Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated new album “The Tortured Poets Department” (TTPD) arrived on streaming services at midnight ET on Friday. At 2 a.m. ET, Swift revealed that TTPD was actually a double album, releasing 31 total tracks under “TTPD: The Anthology”.
While Swift has made headlines for her extensive Eras tour, billionaire status and impact on the economy, one aspect of her brand has contributed to the resurgence of an old-school musical medium: vinyl.
During the promotion of TTPD, vinyl took center stage. Fast announced new record variations at tour stops around the world, with titles like “The Bolter” AND “The albatross.” Purchasing vinyl was marketed as a way to access the original 16-track album and an exclusive bonus track.
Taylor Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department” was released on April 19. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
By releasing the TTPD deluxe album at 2am, Swift was able to include the exclusive bonus tracks available separately on each vinyl in “The Anthology” – so fans who hadn’t purchased the records could stream the songs.
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Checking out a $35 vinyl through the Taylor Swift store reveals that fans who purchased it before the release of “The Anthology” only have access to 17 tracks — an incomplete picture of the entire 31-track album.
Vinyl produces more revenue than streaming for Swift, the New York Times reports.
“Some are willing to pay to have more variations on the wall,” music industry analyst Dan Runcie told the publication. “It’s no different than sports fans paying to get rookie cards.”
File name: The Albatross?
Pre-order the new edition of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT with the exclusive bonus track “The Albatross” on my website nowhttps://t.co/BAtr2MpPIs?: What a Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/62Bmrc5zs5
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 23, 2024
That might be okay though: Fans might not buy Taylor Swift records just for the music.
Each vinyl on Swift’s site emphasizes uniqueness and collectability rather than exclusivity. TTPD’s “The Manuscript” edition, for example, includes one-of-a-kind replicas of Swift’s lyrics, handwritten by the artist, and collectible album covers featuring one-of-a-kind photos. Swift hand-wrote a note to select fans who purchase TTPD records at select record stores.
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TTPD isn’t the first album Swift has brought to vinyl. In 2016, Swift began releasing her first albums on vinyl. 2020’s “Folklore” had nine vinyl editions and 2022’s Midnights had four differently colored editions that made a clock when put together.
One in 15 vinyl records sold in the United States last year was by Swift, for a total of nearly 3.5 million records sold. The Recording Industry Association of America said in a report that vinyl records outsold CDs for the second consecutive year since 1987 in the United States, with 43 million records sold in total in 2023.
It’s not just the US: ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ took the top-selling vinyl spot in the UK, beating the Rolling Stones’ ‘Hackney Diamonds’ and Lana Del’s ‘Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’ Rey, who placed second and third respectively.
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Not all artists are fans of the vinyl strategy though, with Billie Eilish telling Billboard in an interview last month that releasing different versions of the same vinyl to boost sales was “a waste.”
“It’s galling to me that we’re still at a point where you care so much about your numbers and you care so much about making money,” Eilish said.
He later clarified that he wasn’t singling out anyone.
It’s not just about the artists: Not all Swift fans like limited-edition records, and some are taking to social media to criticize the multiple variations.
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Andrew Mall, an associate professor of music at Northeastern University, told Northeastern Global News that many artists do the same thing as Swift and release different versions of the same record, with variations in things like bonus tracks and covers.
“Completists will go out and buy a dozen different copies because it’s important to them to have every copy produced,” Mall told the outlet.
Swift officially reached the billionaire milestone in October 2023. TTPD won’t be her biggest financial attraction this year, vinyls and all: Eras’ tour will be, according to Business Insider.