Charts analysis: Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department tops 270,000 sales and outsells Top 75 LPs

Swift’s Swiftest: Exploding to a No.1 debut on consumption of 270,091 units, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) is off to the fastest start of any album for more than seven years, and the fastest of Taylor Swift’s career. Securing the best opening of the 2020s, it opens 32.07% above Swift’s own personal best hitherto which came in 2022, with her last album of new material, Midnights, debuted with 204,501 sales. The last album to make a bigger first impression was Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide), which attracted 671,542 sales on debut in 2017. It also sold more copies than TTPD on its second week (303,520). The last album by an American act to have a bigger first week sale was Scissor Sisters’ second album, Ta-Dah, which sold 288,167 copies on debut in 2006. The previous highest weekly sale achieved by an American female solo artist in the 21st century was 245,911, set by Madonna’s 2000 release Music on its 14th week in the chart in 2000. Swift’s 15th album (including four ‘Taylor’s Versions’ re-recordings of earlier releases), TTPD is her 12th No.1. Drawing level with Madonna as the female solo artist with most No.1 albums, she is only the seventh act in chart history to have 12 No.1 albums, and the fifth solo artist. She went from 0 to 12 quickest – a little under 11 years and six months – eclipsing the 14 years and one month that elapsed between the Beatles first (Please Please Me) and 12th (At The Hollywood Bowl). She has had eight No.1 albums in the 2020s, twice as many as nearest challengers, Drake and Liam Gallagher; more in the last 10 years than any other act (11); and more in the 21st century (12) than all but Robbie Williams (13, including one with Take That). All of her No.1 albums have been studio sets, in which category, in all of chart history, she was previously tied for pole position with The Beatles, Robbie Williams, Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones, but now reigns supreme. 2024 is the sixth year in a row in which she has had at least one No.1 – a record of consistency previous only achieved by the Beatles, who did it eight years in a row (1963-1970). Its deluxe edition housing 31 tracks – all new songs which Swift wrote or co-wrote and co-produced – TTPD was issued in a plethora of variants, and racked up first week sales of 109,392 CDs, 66,388 vinyl albums, 4,457 cassettes, 10.948 digital downloads and 78,907 sales-equivalent streams. It sets a new record for most vinyl sales in a week by any album in the 21st century, surpassing the 61,948 sales set by Midnights on its debut. It also surpasses Midnights’ opening sales-equivalent streams tally of 57,964. The only album to achieve higher sales-equivalent streams in a week is Ed Sheeran’s leviathan ÷ (Divide), whose first week sales of 671,542, including 78,944 from sales-equivalent streams – just 37 more than TTPD - on debut in March 2017. With TTPD lead single Fortnight (feat. Post Malone) debuting atop the singles chart, Swift has done the double for the third time in her career having done so with Midnights/Anti-Hero in 2022 and 1989 (Taylor’s Version)/Is It All Over Now (Taylor’s Version) last year. TTPD sold 3,914 copies more than the rest of the Top 75 combined, and outsold the No.2 album by a ratio of 27.46:1, the highest such margin since Kantar (Millward Brown) started plotting the charts for OCC in 1994. The previous highest was 21.48:1, set in 1997 when Be Here Now topped for Oasis on 695,761 sales, with White On Blonde as No.2 for Texas (32,392 sales). The unit margin of TTPD’s victory this week – 260,256 units – is the greatest since the second week at No.1 for ÷ (Divide), when its sales of 303,520 copies were 272,991 higher than the No.2, Rag’n’Bone Man’s Human. The week before, with both on debut in the same positions, the Sheeran/Rag gulf was an enormous 808,807 (671542 units against 64,735). TTPD enters the year-to-date album chart at No.1, toppling Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (150,885 sales in 2024, 276,861 in total). The role of runners-up to Swift falls to Pearl Jam, whose 12th studio album in a career spanning more than 30 years, Dark Matter (No.2, 9,835 sales), matches their previous highest chart placing as achieved by their second album, Vs in 1993 and their 10th, Lightning Bolt in 2013. In total, Dark Matter is Pearl Jam’s 16th Top 75 and 10th Top 10 entry. Celebrating 45 years of UB40, the Birmingham reggae veterans’ new album, UB45, is a blend of new songs and fresh recordings of some of their best-loved hits. Debuting at No.5 (7,381 sales), it is the 17th Top 10 and 34th Top 75 album chart entry credited to UB40. However, there are two versions of the band. This is the one with direct lineage to the original, with charter members Robin Campbell, Jimmy Brown, Norman Hassan and Earl Falconer. Their last new album prior to UB45 was Bigger Baggariddim, which reached only No.137 in 2021. The rival UB40, set up by disaffected members Ali Campbell (brother of Robin), Mickey Virtue and Astro, reached No.8 in 2022 with most recent album Unprecedented, eight months after Astro’s death. A feature of the calendar since 2008, Record Store Day (RSD) made its usual impression on the charts, most notably returning Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (36-9, 5,459 sales) to the Top 10 after a gap of 69 weeks, following its release on picture disc (1,863 sales) for the first time. Rumours still trails the band’s compilation 50 Years: Don’t Stop, which rebounds 15-8 (5,607 sales) despite having no new RSD edition, and suffering a 0.62% dip in sales to 5,607 in the frame. It appears that Taylor Swift’s new album stole streams from many other artists, but most notably impacted her own back catalogue, with all of her albums suffering reduced consumption of at least 7.83% week-on-week while migrating to lower chart positions. The rest of the Top 10, all with falling consumption: Cowboy Carter (2-3, 8,885 sales) by Beyonce?, The Highlights (6-4, 8,344 sales) by The Weeknd, Guts (7-6, 6,843 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo, Stick Season (9-7, 6,508 sales) by Noah Kahan and Gold: Greatest Hits (14-10, 5,291 sales) by Abba. James’ first ever No.1 studio album, Yummy, dives to No.74 (2,127 sales) on its second frame. Also exiting the Top 10 are: Papercuts: Singles Collection 2000-2023 (4-14, 4,689 sales) by Linkin Park, One Deep River (3-33, 3,276 sales) by Mark Knopfler, This Could Be Texas (8-146, 1,416 sales) by English Teacher and – now vacating the Top 200 – last week’s No.5, Halo Effect (542 sales) by Kris Barras Band and last week’s No.10, Hombres (957 sales) by Gun. In an alternative universe, Bruce Springsteen would be claiming his 13th No.1 album or David Bowie his 12th, but we are stuck with the one in which Taylor Swift draws level with Springsteen and ahead of Bowie. Springsteen’s new Best Of debuts at No.15 (4,536 sales), and Bowie’s latest posthumous release, the vinyl only RSD set, Waiting In The Sky (Before The Starman Came), opens at No.16 (4,524 sales). Springsteen has now had 41 Top 75 albums, Bowie 74 (76 including Tin Machine). RSD also impacted the debuts of Pearl Jam and UB40’s new albums, and helped to re-awaken interest in many other catalogue items, including Parklife, Blur’s 1994 chart-topper, now available in a zoetrope vinyl edition (No.16, 5,024 sales); The Dark Side Of The Moon (188-21, 4,176 sales), Pink Floyd’s 1973 No.2 album in a new UV vinyl edition; and Orbital (No.31, 3,675 sales) the eponymous – aka Green album - 1991 debut of the fraternal dance duo – which previously peaked at No.71. Also, Live From Gorilla (No.32, 3,566 sales), the previously uncharted and erstwhile only digital live set from The 1975; Wasteland, Baby! (No.46, 2,660 sales), Hozier’s 2019 No.6 album; and I Was/I Am (No.70, 2,184 sales), Noah Kahan’s previously uncharted second album, dating from 2021. After making their first ever chart entry last October, when their fourth studio album Aces Are High reached No.9, Essex blues rockers When Rivers Meet - husband and wife Aaron and Grace Bond – debut at No.47 (2,656 sales) with Breakers Of Chain Tour Live. This Ain’t The Way You Go Out (No.62, 2,370 sales) is the sixth album and fifth chart entry by folk/indie singer/songwriter Lucy Rose from Surrey. Chappel Roan’s first album, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, debuted last week, 29 weeks after its release. With single Good Luck Babe approaching the Top 20, the album now jumps 68-54 (2,458 sales). Now That’s What I Call Music! 117 spends a third week atop the compilation chart (2,817 sales including 2,453 CDs and 364 digital downloads). Overall album sales are up 12.78% week-on-week at 2,702,211, 16.86% above same week 2023 sales of 2,312,355. The last time overall album consumption was higher was in Christmas week 2019 when it was 2,798,545, although consumption was higher in a further 196 earlier weeks in the 20th century, exceeding 10m. on three occasions. Physical product accounts for 558,880 sales, 20.68% of the total. With RSD and Taylor Swift’s new album providing a massive boost to vinyl, sales of that format grew 160.61% week-on-week to 269,134 units – their highest level since their Kantar (Millward Brown) era (1994 onwards) record of 276,935 set last Christmas.

Exclusive digital cover: Dotty talks Black music, radio and hosting the Music Week Awards 2024

As Apple Music’s lead cultural curator of Black Music, UK and the host of The Dotty Show, Dotty is at the forefront of championing Black music and breaking acts in the UK and beyond. On May 2, she will be taking to the stage to present the Music Week Awards 2024 and, to celebrate, we meet our host to hear all about her career journey so far, why the art of radio is timeless and what the industry must do to better support diverse voices… “I’ve been to the Music Week Awards before and really felt the sense of occasion,” says Dotty, smiling as she sits down to talk to Music Week from her home in London. “But I’ve never won an award, so I’ve always been the bridesmaid instead of the bride, but now I’m going straight to being the priest!” Dotty is one of the UK’s leading tastemakers and has been at the forefront of a litany of mainstream breakthrough stories since she became Apple Music's lead cultural curator of Black Music, UK and host of the The Dotty Show in 2020. She has led the way in spotlighting the likes of Grammy winner and recent Music Week cover star Tyla as well as Central Cee (“The first interview Central ever did was with me and now he’s at dizzying heights”). “As soon as you’re celebrating something, you’re off to a good start,” she says. “And that’s what my show is, a celebration of Black Music and all the different pockets of Black music all over the world.” Dotty started out as a rapper (“a very interesting and incredibly difficult time”), signing to Virgin Records in 2012 – at that time becoming the first female MC in the UK to secure a major-label deal in over a decade. Her broadcasting career sparked to life at BBC Radio 1Xtra after an on air exchange with Trevor Nelson, who she lovingly describes as a “broadcasting legend”. “I was in BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Live Lounge as an artist and after my performance during the interview with Trevor, he just said to me, ‘I don’t feel like I’m interviewing you, I feel like we’re co-hosting the show!’” she reflects. “He said, ‘Do you want to come back next week and co-host with me?’ And I was just like, ‘Absolutely.’” Dotty began co-hosting with Nelson, before making a pilot for her own show and, after a surprise slot at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, she began to climb through the ranks, until she was offered the Breakfast Show (“a crazy turn of events”), where she interviewed stars including Janet Jackson, Stormzy and Raye. Dotty’s attitude throughout her career has been to never miss an opportunity when it presents itself. “I think it’s so important to say yes and figure out how to get there later,” she affirms. “Just recognising how lucky I am, how I started at a checkout at Waitrose and now being on the front row of the music industry, it is such a privilege, and I have got to hold onto it with both hands.” Indeed, in her current position, Dotty has continued to lead the way in championing Black music, featuring artists like Kojey Radical, Bellah, Ghetts and Wizkid on her show. In the last year alone, her interviews with Nines, Chloe Bailey, Tiwa Savage, NSG and more have made waves. And her accolades do not end there. Dotty is also the author of Outraged: Why Everyone Is Shouting And No-one Is Talking, a 2020 book exploring the concept of anger, activism and the role of social media in modern society. “I am always going to be in favour of anything that brings audiences closer to artists,” she says, when asked about her view on the role that platforms like TikTok and Instagram play in the music business today. “Social media does give fans direct access to their artists, but I don’t want it to ever come at the expense of artist development – where it is the only thing that decides what works.” Right now, though, her attention is firmly focused on this year’s Music Week Awards, where she will stand before the UK industry at this year’s new location, The JW Marriott Grosvenor House. “It’s going to be really great to steer a ship that I’ve been on a few times,” she smiles. “It’s just about striking a balance of having fun with it, but also maintaining that reverence that we should have for the event.” And with that, we embark on a conversation in which Dotty opens up about her indsutry journey, speaks out about the industry's diversity issues and reveals why the art of radio is far from dying… First of all, as we get closer to the big night, how are you feeling about getting up in front of the industry at the Music Week Awards? “I’m really looking forward to hosting the awards, I will have fun with it, but also respect the gravity of the ceremony as well. The Music Week Awards mean so much to so many people, it’s one of those rare occasions where you can be really celebrated amongst your peers, so I think it’s really important to uphold that sense of occasion. And reining in the long speeches – I’m there to make sure we run to time!” Your show is also on the shortlist this year - what is it about it that cuts through? “I think what my whole team does well is recognise the responsibility we have to support the artist community, instead of just being like, ‘We’re going to play the music but not provide any extra support.’ It’s a responsibility that we take very seriously, and we’re always thinking, ‘What else can we do?’ Every show sounds different because there’s also an abundance of music to choose from, we’re not tethered to a playlist so we have this unbelievable freedom to be able to play the music that moves us on that day. We also have themed days, like ‘Worldwide Wednesday’, which is a great place for people to get a bit of music education. That’s not in a lofty high-brow way where we’re like, ‘We’re going to teach you all about music today’, but it’s a place where you’re going to come and hear something you’ve never heard before. We dive into French R&B, Australian drill, you’re able to connect to different nations. I love it.” As someone who is up on all the breaking acts, who is exciting you most right now? “Well, it seems cheeky to tip this artist now because she has already picked up a Grammy, but I’m really excited about Tyla. When you’re coming off the back of a viral moment like she had with Water, it can be really tough to drop an album, but her debut [record] is an incredible body of work and I think it’s testament to how long her career could be. About two years ago, our team in the Johannesburg office were like, ‘You have to check out this girl Tyla, she's going to be incredible and we’re expecting really big things for her.’ As soon as I heard her music, I remember thinking, ‘This is a pop star.’ It’s so exciting to have an artist who shows that there is so much more to music coming out of the African continent than just lumping it all under the [term] ‘Afrobeats’. There are pop stars and rock stars, and artists like Tyla can really demonstrate that, so I’m really excited to see how her year pans out. We’re only just scratching the surface.” Do you think the industry is doing enough to support artists coming out of Africa? “There is so much more that can be done to support the music coming out of the African continent. I’m looking forward to seeing how the infrastructure of the industry on the continent grows in the coming years, like arenas being built and landmarks being reached that show people there isn’t a trend that’s like, ‘Oh we’re listening to African music now, are we?’ We have to realise that there is no such thing as 'African music', there are nuances across genres. Incredible R&B is coming out of Kenya, the most exciting hip-hop I’m hearing is coming out of Nigeria, house and dance music in South Africa are phenomenal. So I think the first thing that needs to be done is education about music coming out of the continent, understanding that it is a rich tapestry. And then, it’s about reinvesting in it, because it’s a hub of incredible entertainment, not just a place that exports music. Some of the most exciting artists in the past couple of years have been coming out of the African continent.” In terms of the acts you've featured on your show, what have been some of the key highlights of the last year? “I’m in a position where I get to speak to people whose music I love, so they all feel like highlights. But it’s always a pleasure speaking to Nines – what I love about artists like him and Digga D is that sometimes you can bring something out in them that might not happen in another setting. Something that us anchors – myself, Zane [Lowe], Ebro [Darden] – do quite well is make people feel settled, and that’s when you can have a conversation with them where they let their guard down. I love speaking to artists like Tyla too, when they’re at the start of their journey. They’re wide-eyed and really excited about what the future has in store for them.” When you spoke to Music Week in 2020, you said you were confident that Apple Music would be leading the streaming wave of UK rap in the UK. What would you say is the company’s role in the growth of UK Black music? “We play a really key role. One thing we do every week on the show is my [new track feature] ‘New Find’. It’s so easy to get caught up with things like, ‘This has gone platinum, this is in the Top 10,’ but we recognise that we have a captive audience, so we’re thinking about how we steer them from something like D-Block Europe – who are probably one the most exciting rap acts in the UK at the moment in terms of all the eyes and ears on them – to someone who doesn’t have that yet. We’re always asking, ‘How do we shine that spotlight on someone you’ve never heard of?’ It’s always about using the platform to empower the artists.” There is a broad range of radio shows on the shortlist for this year’s Music Week Awards. What do you think the list says about where radio is at at the moment? “Some people think that it’s dying out, but the expansion and diversification of radio is an affirmation that it isn’t going anywhere. On Apple we have these amazing shows like Proud Radio, which MNEK co-hosts, then there’s Africa Now Radio, which is being made on the continent, my show and a country station. Where else do you get that conversation in real-time, that immediacy and that relationship you can have with a radio host? As much as media changes evolves and changes, the classic art of radio is magic, and I think the abundance of nominations shows that it’s actually growing – which is great news for me!” On a wider level, do you think issues of diversity and equality are being acted upon enough in the music industry at large? “When it comes to diversity, we are never, ever doing enough. As soon as you think you’re you, you’ve made a mistake. We’ve seen attempts to improve diversity in the industry with recruitment in the past few years, with people saying, ‘We have a diverse workforce.’ But it’s really important to ensure that those hires are not ornamental, that they’re not there to give a look of diversity, but that diverse voices feel empowered to speak. It’s no use having someone sitting at the table if they don’t feel like they can do that. That’s what can be improved upon, making sure that women, Black people, queer people, all these voices that represent underrepresented communities are listened to, and can feel like they can suggest things and correct somebody in their attempts to speak to their community – whether it be through a marketing campaign or something else. It’s important that you’re actually listening to those voices.” You have championed so many incredible artists throughout your career. What made you want to dedicate your career to spotlighting breaking acts? “I grew up in a household that was very very musical. My parents had a reel-to-reel, a record player and vinyl, but we were never allowed to touch any of it, so we just looked at them with such reverence – music was always God-like to me. My heritage is West Indian, so coming from a small Island in the Caribbean, it was everything from Soca to reggae and dancehall – but then also growing up in the ‘90s in the UK, it was all hip hop and R&B. Growing up around all of that, I knew a lot of lyrics before I could read! “I decided I was going to be a musician and rap when I was about 12-years-old, and a lot of my early career was as an artist, which I think is where my desire to empower other artists comes from. I’ve been through that machine, I signed a record deal with Virgin Records, I went through that process and I’ve seen how the landscape of the music industry has shifted. When I was a musician, it was that weird limbo between illegal downloading and streaming – so I just came along during that little pocket of no one knowing how to make money from music! It was baptism by fire, and I quickly pivoted into radio. That experience has given me a perspective on the music industry that I am so lucky to have, because it has really determined how I approach artists and how much I feel that desire to really champion and celebrate them.” Finally, what is your message to the industry right now? “I am absolutely loving the rise of the independent artists, who are able to release music that the world hears and that they’re able to do without limitations. But what frustrates me goes back to diversity, I’m frustrated that there are people who think they're doing enough. There are people who are like, ‘We’ve got some diverse faces in here, we’ve done well! We’re good!’ There are incredible people, incredible companies that aren’t necessarily able to speak in their loudest voices, so my message to the music industry is: Empower diverse voices.”

Leap year: Manners McDade and Faber create 'powerful' publisher

Twelve months after Faber Music’s acquisition of rights business and composer agency Manners McDade, execs talk synergies, growth and sync success WORDS: ANDRE PAINE PHOTO: LOUISA RECHENBACH

Interviews

subscribers only

Spotlight: BRIT School principal Stuart Worden

Stuart Worden presented former student Raye with the Album Of The Year trophy at last month’s BRITs – one of her six awards. Here, The BRIT School principal ...

Interviews

subscribers only

The Aftershow: St. Vincent

St. Vincent is back with her brilliant new album All Born Screaming. Here, the star tells us about recruiting Dave Grohl to drum in the studio, scoring a ...

Interviews

subscribers only