Swift is the first female artist to be named Time’s Person of the Year
Taylor Swift and her successful Eras Tour… are touring the UK this week and understandably the ‘Queen of Pop’ appearance will dominate UK headlines and social media. Something has changed in the music industry since the “Taylor Swift phenomenon”.
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Her tour is a cultural and economic colossus. She is the first female artist expected to surpass $1 billion, according to Pollstar data for the end of 2023, and already surpasses the record set by Sir Elton John and his long-running ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ from 2018 to 2023 and brought in $939 million. Several experts predict that it could bring in more than $4 billion by the time it’s over!
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Swift is the first female artist to be named Time’s Person of the Year. The first music billionaire to make it, solely through her songwriting and discography. A pop star who understands the power of ‘looks’, but also a songwriter and lyricist whose words are studied as poetry around the world. She’s long been the biggest modern music star on the planet, but could she be the… biggest of all time?
To answer this question, one would have to look at the evidence from The Beatles. This is the band that changed the nature of the industry, long considered the most influential band in music history.
In October of last year, Swift re-released her fifth album, 1989, the record that truly marked her transition from wildly successful country star to pop phenomenon. Featuring re-runs of tracks that remain among her biggest hits to date, such as Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood, the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) it inevitably followed all the rest and jumped to the top of the charts around the world.
Three weeks later came the reissues of the classic album collections Red and Blue by the Beatlesfollowing its surprise release Now And Thenthe first single in years, finally completed by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr.
‘Now And Then’ topped the charts, of course. However, when it came time to go head-to-head with Swift in the album category, the artist held her ground. Of course, the Beatles’ albums were reissues, but it’s worth noting that for Swift we’re also talking, essentially, about reissues. For Swifties, she is undoubtedly the greatest artist of all time. For fans of the Fab Four, there will never be another format that makes the difference.
Can their achievements be compared? It’s hard. Swift and the Beatles reached the height of their fame (and Swift may not be there yet) at different times.
Topping the charts
In this battle the Beatles are winning… When it comes to singles, surprisingly, Swift hasn’t had as many as one would expect to climb the UK charts. Her first was ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ in 2017. Anti-Hero, by Midnights, became her second UK number one of 2022, while Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) and Fortnight, her recent collaboration with Post Malone, have been added to the list in the last year.
The Beatles, on the other hand, started scoring number ones early on. The first, From Me To You, was their third single, released in 1963, followed by hits such as She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, Help!, All You Need Is Love, Hey Jude… and the list is endless.
For albums things are different. The Beatles actually have more number ones in the US than in the UK. All but one of their 12 studio albums topped the charts in the UK – Yellow Submarine reached number three in 1969.
With the exception of her debut, Taylor Swift, released in 2006, all of Swift’s albums have reached number one in the US. In the UK it was her fourth album, Red, that became her first chart topper, and everything else since has followed.
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Record sales
The Beatles have amassed the biggest sales of any group, with all-time sales estimated by record company EMI at over 1 billion records and cassettes to date. In the UK, the Beatles take the win, with more platinum and gold sales than Swift. But in the US, she is way ahead. Interestingly, both add up to just under 295m certified sales in the UK and US.
Who “breaks” the biggest records?
According to Guinness World Records, Swift currently holds at least 77 records, while the Beatles have 29. However, there is a possibility that there are even more than that, as records are constantly being broken and it should be noted that with streaming, inflation and many awards data changes.
Source :Skai
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
