disclosure of pre-recorded elements. The tipping point might come if more fans demand authenticity, leading to a shift in concert marketing, possibly even rating systems indicating the level of “live” performance to set expectations.
Ultimately, while fans may be disappointed, the established legal defenses and disclaimers may make it challenging for lawsuits to succeed unless promoters have explicitly misrepresented a show. The industry could face backlash, though, especially if consumers increasingly feel that they are not getting a fair deal, which could spark meaningful change in live music standards.
i just saw this show in person in New Orleans, night 3. I think she was sick or particularly hoarse that night. it was very obvious to me, more than in the videos/livestreams from fans that I have watched from several dates on the tour, when she was lipsyncing to her own track lead vocal and when she was singing live. There was a clear tone difference that night in the two vocal qualities that night. I would say she sang live between 1/2 to 2/3 of her own vocals. Most songs had specific phrases or sections that either 1) she always doesn’t sing and doesn’t pretend to sing, while the track that has her own voice on background for double effect or harmonies sings the melody (eg, the “ooo-ooo-ooo” part of the cruel summer chorus), or 2) and more frequently, she stops singing live, but continues to lip sync to a lead vocal track, and then begins singing again.
every section of the show had at least 1 song that was fully lip synced, and some had 2. and every section of the show had at least one song and often 2 that she sang live straight through. You are correct in that sometimes she sings live on a lower harmony while her track intended to be “her own background vocal” takes a higher note or melody line. The sections and songs that are tracked are often in her higher register, which she must find more tiring, and of course also the fast paced ones that have a busier or noiser vibe and aren’t songs meant to show off the vocals (eg shake it off), and they are spaced throughout the show to conserve her voice and pace herself. of course a lead vocal track that “sounds live” exists for the entire show in case something happens and it’s needed, and I have noticed in streaming the full show from fans filming in summer 2023 that sometimes she seemed to use the track on songs I had definitely see her do live before. She also has 3 or 4 backing vocalists as well, who sometimes support her on the lead vocal line instead of singing harmonies, and as your pointed out, she will modify notes, runs, or just take a lower harmony when she normal doesn’t from show to show.
i am surprised, but i guess not not surprised at your demonstration of the use of live pitch correction during the times she is actually singing. I don’t quite have an ear to ID the robotic sound on my own, but I would like to develop that. I think the swifties who wanted you to do the acoustic sections wanted you to compare her voice when she is singing and playing without the band at all, when there is a small brown electric piano and acoustic guitar way down on the end of the stage- i would be curious if there’s live pitch correction during those two songs (which are different every night), and my guess would be yes.
i had thought that likely a fair amount of the instrumentals/production in the show was not live; there’s too many sound effects that you just don’t do with live music. (i do wish i could get my musical prodigy brother’s take on the band performing!) so the show is tightly timed and sync’d up the whole time, and that doesn’t surprise me- there would never be improv, freestyling, in a show like this. they have added and removed songs from the setlist, and some of taylor’s “speeches” go longer than others, but everything is otherwise really timed really tightly. it also doesn’t surprise me that by the time she gets to Asia, a year into the tour, that her own live sung vocals line up over each other very very closely on most songs. I wonder if they would sync up so well with her vocal on night 1 of the tour. your two shows stayed synced here perfectly between each section, during the costume changes. however they can be occasionally extended if there is a costume malfunction or a hold-up getting taylor to her next point of entry onto the stage. The band just vamps, or sometimes the live audio engineer is in control. i only noticed this because my sister is a theatrical dresser and when i watched the show with her around, she was timing how fast her changes were, and one night a change that took 2 minutes when she first timed it took closer to 4.
all in all, i was not disappointed in the slightest how much taylor lip syncs in the show. it clearly wasn’t the whole show, or even a majority. i think the songs she chose to lip sync and the songs she chose to actually sing all the way through were the right ones, and i think it’s clever to jump in and out of lip syncing where needed on some songs. it’s a 3 hr set with 45+ songs; she’s singing as much time per week as someone performing on broadway might (broadway shows also often use tracks for all their ensemble numbers). I wish i could hear her do it without the pitch correction, though, for sure!
I truly appreciate the effort you put into this comment! It was well thought out and articulated!
If she can’t actually sing for 3 hours, why do it? It’s such an insincere money grab.
@@chilo8187 because she wanted to cover all her albums. I've been going to gigs for 35yrs and the show was worth every penny. No hits were left out.
@ I’m glad you liked the MP3 recording 😂
@KM-tl6gt that doesn't justify anything. At the end of the day this proves she is completely talentless outside of the studio 😂
Brilliant analysis :). This would hold up in a court of law. I admire your strength. Her melodies are so banal. It is criminal that teenagers (and parents) must spend a FORTUNE to attend these sing alongs. I fear that it has become a religious experience to go to a TS concert for her fans. It is the mass worship night that they are paying for. Also I appreciate your kindness in asking “I don’t know why they used auto tuning so severely”. We know the answer. You’re too polite to say.
…more like a cult as it has a worshiped leader and all of the characteristics of a cult both in practice and blind belief.
Not sure how Taylor lives with taking such huge sums of money for tickets to a complete facade…
Wouldn’t have a problem if she just came clean and let her fans know she uses backing tracks. It probably wouldn’t hurt her as her hard core fans would probably buy tickets anyway. However the deception at this point is disgraceful. A completely fraudulent concert that fans have paid millions of dollars to see.
It’s a long way to fall…
She doesn't set the ticket prices and they are more reasonable in Europe because of that. Place blame in the US where it belongs - Ticketmaster and shenanigans
@@elizabethheyenga9277 why doesn't she bother to set the ticket prices? doesn't she care about her fans?
I remember years ago when Queen toured and they got to the middle part of Bohemian rhapsody. Freddie said they could never do that bit live so they just left the stage and played the record. Class!
Thank goodness we now have Forestella who sing the middle part live at every performance and leave Queen for dead. 🌿
@@judithermer7969 They are very good singers! Thank goodness they had Queens song to cover. Noticed they weren’t playing instruments during their performance, which would have made it more difficult to sing a capella part of song. Nobody will leave Queen’s music dead. Plus 3 band members are very much alive.
I remember when Queen first toured Australia and were bottled off stage. The Aussie bands, who all cut their teeth busting their balls night after night in beer barns, and could really play, were far better.
@@swinetrek I remember reading that happened. It was early in Queens career. I also know that they were introduced to the crowd in a very unflattering way. The Aussie bands were in home territory. Doesn’t mean Queen didn’t work hard in their own country, England. All 4 members were in many bands before becoming Queen, but they kept at it, and became a world famous band, giving their all in their live performances. Many bands have rough starts.
You sound so amazing when you demonstrate the vocals yourself, the pitch is so 😭😍💜
"I can't unhear that now".
I feel that way about all of her songs.
I'm lucky, I find her stuff instantly forgettable 😂
I’m an Official Old Fart and I’ve seen concerts by Neil Young, Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention, Arthur Lee and Love to name but a few and they were all wonderful and I can still remember them clearly over 50 years later. If there was the occasional bum note or off pitch moment I didn’t care, I was in the presence of genius and privileged to be there. I feel so sorry for the young today that are being cheated and lied to by this garbage, they deserve so much better. Thank you Fil.
It's great that you included Love. Forever Changes is often cited as the best or most influential pop album. Arthur Lee's live concert indoors with orchestra of Forever Chanes is on TH-cam.
@ Totally agree 👍, Forever Changes will always be my favourite album of all time and Alone Again Or my favourite song. It seemed to me the music had died but then, thank God, I discovered Japan and bands like One OK Rock, Band Maid, Nemophila, Baby Metal, Kalafina (excuse me while I cry) not to mention solo artists like Utada Hikaru, Aimer etc.
Arthur Lee.....❤️❤️
I always find the mistakes heard at shows make it more exciting, like a little reminder that anything could go wrong at any time but they're still keeping it together. It's fun.
I've seen Neil Young 7 times. I think Taylor Swift is a better songwriter - her songwriting blows me away. I saw her twice in Edinburgh. I guessed there was some sort of track and I'm fine with it. The shared experience was incredible. Realistically, she's never going to play fully live in a intimate venue that I'll get to see, so that's as good as it'll get for me.
The whole show is absolutely on a track with time code so the light show and video screens are in sync and the sane every night. Most every band I run across on tour that runs tracks does the same thing unless the drummer or a tracks guy starts and stops them between songs to be more organic
Dude, I even switched the output on my interface to mono when you were doing the comparisons. They are ABSOLUTELY IDENTIACAL!
P.S. - As a professional audio engineer myself, where do I sign up for FOH for Taylor? You're just a glorified DJ! 😂
It's like playing a movie on two different projectors at the exact same time. It's crazy and it's not art.
Uh... You'll need to show us your Daytime Emmy Award before we'll even audition. Then we'll see if you're worthy of a spot in the cast.
@@raygunsforronnie847 What? Daytime Emmy? Cast? Audition? This makes NO sense. If you are trying to pretend to be a part of their crew you are doing a TERRIBLE job.
@@matt_nyc_audioengineer The satire went over your head so fast we saw your hair move. Sorry, I'll be more explicit next time.
@ Ya I’m autistic so thanks.
Oh, boy... this is a deep dive. Fil is committed to a thorough job 🐈
I agree with you completely NinjaKittyBonks! 🙂
@@veramilton833 ... Well, there Ms. Agreeable 😸Howz 'bout The Kitty just give you a little 🐈bonk ?
Well done for doing such a great job on this, Fil. You've worked hard ❤
I really appreciate the work You do with your videos exposing this side of the live music business as it is today. Being in the event industry (sic) for all my adult life, this autotune/pitch correction BS is really no news or surprise to me.
But it really needs to be shown to the younger generations that does not seem to have a clue that they are being cheated to believe that their favorite artists are actually playing live, and they are paying money to see someone more or less lipsync to a prerecorded background or just doing some sounds on top of something prerecorded.
To gather the "evidence" for the opposite and explaining that and exposing what is actually a sophisticated type of fraud (if You want), in a way that most people can understand is great!
For those who wants to pay to see a concert that is no more than a "live video" with their current favorite artist, all I can say is: More fool You!
Keep up the good work, Fil! You are very much needed today. And as someone else said in the commentaries, nice of You to take one for the team (and not for the first time)!
As a musician and singer, it is crazy to me that so many people do this now. I got into to music because I love actually playing and singing. It brings me more joy than most things, so I can't imagine just miming or having my vocals autotuned, I would feel so lame, and it would also just be boring to do I think. Thanks Fil! You're the man, so glad you are exposing this stuff.
Totally. That's what I was saying in another comment, what is the fun of singing if you're not singing? Right now I'm making synthpop live and we do use tracks because we don't have a full band, it's just me singing and the synth player (and programmer), I wish I had a whole band and then I would use no tracks but I could never wrap my head around not singing live, that's why I make music, to sing. I guess to some people it becomes more about a visually perfect show and the money.
Well, money talks and Taylor makes plenty of that. Now you know what it really means to sell your soul.
@MickSupper Yeah I mean I totally get that she's making a ton of money and gets to prance around on the stage while her fans adore her. I just think it would be boring to do that. The reason I started doing music was to actually do music for real because it's fun and exciting.
@@NicholasLyonWright Yeah, I think a lot of musicians feel this way, but I also think a lot of people in the pop music field got into music NOT for the music, if you see what I mean. They're doing something else. For them, the goal of "nailing it" in a live performance is not something that's at the top of their priority list.
@vf1923 Absolutely! 💯
I shared this video in a music group on Facebook. I didn't do it to make Taylor Swift look bad. I did it to show people what artists often do; not playing and singing 100% live. I got nothing but negative reactions. One even asked for my post to be removed because it was as he claimed "fake news".
I also wrote an article on this video on Reddit, wondering why large parts of music fans don't care about this and if we might not see any live music in the near future and we only watch holograms, listening to computerized music. Here the reactions were far more elaborate and mostly agreed.y
I've had non-musician friends of mine with daughters claiming how AMAZING Taylor is and how she is greater THAN ANY OTHER FEMALE ARTIST EVER. And that's not just them... I keep hearing it over and over and over. It's simply not true. She was chosen to be "the production". That's it. Period. Even Madonna back in the day had more integrity and value. Crissy Hynde, Grace Slick, Aretha, Janis, Whitney, Amy Winehouse, Bonnie Raitt, Cyndi Lauper, Judy Garland, Pat Benatar, Debby Harry, Patti Smith, etc.... there are SO MANY MORE with so much better chops and songs and more integrity.
Which those claims has been going on for more than a decade now. Her fanatical fans would attack anyone that was a Country Music fan and not a fan of hers, and state that none of us knew anything about what real music is, or knew anything about the history of Country Music.
Sounds like a cult
People said the same thing about Madonna. And before her, others were the greatest ever. It's a generational swing. It might take a while for the next one as big as Swift, but it will likely happen. That said, i don't know if TS's popularity is as big as Michael Jackson's was in 1983, or The Beatles in 1964, or Elvis Presley's in 1957, or Frank Sinatra's in 1945, or Bing Crosby's in 1932. The "greatest ever" comes and goes.
I won't deny how others feel about artists they like. Someone's favorite artists are just that. I'm an old fart with favorite artists, mostly older bands, but I do seek out current music that I like. As far as the sounds you hear , that has obviously changed, but not for all recent music, depending on how it is produced. I still hope for a change in production for the better, but I'm just a romantic...
Well... Taylor (even if she's syncing ... and she is) is still a good songwriter. What song did Garland write?
I hope you expose this more and more nice job, she got best live performance that's a joke, the whole system is corrupt now in music. She should be giving the money back 😮😮😮
Shows have been canned in Vegas for years. No mistakes, no timing issues. It's just a show to showcase the musician(s) in person. Of course, they don't all do it... most in residence do.
Great update as always Fil
🧡 Thank you for your patience!
imo calling a prerecorded show a "performance" while most people there are unaware of that is just insanely fucked
I am in my 60s and the only time I hear modern music is when I go in shops. Thanks to these videos, I can clearly hear the weird wobbly autotuned bits now! It's natural at my age to think modern music is rubbish, but really...
I wonder if there is something similar with television? I don't watch TV at home, but when it is forced upon me, like in a doctor's waiting room, it is almost unbearable. Certainly the content of daytime TV is lacking, but there is something in the audio that makes me want to turn it off (which of course is not permitted). Maybe it's heavy compression or something. Fill, any thoughts? Could you have a brief listen to a daytime American game show? It's really odd. Great analysis of the TS audio!
I used to think like you, about modern music being trash, but as i've gotten older (i'm younger than you), i've realized that musical preferences are largely a cultural thing, and based on our lived experiences. I no longer think of modern music as trash, but just know that i don't like it. I don't want to get more opinionated and stuck in my ways as i age. I want to be more insightful and understand things that are different.
Well since what year you consider modern music? I enjoy many bands and artists from the 00s and they are or were certainly real singers and musicians , not using ore records and lip syncing like in this case in the video . Example :System of a down, Linkin park, the strokes, Adele, Keane, Evanescence, , etc
I don't know why some people feel like that they have been personally attacked whenever they are told that a artist that they like will lip sync, it is also like when fans will send death threats to plastic surgeons when they say that a celebrity has had work done, celebrity worship is one hell of a drug🤦🏻♀️😅
It's because that artist's work gets broadly discredited. It's really not fair. Taylor is the biggest popstar of modern times, her production is expected to be bigger and bigger every tour. As a result, she won't be able to sing all of 3 hours for 150 shows. Even Michael Jackson lip-synced. It would be another thing if she performed a 3-5 song medley, hell even 10 songs, but we're talking 40+ songs back to back to back.
People don’t like to be shown up for being fooled.
@@RangeMasacaStop making excuses.
I don't know if it's so much "celebrity worship" as it is wanting to feel validated. Someone could interpret criticizing something they like, as criticizing them, personally, since they are the ones that chose to enjoy it. Kinda like if i said someone was my favorite guitarist, and someone came around and pointed out how he missed notes here, and here and here. And that they did this or that lick the easy way, instead of a better way. It could make the person feel stupid for liking something they thought of differently. So, they defend it. Also....maybe they just really like the thing.
Not celebrity worship, it is a sickness! A mental illness issue!
It's not just a concert, but a demonstration of divine self-control: she can sing and band can play, but they choose not to. On the other hand, noise from the audience seems authentic and somewhat different each time.
she can sing 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
FIL - Is it safe to assume Front of House Engineers are signing NDA contracts saying they won’t expose the artists? I assume they are ones held accountable for making sure everything goes perfect every single night.
May be a playback technician?
@@markmooch I can't say anything about the TS tour, but there have been other tours where they have two or three sources running in perfect sync so if one computer crashes, it's of absolutely no consequence.
This was a LOT of work--you are a trooper.
Sadly, I feel the younger generations are less and less concerned whether it’s live or not and think the constant rise of technology and digital media have a lot to do with that… also just the type of music and artist that est mainstream music pushes including the celebrity worship culture. I truly believe that most fans of this kinda newer highly manufactured music are far less interested in whether they’re actually talented and more obsessed with the overall aesthetic vibe and performance part of its entertainment. I mean let’s be real our culture is now turning TikTok dancers, TH-cam pranksters and onlyfans creators into mega popular wealthy celebs. None of them remotely as talented as the artist actors and entertainers from yesterdecades
Showing my 21 year old son this and his words…”I don’t think anyone is actually fooled”
They grew up on screens unfortunately.
Pavarotti was a deep purple fan and was envious of there freedom to make each performance a new event as he was expected to make his the same every time. He was a real professional I wander how much his day to day performance changed
Wander? *Wonder?
I had some lights technician telling me of some of the kind; it is not an at now thing, it started when technology could provide it, now gone completely out of hand
Pavarotti's job was to do it the same each time, so I can understand his admiration. Rock n Roll fans used to want something a bit more a bit personalised in a concert. Maybe it is like being in the club as these are the fans and not the everybody that likes it on the radio, and fans want all the stuff that was trimmed off to make a commercial radio hit. A bit like being in a club with all the other insiders.
Don't tell me Pavarotti performed live each time on TV or in the studio on live TV
@@nebod1556weird. Are you saying Pavarotti didn’t perform live and mimed or used autocorrect software?One of the greatest tenors of our era cheated in your opinion?
I would love to see someone sue her for millions for using recorded audio in a live stage performance.
You could at most sue for your ticket price, if anything.
TS money grab. She is simply a cult leader dishing out auto tuned music that young people are infatuated with….its all click track rubbish.
By 8:38 I started realising this is not a set list but a playlist 😅
Thanks Fil! You are totally cool! You do not lie. You have shown your evidence and made a great case. You don't have a mean bone in your body.
Wow, they made this SO EASY to see. DIFFERENT Shows perfectly in sync - crazy!
is anyone else fed up with the Taylor Swift hysteria? I wish her a long and quiet retirement.
ME! I don't get it.
and unjustly rich...
With the emphasis on "quiet."
What really bothers me is all her fame is based on lies. They talk about how she is in ways bigger than the Beatles. Well duh!! Anyone who plays a flawless "live" performance and tricks fans into thinking they are that perfect; is going to become that famous. But just like steroids, her fame needs an asterisk (along with all the other current bands) when comparing them to any band from the 60's - 80's
I am fed up also. I think it's laughable that she's hyped as the greatest musical talent in history. After watching Fil's video, I would definitely not go see her in concert. I am very selective of artists who I would go see.
Keep up the great work. The industry and fans are really taking notice.
the industry definitely knows
Saw a clip on the news a while back, ts was screaming at her security members (in the middle of a song) and at the same time she kept singing the song perfectly without skipping a beat, now that is raw talent!
Once again, excellent job, Fil!
I do remember the day after Celine Dion performance in Paris at the Olympic Games opening .. I wrote a post in the first video of that performance that actually showed up saying.. "come on that's lypsinc". And actually knowing the rules of those events since more than 40 years that usually pre record the track in case of last minute technical issues or weather conditions, I didn't find it so odd at the end. By the way I have been attacked and threatened by tons of people addressing me with the worse words possible. Some of my comments were even deleted..I did read about an "amazing performance, a vocal blast, a epic voice!!" 😮
Hey.. Helloooo.. It was on lipsync! And actually even with pitch correction!
I'm a musician, I wouldn't consider me an expert as Fil in voice recording , but I had that feeling that was on lipsync. Few days later when Fil videos of that performance came out, and Fil validated my point with instruments analysis.. He was attacked as well as a evil person from bunch of blind and deaf fanboys.. Now after a few months, and after Fill analysis was actually confirmed about Paris .. Still fanboys are calling him ( and me) a lier. And that's exactly what is happening again, with all videos he is making, proving his point with different artists.. And still fanboys are scandalized and horrified by his "audacity" because their idols have been ridiculously grounded. So the conclusion is" people like to be fooled!" even in front of the evidence, they like to be fooled!.
Do they really need to spend a lot of money to go and watch those concerts to get fooled?
Any real celine fan who has studied her lipping like I have knows her comeback performance was always going to be lipped. When I first heard it was the Olympics I was relieved knowing the "why did she have to lip?" talking point would be null and void in comparison to her CHOOSING to lip a generic tv performance. Absolutely ridiculous people would actually argue that could have been live
I absolutely give Celine Dion a pass on this stuff after all she's been dealing with health-wise.
@@lorafrost9628 and also the fact that it was raining hard.
@lorafrost9628 do you give her and her staff a pass for lying to everyone?? Do you give her a pass for her shows in Las Vegas as well??Do you know how much people paid for the ticket? .. And she was on lipsync?? And all the time she performed on lipsync during her career .. For her own admission??
As usual it’s the coverup that’s worse than the original offence.
The sad thing is that people who like this sort of music don't care. As a fan of guitar music I've never understood the concept of pop music live, because you simply can't play pop music live - or if you tried people would hate it because it doesn't sound like it does on spotify through headphones.
They had an expression for this in Ancient Rome: Panem et circem. Swift is a manufactured money-maker, it doesn't really matter what trickery is used to produce these shows as long as it all works.
Yes. It's like that movie with Al Pacino where they invented the woman who wasn't real. S1m0ne.
Fil is so chill as he delivers his analysis ,which adds to his credibility .
The fans of any artist are generally heavily identified with their idol making for immediate knee jerk reactions based solely on subjectivity .
Fil crushes their arguments in a polite manner , not to be mean but to educate those in denial .,
I appreciate his general attitude, I am not pleased with the most obsessive swifties who can’t keep it levelheaded and polite. What I find ridiculous though, is some select members of the comment section (more so last video from what I’ve seen, but maybe it’s just because this one is so fresh) who have literally no stake in this (no beloved fave to defend) and just totally thrive on triumphantly dissing Taylor and her fans. You can voice your preferences/ disappointment whatever, just keep it cute guys? Why be so aggressive? 😅
Top 10 favorite channels on TH-cam! Thank you for your excellent videos and all the work you put into them. Take care.👍🏼👍🏼
I’ve worked in tv for decades and with any live performance it was totally normal to run through the gig at least once and record that just in case the performer became “unwell” prior to going on air. Unwell could be panic/drunk/grouchy/whatever.
These safety recordings have been happening way back to radio days when opera stars would only sing live to air if they delivered a perfect rendition.
These recordings often got called “laryngitis” takes. The opera star would get the jitters and demand they use the practice recording because they had strained their voice and could not perform live.
Bear in mind that these gigs would only be for one or two songs.
It’s so sad to know that Taylor was feeling awful for so long all over the world.
Her real voice must be like Grover from Sesame Street. What a trooper…
Grover! hahahahahah.
😂😂😂😂
Lol
This is done all the time on award shows now. They pre-record a live take from rehearsals and play that back for the show so there are no chances for a bad performance. I recall a CMA show where Kenny Chesney fumbled his mic but luckily caught it at crotch level.... While his vocal magically stayed at perfect volume. Know THAT is a magical penis.
If she's unwell she shouldn't be touring. And she shouldn't be drinking so excessively that she can't perform.