Taylor Swift's '1989 (Taylor's Version)' Release Sparks Surge in Original Album Streams: Not So Happy
Taylor Swift recently dropped "1989 (Taylor's Version)" as part of her re-recording project, pleasing Swifties with extra "From the Vault" tracks and new versions of the 16 original songs
The release has resulted in a surge of streams for the original 1989 album, which may not align with Swift's intent of regaining control over her music rights.
TMZ reported a significant increase in streams of the 2014 content, reaching over 15 million streams on Spotify and YouTube, despite the availability of "Taylor's Version" singles.
YouTube alone accumulated 2.8 million streams, with music videos for "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off" being particularly popular.
Spotify registered 12.5 million streams for the old album, with "Style" amassing 2.5 million plays.
Interestingly, physical media sales like CDs and vinyl records have also seen a boost in sales.
Taylor Swift's immense popularity, driven by her successful Eras Tour and concert film, may have contributed to the resurgence of interest in the original album.
Billboard reports show that Taylor's re-recordings have impacted the consumption of their original counterparts, with average weekly consumption dropping significantly.
For instance, "Red (Taylor's Version)" resulted in a 40% decrease in the average weekly consumption of the original 2012 album.
Despite the current surge in streams for the original "1989," history suggests that fans will ultimately favor the versions endorsed by Taylor Swift, as seen in previous re-releases.