Taylor Swift’s New Album “The Tortured Poets Department” Breaks Opening Records
Taylor Swift sold 1.6 million copies of "The Tortured Poets Department" in one day, making it one of the fastest-selling albums since the Nielsen era. Read on for more details.
Taylor Swift continues to break record after record with her new album The Tortured Poets Department, cementing her hegemony in the music world. The album sold 1.6 million copies on its first day of release in the United States, one of the highest sales figures since Nielsen began tracking album sales in 1991.
New Record Holder: Taylor Swift
The album was a huge success not only in physical sales but also on digital platforms. The Tortured Poets Department, which was streamed 300 million times worldwide on the first day of its release on Spotify, became the most streamed album on the platform. With these successes, Swift made history as the artist who broke the record for the best-selling album in a single day in the US.
Huge Increase in Vinyl, CD and Cassette Sales
Taylor Swift’s new album is especially noteworthy for its sales performance in traditional formats such as vinyl, CDs and cassettes. Approximately 1.4 million of the album’s total sales of 1.6 million came from these formats. Swift, who has brought the popularity of CDs to such high levels since the 1990s, is blowing a nostalgic wind in the music industry.
Historical Achievements and Competitors
According to Nielsen data, Swift’s album is only the third album since 1991 to achieve the highest first-day sales figure. Previously, Adele’s 25 sold 3.4 million copies in 2015 and Nsync’s No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million copies in 2000. Other standout albums this year include Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine, which sold 407,000 and 227,000 copies respectively in their first weeks.
Copyright Struggle Between Universal Music and TikTok
Universal Music, which distributed Swift’s album, has been locked in a protracted battle with TikTok over royalty payments in recent months. This process resulted in the removal of many artists’ works from the platform. However, Taylor Swift put an end to this last week when she decided to bring her music back to TikTok.
