Well over HALF A MILLION people went out and bought Taylor Swift's CD the first week. By comparison, that's TEN TIMES what last week's #1 country cd, Brad Paisley's Play, sold at 53,697 in it's first week. HUGE.
The second most popular country CD at the cash register this week -- Rascal Flatts Greatest Hits. 38,812. Just a little bit of a gap.
Go Taylor! This girl WORKED for it, she was everywhere. And obviously it paid off. Which reminds me, I didn't share the story I got on CMA day when I walked in with Taylor's mom.
We were both at the check in place at the same time, getting our bags searched, and I started chatting... she was telling me how excited Taylor was about the night. Then I told her I'd seen the pictures of Taylor at Walmart in Hendersonville at midnight the night the CD was released. (Check The Tennessean if you haven't seen them.) Andrea said that was a 21 hour day for them... they'd been up in NYC doing one of the morning shows that morning... did some press appearances in NY... then flew back home and went straight from the airport to the Walmart, because she wanted to go buy the cd at home. (Very cool!) We laughed though, because Andrea was with her the whole way, but she didn't quite have the 18 year old energy for it that her daughter had! I hope she's now had a chance to get some rest. She's earned it!
14 comments:
I bet only 10% of country fans bought the album though...It's pretty pop orientated.
Amazing sales.
Look for Taylor to become more and more pop oriented. Big Machine just signed some kind of international distribution deal with UMG.
I was one of those that bought the CD. It's a Christmas present for my youngest. Also bought Blake Shelton, Zac Brown Band, and Lady A.
still waiting for the randy HOuser CD I PREORDERED !!! UGH !!!!!!
Yoo hooo for Taylor!!! :)) Awesome!
I'm buying this album for my daughter too! And Blake's for me :))
How is the ZBB Pam? We haven't gotten serviced with it yet, nor have we had any luck getting him booked onto Driver's Ed. Love the single though!
More than being "pop" oriented, I'd call it "teen" oriented. Which is what I love about her... she doesn't try to sing songs for 30 year old moms... she's still a teenager and she writes about boys. LOL
She's touring UK and Australia next year. But hey -- that international deal means maybe Trisha's next album will get sold overseas!
The Zac Brown Band Cd is eclectic LOL I've only listened to it once so far. Not sure there are any other "radio friendly" singles on it but hey you never know.
J- I agree with you 100%. I think it is just more for a younger audience than it is not country. I've been amazed at how many people in my sorority and in my classes have been into her CD's (I'm a music nerd and tend to ask people what they're listening to and why) and it really is because of how relatable the songs are. We were especially talking about how "Fifteen" is pretty much high school in a song.
OK I take it back...10% country or less and 90% teens....country music is in a sorry state if Taylor is a Representative...she is so far from country it makes me sick. I don't understand how country radio can even play her.
Great sales but even Taylor's own record label doesn't think she's country.
Reuters
"Universal wants to change that by signing a license agreement with Swift's label Big Machine Records to promote her internationally. Universal already distributes her records in the United States.
"She is by some distance the biggest breakthrough for an American artist in America over the last year," said Max Hole, executive vice president of Universal Music Group International.
Asked if Swift's association with country music, a genre that does not always travel well outside the United States, might be a problem, Hole told Reuters:
"I don't really see her as a country artist. If you listen to the records and see her play live, she has much more in common with acts like Avril Lavigne and Miley Cyrus.""
More and more I get the feeling that Taylor's only in country for marketing purposes. It's not that she's not good at what she is but I feel like she's exploiting country outlets.
This Hole guy is with UMG - the distribution arm. Her record label is Big Machine, which is a small label that operates out of a couple of houses on Music Row.
It's funny, I was on You Tube last night watching her performance on Ellen (don't tell Laynie I was watching without her.) I was thinking how cool it was she was on national television wearing cowboy boots with a banjo player in the band.
That puts her well ahead of many other so called country artists. As long as those half a million fans have to walk into the country section to buy her CDs, it's good for Music City.
"I was thinking how cool it was she was on national television wearing cowboy boots with a banjo player in the band."
Well it's too bad they take that banjo out and replace it with some ridiculous heavy electric guitars when they send the songs over to pop radio ;) I still think it's telling when someone from the label responsible for domestic and international distribution of your album thinks your music is closer to Miley Cyrus and Avril Lavigne than country music.
What concerns me is that before Taylor, our country-pop artists really knew and respected country music history. They could sing the classics and they're tied to country roots. I don't see that in Taylor.
And is Taylor really inspiring people to buy other country albums? I'm not convinced, any more than I was convinced that Carrie has (to her credit, Carrie has shown respect for country music history despite making mostly country pop music).
>>What concerns me is that before Taylor, our country-pop artists really knew and respected country music history. <<
Really? I don't think I could say that with a straight face. Maybe it's because I just heard Rascal Flatts on The Highway. And Shania on Prime Country.
But if she is responsible for all the pop country acts disrespecting their country roots from here forward, we should all be concerned. One young lady with 2 albums should not have that kind of power!
"The Zac Brown Band Cd is eclectic LOL I've only listened to it once so far. Not sure there are any other "radio friendly" singles on it but hey you never know."
I'll wager that Toes will not be released to radio. I do like Highway 20 Ride. Pam, did you buy their CD based on hearing Chicken Fried, or have you heard their earlier CDs?
J, I probably should have said young country-pop artists. I was thinking of LeAnn Rimes and the like.
I'm not a fan of Rascal Flatts or Shania, and while I thought Shania's knowledge was a bit deeper than you're implying, you pointed to a reason why. Another is that their vocals, like Taylor's, get autotuned like crazy in studio. Drives me nuts! Then they pack in the reverb and whatnot when they sing to make their voices sound fuller. I know these are all very energetic live performers but it starts with the voice.
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