Taylor Swift’s Album Returns to the Charts
Taylor Swift fans have been facing a moral dilemma for years, wondering whether to listen to her album "reputation" or not. The album was one of the few that Swift had not re-recorded after her controversial separation from her original label and the subsequent purchase of her catalog by another company. However, with Swift recently regaining the rights to her first six albums, the dilemma has been resolved, and fans can now enjoy the album without any guilt.
A Surge in Streaming and Sales
Following the announcement, Swifties flocked to streaming platforms, and "reputation" saw a significant surge in streaming and sales. The album jumped 73 points on the Billboard 200 chart, landing at number 5 with 42,000 album equivalents. This is a remarkable feat, considering the album was released in 2017 and had not seen such heights since 2018.
Streaming Numbers Soar
According to Luminate, the album’s sales and streaming numbers saw a significant increase. Digital sales rose, with most of the sales being digital due to the lack of physical copies available in stores at the time of the announcement. The album’s on-demand streams increased by 125%, with 34.75 million streams recorded during the tracking week.
A Missed Opportunity for Vinyl Sales
If Swift had released vinyl copies of "reputation" at the time of the announcement, the sales could have been even higher, given the proven preference of her fans for vinyl. Although a vinyl edition may be released in the future, the current lack of physical copies meant that fans had to rely on digital streaming and sales.
Updates to Album Credits
The album’s credits are also being updated to reflect Swift’s new ownership of her music. The Big Machine logo, which appears on all current copies of the album, will be removed, and the credits will simply say "Copyright Taylor Swift." Digital services such as Spotify and Apple are slowly updating the credits to reflect the change.
Other Albums on the Billboard 200
Several of Swift’s other albums are also expected to see a surge in sales and streaming, and many have already debuted on the Billboard 200 chart. The full chart will be released on Monday, but the top 10 has already been revealed, with Swift’s albums likely to dominate the list.
New Releases on the Chart
Two new albums debuted in the top 5 of the chart, including the K-POP group Seventeen’s "Seventeen 5th album Happy Burstday," which landed at number 2 with 48,500 equivalent album units. Miley Cyrus’s "Something Nice" debuted at number 4 with 44,000 units, a disappointing number compared to her previous album.
Morgan Wallen’s Album Remains at Number 1
Morgan Wallen’s "I am the problem" remained at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for the third week in a row, with 246,000 album equivalent units sold. This is the biggest third week for an album in over a year, since Taylor Swift’s "The Tatzh Poets Department."
Other Albums on the Chart
Sza’s "SOS" landed at number 3, still going strong thanks to a deluxe edition and a massive collaboration with Kendrick Lamar. Other albums on the chart include Wallen’s previous album "One Thing A (A Time," Lamar’s efforts, Sabrina Carpenter’s album, and collaborations between partynextdoor and Drake, and Bad Bunny.
