Unless you’ve been living under a few feet of rock, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about Taylor Swift’s latest album release – ‘The Tortured Poets Department’. Intriguing from the title, Swift’s 11th album has taken the world by storm, breaking countless streaming records on Spotify, and generally dominating music.
Of course, none of this is new. Taylor’s album releases have been more exciting than a Harry Potter publication day since as far back as the 1989 days. But, the release of TTPD has been an entirely different phenomenon.
To be fair, the album is a banger. Littered with breathy lyrics and literary references galore (hello Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith), every song just seems to hit the right note. But, even Swifties are starting to wonder quite how Taylor’s managed to reach these release-day heights, which are ultimately unheard of anywhere else in music right now.
As the album continues to break Spotify, we consider what TTPD has achieved, and how exactly those things have come to pass.
The Tortured Poets Department: The Records
TTPD is Swift’s biggest release to date, which we can consider as a record in itself. First-day sales alone reached an astonishing 1.4 million copies. And that figure was up to 2.6 million copies by the end of the first week. In terms of personal achievements, this latest album also marks Swift as the first modern artist to release seven different albums which have all sold more than a million in their first week.
TTPD is also the most streamed album ever, shattering Beyonce’s previous record in just hours when each song was streamed more than 891.37 million times. On top of that, this album has won accolades that include being the first album to surpass 200 million streams on its first day, while ‘Fortnight’ became the most streamed song in a single day. Even pre-release, TTPD’s album page was the most pre-saved in history. All of which is great news for our beloved Tay.
But, how on earth did she get here? To understand that in any real depth, we’d require at least a fifty-page essay. But, to condense the points, some of the things keeping Taylor on top right now include –
1 – Preaching to the choir
Self-confessed ‘Swifties’ were always on board with this album, and Taylor’s made sure that it’s entirely to their fancy. This album has all of the poppy notes we love from her, as well as plenty of serious literary and life stuff to keep her older fans onboard. The result? Guaranteed release-day streams from an audience that already knows and loves exactly what this album has to offer.
2 – Drumming up interest
Taylor doesn’t just sit back and land an album without any lead-up. More than most other artists, Taylor’s great at social media teasers for songs, letting everyone know the album name and song titles in advance, and generally inciting a countdown of excitement for launch day. As well as ensuring great speculation and pre-release sales/saves, this interest sees fans going as far as securing cheap Spotify premium accounts in advance of launch, and even setting their alarms at God-awful times to make sure they can stream the songs right away. And, thus, streaming records were broken,
3 – The writing formula
We’re not saying all Taylor Swift songs sound the same, but they do follow a winning formula, which includes the same general breathy verses, upbeat choruses, and meaningful life lyrics. As mentioned in the ‘preaching to the choir’ section, Taylor Swift just has a very good grasp on what sells and manages to create it without fail each time.
4 – The personality
Let’s not forget that, in this age of ‘us’ and ‘them’ music, Taylor Swift’s personable approach to her fans has also taken her a long way. Above signing a few autographs at the stage door, Taylor takes real time with her fans, and seems genuinely dedicated to helping her female fans to grow their self confidence. She even hosts private intimate meetups at her home on occasion. More generally, Taylor’s not afraid to show her vulnerabilities, both through writing her truth in her music, and with her public persona. That makes us all feel like Taylor could be a friend, and helps her to feel like someone we want to support however we can. Which includes streaming her music!
Taylor Swift’s album releases are growing from strength to strength. With TTPD still breaking countless records a few weeks after release, we can only logically ask one pressing question – what madness can we expect from her next album release?
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