Topline
Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” set a new record by earning 3.5 million equivalent album units since it was released Friday, Billboard reported citing Luminate numbers Wednesday, but critics argue Swift has released an excessive amount of “exclusive” versions of the album to help her accomplish the feat.
An exclusive edition vinyl of Taylor Swift’s new album, “Life of a Showgirl,” is seen at Target on Oct. 2, 2025 in New York City.
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Key Facts
Swift‘s album passed Adele’s 10-year-old consumption record for “25” in just the five days since its release, Billboard reported, and the number will continue to climb.
The accomplishment comes as Swift is taking heat from some fans who say she’s used the “Life of a Showgirl” album release to brazenly chase industry records, having partnered with tech giants Apple and Google to promote the album and revealing more than two dozen “exclusive” variations of the same record.
The album had 23 different physical and digital variants when it was first released—featuring different album art and exclusives like poems, voice memos and acoustic tracks—and that number had risen to almost 30 by Wednesday.
Some variants were available only for a limited time—”The Life of a Showgirl (DELUXE Alone In My Tower Acoustic Version)” was available on iTunes for only 24 hours—and others were exclusive to certain retailers (two were available only on iTunes and several CDs and one vinyl edition were exclusive to Target).
Some critics have pushed back at the artist for what they say is a promotion of overconsumption and exploitation of her supporters.
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A display with exclusive edition merchandise for Taylor Swift’s new album, “Life of a Showgirl,” at Target on Oct. 2, 2025.
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What To Watch For
Another record broken. Adele still holds the record for actual album sales—when streaming or other consumption isn’t factored in—but Billboard reports Swift is just 180,000 album sales short of the record (3.378 million), and will likely pass that number before the end of the week. First-week numbers for “The Life of a Showgirl” are expected to be announced by Billboard on Sunday, along with its assumed debut on the Billboard 200 chart.
Big Number
2.6 million. That’s how many album units Swift’s last album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” earned in its first week, a then-record for the artist.
What Is An Equivalent Album Unit?
Per Billboard, one equivalent album unit is equal to one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. (None of the tracks from “The Life of a Showgirl” are available to purchase individually, so there are no track sales contributing to its total sales as of now).
Key Background
“The Life of a Showgirl” is Swift’s 12th studio album. She announced the new album in August and gave more details, including its title, while appearing as a guest on “New Heights,” the sports podcast co-hosted by her now-fiance Travis Kelce. The album has 12 tracks and was described by the New York Times as Swift’s “conscious return to straight-up pop music.” The album’s first song, “The Fate of Ophelia,” is so far the most-streamed song from the record on Spotify with 85.3 million listens as of Wednesday afternoon.
Forbes Valuation
FORBES VALUATION: Swift, the first musician to make the billionaire ranking primarily based on her songs and performances, is worth an estimated $1.6 billion to be ranked as the 2,377th-richest person in the world.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/10/08/taylor-swift-sets-new-record-for-first-week-album-units-with-dozens-of-exclusive-releases-contributing/
