All The Records Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Has Already Broken Or Could Break

Just how hyped are people about the release of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which dropped at midnight on April 19? Even before the album’s release, Swift’s latest effort already broke records, and it’s poised to smash many more during its first week out.

Spotify said Thursday that Tortured became the most pre-saved album countdown in the streaming service’s history. And within days, Swift will likely tie with Jay-Z for the all-time record for most solo No. 1 albums. How has the 34-year-old accomplished these incredible milestones? You can credit rabid fans, the success of the Eras tour, a much-discussed relationship with a Super Bowl champion and, not least, Swift’s enviable business savvy in building her brand.

Why Is Taylor Swift So Popular?

You can credit much of her branding success to knowing exactly what her fans want and delivering it. The singer values what her fans tell her, and she engages with them online and through her music.

“The foundation of Taylor Swift’s billion-dollar brand is her fans. Taylor understands the power that her music and lyrics have on her brand loyal listeners, and she communicates with her fans thoughtfully and consistently through her social media platforms, in person during her concerts, and even in interviews,” says Alyse Lancaster, vice dean for academic affairs in the School of Communication at The University of Miami. She is teaching a fall class about Swift and how to build a brand.

“By keeping her fans constantly guessing about what her next big project might entail and by always building curiosity about what her next move will be, she strengthens her relationship with her audience and keeps them talking, which is the essence of brand-building.”

What Is The Tortured Poets Department?

The LP is the latest release from Taylor Swift, who announced the new album while accepting her 14^th Grammy earlier this year. She has since dropped lots of hints on social media about the album’s content, which focuses on the stages of heartbreak.

What Records Has Tortured Poets Department Broken?

She broke the Spotify presave record following the launch of the Tortured Poets countdown page in late March. The page counted down the seconds until the album’s release. The streaming service also wisely tied it to a display it put up in Los Angeles related to the album, taking advantage of Swift fans’ love for puzzling out the meaning of her songs and her online and musical actions.

This comes after the Eras tour generated more than $1 billion, making it the most successful tour of all time. She also set a record for most-attended concert by a female singer with the opening night of Eras, which drew more than 69,000 people.

And the Eras movie released last fall grossed more than $100 million and became the highest-grossing concert movie ever. Its digital release boosted the film to Disney+’s most-streamed music movie of all time.

She has more Billboard chart appearances than any other female artist, and the first single from Tortured Poets Department, which is “Fortnight,” recorded with Post Malone, will extend her record. The only question is how high it will go—but again, she’s got the most top 40 appearances ever.

What Records Could Tortured Poets Department Break?

Swift has sold 1 million albums in the first week of release with six of her albums. A seventh would extend that record.

She also has the most albums to sell at least 500,000 in the first week, currently at 10.

Swift became the first artist ever to hold all of Billboard’s top 10 singles spots with her Grammy-winning Midnights album.

Midnights also holds Spotify’s record for most-streamed album in a day (184.695 million streams). Tortured Poets could definitely do even better.

She’s also poised to break records in Ireland (most No. 1 albums) and Australian and the UK (female with most No. 1 albums), notes VegasInsider.com. Her international fan base is just as critical as her American one, notes Lancaster.

“Other than Coca-Cola KO and McDonald’s, it’s difficult to think of a brand that has such a multicultural, multigenerational, and global base of fans than Taylor Swift,” Lancaster says. “But the biggest difference between those consumer brands and the Taylor Swift brand is that Taylor Swift’s target audience is comprised of the most loyal, engaged, happy, and diverse group of people I’ve ever witnessed.

“In a nutshell, the Taylor Swift brand can be defined by the word joy. Because that is, in essence what Taylor Swift does: She spreads joy wherever she goes, and she connects people through that joy. It’s truly an amazing thing to witness.”

One Record Tortured Poets Department Won’t Break

The one thing we can say with certainty is that Swift won’t break the all-time record for topping the charts. The Beatles had a record 19 chart-topping albums, and this will (presumably) be Swift’s 14^th.