Swift continues to make history with 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift wraps her monumental 2023 with another record, surpassing Elvis Presley’s longstanding Billboard 200 chart feat for the solo artist with the most weeks to top the chart. Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) stays at No. 1 on the chart for the second consecutive week — the project’s fifth total — giving Swift her 68th total week atop Billboard 200, according to tracking company Luminate, dated January 6, 2024.
Last week, Swift tied Presley’s 67 weeks as her re-recorded version of 1989 returned to the No. 1 slot in preparation for the holiday season. Presley now places second as a solo artist but lands in third behind the Beatles at 132 weeks total.
Swift’s project sold 98,000 equivalent album units in the US in the week ending December 28th, equaling the total combined weeks at No. 1 of Swift’s three previous re-recorded albums, according to Luminate. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) both topped the chart for two weeks upon their release with Red (Taylor’s Version) taking the spot for a single week, according to Billboard.
The sales of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) were comprised of 61 thousand units, and 36 thousand streams equivalent album (SEA) with 48.5 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs and one thousand track equivalent album (TEA) units.
2023 is arguably Swift’s biggest year ever with the 34-year-old pop superstar crowned Spotify’s Global Top Artist of the Year. Since January 1st, fans have streamed Swift’s songs more than 26.1 billion global times, dethroning the three-year champion Bad Bunny to the runner-up position. Swift’s streams include two record-breaking re-recordings of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) which were both released this year while on her massive The Eras Tour.
Pollstar has also projected that The Eras Tour grossed $1.039 billion, making it the single highest-grossing tour of all time and the first to cross the ten-digit threshold. Pollstar’s numbers are based on its box office reports and extensive research including “ticket prices in each market, record capacities at each venue and comparable tour data.” The feat was accomplished after performing 60 shows that began in March in Glendale, Arizona, and wrapped last month in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During that time, she sold 4.3 million tickets averaging $238.95 each, bringing each show’s average gross to $17.32 million.
The country-turned-pop star is also being credited with raising the United States economy with The Eras Tour. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve and Cincinnati officials share that Swift’s 53-date US trek has helped raise the economy with tourism.
Bloomberg also crowned Swift a billionaire due to the tour and her album re-recordings, the first artist to be minted the status solely on her musical accomplishments. While specific numbers are unclear, Bloomberg’s analysis is based on assets and earnings that “could be confirmed or traced from publicly disclosed figures.” These include the estimated value of her music catalog, five homes, earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets and merchandise, all after expenses and taxes have been deducted.
Earlier this month, Time magazine named Swift their 2023 Person of the Year due to her finding a way to “transcend borders and be a source of light.”
