Two announcements emerged this week pertaining to Taylor Swift. First, she made the Forbes Billionaire’s list with a net worth of $1.1bn and secondly, satellite streaming service SiriusXM, announced that Taylor Swift will have her own dedicated channel starting April 7th through May 6. Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department,” will hit shelves on Friday April 19, that’s 13 days after the SiriusXM channel goes live. Yes, I did have to ask my daughter the significance of the number 13 to Taylor and her globally Swiftie fanbase.
In a release from SiriusXM, Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version) will air 24/7 across North America and will be a destination for fans to hear Swift’s music from her chart-topping 17-year career, including Eras Tour favorites, all (Taylor’s Versions), From the Vault tracks, live tracks, bonus tracks and much more.
The 13th day of the channel, Friday, April 19, coincides with the release of Taylor Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department.” Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version) will be playing the full album beginning to end continuously throughout the weekend. Swifties will also share their own personal and meaningful experiences with Taylor and her music.
“The versatility of Taylor’s music and the phenomenal impact she’s had in her career across so many musical genres will be on full display on Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version),” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer. “We’re all experiencing a legend at work and are so thrilled to work with Taylor to present a one-of-a-kind channel that connects her fans with her extraordinary body of work.” Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version) will be available to subscribers across North America in their cars on channel 13 and anywhere they go with the SiriusXM app from Sunday, April 7 through Monday, May 6.”
SiriusXM has been a long supporter and champion of Taylor Swift and her music. SiriusXM Hits 1 was the first pop station in North America to play Taylor Swift dating back to June 7, 2007.
The consumer electronics industry spends a staggering amount of time preoccupied on developing the next generation of audiophiles to replace the latest aging gearheads that first got their start in the 1970s. Well, here is a stat for us to sink our teeth – according to Billboard Magazine, Taylor Swift was responsible for 7% of all albums sold in the United States in 2023. Put another way, every one in fifteen albums sold in the United States was a Swift album. Taylor Swift has sold 3.484 million vinyl albums across her catalogue. Wow!
According to Recording Association of America, in 2023, Americans purchased 49.61 million vinyl albums, a 14% increase from the year prior. Vinyl records account for 72% of physical format revenues and grew 1% in dollar sales to $632 million in 2023.
Now back to the number 13. In Taylor’s words, “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13 second intro. Every time I’ve won an award, I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section, or row M, which is the 13th letter. Basically, whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing.”
So, if your shop has been selling an unusual amount of record players in 2023, thank a Swiftie and stop worrying about the aging demographic of the CE Industry. So long as we are in Taylor’s hands, we have a long future ahead.