Taylor Swift continues to defy the odds.
Because while streaming has seen the music industry shape-shift with a swiftness few could have predicted, the Pop titan is marching to the beat of her own drum and reaping rewards accordingly.
Full story below…
Speaking to Variety, Monte Lipman – President of the singer’s newhome Republic Records – said:
“The anticipation of this album is extraordinary, with pre-sales quickly approaching one million copies globally.”
Impressive, no doubt. But it does beg the question of whether the star can repeat the million-plus debuts she’s become well-accustomed to in the US. The last of which was 2017’s ‘Reputation.’
The signs at this point are encouraging due to Swift’s savvy embrace of her strengths with the physical format and smart partnerships for retail.
See, while ensuring she’s locked and loaded with tailored activations on the big streaming platforms (a la Spotify), the 29-year old has mounted a merch-intensive push on her site and has teamed with Target to sell four versions of the ‘ME!’ led LP in stores.
On top of this, she’s also paired up with Amazon for a robust roll-out, which includes tie-in’s with Prime + Alexa, as well as front-of-shop exposure, and even ‘Lover’ branded boxes – which are being used regardless of the order’s content.
So, suffice to say, she’s playing no games.
Still, there’s no distracting from the fact it remains a streaming led market nor the fact that pure sales are down 30% (industry-wide) in the 15 months that have passed since the songird’s last album dropped.
And with Swift’s newest music not necessarily comparing to the the likes of Ariana Grande on the streaming front, it’ll be interesting to dissect how her numbers stack up.
Will physicals effectively save the day? And if so, how does that fare for longevity at a time when streams, playlisting, discovery, and virality go hand-in-hand when building out a resonating campaign.
Stay tuned!