I’m not a Taylor Swift fan and her music doesn’t really resonate with me, but based on what I’ve heard in passing, she does have a good voice and seems to be a talented performer. It’s clear that her music connects with a lot of people and the media has elevated her to a near-iconic status. My interest isn’t in the person, Taylor Swift, per se … it’s about the magazine business.
Yahoo Entertainment –– Taylor Swift: Inside the madness to purchase her Time Person of the Year covers.
Since news broke that Taylor Swift was Time’s 2023 Person of the Year, fans have scoured the internet to get their hands on physical copies of the magazine. As it turns out, demand is high.
Hitting newsstands on Dec. 15, the magazine features the singer on three separate covers: One shows her wearing a denim shirt and tan jacket; another has her in a gray bedazzled dress; and in a third, one of her pet cats, Benjamin Button, is draped across her shoulders.
A representative from Time tells Yahoo Entertainment that 238,808 physical copies of the magazine have been preordered online as of Dec. 13. That number does not include newsstand sales, which “are on track to be up 133%” in the U.S. alone.
It’s the highest-selling issue in Time’s recent history, besting only its May 2011 issue featuring Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal wedding, which sold 232,000 copies online and on newsstands. Comparatively, 2022’s Person of the Year issue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sold a total of 65,000 physical copies in combined online and newsstand sales.
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And the hype is not limited to Time Magazine…
The Hidden Messages Behind Taylor Swift’s TIME Magazine Cover
Just in case the coveted title wasn’t enough of an accolade, this week Swift was also named People magazine’s Most Intriguing Person of the Year, Forbes’ Most Powerful Woman in Media and Entertainment, Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, and Spotify’s Global Artist of the Year.
Yeah, yeah … whatever. The woman is famous. Not my thing but y’all do YOU.
Boston University Today: What Makes Taylor Swift the Pop Icon She Is?
Can we now put Taylor Swift in the same pop icon stratosphere as Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Madonna? Or too soon? (For perspective, Madonna was 26 when “Like a Virgin” came out in 1984; Swift turns 34 in December.)
Harvey Young, dean of the College of Fine Arts, says yes, it’s time—she is most definitely a generational talent. “She’s certainly the equivalent of the Beatles or at the least, Paul McCartney at the height of his Beatles fame,” he says. “People forget that she’s been releasing music for 17 years—which means that like her, an army of former teenagers are now heading toward middle-age. Her music was literally the soundtrack to a generation’s most formative years, similar to Madonna or Michael Jackson for folks in their 50s.”
Not gonna be too critical of success … but here’s the deal.
I just want to browse the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble and not have to be subjected to THIS…👇
Here we go…
