Taylor Swift is Time’s Person of the Year. Taylor Swift crashes Ticketmaster. Taylor Swift is dating Travis Kelce. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift. These are probably the two most frequently uttered words online in 2023.
What a year the singer-songwriter has had. This career peak was both a long time coming and perfectly timed. Although she was arguably the most famous musician before that too, this recent meteoric rise came from a combination of factors dating back to her 2020 critically acclaimed double release of folklore and evermore. The award-winning indie-pop records completely shifted the public perception of her craft, setting her on a path to becoming as universally liked and known as greats like The Beatles, Beyoncé, or Prince.
Sprinkle in an underdog story against powerful music moguls that gave Swift a reason to make the most of nostalgia to resurrect a timeless back catalog and enough puzzles and Easter eggs to keep the conspiracy theorist TikTok folk monitoring her every move, and you’ve got a recipe for success. Of course, to achieve what Swift did this past year, you also need some of the best pop music ever written and a magnetic girl-next-door public image that makes everyone want to be your best friend.
Giving you the step-by-step might make it all sound attainable, but the 14 records that follow should humble you right back down to Earth.
Highest-grossing tour of all time
Concert ticket prices might be ridiculously expensive these days, but this Eras Tour statistic is still incredibly impressive. According to Guinness World Records, Swift’s world tour, which is only halfway through, has already crossed the $1 billion mark in revenue. The first to ever do it, with only 66 shows and 85 more to go. For reference, the second high-grossing tour of all time is Elton John’s farewell show, which made just under $1 billion over a whopping 328 shows.
Google’s most searched songwriter of all time
Many might not understand the appeal, but Taylor Swift’s music truly resonates with audiences and the numbers are here to prove it. The singer became Google’s most-searched songwriter of all time in 2023. Funnily enough, however, she was neither among the most searched people or musicians in the search engine’s end-of-year stats.
Most streams in a single year on both Spotify and Apple Music
Taylor Swift’s streaming numbers are the stuff of dreams, but 2023 completely blew the roof off when it comes to both her Spotify and Apple Music numbers. Swift earned the most yearly streams ever for any artist in a single year on both platforms. Her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) became Spotify’s most-streamed album of the year in one day back in October, too.
Most streamed female artist in Apple Music history
The streaming records continue. Apple Music revealed this year that Swift is now the most-played female artist in the platform’s history. The singer has put out 10 studio albums and 4 re-recordings, among other special singles, across her almost two-decade-long career.
First female artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners
Monthly listeners are a great way to track an artist’s actual reach and Swift broke all records in 2023 in that regard too. With Midnights still making numbers, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)‘s July release, and the rightful renaissance of her 2019 track “Cruel Summer,” the musician crossed the 100 million monthly listeners mark in August. The first female artist to ever do it.
Largest Vinyl Sales Week Ever
Now you may wonder if Taylor Swift can still sell physical records like the legends of yesteryear could. We’re sad to disappoint, or happy to inform (depending on which side of the cultural scale you fall on) that she does. Not only is Swift notorious for being one of the remaining recording artists to still sell actual physical copies of her albums, but she also dominates the vinyl market too. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) broke the record for the biggest vinyl sales week in Nielsen history in October, with 580 thousand copies sold, surpassing Swift’s own Midnights.
Eras Tour movie is the highest-grossing concert/performance film ever
Concert tickets and albums are not the only things Taylor Swift sells en masse. The movie version of her Eras Tour concert, which she released in theaters, became the highest-grossing performance film of all time, making over $250 million at the global box office. Michael Jackson: This is It still holds the record for the biggest concert documentary, however, as it shows making-of and behind-the-scenes footage unlike Swift’s.
Biggest single-day ticket revenue in AMC history
Swift famously bypassed the usual film distributors, going directly to AMC to release her film. In the first 24 hours of the ticket pre-sale, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour made $26 million, the highest single-day sales figures in AMC’s history, above all the Marvel juggernauts.
Most simultaneous albums on the US Billboard 200 Top 10 (tying Prince)
Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with. In 2023, she joined Prince as the only artist in history with 5 different albums charting at the same time in the top 10 of the Billboard Top 200. Her albums 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Midnights, Lover, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and folklore all made the cut.
The first solo musician in history to be named Time’s Person of the Year, and the first woman to do it twice
Time Magazine‘s appointment of Taylor Swift as the Person of the Year for 2023 generated some controversy, with part of the public thinking a pop musician might not be the best fit. The backlash might explain why Swift is the first musician (or full-time artist of any kind) to earn the coveted title. Bono Vox made the cover in 2005 for his charity work, alongside Bill and Melinda Gates. Swift also became the first woman to be featured twice after being named Person of the Year alongside a group of other women for her part in the #MeToo movement in 2017.
First musician to become a billionaire solely based on her songs and performances
According to Forbes, Taylor Swift’s net worth is officially in the billionaire bracket. What’s more, the magazine reveals she is one of only four musicians to amass that kind of fortune, and the only one to ever do it without counting on revenue from businesses other than her music and performances like the Eras Tour.
Most albums to debut with over 1 million copies in a single week
As we’ve established, Taylor Swift is an album-selling machine. In an age where streams have surpassed album sales by a big margin, Swift is still one of the few who can do both. In 2023 she extended her record as the artist with the most albums to sell over 1 million copies in their debut week, adding 1989 (Taylor’s Version) to the mix, and bringing it to a total of 6 (among which is the original version of 1989 as well).
Most Grammy nominations for Song of the Year for any artist ever
Swift has earned many Grammys in the last two decades, but there’s one that remains elusive. Despite breaking the record for most nominations ever in the category, Swift has yet to win the coveted music award for Song of The Year. “Anti-Hero” became her seventh song to earn the nod, but is not exactly a surefire winner.
Most Billboard Music Awards ever, tied with Drake
It’s not the Grammys, but possibly the next best thing. The Billboard Music Awards are maybe the second most coveted awards in music, and Taylor Swift finally tied Drake for the most wins in the event’s 33-year history in 2023. They both have 39 statues, reflecting their well-documented chart dominance over the years.