Taylor Swift’s Eras tourbook is the biggest publishing success of the year

Last year, Taylor Swift organized her Eras concert film from start to finish. She didn’t work with any studio or major production company. She hand-selected the director and crew and got final cut. She worked out her own special distribution deal with AMC and Cinemark to carry the concert film exclusively. She did it all so her fans could enjoy the concert without having to max out their credit cards to attend the concert in person. It worked – the Eras concert film became the most successful concert film of all time. Taylor also refused to negotiate a streaming deal until the SAG strike was over too. She got so much respect within the industry for how she managed that whole deal. Now she’s getting mad respect in the publishing industry. Her Eras Tour book (a coffee-table book of photos) is now the second most successful non-fiction book launch of all time.

Just one retail chain was enough for Taylor Swift to have the top-selling book last week and the biggest publishing launch of 2024.

According to Circana, Swift’s “Eras Tour Book” sold 814,000 copies over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Circana tracks around 85% of the print market, but the “Eras” numbers are more precise: Swift sold the book exclusively through Target, which launched the “Eras” tie-in on Black Friday.

Sales soared even as Swift skipped Amazon.com and other retailers and as some fans complained online that the $39.99 book included typos and other errors. Representatives for Target and Swift did not immediately respond to requests Wednesday for comment.

The sales put Swift in rare company. The only bigger nonfiction launch was the first volume of Barack Obama’s presidential memoirs, “A Promised Land,” which sold 816,000 copies its first week on shelves in 2020, according to Circana, which does not include audio and e-book sales. But Obama’s memoir was available through all major outlets and Circana’s tracking for “Eras Tour Book” accounts only for its first weekend sales.

Swift has arranged exclusive, non-traditional releases before. For her “Eras” concert film, which came out in 2023, she bypassed Hollywood studios and worked directly with AMC Theatres and Cinemark Theatres. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” has made more than $200 million at the box office and stands as the highest grossing concert movie in history.

[From The Associated Press]

I will not lie: Taylor might end up being the biggest gangster out of all of them. The way she moves in every industry should be studied in business school. To arrange the release of the tour book only through Target and still pull these kinds of sales?? Insane. In case you’re wondering about the comparison to Prince Harry’s Spare… reportedly, Spare sold 3.2 million copies in its first week, but that’s global sales and it includes audiobooks. So I don’t know what metrics they’re using for this comparison, honestly. But it’s absolutely bonkers that Taylor is pulling these numbers with a Target exclusive.

Now, all that being said, the Swifties are complaining about the jankiness of the book. It apparently has dozens of typos and errors and the photos are not that great. Did she rush this out? Weird.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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6 Responses to “Taylor Swift’s Eras tourbook is the biggest publishing success of the year”

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  1. Jessica says:
    December 5, 2024 at 11:39 am

    People dismiss Taylor’s power constantly! She sings about it in multiple songs! However, girl is a capitalist queen for a reason. She knows her audience and what they will pay for, and variants aside, she gives them what they want. If you don’t like her music, whatever, but if you are clinging to the outdated 2010 view of Taylor, it’s continually a surprise that she’s a success. Like, I was jet lagged as hell, getting sick, and still rolled out of bed before the sun to get to Target before they sold out. I didn’t notice the typos or blurry photos, so now I’m going to have to look more closely at my copy.

  2. ariel says:
    December 5, 2024 at 11:43 am

    Sometimes i feel like there are people who are only happy if they are complaining.
    And/or- are never happy.

    Also i think that the nature of her songwriting- so personal, and so many of us feel represented and understood in her songs- that people think they both know her, and she should do exactly what they want/what they think she will do.
    And, they need to calm down.

    I got the book- i think the pictures are gorgeous- and it is a wonderful memento from the concert.

    Also- she is a brilliant business woman. What she is teaching several generations of women, in a number of areas- is priceless.

  3. olliesmom says:
    December 5, 2024 at 11:58 am

    One of our local news stations was outside one of the Target stores in my area on Black Friday morning at 5 am showing the ever-growing line outside – but they never actually interviewed any of those people to ask them why they were there. Some people had camped out all (or most of the) night. I was wondering what everyone was in line for that you couldn’t just buy online without leaving your warm house and pj’s. Then the newscasters started talking about this book – only available in stores. Target is a marketing genius. Make them have to come into your store so that they buy more while they are there.

  4. Sarah says:
    December 5, 2024 at 12:16 pm

    I think all the people that live to diminish her and her accomplishments and status really need to start to come to reality.

    I got the book for my sister for her Christmas gift and I’m so excited to give it to her.

  5. ChiDawg says:
    December 5, 2024 at 1:39 pm

    Shocked that my Swiftie daughter didn’t ask for this for Christmas. We couldn’t swing concert tickets but she did go to the concert film. Was wondering if I should grab a copy of the book when I saw it in Target but decided not to. Oddly, there seem to be plenty of copies at Targets near me (Chicago). I know this because I’m a loser who is probably at various Target’s 4or so times a week!

  6. martha says:
    December 6, 2024 at 1:09 am

    I seems you can’t buy any book that isn’t riddled with typos these days. I think publishers are relying on AI scanners rather than human editors with experience.

    That said – It’s a complicated book to publish – and definitely would be hurt by being rushed. Photo books have to be monitored closely for printing errors. If the written content is translated, publishing gets even more complicated. It’s pretty amazing how well they did with the Harry Potter rollouts, but they got it better organized by the time it became such a phenomenon.

    A Eras tour book wouldn’t yet have time to get better because it’s a phenomenon from the start. It would – ideally – just have to be perfect before any rollout at all.