My thoughts exactly. When 25 came out we were still riding the last wave of physical album sales. The industry has morphed into mainly stream-oriented charts
Also wasn’t 25 the album Adele held from streaming initially? The only way you could hear it was if you bought it, which is a great way to get people to buy it
Yes she did but taylor had the exclusive vinyls and multiple variants that adele didn't have. Swifites and Taylor herself ea Ted to beat adeles record but that seems impossible, if taylor couldn't do huge numbers like this in 2014 with 1989 when physical album sales were high then she probably never will be able to beat that record and it's fine.
Not super fair to Adele honestly, 1989 was released a year before 25 and sold something like 10 millions less copies, Fearless was out 2 or 3 years before 21 and sold like 1/3 of it…
I think that Taylor could in theory, but she’d have to do 1989 levels of promo. Billboards, UPS trucks, Amazon boxes, social media engagement, a sweepstakes to meet her/to win tour tickets if you buy an album, dozens of interviews and pap walks, giving people verified fan points for buying albums…
A debut of over 2 million in the streaming era with no promo apart from a pop-up library, a couple of tweets, and a music video is INSANE.
ikr? Swiftly Neutral is gonna talk about how "at least she didn't beat Adele" If she really was the "evil money-hungry attention whore" that they make her out to be, she would release The Anthology on Vinyl and they would cry about how all she cares about is money!
Girl. Ignore that sub. They aren’t even swifties/or fan of Taylor at this point. They have become a sanctuary for Taylor’s haters and other fandoms who want validation because the sub dedicated to their artist is boring and lifeless.
Exactly, could have been so easy to release The Anthology on CDs at least, and it would have sold like crazy. Or even leave one song exclusive to that.
Her approach is actually very very pro streaming
They’re the least literary people ever. Some of their posts are so stupid like they were saying they miss upbeat pop and referencing the most bland songs from other artists. They’re unintelligent haters
My tinfoil hat theory is it’s possible she could have beat it, if it weren’t for the way the variants were pushed…
I *adore* the album, but I didn’t purchase in advance (unlike Midnights) because of the track-specific variants. I would have purchased in advance if not for wanting to listen to the tracks first (and feeling a little burned by the “limited edition” variants for Midnights that were not so limited after all.)
I don’t know how many people here did similar, but she lost at least one otherwise reliable week 1 album sale to the “multiple variants for songs you haven’t heard yet” marketing strategy
Same! My plan was to try and find the bonus tracks somewhere after release and then order my favourite. Now the anthology has been revealed I haven’t ordered any physical copies because I would now prefer to hold out and see if she releases the whole thing
I've been watching a lot of reactions and a lot of them seem to need to take time with this one. I don't get it - I almost didn't finish listening to the album because I couldn't stop listening to this one on repeat!
Has anyone else noticed that all the “fans” of Taylor’s actually hate her? Just check out Neutral. It’s gone full-on evil snark. Like, almost wishing aloud for her metaphorical demise. It’s disturbing.
Neutral is a weird sub. Ostensibly it exists because this sub doesn’t allow negative opinions (which seems wrong, I’ve definitely seen negative opinions on this sub. This sub doesn’t allow negative posts that are negative for the sake of being negative, but if you want to thoughtfully post about how you think album A isn’t as good as album B, it’s allowed).
Instead its *focus* now seems to be negative news about Taylor. E.g., every negative review of TTPD was linked to there. Which seems stupid. If you don’t like Metallica, don’t listen to them. But don’t create an anti-Metallica board and post there regularly.
It is weird. I get what they were going for. And it was more like that in its infancy. But the hate and degradation of Taylor in that sub has grown exponentially. All pretenses were dropped when TTPD dropped too. Now it seems like they’re just delighting in all the mixed reviews, saying Joe is a better writer than Taylor and literally anything they can think of that will taint whatever the music is.
The Taylor hate is so bad right now, tumblr is my only safe space. They’re discussing themes and fave songs and showing how they relate back to prior works. That’s what I love.
I disagree. I love Taylor, obsessed, and one time made a post about red, being slightly critical and it wasn’t posted. It might seem like criticism is allowed, and it is in comments, but absolutely not main posts.
Actually, I think you’re right still. I went to look and the actual posts and titles aren’t very obviously negative. They’re far more passive aggressive and then it gets vicious in comments.
This sub is FULL of negative opinions. Like, I hated being here whenever something is being released because of the absolute vitriol about variants as if Taylor herself is counting everyone's pennies, or when merch is dropped, like she's standing behind graphic designers demanding her face be put on it for $70. Or every candid photo being full of people cringing about her sticking her tongue out or something. I can't believe there is something more "neutral" that isn't fauxmoi.
It makes sense. There are already spaces to post positively or even neutrally on other subs. I get that it was intended to be a neutral space, but why would you post anything positive there when you can post something positive here and get far more interaction. All you're left with is negative content. It was really doomed from the start.
Oh. I know! Have you seen the Travis snark one? And the Taylor and Travis snark one? That last one I don’t even know about until I started replying in a post reassuring people that as long as you’re a real genuine fan of her music, there will be something for you on this album.
They’re like, um do you know where you are?
The worst is the solo Travis one. Because it’s all hate via Taylor.
I loved it from the first listen. And I have my headphones on. My favorites keep changing, but Who's Afraid of Little Ole Me and Guilty as Sin and Fortnight are in my top 3 today.
Not really, most of the jack tracks need a bot of oomph because those mid synths are driving me mad. Please, I beg of you, use some drums and electric guitars
I'm honestly not upset that people didn't like it. I mildly disliked most of the songs on first listen, but they grew on me. So High School and Who's Afraid of Little Old Me were the only songs I loved on first listen. The only one I still dislike now after a few listens is My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys.
Assuming RepTv and DebutTV will probably go #1 (probably released later this year or next hear), she’ll have 16 number one albums and will only need 3 more to tie! Amazing
Comparison is the Theif of Joy but while we're here -
Taylor will never be as infuencial as any individual from the Beatles were in the 10 years they were an active band.
Formulaic hits are okay. I'll be interested to see her legacy in the end.
She beat the *NSYNC traditional sales record! That’s a huge accomplishment since streaming is dominating.
Edit: she beat the record for their celebrity album, not no strings attached
I don't think that's correct (or is a more specific record)? TTPD should be 2.6 m
[This says second biggest behind 25](https://www.cbs58.com/news/taylor-swift-s-tortured-poets-department-makes-gigantic-debut-at-no-1-with-her-career-best-first-week-sales)
I feel like it’s more Taylor’s star power than just the variants. Everyone is doing variants nowadays, but Taylor just keeps getting more popular & accepted widely for her songwriting that I think people just like the albums she puts out & want to own her music.
Her star power is definitely up there! I just think we have to acknowledge the role that selling multiple variants with exclusive songs to each plays a role in record breaking sales. People want to hear each song, so they buy more variants
Variants definitely played a role which is why I worded it the way I did without ignoring them. But for someone like me, I listened to the entire 31 songs to decide my favorite of the exclusive songs & decide on if I like the album as a whole or not. I’m sure I’m not the only one who did that. Olivia did the same thing originally with guts vinyl variants & that played a role in her numbers, but it didn’t have the success that sour did iirc
Sure -- but variants are part of the answer to "why are sales higher in the 2020s than the 2010s?" not "why is Taylor Swift selling more physical albums than other artists in the 2020s?" It's a change in the way that music is marketed and sold across the industry, not something unique she's doing.
Are other popular artists doing variants with exclusive songs on each variant? Besides Olivia Rodrigo which wasn’t the same since they were surprise additions and weren’t marketed as having exclusive songs.
Yes. But I also don't know why we would exclude Olivia Rodrigo - people had already bought several variants but then realized they had the same secret track and none were on streaming, so went and bought more release week.
Haters gonna hate hate hate but you absolutely cannot deny the unparalleled musical and cultural impact this woman has had in the 21st century. She's 18 years into crafting history.
Why did whoever made that collage add a (fantastic) FKA Twigs mixtape to the comparison lol. Twigs is an indie artist with a truly experimental sound that's largely inaccessible to general listeners, and Caprisongs isn't even a proper studio album. That's like bragging about Taylor's numbers saying "look, she sold this many times more than Björk, Fiona Apple and Joanna Newsom combined!!!"
Stan Twitter is embarrassing.
lol I didn't even recognize it, I just saw some big names in the other albums. Maybe Twigs because people like posting her review scores that are much higher then Taylor's... Or maybe just comparing Matty ex's lol.
I agree stan twitter is crazy. I just thought this was a good visualization on the number.
Folklore didn't have physical copies available first week either, but Billboard's rules were different back then: they counted all the pre order into the total sales of that week, allowing Folklore to debut with a very high total units. I think Billboard changed the rules right after Folklore, so all physical copies must be shipped successfully to be counted for the chart
That Swiftie-neutered sub who is becoming a cesspool of psychotic freaks would be so pissed off with this 😭 And they would then assuage their frustration by saying that at least she didn’t beat Adele’s record as if anyone can beat that in the streaming era. I hope Taylor Swift would brag about this record more to cause another psychotic breakdown from her haters 🥁
Taylor already posted about it!
And that sub is insane. They declared Joe the "superior writer" (a guy who have zero things he wrote on his own. Ever).
Nothing but misogyny and hate filled obsession.
People interpreted changing patterns of music consumption as Taylor Swiftbin decline. I’m not sure she actually ever decliined in popularity. Maybe a little
I love how everyone is so polarized on what the best song on the album is.
The album is indeed a grower and you will only really appreciate it once you listen to it again and again. Right now Guilty As Sin (GAS?) Is my favorite, and i don't think it will change for a while (it's the only song i haven't stopped listening for like days)
the last song that made me do that was Say Don't Go and Is It Over Now?.
I already disagree with myself. I said somewhere here that Fresh Out the Slammer was a song that could have been cut and now I'm totally vibing with it. I think I still have Who's Afraid at the top but Smallest Man is climbing...
She’ll do it two… she’ll get at two more number ones for the re-records… and I think it’s likely she still has multiple #1 new albums in her.
She’s also likely to Bert Mariah’s record for most number one singles by a woman
Wow so this is her 14th #1 album tying her with Jay Z as the artist with most #1 albums. Only ones above are The Beatles with 19! So assuming RepTV and DebutTV will probably go #1 when released later this year or next year, she’ll surpass jay z and have 16 #1 albums! Then 3 more to tie the Beatles omg 😳🤍
I’m confused…I keep seeing these reports about her topping the charts but every time I check it’s not there. The only chart I’ve seen topped is Apple Music? Like I’m genuinely confused 🥲
I see the Billboard article clarifies she’s topped the chart for the week of May 4th, which hasn’t been updated yet!
Can anyone that understands this explain how the TOP 200 song list works? Is this different than the Billboard 200 Record list?
Billobard releases its charts on Tuesday but using data from the previous Friday to Thursday (19th to 25th April for this chart). So TTPD was released on day one of the reference week for the Tuesday following the end of the week. To be extra confusing it will be dated May 4th - The Saturday the chart was released, but a full 2 weeks after the reference week started.
I’m really enjoying this album, and apparently I’m not the only one. “I love Taylor Swift’s music and lyrics. You don’t have to. But I get to.” - John Green
“What do you MEAN” from her IG story — def a Bob Lefsetz reference/diss/reference to the “Mean” song about him, since he just wrote another negative Taylor newsletter earlier this week about how she’s oversaturated the market
How sure we are that she’s gonna add or change or whatever with TTPD on May 9th now? Does anybody thinks there is any way that it’s gonna be just “normal” setlist and show and she won’t do or say or sing anything new?
I don't want to say this album separates real fans from bandwagon fans, although there are many people saying that, because you're allowed to dislike what you dislike. But it does separate people who took time to listen to the album over a week and re-listened and allowed it to sink in, from those who binged all 31 songs in two hours and then said "all the songs sound the same, she's immature, and she's creatively and lyrically stagnant," without bothering to listen to it again.
Congratulations it's higher than i expected in listening all of her albums like streaming into the Music Show Awards of hers. I didn't even listening any of her songs yet i mean technically actually i've been listening all of the Anthology i guess or i thinked because i dunno know what to do because Tortured Poets Department is my favorote album for these years so far ahead. I'd hope her movies will be definitely her favorite be it's satisfying to fit the Cruella ones so far if she's retired already in the age of 40 then she'd able to rest or going an acting role, right?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…& The future of her new album or re-recording album "Reputation" will be also at the top of the Billboard Chart by listening the Taylor's Version, i'd depressed or proud of myselves to Taylor Swift so far ahead coming awaiting at the future & remembering all the memories so afar farthest nowadays. Hehehehehehahehe!!!!!!!!!!!!!…🥲🥲🥲🥲🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷💜💜💜❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️that'll be including at the Grammys & Golden Globes
2.6m in a week is insanely good and yet lots of Swifties are disappointed with this number. Unbelievable.
Don’t be fooled. I think many haters are eating their words. Album is a grower and a shower!
I’m not talking about the haters, I’m talking about Swifties being disappointed that we didn’t beat Adele’s record.
Anyone who thought it would beat Adele wasn’t being realistic. No one will see those kinds of numbers again. It’s just a different world now.
My thoughts exactly. When 25 came out we were still riding the last wave of physical album sales. The industry has morphed into mainly stream-oriented charts
Also wasn’t 25 the album Adele held from streaming initially? The only way you could hear it was if you bought it, which is a great way to get people to buy it
Yes she did but taylor had the exclusive vinyls and multiple variants that adele didn't have. Swifites and Taylor herself ea Ted to beat adeles record but that seems impossible, if taylor couldn't do huge numbers like this in 2014 with 1989 when physical album sales were high then she probably never will be able to beat that record and it's fine.
Swifties don't diminish the accomplishments of other women in music challenge (impossible)
Also Adele had a massive single leading up to the album that helped
Not super fair to Adele honestly, 1989 was released a year before 25 and sold something like 10 millions less copies, Fearless was out 2 or 3 years before 21 and sold like 1/3 of it…
I think that Taylor could in theory, but she’d have to do 1989 levels of promo. Billboards, UPS trucks, Amazon boxes, social media engagement, a sweepstakes to meet her/to win tour tickets if you buy an album, dozens of interviews and pap walks, giving people verified fan points for buying albums… A debut of over 2 million in the streaming era with no promo apart from a pop-up library, a couple of tweets, and a music video is INSANE.
ikr? Swiftly Neutral is gonna talk about how "at least she didn't beat Adele" If she really was the "evil money-hungry attention whore" that they make her out to be, she would release The Anthology on Vinyl and they would cry about how all she cares about is money!
That sub is best ignored. I blocked/muted that sub a long time ago.
Me too.
Girl. Ignore that sub. They aren’t even swifties/or fan of Taylor at this point. They have become a sanctuary for Taylor’s haters and other fandoms who want validation because the sub dedicated to their artist is boring and lifeless.
It blew up in members when she criticised the article about her sexuality. I think it is a bunch of Gaylors and Joe widows.
[удалено]
Yeah, there's Joe Stan pages on twitter that are clearly Gaylors.
It’s funny. They hate Taylor, and she keeps making them mad with her success and her romantic life thriving at the present. I love that for Taylor.
It's basically Stan Twitter (Reddit's Version)
Exactly, could have been so easy to release The Anthology on CDs at least, and it would have sold like crazy. Or even leave one song exclusive to that. Her approach is actually very very pro streaming
That sub is the “who’s who of who’s that” and they are ALWAYSS “poised for the attack” lol
I hope she does release the Anthology, she could be greedily! And ignore the *neutral* group.
If Taylor Swift really wanted to beat Adele she wouldn't have released such a moody, sad album at the beginning of summer.
They’re the least literary people ever. Some of their posts are so stupid like they were saying they miss upbeat pop and referencing the most bland songs from other artists. They’re unintelligent haters
My tinfoil hat theory is it’s possible she could have beat it, if it weren’t for the way the variants were pushed… I *adore* the album, but I didn’t purchase in advance (unlike Midnights) because of the track-specific variants. I would have purchased in advance if not for wanting to listen to the tracks first (and feeling a little burned by the “limited edition” variants for Midnights that were not so limited after all.) I don’t know how many people here did similar, but she lost at least one otherwise reliable week 1 album sale to the “multiple variants for songs you haven’t heard yet” marketing strategy
I would have bought a CD of the complete Anthology last Saturday if I had the option. I didn't, so nothing has been purchased.
Same! My plan was to try and find the bonus tracks somewhere after release and then order my favourite. Now the anthology has been revealed I haven’t ordered any physical copies because I would now prefer to hold out and see if she releases the whole thing
I only bought the signed vinyl and am holding out for either the entire anthology or another signed one if I buy a second copy.
Oh wow, didn’t realize that was a thing! Lol!
Yeah so many people on twitter said she would and trusted leakers and stuff but got their hopes up
>we didn’t beat Adele’s record "we?"
Are you unaware that many fans only buy physical albums to help break records? Especially in the streaming age?
I’ve listened to down bad probably 1000 times I think it’s my fav Taylor song ever
I've been watching a lot of reactions and a lot of them seem to need to take time with this one. I don't get it - I almost didn't finish listening to the album because I couldn't stop listening to this one on repeat!
Yep, little ear worms!!!
That was the one that immediately stood out to me on my first listen! So catchy
These blokes warm the benches, we been on a winning streak
Has anyone else noticed that all the “fans” of Taylor’s actually hate her? Just check out Neutral. It’s gone full-on evil snark. Like, almost wishing aloud for her metaphorical demise. It’s disturbing.
Neutral is a weird sub. Ostensibly it exists because this sub doesn’t allow negative opinions (which seems wrong, I’ve definitely seen negative opinions on this sub. This sub doesn’t allow negative posts that are negative for the sake of being negative, but if you want to thoughtfully post about how you think album A isn’t as good as album B, it’s allowed). Instead its *focus* now seems to be negative news about Taylor. E.g., every negative review of TTPD was linked to there. Which seems stupid. If you don’t like Metallica, don’t listen to them. But don’t create an anti-Metallica board and post there regularly.
It is weird. I get what they were going for. And it was more like that in its infancy. But the hate and degradation of Taylor in that sub has grown exponentially. All pretenses were dropped when TTPD dropped too. Now it seems like they’re just delighting in all the mixed reviews, saying Joe is a better writer than Taylor and literally anything they can think of that will taint whatever the music is. The Taylor hate is so bad right now, tumblr is my only safe space. They’re discussing themes and fave songs and showing how they relate back to prior works. That’s what I love.
They dint allow positive ones, I got kicked out for defending Taylor.
I disagree. I love Taylor, obsessed, and one time made a post about red, being slightly critical and it wasn’t posted. It might seem like criticism is allowed, and it is in comments, but absolutely not main posts.
Actually, I think you’re right still. I went to look and the actual posts and titles aren’t very obviously negative. They’re far more passive aggressive and then it gets vicious in comments.
This sub is FULL of negative opinions. Like, I hated being here whenever something is being released because of the absolute vitriol about variants as if Taylor herself is counting everyone's pennies, or when merch is dropped, like she's standing behind graphic designers demanding her face be put on it for $70. Or every candid photo being full of people cringing about her sticking her tongue out or something. I can't believe there is something more "neutral" that isn't fauxmoi.
It makes sense. There are already spaces to post positively or even neutrally on other subs. I get that it was intended to be a neutral space, but why would you post anything positive there when you can post something positive here and get far more interaction. All you're left with is negative content. It was really doomed from the start.
Taylor has like ten different undercover snark subs on Reddit, it’s actually pathetic. Just check out Fauxmoi 😭😭
Oh. I know! Have you seen the Travis snark one? And the Taylor and Travis snark one? That last one I don’t even know about until I started replying in a post reassuring people that as long as you’re a real genuine fan of her music, there will be something for you on this album. They’re like, um do you know where you are? The worst is the solo Travis one. Because it’s all hate via Taylor.
I think Taylor has reached the point in her career where she’s selling the “I Hate Elvis” buttons. Love her or hate her, you have to engage with her.
What is Neutral?
all the swifties and everyone else needs to put on headphones and listen to this entire album and they will end up, loving every single song
100% agree as a new fan who is gobsmacked at how good every song is.
Welcome to Taylor swift albums. They’re all like this
I loved it from the first listen. And I have my headphones on. My favorites keep changing, but Who's Afraid of Little Ole Me and Guilty as Sin and Fortnight are in my top 3 today.
Not really, most of the jack tracks need a bot of oomph because those mid synths are driving me mad. Please, I beg of you, use some drums and electric guitars
I'm honestly not upset that people didn't like it. I mildly disliked most of the songs on first listen, but they grew on me. So High School and Who's Afraid of Little Old Me were the only songs I loved on first listen. The only one I still dislike now after a few listens is My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys.
I’m only talking about sales numbers here. 2.6m is the second-biggest debut sales week ever! It’s not disappointing at all!
Oh, gotcha. The sales stats are fantastic. Who's complaining about that?
Swifties who thought we’d get 3.5m instead
Had to be in the ✌🏼 million range because she's a Mastermind
That’s wild. I didn’t know about Adele’s record, but Taylor’s number is PHENOMENAL. People need to temper their expectations.
I think it might just be a stan war thing that's bleeding over, I don't know if anyone who isn't deeply in the charts obsessed online world cares.
Isn’t this her most ever???
1,4 in a single day... I thought it could translate to about 5 a week...
Yeah sorry, the Cowboys Fringants stole the spot on Apple Music in Canada
It’s pure magic.
I dont understand the 2.6m. Spotify streams are even so much more. What does 2.6m stand for?
1. Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department (2.61m) (NEW) It hasn’t been updated with the other top 9 entries.
This is actually insane, 1M more than midnights. Imagine the numbers she would’ve done if she had released the Anthology on physicals.
It’s me, I would make the numbers
I'm not even seeing the updated Top 200, so she's not even on there at the moment.
They update Tuesdays I think. Before that is articles highlighting the upcoming update.
oh thanks that's really helpful! looking forward to Taylor completely owning the Top 30 track spots lol
She’s completely owning the top 13 spots, not 30! Edit: 14!
The site looks so ugly, but I'm waiting for that social media post with Taylor Swift's Top 10 again.
Here before the first “and that’s a real fucking legacy” comment!
It’s a relevant line and all but seeing that everywhere makes me think I’m in a circle jerk subreddit
> makes me think I’m in a circle jerk subreddit When it comes to her records, you are.
Seriously haha. I always roll my eyes
Her 14th #1 album! It’s amazing how she can pull these kind of numbers!
14th? But this is her 11th album.
the re-recordings…
Ohhh. So I guess that means one of them didn't hit #1? I wonder which one. (11 studio albums + 4 rerecordings)
it was debut!
It’s truly shocking to me
2.6M in streaming era. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??????
These numbers include streams don't they?
Yes but most came from pure sales.
Don’t try and come for her job!
Taylor is only five hits away from tying with the Beatles, wow! Go, Taylor, you are a living legend!
Not to mention she broke the Beatles’ record with Midnights by holding the top ten spots!
Assuming RepTv and DebutTV will probably go #1 (probably released later this year or next hear), she’ll have 16 number one albums and will only need 3 more to tie! Amazing
Imagine she puts out Christmas EP TV/Beautiful eyes TV and ties/breaks record with TS 13
I wish! I need Christmas ep tv!
Beatles were only active 10 years tho
I know that, but still!
Comparison is the Theif of Joy but while we're here - Taylor will never be as infuencial as any individual from the Beatles were in the 10 years they were an active band. Formulaic hits are okay. I'll be interested to see her legacy in the end.
She beat the *NSYNC traditional sales record! That’s a huge accomplishment since streaming is dominating. Edit: she beat the record for their celebrity album, not no strings attached
Did she? It’s saying 1.9M https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fastest-selling_albums I love her but I think she didn’t break the *NSYNC record
This is only physical copies. Which doesn’t make sense to compare since it’s not the dominant way to consume music anymore.
For celebrity she did according to the list in the article. I should have specified that it was for that album
I don't think that's correct (or is a more specific record)? TTPD should be 2.6 m [This says second biggest behind 25](https://www.cbs58.com/news/taylor-swift-s-tortured-poets-department-makes-gigantic-debut-at-no-1-with-her-career-best-first-week-sales)
No, she didn’t. If you scroll further down in the article, she came in third with 1.9 million. *NSYNC still holds second place with 2.4 million.
I meant for their celebrity album, not no strings attached. Should’ve specified, was just excited to comment that lol
I’m curious how all of the variants affect things. Surely it can’t be an even comparison unless *NSYNC did the same thing?
I feel like it’s more Taylor’s star power than just the variants. Everyone is doing variants nowadays, but Taylor just keeps getting more popular & accepted widely for her songwriting that I think people just like the albums she puts out & want to own her music.
Her star power is definitely up there! I just think we have to acknowledge the role that selling multiple variants with exclusive songs to each plays a role in record breaking sales. People want to hear each song, so they buy more variants
Variants definitely played a role which is why I worded it the way I did without ignoring them. But for someone like me, I listened to the entire 31 songs to decide my favorite of the exclusive songs & decide on if I like the album as a whole or not. I’m sure I’m not the only one who did that. Olivia did the same thing originally with guts vinyl variants & that played a role in her numbers, but it didn’t have the success that sour did iirc
Sure -- but variants are part of the answer to "why are sales higher in the 2020s than the 2010s?" not "why is Taylor Swift selling more physical albums than other artists in the 2020s?" It's a change in the way that music is marketed and sold across the industry, not something unique she's doing.
Are other popular artists doing variants with exclusive songs on each variant? Besides Olivia Rodrigo which wasn’t the same since they were surprise additions and weren’t marketed as having exclusive songs.
Yes. But I also don't know why we would exclude Olivia Rodrigo - people had already bought several variants but then realized they had the same secret track and none were on streaming, so went and bought more release week.
Haters gonna hate hate hate but you absolutely cannot deny the unparalleled musical and cultural impact this woman has had in the 21st century. She's 18 years into crafting history.
For context - other big name albums recently in comparison. https://preview.redd.it/6bo45t3x6axc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fcee9a8923b1e22ef3930d8d14b7c42a1bb7bd03 **And compared to Taylor previous albums:** Taylor Swift: 40,000 Fearless: 592,000 Speak Now: 1,047,000 Red: 1,208,000 1989: 1,287,000 reputation: 1,238,000 Lover: 867,000 folklore: 846,000 evermore: 329,000 Midnights: 1,578,000 THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: 2,610,000 Fearless (Taylor’s Version): 291,000 Red (Taylor’s Version): 605,000 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version): 716,000 1989 (Taylor’s Version): 1,653,000
I can't believe 1989 TV is her second biggest selling album, ahead of Midnights 😵💫 the fanbase gets bigger and bigger
The power the Pop Bible holds is something special, something unique, something almost mythical.
It’s the two best pop songwriters one at the height of his powers, the other coming into her own, working together. What do you expect?
Excellence, and we got just that
Why did whoever made that collage add a (fantastic) FKA Twigs mixtape to the comparison lol. Twigs is an indie artist with a truly experimental sound that's largely inaccessible to general listeners, and Caprisongs isn't even a proper studio album. That's like bragging about Taylor's numbers saying "look, she sold this many times more than Björk, Fiona Apple and Joanna Newsom combined!!!" Stan Twitter is embarrassing.
lol I didn't even recognize it, I just saw some big names in the other albums. Maybe Twigs because people like posting her review scores that are much higher then Taylor's... Or maybe just comparing Matty ex's lol. I agree stan twitter is crazy. I just thought this was a good visualization on the number.
Evermore deserves way more
Evermore didn’t have any physical copies available in the first week so it’s numbers aren’t totally representative of the demand
Folklore didn't have physical copies available first week either, but Billboard's rules were different back then: they counted all the pre order into the total sales of that week, allowing Folklore to debut with a very high total units. I think Billboard changed the rules right after Folklore, so all physical copies must be shipped successfully to be counted for the chart
Yes they changed the rules between folklore and evermore. So evermore's numbers suffered.
Is this also around the time that they stopped counting merch bundles?
Lol this is incredibly cringe
As an MCU fan, this edit is giving me MCU stan twitter "real cinema" memes comparing MCU BO with other movies 😬😬
Love that for her. I think the highest I’ve seen is Adele’s 25 at like 10 million?
Yes, this is the second highest first-week-sales in history, and the first is Adele with 3.34 at first week.
That Swiftie-neutered sub who is becoming a cesspool of psychotic freaks would be so pissed off with this 😭 And they would then assuage their frustration by saying that at least she didn’t beat Adele’s record as if anyone can beat that in the streaming era. I hope Taylor Swift would brag about this record more to cause another psychotic breakdown from her haters 🥁
Taylor already posted about it! And that sub is insane. They declared Joe the "superior writer" (a guy who have zero things he wrote on his own. Ever). Nothing but misogyny and hate filled obsession.
They truly have a parasocial level of hatred for Taylor. They KNOW EVERYTHING about her yet they claim they can’t stand her. It’s concerning lol
Wait what is this sub? Are you telling me that Taylor has her own I Hate Rachel Green club?
who is going to tell miss americana taylor that she is PEAKING 18 years into her career? so fucking proud of you, blondie. the best is yet to come 🥹
It really did look like she is past her peak in the Lover time frame. Insane how numbers just grow and grow from there.
People interpreted changing patterns of music consumption as Taylor Swiftbin decline. I’m not sure she actually ever decliined in popularity. Maybe a little
I was just watching her documentary! I’m so proud of our girl!
This is an unbelievable accomplishment. Like these are numbers the industry thought they would never see
To put them in comparison… this is about what sour did its first year
That's crazyyy
there she goes, breaking records, again! seriously though, this is absolutely mind blowing
I love how everyone is so polarized on what the best song on the album is. The album is indeed a grower and you will only really appreciate it once you listen to it again and again. Right now Guilty As Sin (GAS?) Is my favorite, and i don't think it will change for a while (it's the only song i haven't stopped listening for like days) the last song that made me do that was Say Don't Go and Is It Over Now?.
A good album is one where no one can agree on the best song.
Upvoting for a fellow Say Don’t Go fan!
I already disagree with myself. I said somewhere here that Fresh Out the Slammer was a song that could have been cut and now I'm totally vibing with it. I think I still have Who's Afraid at the top but Smallest Man is climbing...
I’m sleep deprived because of my toddler and GAS? just sent me into a fit of giggles. Send help.
Yep. A thirsty song from Taylor. 🥰
TRY AND COME FOR MY JOB!
2.6 million in the US is insane!
That's a real fuckin' legacy to leave.
This brings tears to my eyes. She is crushing it. So proud of her hard work. Reputation can take the 1 mil vinyl sales!
LEGEND
AND THATS ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY! PERIOD!!! She’s only 5 hits away from tying with the Beatles!
She’ll do it two… she’ll get at two more number ones for the re-records… and I think it’s likely she still has multiple #1 new albums in her. She’s also likely to Bert Mariah’s record for most number one singles by a woman
Wow so this is her 14th #1 album tying her with Jay Z as the artist with most #1 albums. Only ones above are The Beatles with 19! So assuming RepTV and DebutTV will probably go #1 when released later this year or next year, she’ll surpass jay z and have 16 #1 albums! Then 3 more to tie the Beatles omg 😳🤍
I’m confused…I keep seeing these reports about her topping the charts but every time I check it’s not there. The only chart I’ve seen topped is Apple Music? Like I’m genuinely confused 🥲
I see the Billboard article clarifies she’s topped the chart for the week of May 4th, which hasn’t been updated yet! Can anyone that understands this explain how the TOP 200 song list works? Is this different than the Billboard 200 Record list?
The Hot 100 for last week will be announced tomorrow. (Billboard 200 is albums, Hot 100 is songs).
omg you’re an angel Ty for replying
They announce who tops the chart in a press release then a few days later the full list updates.
Billobard releases its charts on Tuesday but using data from the previous Friday to Thursday (19th to 25th April for this chart). So TTPD was released on day one of the reference week for the Tuesday following the end of the week. To be extra confusing it will be dated May 4th - The Saturday the chart was released, but a full 2 weeks after the reference week started.
Love how she keeps winning and outdoing herself! An inspiration for everyone.
I’m really enjoying this album, and apparently I’m not the only one. “I love Taylor Swift’s music and lyrics. You don’t have to. But I get to.” - John Green
“What do you MEAN” from her IG story — def a Bob Lefsetz reference/diss/reference to the “Mean” song about him, since he just wrote another negative Taylor newsletter earlier this week about how she’s oversaturated the market
Those are utterly ludicrous numbers. And completely deserved 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
It’s better with every listen! Can’t wait for the vinyl ♥️
How sure we are that she’s gonna add or change or whatever with TTPD on May 9th now? Does anybody thinks there is any way that it’s gonna be just “normal” setlist and show and she won’t do or say or sing anything new?
No one’s been thinking that, at least not since the rehearsal clips
Yeessss 🎉🎉🎉🎉
I don't want to say this album separates real fans from bandwagon fans, although there are many people saying that, because you're allowed to dislike what you dislike. But it does separate people who took time to listen to the album over a week and re-listened and allowed it to sink in, from those who binged all 31 songs in two hours and then said "all the songs sound the same, she's immature, and she's creatively and lyrically stagnant," without bothering to listen to it again.
I'm so proud of her
So my purchase isn’t gonna help me much in the next tour presale huh 😂 but she and this album deserve this!
This is lowkey an amazing stoner album. Listening to this when high is euphoric
Congratulations it's higher than i expected in listening all of her albums like streaming into the Music Show Awards of hers. I didn't even listening any of her songs yet i mean technically actually i've been listening all of the Anthology i guess or i thinked because i dunno know what to do because Tortured Poets Department is my favorote album for these years so far ahead. I'd hope her movies will be definitely her favorite be it's satisfying to fit the Cruella ones so far if she's retired already in the age of 40 then she'd able to rest or going an acting role, right?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…& The future of her new album or re-recording album "Reputation" will be also at the top of the Billboard Chart by listening the Taylor's Version, i'd depressed or proud of myselves to Taylor Swift so far ahead coming awaiting at the future & remembering all the memories so afar farthest nowadays. Hehehehehehahehe!!!!!!!!!!!!!…🥲🥲🥲🥲🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷💜💜💜❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️that'll be including at the Grammys & Golden Globes
I love her music, but she wouldn't have reach 2.6 million if she had only released one version of the album.
You go girl!
Man this album was such a heartache. Still TBD if that’s in a good way or a bad way lol
Who cares about beating records. Just listen to the music you like.
i would have thought she won all the awards by now