The official numbers are in for the sales of Taylor Swift’s new album, 1989, and we imagine she is very, very proud.
The record sold 1.287 million copies in its first week of release and while there’s no denying she’s very famous and very talented, these two things alone don’t sell records. Hard work sells records, and Tay worked her tiny little bum off to promote the album.
**She annihilated social media **
Prior to the release of the first single Shake It Off, Taylor hosted several social media events, with hyped countdowns and ‘clues’ and hashtags. This girl practically educated her record label on MySpace back when it was cool, so she knows her social media. And it’s not just Taylor talks, we listen. Taylor also listens, and responds/retweets. She hears her fans, and that gets her more fans.
**She pulled her music from Spotify and created a special edition to be sold at Target **
If you wanted to hear 1989 this week, you just had to buy it. Most fans probably downloaded it, because most people don’t live near a record store because record stores don’t really exist anymore. However, Tay smartly offered a deluxe CD with extra treats like voice memos from her phone and 13 ‘Polaroids’ in the case
She was everywhere, all the time
The Voice? She’s a mentor. The biggest late night chat shows and morning shows? She’s there. Hollywood Boulevard? She shut it down. Literally. Oh, and New York City made her its Welcome Ambassador, even though she’s only lived there for six months. Even if you tried, there was just no escaping Taylor Swift these past few weeks.
Her mega-famous friends lended their support
Lena Dunham renamed the release day of 1989 ‘Taylor Swift’ day. Lorde Tweeted pictures of her with her ‘sista’ Tay on a beach to her 2.5m followers, and they’re just two of the many, many influential types to encourage people to buy their pal’s record.
Of course, Taylor herself has a certain magic combo: great looks, style, personality, talent and fame, so when you bring all the elements together you realise not just anyone could have sold that many records in one week. Taylor just has that special thing. But we knew that already.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.