Report: Taylor Swift’s 1989 sales buzz in US, Australia

Taylor Swift’s 1989 has caused a storm in the United States and Australia with its first week sales.

In the US, her fifth long player sold 1.287 million copies, the first new album to sell over 1 million this year there. It was selling two albums per second last week, and accounted for an astounding 22% of all album sales that week. She’s pulling such numbers at a time when American album sales dropped 14% compared to 2013. On its first day, 1989 did 600,000.

In Australia, 1989 is the fastest selling album of the year, shifting 43,428 copies in under four days. It beat Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, which moved 34,097 units in seven days. Noise 11 reported that Swift’s last album Red (2012) wholesaled 29,369 in its first week in this country and that 1989 sold more digitally in Australia (25,737) than CDs (17,691). 1989 kept Human Nature’s Jukebox at second spot after it found 17,934 buyers.

She has informally revealed that her world tour will land in Australia in December 2015.

In the United States, sales analysts initially thought 1989 would move 750,000 in the US, then upped it to 900,000 and finally settled for an estimate of 1.3 million. Swift worked hard creating a buzz before 1989’s release, appearing on high profile TV shows, holding a listening party at her house and hitting social media personally communicating with her fans.

In just a week, 1989 has become the second largest selling album in the US for 2014, behind the Frozen soundtrack. Frozen was released in November 2013 has sold a total of 3.5 million – 3.2 million this year.

Swift is the first act ever in the US with three albums that sold a million copies first week. Speak Now (2010) did 1.047 million and Red hit 1.21 million. 1989 is the 18th album to sell over a million copies in a week. Her self-titled debut album in 2006 bowed with 39,000 units and the follow-up Fearless two years later did 592,000.

The biggest first week seller by a female artist remains Britney Spears’ Oops! … I Did It Again in 2000 when it had 8% of all sales in those seven days.

Billboard pointed out that the last largest sales week for an album was Eminem’s The Eminem Show (2002), which moved 1.322 million in its second week. The Eminem Show had debuted at #1 the week earlier moving 285,000 copies after being released on a Friday and sales were therefore collated only for three days.