Lorde’s new CD is so transparent that stereos can’t even read it

Lorde fans are clearly struggling to play the CD version of her new album. Customers who purchased the special edition of Virgin released on a transparent plastic disc are reporting on Reddit and TikTok that many CD players, car stereos, and other sound systems they’ve tried are unable to play it.

The transparent CD, promoted as being fully recyclable, is currently sold out on Lorde’s webstore and was the only disc variant available for the Virgin album. That may have been a welcome compromise for fans, given the singer opted to forgo a CD release entirely for her 2021 album Solar Power over waste and environmental concerns, but little comfort to customers who can’t purchase alternative options.

“Very cool looking (and I’m not going to return it), but doesn’t work in three of my players,” said one Reddit user. “PC was able to rip, but the files are not great (distortion and clipping).” User reports indicate that older hardware is less likely to work with the CD than devices with newer sensors.

One TikTok user demonstrated that her car CD player was unable to recognize the disc and said that forcing the CD inside resulted in automatic ejection, mirroring similar reports made in Reddit comments. “Whoever decided to design this is an idiot,” said elyxirtalkssmack. “Cars can’t read this CD, Walkmans can’t read this CD. You need to create CDs that are fit for purpose for the medium in which they are played on, which is older technology.”

Lorde has yet to address any of the issues raised about the transparent Virgin CD. The official cause of the playability issues also hasn’t been confirmed.

It’s certainly a striking disc. CDs with even partially clear designs are uncommon and can be a hit with collectors, but the lack of functionality in this example has been a bitter experience for some Lorde fans. “Seems like they didn’t account for this,” one TikTok user said. “Pretty disappointing. I know it was for an aesthetic, but at least press it on normal CDs too.”