Catch up on all things 'The Tortured Poets Department':
- Fans celebrated Swift's midnight release of "The Tortured Poets Department" with listening parties and themed gatherings. Many critics praised Swift in their reviews.
- Swift surprised fans at 2 a.m. ET with news of 15 extra songs.
- The album features collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + the Machine. Swift described writing the album as deeply personal. "Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it," she said.
- NBC News' resident Swifties stayed up to blog the biggest takeaways after the album's release.
Vinyl industry rep says pandemic-era manufacturing bottlenecks have eased
"The Tortured Poets Department" is set to be released in special-edition "ghost"-colored vinyl, available both directly through Swift's website and exclusively at Target.
During the pandemic, that might have alarmed vinyl record buyers. As vinyl plants shuttered and employees were sidelined, vinyl production ground to a halt, causing reports of weekslong backlogs and orders going unfulfilled outright.
But in an interview with NBC News on Friday, Dustin Blocker, president of the Vinyl Records Manufacturing Association, said those issues have been resolved and that suppliers now have more than enough capacity to handle any orders coming their way, including massive ones like Swift's.
"In Q3 2023, we saw the [production] timeline start to go back to normal," Blocker said. "And in Q4 it really got back to normal. Now, everyone, including the huge plants, takes only 8-12 weeks [to produce] ... so it's very good news for everyone."
Blocker said any price increases on the supply side sparked by the bottlenecks have essentially reversed.
So, the $40 price tag on the Target edition of "TTPD" is most likely the result of choices made by Swift, her label and the retailer, he said.
Jack Antonoff is sharing BTS pics
Jack Antonoff is giving Swifties what they want: more content.
The Bleachers frontman, who is also Swift’s longtime collaborator and friend, shared pictures of Swift and collaborators on the album, including Florence Welch.
The acting U.S. secretary of labor has a question for Taylor
Acting U.S. Labor Department Secretary Julie Su has a key question for Taylor Swift and her "Tortured Poets Department":
"Is this department unionized?" she wrote in a post on X.
Su, 55, has served as acting secretary since March 2023; she has faced stumbling blocks to being confirmed full time for the role over her perceived pro-union bias.
Destin celebrates Swift shoutout
The city of Destin, Florida, is here for the Swiftie boost.
Google searches for the beach town shot up minutes after Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” was released. The album mentions Destin in the song “Florida!!!” featuring Florence + The Machine.
The city is celebrating the shoutout:
As is Destin's mayor:
Trump gets a question on Taylor
A reporter who is part of the pool following Donald Trump on Friday at his hush money trial was able to get in a question to the former president about the new albums.
Trump didn't engage.
Taylor Swift reveals ‘Dateline’ as an inspiration for ‘Florida!!!’
Taylor Swift has taken over radio stations, from Channel 13 on SiriusXM to iHeartRadio briefly renaming itself to iHeartTaylor and sharing messages from the songwriter.
Swift revealed in a soundbite played on iHeartRadio that “Florida!!!” — the eighth track of the album and featuring Florence + the Machine — was inspired by “Dateline.”
“I’m always watching, like ‘Dateline,’” Swift said with a laugh. “People, you know, have these crimes that they commit where they immediately skip town and go to Florida. They try to reinvent themselves, have a new identity, blend in.”
It’s the same with heartbreak, she said.
“I think when you go through a heartbreak, there’s a part of you that thinks, ‘I want a new name. I want a new life,’” she said.
Or perhaps in Swift’s case — a new era?
The double album appeared to avoid leaks
The standard edition of "The Tortured Poets Department" is said to have been leaked ahead the album's release. The origin of the apparent leaks is unclear, but none of the songs on the extended "anthology" version of the album seem to have been compromised.
Leaks of major artists' work sometimes occur when physical copies of the album arrive prematurely at record stores or department stores, before the tracks are released on streaming platforms. Fans suspect the surprise drop of the double album was a factor in the 15 extra tracks avoiding leaks.
The extra content was so unexpected that the lyrics of the anthology version have yet to be uploaded to Spotify.
‘The Tortured Poets Department’ broke a Spotify record in 12 hours
"The Tortured Poets Department" is already Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day this year, edging out Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" in less than 12 hours, Spotify confirmed to NBC News.
Swift currently holds the all-time record for most streams in a day by album and by artist for 2022's "Midnights."
Who are The Blue Nile? About the Scottish band named by Swift
In the album's ninth track — "Guilty as Sin?" — Swift name-drops a beloved '80s Scottish band, The Blue Nile.
"Drowning in The Blue Nile. He sent me 'Downtown Lights.' I hadn’t heard it in a while," Swift says in the song.
"Downtown Lights," released in 1989, was the peak of The Blue Nile's commercial success in the U.S., with the song reaching No. 10 on the Billboard American Modern Rock Tracks chart. 1989 is also Swift's birth year and the title of her fifth studio album.
Known for their avoidance of publicity, The Blue Nile has released just four albums since forming in 1981.
Fans share their theories and joy on social media
It wouldn't be a new Taylor Swift album without fans wondering who it's about or decoding the names mentioned in each song. (Who is Cassandra, Taylor?)
That speculation will surely continue, but now that the album is out, fans can't believe their luck. Reactions on social media praised the sonic and lyrical range of the album, saying that "everybody gets everything," whether you listen to Swift for her synth-pop hits or her intimate folk songs.
Author and creator John Green couldn't wait to wake up his daughter to tell her she gets 31 new Taylor Swift songs today.
By the numbers: Will Taylor Swift break her own album sales marks?
“The Tortured Poets Department” blasted to No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes album sales chart following its release. But will it live up to the success of her previous discography?
Here are all of Swift’s bestselling albums in the U.S. ranked to date, according to data from the Recording Industry Association of America.
“Fearless” (2008): 10 million units
“1989” (2014): 9 million units
“Red” (2012): 7 million units
“Taylor Swift” (2006): 7 million units
“Speak Now” (2010): 6 million units
“Reputation” (2017): 3 million units
“Lover” (2019): 3 million units
“Midnights” (2022): 2 million units
“Folklore” (2020): 2 million units
“The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection” (2008): 1 million units
“Evermore” (2020): 1 million units
TikTok rolls out new features to celebrate new album
As Swifties show their love for "The Tortured Poets Department" on TikTok, they have the chance to be featured in a "Fan Spotlight" carousel that highlights videos with the #TORTUREDPOETSDEPARTMENT hashtag.
TikTok released a "Taylor Swift In-App Experience" that serves as a landing page for all things "TTPD." Fans can complete challenges in exchange for limited-edition "TTPD" profile frames and some Taylor-related searches unlock animations inspired by the album. Searches for "Taylor Swift," "Taylor Nation," and "The Tortured Poets Department" lead fans to the landing page.
The features are particularly notable because Swift's music was pulled off the platform earlier this year as part of a disput between TikTok and Universal Music Group, though many of her tracks returned earlier this month.
Fans on TikTok have already been loving "TTPD," sharing numerous theories, tears and rankings.
Swift's song 'Fortnight' with Post Malone hits No. 1 on Apple
That didn't take long.
The song "Fornight" off Swift's new album quickly hit No. 1 on Apple's top song chart. It features rapper and singer Post Malone.
Swift also took the next four spots with "The Tortured Poets Department," "So Long, London," "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toy," and "Down Bad."
The National's Aaron Dessner on working with Swift: 'some of the most lyrically acute, intricate, vulnerable and cathartic' songs
Aaron Dessner, a musician who is part of the rock band The National, posted to Instagram about working with Swift on the album along with a pic of her in a studio.
He said that he has now worked with swift on more than 60 songs, including 17 across her newest release.
"I am forever grateful to Taylor for sharing her insane talents with and trusting me with her music. I believe these songs are some of the most lyrically acute, intricate, vulnerable and cathartic Taylor has ever written and I am continually astonished by her skills as a songwriter and performer," he wrote, adding in thanks to a long list of other artists and producers.
Will Swift break her own streaming records?
The October 2022 release of Swift's 10th studio album, "Midnights" shattered records on Spotify and Apple Music.
"Midnights" became Spotify's most-streamed album in a single day with 184.6 million streams when it debuted. Swift also broke the record for most-streamed artist in a single day on Spotify with 228 million streams.
The album also become the biggest album of all time by a female artist in Apple Music history by first-day and first-week streams worldwide.
Can Swift outdo herself?
