Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' sells 1.4M copies on debut day
Taylor Swift's latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, is on a record-breaking spree! Released on Friday, it has shattered the first-day sales record in the US, selling a remarkable 1.4M copies. According to Luminate (a data tracking firm), this marks Swift's most successful sales week for any of her albums in the US. The album features 31 tracks which collectively amassed an astounding 243.4M official on-demand audio streams in the US on its release day alone.
'Fortnight' contributes to album's streaming success
The lead single from the album Fortnight, featuring Post Malone, played a significant role in the album's success, contributing 18.4M streams on the release day. In total, The Tortured Poets Department garnered 1.6M equivalent album units in the US on Friday alone. This achievement surpasses the record previously held by Swift's own 1989 (Taylor's Version), which accumulated 1.653M units in its first week late last year, reportedly.
Album sets new record across all formats
Per Billboard, the album sold 1.4M copies across all formats, including CD, vinyl, cassette, and digital download on its release day. This sets a new record for the highest sales week for any of Swift's albums. Originally released as a standard 16-song digital download album and an array of 17-song physical configurations, the album was expanded to include an additional 15 songs just two hours after its release.
'Tortured Poets' outperformed 'Cowboy Carter'
After just one day of sales, The Tortured Poets Department has already become the top-selling album of 2024 in the US, outperforming Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, which sold 188,000 copies. The album's sales were boosted by its availability in 19 different physical formats and two digital download options. The six vinyl LPs alone sold 600,000 copies on the first day, marking it as the second-highest sales week for a vinyl album in recent history.
Album poised to top Billboard 200 chart
The final first-week sales figures for The Tortured Poets Department are set to be revealed on Sunday. If it tops the Billboard 200 chart, it will be Swift's 14th No.1 album, tying her with Jay-Z for the most No.1s among solo artists and further cementing her record among female artists. Swift unveiled The Tortured Poets Department at the 66th Grammy Awards on February 4 and pre-orders for the project were made available on her official webstore the same day.
