Alongside the Tuesday morning declaration that Taylor Swift’s “1989” would score an opening week sales tally of more than one million was a particularly impressive tidbit: Swift’s album spurred more opening day purchases than Coldplay’s “Ghost Stories” did in its first week.
Somehow, repetition of that stat served to understate the success of Swift’s album.
“Ghost Stories,” which claimed the year’s best opening sales week prior to the release of “1989,” moved 383,000 copies in its inaugural frame. Merely saying Swift’s “1989” topped that total in day one, therefore, would only be formally confirming that her album moved 383,001 units Monday.
In actuality, the album’s sales total stood at more than 600,000 by the end of release day.
With so many copies purchases in the bank, it is no wonder “1989” is considered an absolute lock to provide Swift with the third million-plus sales week of her career.
