Taylor Swift hype is boosting record store sales
Even before it’s been released, Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” is already driving up sales at record stores and music marketplaces.
Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album, which dropped in April 2024, is back in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart after the “Showgirl” announcement. And, over at Discogs, an online vinyl marketplace, there’s been a 37% increase in Swift album sales in the two weeks since the August 12 album announcement, compared to the two weeks before. The marketplace, which allows customers to catalog their collections and create wish lists, also saw a 49% increase in the number of Swift’s releases added to Discogs customers’ Wantlists in the same period.
Jeffrey Smith, vp of marketing at Discogs, said the noticeable lift in activity comes from fans who are hungry to complete their collections. Swift is known for releasing multiple album variants that drive collectors, and there’s a scarcity mindset that sets in when fans know a new release is on the way.
“Her fans are collectors, so they want every version. That’s a big driver of why her vinyl sales look so crazy compared to anyone else’s,” Smith said. “It’s not just about the music. It’s about the moment, the announcement, the idea that you can be part of that release by grabbing the vinyl as soon as it drops.”
Physical media sales are not what they used to be in the era of streaming. But vinyl sales outpace CDs, per the Recording Industry Association of America, and in 2024 generated $1.4 billion in sales. That was a 7% jump from the prior year, and the 18th consecutive year of growth. And, unsurprisingly, “The Tortured Poets Department” was the top-selling vinyl of the year, per a Luminate report.
And the buzz has been back since the newly-engaged Swift announced “The Life of a Showgirl” will be released Oct. 3. While sales figures aren’t yet announced, fans went wild for the pre-order that opened on August 11, even before seeing the cover or title, causing wait times to shop her Shopify-powered online merch store of as long as two hours.
Since then, Swift has released pre-orders for three other versions of the album — dubbed “Shiny Bug,” “Tiny Bubbles in Champagne” and “Baby, That’s Show Business” — as well as three deluxe CD editions. The series of drops helps drive activity well past the announcement date; Google Trends data shows searches for “The Life of a Showgirl vinyl variants” are spiking +130% in the United States over the past week.
For record stores and marketplace, a Swift album drop lifts all boats. “Every time she teases something, we see Discogs searches spike immediately,” Smith said. “The resale market goes wild because fans don’t want to wait, and stores can’t keep stock.”
Vertigo Vinyl, a shop in Georgia, went viral on X this week for sharing how Swift plays into their sales. “I’m not joking when I say Taylor Swift sales alone pay our yearly rent”, said one post that received over 1 million impressions in two days.
The retailer went on to post: “Since all the Swifties are here, last year just Reputation and TTPD alone (2 albums) generated $128,000 in sales for us — all record stores (who do being a record store right lol) are literally sooo thankful!”
As Smith put it, “Taylor vinyls don’t sit on shelves. If a store gets them, they’re gone that same day.”
Over at Discogs, data shows that some of Swift’s one-off vinyls are among the most desired: “Folklore: the Long Pond Studio Sessions” is the 18th most wanted release on Discogs, with “Lover (Live from Paris)” coming in at 20th. Swift vinyls are also among the most-collected, with Swift’s “Reputation” and “Lover” ranking in the top 10 alongside albums like Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.”
Smith from Discogs said Swift’s record drops can become a gateway into record collecting for fans. Some may buy one just to hang on their wall. But others may start to pick up vinyl from other artists — and, critically, record players to hear them on. Smith said he has a friend who bought a record player only after “Midnights” came out in 2023 and now has well over 100 records.
Beyond that, there are fans who seek to build collections around Swift’s multiple variants — TTPD, for instance, had four editions with different bonus tracks plus a full double album. “Folklore” from 2020, has nine different variants. While classic black vinyl or reliable editions are usually easy for fans to find, the limited-edition colors or variants with special packaging become instantly coveted.
Some Swift fans or music industry observers have criticized the amount of variants she releases, saying it plays into concerns about overconsumption or takes advantage of her fans’ spending habits. But Smith said Swift fans see each edition as part of a bigger story that she’s telling through her music, with the artwork and color schemes. “It’s a completist mentality. If you’re missing one edition, it doesn’t feel like you really have it,” Smith said.
For his part, Smith owns just two Swift vinyls — the original “1989” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” Yet he still watched the full two-hour “New Heights” podcast when Swift spoke with now-fiancee Travis Kelce and his brother Jason.
“I wouldn’t consider myself a fan, but I’ve got a mountain of respect and even gratitude for who it is that she is,” he said “You can’t help but be drawn in by that.”