This week, Taylor Swift made history. Again. And it is by no means accidental, it is actually carefully planned by the American pop princess and her management. 15 years after she broke through, the 33-year-old is undoubtedly one of the world’s biggest artists. And it probably feels like sweet revenge, after she has felt partially tied down by what she has seen as the music industry’s vultures for several years. Historic quadruple It’s been 13 years since the Pennsylvania woman released the album “Speak Now”. 11 days ago, a new recording of the album was released, and now it has reached number 1 on the world’s most important list: Billboard. Also on the top 10 list are “Midnights” (2022), “Lover” (2019) and “Folklore” (2020). Trumpeter Herb Alpert had four albums in the top ten in 1966. Prince repeated the feat 50 years later, shortly after his death. Taylor Swift is the first woman to have done this. And she’s not dead. But she has taken some steps, which are now paying off, to have more control over her own music. On the left is the new record cover for “Speak Now”, on the right the old one. Bitter billion-dollar dispute The reason Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums is that she lost the rights to them. Her former record label Big Machine was bought four years ago by the powerful music mogul Scooter Braun. Braun then secured Swift’s back catalogue, which means that songs can be used in commercials, films and political campaigns without her having to say anything. She was guaranteed income, but lost influence. – Scooter has robbed me of my life’s work, which I didn’t have the opportunity to buy myself. Now my musical legacy is in the hands of someone who tried to screw it up,” Taylor wrote on Tumblr. It was especially hard for Swift to swallow that it was Braun who took over her works, since he was previously the manager of her long-time “enemy” Kanye West. It seemed like they really hated each other. Braun denied the claims on Instagram, and reached out in hopes of resolving the conflict. It did not lead to anything, and later he resold the rights to the investment fund Shamrock for NOK three billion. Taylor Swift had enough and decided to re-release the records. She no longer owns the original versions, but now has full control over the new records and the newly recorded songs. Taylor Swift shows muscle on every list. Photo: George Walker IV / AP / NTB Approaching The Beatles As if this wasn’t enough, the enterprising Swift, who has released ten albums and three remakes so far, has these new records: She now has more number one albums than any other woman in the story. “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was her 12th number one. Barbra Streisand has 11, writes the Huffington Post. Paul McCartney soon feels her breath on his neck, because The Beatles’ 19 top positions are threatened by the 33-year-old. Swift is also wreaking havoc on the singles charts. All 22 songs from the new album are on the so-called Hot 100. With three previous songs on the list as well, she owns a quarter of the hit list, writes Forbes. The Billboard charts consist of both physical record sales and streaming. If we look exclusively at the digital market, Swift is the biggest there as well. On March 19, she set a new Spotify record for a single artist in one day, with 67 million plays, according to Chart Data. Concert chaos At the same time that Swift is breaking record records, she is also embarking on a record tour, where she sold over two million tickets in one day in the US – despite the fact that the system broke down. In the spring, Swift will come to Europe, but no closer to Norway than Stockholm, where she will play three nights in a row. news’s music journalist Pia Skevik tried to get a ticket to the Paris concert. She got place number 95,025 in the queue which consisted of almost a million “Swifties”. Before that, her turn collapsed the technique, and ticket sales in France were postponed. – This is already the best-selling tour in world history. They have probably estimated that it will have a turnover of 1.3 billion dollars, says Skevik. Music producer in news P3, Janne Monsen Tveit, describes Swift as 2023’s most sought-after live artist. – Throughout her career, much of the narrative around her has been about drama and conflicts behind the scenes – both in love and professionally. Now the focus is finally on the music, says Tveit.
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Taylor Swift with a new record – tops the charts and sells the most – news Culture and entertainment
