Taylor Swift scores the biggest pure sales week for single in UK since The Beatles

[TaylorSwift 162,454]

Topping the Official Singles Chart for a second time running today, Taylor’s surge this week is thanks to a sell-out limited-edition range of collector CDs and vinyl. With 71,000 chart units achieved across the past seven days (combined UK sales and streams), Taylor’s Toy Story 5 hit surpasses Harry Styles’ Aperture, which earned 70,000 units in a week upon its release back in January.  

In terms of pure sales, it’s the biggest week of sales for a single in nearly three years, since The Beatles’ record-breaking Now And Then release in November 2023. 

Singles chart:
1. 71,404 Taylor Swift - I Knew It, I Knew You [42,492 CDs, 949 downloads, 27,963 streaming]
2. 53,767 Olivia Rodrigo - stupid song
3. 43,473 Olivia Rodrigo - the cure

[Republicanne 7,843]

good for her I guess idk, meaningless records

[Hadrian 2,634]

World records for biggest dongle but it's silicone be like:

[Ronnie 6,099]

Despite the massive numbers, the song has made little if any cultural impact. It's hard not to wonder how different those stats would look without the countless variants boosting the totals.

Edited June 19 by Ronnie

[Shadownight 554]

I've not even heard it yet! Wtf!

[27monster27 15,866]

This is always tricky for me. Yes, the variants are helping stuff like this happen. However, even if fraudulent, I do like how she is helping to keep pure sales alive.

[ThisGuyTony 34,918]

More artificially pumped “records”

[IllusionLover 7,603]

22 minutes ago, 27monster27 said:

This is always tricky for me. Yes, the variants are helping stuff like this happen. However, even if fraudulent, I do like how she is helping to keep pure sales alive.

And the single doesn't have that many variants there's just three versions of the song in each format (I'm not sure if the vinyls are three or just 2)

[Ronnie 6,099]

24 minutes ago, 27monster27 said:

This is always tricky for me. Yes, the variants are helping stuff like this happen. However, even if fraudulent, I do like how she is helping to keep pure sales alive.

My issue is that when dozens of variants are used to inflate a single release, it becomes harder to tell what the actual demand is. If an artist truly has that level of support, I'd be much more interested in seeing the numbers from one version of the album rather than 30+.

The other issue is that it's largely the same die-hard fans buying the same album over and over again to collect every version. That's great for sales figures, but it doesn't necessarily reflect broader cultural reach or new listeners discovering the music. And let's be honest—most of those extra variants end up sitting on shelves, unopened, or eventually becoming landfill. At that point, it feels less like a measure of popularity and more like a merchandising strategy.

I'd be much more impressed by the numbers if they came from a single standard release that everyone was buying rather than countless versions purchased repeatedly by the same core fanbase.

[dynamite 66,642]

How can a song that nobody gives a **** about break such a record? 

[ThisGuyTony 34,918]

7 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

My issue is that when dozens of variants are used to inflate a single release, it becomes harder to tell what the actual demand is. If an artist truly has that level of support, I'd be much more interested in seeing the numbers from one version of the album rather than 30+.

The other issue is that it's largely the same die-hard fans buying the same album over and over again to collect every version. That's great for sales figures, but it doesn't necessarily reflect broader cultural reach or new listeners discovering the music. And let's be honest—most of those extra variants end up sitting on shelves, unopened, or eventually becoming landfill. At that point, it feels less like a measure of popularity and more like a merchandising strategy.

I'd be much more impressed by the numbers if they came from a single standard release that everyone was buying rather than countless versions purchased repeatedly by the same core fanbase.

This is why I’m never impressed with “biggest first week sales ever for The Life of a Bland Girl”

[Shadownight 554]

She HAS to be a Ponzi scheme there isn't any other explanation 

[Bronco 25,129]

49 minutes ago, dynamite said:

How can a song that nobody gives a **** about break such a record? 

Because its not really a record. Its just the biggest in 3 years

[Economy 52,857]

1 hour ago, Republicanne said:

good for her I guess idk, meaningless records

At this point her methods of achieving records is comperable to pressing shift and dollar sign on Zoo Tycoon and claiming you managed to create a zoo with $100M 

[monstertoronto 11,744]

The way I used to be a lowkey fan of her and now I’m actively annoyed by her and will skip anything of hers that happens to auto play. I haven’t even listened to this new song once.