Taylor Swift breaks new records with "Speak Now" selling over a million copies
Taylor Swift broke new record with her newly released album Speak Now, as it sells more than 1 million copies on the first week it hit the market.
Speak Now sold 1, 046,718 copies in the United States on the first week of release, making it SoundScan's biggest single-week total sales since 2005, and the biggest debuting country studio album in music history.
The success of Taylor Swift's album bears well for the music industry as it accounts for 18% of total albums sold last week, which sets yet another a new record for percentage of total sales in a single week. One out of every five CDs or download sales this week was Taylor's Speak Now album released on Big Machine Records.
How did Swift's latest album manage to sell more than 1 million copies within a week of release? MTV's Gil Kaufma attributes it to a combination of clever promotion, fan loyalty and Taylor Swift's persona and devotion to fans.
"Through her first two releases, the breakout young country superstar has slowly, steadily built a massive audience with a combination of heartfelt songwriting and countless dates opening for established stars before headlining on her own, not to mention an approachable persona and a tireless devotion to connecting with her fans," wrote Kaufman.
Speaking to MTV News, Taylor Swift's Big Machine Label Group CEO Scott Borchetta echoed Kaufman's explanation, further adding that the success is owed to Swift's visibility.
Bocheta said: "For the most part, Taylor hasn't been out in the marketplace for the past year."
"She's appeared on awards shows here and there, but what's really fantastic about this week is people are getting some new, in-person, live interviews with her and falling in love with her all over again.
"It's been two years since she's done any long-form interviews, and now people are remembering why they're seeing her everywhere: because we love her and she's made a brilliant record."
According to a press release posted on her Facebook page, Swift has plans to tour in support of Speak Now. She is currently slated to play 85 shows in 18 countries in 2011.