Beyoncé fans say songs are missing from vinyl and CD copies of 'Cowboy Carter,' fueling theories of last-minute changes to the album

• Beyoncé's new country-inspired album "Cowboy Carter" was released on Friday.
• Some physical editions of the album lack up to five tracks available on the streaming version.
• One prevailing theory is that the album was not complete when it was sent to vinyl and CD factories.

Beyoncé's eighth studio album was released to critical acclaim last week, but fans of the singer have been left disappointed after discovering that their vinyl and CD copies of "Cowboy Carter" are missing some of their favorite tracks.

Physical media enthusiasts have been taking to TikTok and Reddit over the weekend to complain that their pre-ordered copies of the album don't include certain songs and interludes featured on the digital release.

Multiple people have claimed that the LP version of the album is missing five tracks: "Spaghettii," "Flamenco," "The Linda Martell Show," "Ya Ya" and "Oh Louisiana."

According to fans, "Flamenco" is included on the CD, but the other four are not.

Adding more confusion to the situation is Beyoncé's official website, which states that an exclusive "additional song" would feature on a "limited edition" compact disc version fans could only purchase directly. While many were expecting an unreleased track excluded from streaming platforms, it appears that the bonus song may just be "Flamenco."

Neither the CD or LP versions of the album include a tracklist, meaning many didn't discover the missing songs until they unwrapped and played the album.

With an expansive 79-minute runtime, "Cowboy Carter" is Beyoncé's longest album to date.

However, while there are limitations to how many minutes of music compact discs and 12" vinyl can hold, it's been speculated that the omissions on physical copies of the album may come down to just bad planning.

The excluded tracks may have been last-minute additions

BBC music correspondent Mark Savage theorized that the excluded songs may have been finished late in the album's creation, past the deadline for those pressing the album on vinyl and producing the CDs to make changes.

Thanks to the vinyl revival of the last decade, vinyl pressing plants are often booked months in advance for a big release. In 2021, Ed Sheeran said he had to submit his album "Equals" months in advance because Adele had "booked out all the vinyl factories" for her release.

It's possible that Beyoncé may have been up against similar pressure, given that known champion of vinyl, Taylor Swift, is releasing her much-anticipated latest record, "The Tortured Poet's Department," in less than three weeks.

Representatives for Beyoncé and Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

As Rolling Stone pointed out, the tracklist may not have been the only last-minute change made to the album. Physical editions of the album bear a different title and artwork than the digital release of "Cowboy Carter."

The spine of the album on both the CD and LP reads "act ii: Beyincé — Beyoncé," leading many to speculate that the original name of the album was "Beyincé," the global superstar's ancestral maiden name.

The only mention of "Cowboy Carter" on these copies on a sticker on top of plastic-sealed copies, according to Variety.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé's duet with Miley Cyrus, "II Most Wanted," was only completed in February, according to a member of the band Nickel Creek, who revealed on Instagram that they recorded their part of the song "a month or so ago."

All of the evidence seems to confirm the theory that "Cowboy Carter" — which Beyoncé first announced on social media the night of the Super Bowl on February 11 — was something of a last-minute operation, with changes being made to the eleventh hour.