Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” is set to release on Friday, and industry experts are predicting that she has the potential to break even more streaming and sales records with this album. Swift already holds several records for album sales and streaming on platforms like Spotify, including having the biggest first-week debut for an album of the 2020s decade so far with “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” and setting Spotify records for the most-streamed album in a single day.
Her previous album, “Midnights,” debuted with 1.578 million units in its first week in 2022, surpassing her own record set by “folklore,” which had 846,000 units. Additionally, she holds the record for the biggest album sales week (not counting streaming) with “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” selling 1.359 million albums in its first week alone. With her track record, it is expected that “The Tortured Poets Department” will perform exceptionally well and potentially become her fourteenth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, tying her with Jay-Z for the most No. 1s by a solo artist.
While the exact sales figures for the new album are yet to be determined, industry experts are expecting it to be a massive success. The album is projected to be “frighteningly big” by Hits Daily Double, and Tom Poleman, chief programming officer for iHeartRadio, has called it the most anticipated album in his career. With Swift’s dominant presence in both physical album sales and streaming, it is likely that she will once again dominate the charts. If the album performs similarly to her previous releases, it could potentially surpass Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” as the biggest album debut of the year so far.
A surprising fact about Taylor Swift is that she is the only artist to have sold more than 1 million copies of an album in one week six different times, and “The Tortured Poets Department” could make it the seventh time. This achievement showcases the immense popularity and appeal of Swift’s music across various albums and eras. While some critics have noted that Swift’s physical sales were boosted by the availability of multiple collectible formats for her previous album, similar strategies are being employed for the new release, including exclusive vinyl editions and physical copies with bonus tracks, indicating that Swift is poised to benefit once again from this approach.
With the release of “The Tortured Poets Department” on the horizon, Swift has been teasing fans with various clues and promotions. From partnering with streaming services and social media companies to hosting a pop-up library in Los Angeles and placing QR codes in different cities, Swift has engaged fans in unique and innovative ways. The album will feature guest appearances from Post Malone and Florence and the Machine, and a music video is set to be released on Friday. Overall, the buzz surrounding Swift’s latest album suggests that she is poised to continue breaking records and solidifying her status as one of the biggest artists in the music industry.
