The resurgence of vinyl in the United States has a standout star: Taylor Swift. Luminate has released data regarding physical formats sold in the US during the first six months of the year. “The Tortured Poets Department” is by far the most purchased album, with 2,474,000 copies sold. To understand the magnitude of this success, the second album on the list, Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” sold 306,000 copies.
Including what are known as equivalent copies (streams, where 1,250 premium streams = 1 album sold; 3,750 free streams = 1 album sold), the number of copies of “TTPD” rises to 4,660,000. It is estimated that the songs from the album have been streamed on-demand 2.7 billion times.
Furthermore, “The Tortured Poets Department” has sold more physical copies than all other albums in the top 10 combined. The top 10, incidentally, features five albums by Swift: in addition to the latest, there are “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” “Lover,” “Folklore,” and “Midnights.”
Swift is particularly strong in vinyl sales compared to CDs. In the vinyl-only chart, six out of ten albums are hers, including the aforementioned ones plus “Evermore.” The sales of physical formats for “The Tortured Poets Department” have been boosted by the large number of editions released, including vinyl, CDs, and cassettes: at least 34 in total.
In terms of streaming alone, the pop star performs well with album listens but not as much with individual songs. Globally, only one of her songs, the old hit “Cruel Summer,” which has seen a revival, is in the top 10. None are in the American top 10, proving that, unlike other artists, it is Swift’s albums that capture the interest of her fans.