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Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ Begins With a Bang
On Friday, Taylor Swift released a new song, “Look What You Made Me Do,” and thus, as the music industry tip sheet Hits put it, “launched the first ICBM in her fall offensive.”
The full assault will include a new album, “Reputation,” due Nov. 10, and a tour. The tools of the attack include videos, merchandise and a flotilla of corporate partnerships with the likes of Target and UPS (whose delivery trucks will be emblazoned with images of her).
The song’s initial numbers were predictably huge. On Friday, “Look What You Made Me Do” racked up 10.1 million streams around the world on Spotify, by far breaking its record for the most plays in a single day, the company said. (It seems like ages ago, doesn’t it, that Ms. Swift was publicly feuding with Spotify?) It was also the most played song on American radio stations, with 4,228 spins that day, according to Nielsen. The music video, released on Sunday night during MTV’s Video Music Awards, had 24 million views by noon on Monday. (Even the “lyric video,” featuring just the words to the song, broke records, had 19 million views in its first 24 hours, the best first-day total for that kind of video.)
Yet the brazenness of Ms. Swift’s marketing strategy has not gone unnoticed. To sell concert tickets, she is using Verified Fan, a new system from Ticketmaster that screens prospective buyers to block bots and scalpers; Bruce Springsteen, Harry Styles and “Hamilton” have all used it. But Ms. Swift is telling her fans that they can improve their chances of getting a ticket by buying more stuff and engaging in “boost activities,” like posting on social media. If all you want is the CD of “Reputation,” you can buy it from Ms. Swift’s site for $15, and for an additional $41 you can have it delivered on the day it comes out.
Some have called this exploitation, but so far Ms. Swift’s fans seem to have no problem: Early on Friday, her ticketing site was down from excessive traffic.
On Billboard’s album chart this week, the emo band Brand New — critically acclaimed a decade ago — opened at No. 1 with “Science Fiction,” its first new release in nine years. The album, released by the band on its own label, Procrastinate! Music Traitors, had 55,000 sales and a minuscule 4.4 million streams. (By comparison, the No. 2 album this week, Kodak Black’s “Project Baby 2,” had only 8,000 sales but almost 59 million streams.)
Also this week, Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN.” is No. 3 in its 19th week out; the Welsh rock band Neck Deep opens in fourth place with “The Peace and the Panic”; and Kesha’s “Rainbow,” last week’s top seller, falls to No. 5.
Inside the World of Taylor Swift
A Triumph at the Grammys: Taylor Swift made history by winning her fourth album of the year at the 2024 edition of the awards, an event that saw women take many of the top awards.
‘The Tortured Poets Department’: Poets reacted to Swift’s new album name, weighing in on the pertinent question: What do the tortured poets think?
In the Public Eye: The budding romance between Swift and the football player Travis Kelce created a monocultural vortex that reached its apex at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Ahead of kickoff, we revisited some key moments in their relationship.
Politics (Taylor’s Version): After months of anticipation, Swift made her first foray into the 2024 election for Super Tuesday with a bipartisan message on Instagram. The singer, who some believe has enough influence to affect the result of the election, has yet to endorse a presidential candidate.
Conspiracy Theories: In recent months, conspiracy theories about Swift and her relationship with Kelce have proliferated, largely driven by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The pop star's fans are shaking them off.
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