Taylor Swift First

Taylor Swift has been a regular fixture at the top of the Billboard 200 since 2008, when she notched her first No. 1 album with Fearless. Since then, she’s continued to break records, rack up No. 1s — 10 so far — and score eye-popping first-week unit totals.

While it’s difficult to compare debut-week performances of any single artist’s albums over time — owed to changes in market conditions and music consumption patterns — it’s enlightening to take a look back at Swift’s last five charted releases, from 2019’s Lover through 2021’s Red [Taylor’s Version], and at what fueled their debuts on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

The marketing and promotion techniques applied to those five releases likely informed the rollout plan of Swift’s 10th studio album, Midnights, which arrived Friday (Oct. 21). It bowed on streaming services and via retailers in a plethora of options: as a digital album download, multiple CD and vinyl LP variants and a cassette tape.

Midnights is Swift’s first studio album since Evermore, in 2020. Since then, she released two re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), both in 2021. Five months prior Evermore, she released its sister project, Folklore, and in 2019, Lover.

Midnights arrives after months of pre-release promotion and pre-orders — but no music from the 13-track album was released until the album dropped in full. The set’s “Anti-Hero” garnered an official music video on Oct. 21 and is being promoted as its lead radio single. The album is available to purchase in a standard digital album (both clean and explicit), an iTunes-exclusive version with a bonus track (clean and explicit), four standard CD editions (each with a different cover, both clean and explicit), four vinyl LP editions (each with a different cover and colored vinyl) and a cassette tape.

Target also sold an exclusive “Lavender” edition of the album on CD and colored-vinyl LP, with the CD boasting three bonus tracks.

In addition, in the weeks leading up to release, Swift’s webstore sold pre-orders of signed copies of the four standard CD albums and the four standard vinyl LPs. Midnights was also available in deluxe boxed set with a CD edition of the album and a Swift-branded T-shirt, exclusively for Capital One cardholders.

Three hours after Midnights arrived, Swift issued a deluxe edition of the album with seven bonus songs (20 tracks total) to streaming services and digital retailers (with the latter including a digital liner notes booklet).

What else might Swift have up her sleeve during release week? As with most things in Swiftworld — only she knows for sure until it’s announced. What we do know — thanks to her sharing via social media – is that she’s slated to make an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday (Oct. 24) and a second music video from the album will arrive on Tuesday (Oct. 25). Her social media calendar has also teased possible promotions or activations with Target on Saturday (Oct. 22) and independent record stores on Sunday.

Here’s a recap of the debut-week performances of Swift’s last five albums before Midnights and some of the marketing and promotional activations that fueled their arrivals on the chart.

First week (chart dated Sept. 7, 2019): 867,000 equivalent album units (679,000 in traditional album sales), according to Luminate.

In 2018, less than a month after Swift parted ways with her longtime label home Big Machine, she signed a global record deal with Universal Music Group with Republic Records as her U.S. partner.

The first release under the new agreement was 2019’s Lover — an album that was preceded by its lead single “Me!,” featuring Brendon Urie. The single was announced on April 25, 2019, and debuted a day later. The Lover album itself was announced on June 13, 2019, and released on Aug. 23.

“Me!” would eventually peak at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated May 11, 2019) while the set’s second single, “You Need to Calm Down,” also reached No. 2 (June 29, 2019). The album garnered a third top 10 hit with its title track, which jumped 19-10 (its peak) on the Sept. 7, 2019-dated chart — concurrent with the album’s debut at No. 1.

Lover launched at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 867,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week, and of that sum, 679,000 were in traditional album sales. During its first week, Lover was available in four collectible deluxe CD editions sold at Target, dozens of merchandise/digital album bundles sold through Swift’s official webstore, and merchandise/physical album bundles offered through Amazon. The album also had a standard CD edition that was widely available at retail, along with an equivalent digital album that was available at all digital retailers.

Lover locked up 175,000 in SEA units in its first week — equaling 226 million on-demand streams of the set’s 18 songs.

Lover also marked Swift’s first album to be available to stream in full across all streaming services in its first week. Her previous album, reputation, released in November 2017, was not available to stream in full during its release week — just four pre-release tracks were streamable. (Reputation eventually hit all streamers in full in December of 2017.)

First week (chart dated Aug. 8, 2020): 846,000 equivalent album units (615,000 in traditional album sales), according to Luminate.

After a career of traditional rollouts for new albums, with months of pre-release publicity and promotional singles, Swift threw a major curveball for the release of her eighth studio album, Folklore. It was her first surprise release, and was announced a mere 16 hours before it debuted on July 24, 2020, via streaming services and to purchase as a digital download album through digital retailers.

Folklore was also a sonic surprise – moving away from pure pop material of her three previous albums (Lover, Reputation and 1989) to a more alternative sound. The 16-track Folklore boasted production from The National’s Aaron Dessner alongside Bleachers and fun.’s Jack Antonoff, while the track “Exile” featured Bon Iver.

Folklore debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Aug. 8, 2020, with 846,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week. Of that sum, album sales comprised 615,000. SEA units totaled 218,000 — equating to 289.85 million on-demand streams of the set’s 16 songs.

The album’s first single, “Cardigan,” debuted atop the Hot 100 dated Aug. 8, 2020 — concurrent with Folklore’s arrival at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making Swift the first artist to launch atop both lists simultaneously.

Folklore had limited commercial availability in its debut week. It was only available to purchase as a digital download via Swift’s webstore and through digital retailers. Its CD was not released until Aug. 7, 2020, while its vinyl and cassette formats shipped months later.

However, it’s important to note that Folklore’s large sales number was powered in part by pre-orders of the physical version of Folklore that was bundled with a digital download of the album.

At the time of Folklore’s release, if an artist’s webstore sold a physical/digital album bundle (say, a CD that came with a digital album download), and the artist delivered the digital album to the consumer while they waited for the physical album to ship at a later date — the digital album would be counted as the sale. The physical album in such bundles would not be reported to Luminate or counted towards the Billboard charts at a later date. As of Aug. 7, 2020, this kind of offer ceased to count towards the charts, and such sales would only count when and if the physical album was shipped to the customer.

With all that said, during Folklore’s release week, Swift’s webstore sold over a bevy of physical/digital album bundles (with a CD, vinyl LP or cassette, plus the digital album). All of the physical/digital bundles delivered the digital version of the album upon purchase to the customer, while the physical version shipped to the customer later. During release week in Swift’s webstore, she offered pre-orders for eight CDs for the album (each with a different cover), eight vinyl LPs (each with a different cover and color vinyl) and a cassette — and all came bundled with a digital download of the album. (The CDs didn’t start shipping until two-to-three weeks after the album’s initial release, the vinyl LPs were then-slated to ship four months later, and the cassette was scheduled to ship two months later.)

Swift was not the only artist employing such physical/digital album bundle offers — most major artists employed the tactic at the time. It was used frequently by those acts that did not have a physical album manufactured in time for an album’s streaming-and-digital release date.

In addition, Swift’s webstore also sold an array of merchandise/digital album bundles, where a Swift-branded merchandise item was sold bundled with a digital album. (Merch items were also available individually for a cheaper price.) At the time, such merchandise/digital album bundle sales counted towards the charts when the digital album was fulfilled to the customer. These kinds of offers stopped counting towards the charts as of Oct. 9, 2020.

Folklore spent its first six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and it later mounted returns to No. 1 for a seventh and eighth weeks, courtesy of sales surges generated by signed CD offers and new merchandise/digital album bundles.

First week (chart dated Dec. 26, 2020): 329,000 equivalent album units (154,500 in traditional album sales), according to Luminate.

Swift’s second surprise album, Evermore, premiered on Dec. 11 and bowed atop the Billboard 200 with 329,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week. Of that sum, 154,500 were traditional album sales — all from digital download albums.

The 15-song album arrived after very little warning (it was announced about 16 hours before it was released), and arrived via streaming services and for purchase as a digital album through traditional digital retailers. Its CD edition, with two bonus tracks, did not arrive in stores until Dec. 18 — impacting the album’s second week. Cassette and vinyl LP configurations were not released until 2021.

Evermore was released less than five months after its sister project, Folklore. Both sets took Swift in a more alternative-leaning direction after a series of pop-focused projects.

Evermore tallied 167,000 SEA units in its first week — equivalent to 220.49 million on-demand streams of the set’s 15 songs.

Evermore’s release was accompanied by the official music video for the set’s opening track, “Willow.” The song debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 26, 2020 – concurrent with the album’s arrival at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. As the entire album was a surprise, there was no pre-release single or any pre-release promotional activity surrounding the album.

As noted at the time of Evermore’s No. 1 debut, the album’s first-week units and album sales were the biggest for any album since merchandise/album bundles and concert ticket/album sale redemption offers both ceased to count towards chart sales (as of Oct. 9 of that year). It was also the biggest week for an album since physical albums bundled with a digital album could only be counted as a physical sale upon shipment to the customer (that started on Aug. 7). Previously, Swift’s albums, including Folklore, like many other albums, benefitted from merchandise/album bundles and physical/digital format combo offers. (Swift had never employed a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer, however.)

Evermore returned to No. 1 seven months after its release, vaulting 74-1 on the June 12, 2021-dated chart, with 202,000 units earned in the week ending June 3 (with 192,000 of that sum in traditional album sales). The jump back to No. 1 was owed to a number of drivers: the set’s vinyl LP release on May 28 (in two green-colored variants and a Target-exclusive red color), the availability of signed CDs in Swift’s webstore and via independent record stores, deep discounting of the digital album and the release of four “digitally autographed fan edition” versions of the album (each with a bonus remix of “Willow”).

First week (chart dated April 24, 2021): 291,000 equivalent album units (179,000 in traditional album sales), according to Luminate.

Twelve years after Swift logged her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2008 with her second studio album, Fearless, she became the first act to take a re-recorded album to No. 1. Her Fearless (Taylor’s Version), opened atop the chart dated April 24, 2021, with 291,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week. Of that sum, traditional album sales amounted to 179,000 — all from digital album downloads and CDs.

SEA units accounted for 109,000 units in the set’s first week — equaling 142.98 million on-demand streams of the album’s 26-tracks.

Swift announced the existence of the album on Feb. 11, 2021. In 2019, Swift had shared her intention to re-record her first six albums — released between 2006 and 2017 by Big Machine Label Group — following the acquisition of her master recordings by Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. Swift had tried to buy back her masters for years prior to the sale, and began re-recording her catalog in November of 2020. In October of 2020, Ithaca Holdings sold the Big Machine-era masters to Shamrock Holdings.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was preceded by the single “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” (a No. 11-peaking hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 2021) and “You All Over Me (Taylor’s Version),” featuring Maren Morris (No. 51).

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) arrived on April 9, 2021, as a streaming album, and was available to purchase as a digital download album and on CD. Target carried an exclusive version of the CD with a collectible poster packaged inside. The album’s vinyl LP didn’t reach retail until Oct. 1, 2021, while its cassette streeted in June of that year.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was Swift’s third album release in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, following her first two surprise albums, Evermore and Folklore (both released in 2020). Many of the traditional promotional activities that accompany an album were restrained due to COVID-19 restrictions and precautions.

Certainly, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’s first-week units would have been larger had its vinyl LP been available day-and-date with the rest of the project. But, Swift made up for it later… when the set bounced back to No. 1, six months later, after its vinyl release.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated Oct. 16, 2021) following its vinyl LP release (selling 67,000 copies on wax in its first week) and a burst in CD sales thanks in large part to its availability in a signed edition in Swift’s webstore.

First week (chart dated Nov. 27, 2021): 605,000 equivalent album units (369,000 in traditional album sales), according to Luminate.

Swift’s second re-recorded album topped the Billboard 200 chart dated Nov. 27, 2021, with 605,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week in the U.S., according to Luminate. Of that sum, 369,000 were in traditional album sales — from digital album downloads, CDs and vinyl.

The 30-track Red (Taylor’s Version) was announced on June 18, 2021, with a release date of Nov. 19 that year — but it was later moved up to Nov. 12 (likely to avoid direct competition with Adele’s 30, which was later announced for a Nov. 19 release.)

Red (Taylor’s Version) was ushered in with appearances on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers (both on Nov. 11), and was followed by a stop on Saturday Night Live, where she performed the 10-minute version of the album’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).” The album was not preceded by any singles — thus, the entire album became available to consumers for the first time on release date, Nov. 12.

Upon the album’s release, “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” became the set’s focus track and the song soared in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Nov. 27, 2021 — aided by streams of its epic 15-minute short film, which doubled as the track’s official music video.

The hefty number of tracks on Red (Taylor’s Version) helped balloon the album’s first-week streaming number — as it garnered 227,000 SEA units, which equaled 303.23 million on-demand streams of its 30 tracks. At the time, it was the second-largest streaming week ever for an album by a woman.

The album was initially released on CD, digital download and vinyl LP all on Nov. 12. That was unlike her two previous albums (Fearless [Taylor’s Version] and Evermore), which both saw staggered releases for their formats, with their major-selling vinyl LPs arriving months after the album’s original release.

In turn, Red (Taylor’s Version) sold 114,000 on vinyl in its first week — a then-modern era record for single-week vinyl album sales. At the time, the album sold for $49.99 on vinyl and was available in just two editions: a standard black release and a red-colored variant exclusive to Target.

Also helping Swift’s overall first-week sales of Red (Taylor’s Version) was the availability of CDs signed by Swift that she sold in her official webstore and via independent record stores.

Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox