Taylor Swift made sure that The Tortured Poets Department was open for Record Store Day, and fans who picked her new album that day got a special “memento” to last a lifetime.
While TTPD wasn’t an official RSD 2024 release, those who purchased it at participating stores on Record Store Day (Saturday, April 20) could get a handwritten note from the “Chairman” of the Tortured Poets Department.
“Happy Record Store Day! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming The Tortured Poets Department into your vinyl collection and your life,” Swift wrote in her note. Amoeba Music, the celebrated California music store chain, shared an image of the note on RSD, revealing that Swift’s note comes on official TTPD stationery.
“It’s my goal to create a memento you’ll want to keep forever,” the note continued. “I hope you’ll feel that with every turn of the page of the lyric book, every secret thought poured into this work. It’s an honor to be able to trust you with my feelings. Love, Taylor.”
Though Swift has always been close with her legion of fans and deeply involved with releasing her new music, she has been all over the rollout of TTPD. Fans who pre-saved it on Apple Music got a special voice note, and those on Spotify got a special video message during the album’s release week. At the start of April, Swift shared five playlists made up of songs from her past work. Each dealt with a different stage of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — and came with a separate voice note about her experiences in each stage.
Happy Record Store Day from @taylorswift13! Get a special note from the desk of Taylor Swift with purchase of “The Tortured Poets Department” at any Amoeba store (while supplies last).#TheTorturedPoetsDepartment is available now on CD and in 4 color vinyl variants. pic.twitter.com/oVs9rYBAXE
— Amoeba Music (@amoebamusic) April 20, 2024
While Swift didn’t have any official RSD releases for 2024, she walked away from that weekend as the queen of the record store. Swift’s TTPD arrived on Friday, April 19, and in three days, it sold 1.5 million copies across all configurations, according to Billboard. That includes digital downloads, CDs, vinyl pressings and cassettes.
Of that number, TTPD sold 700,000 copies on vinyl, breaking the modern-era record for the most sales in a single week. TTPD breaks a record Swift herself set when she released 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The rerecording sold 693,000 copies in its first week.
Swift is a friend of Record Store Day, serving as its ambassador in 2022. “The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me,” she said in a statement about her role in that year’s festivities. “Record stores are so important because they help perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion.”
“They create settings for live events. They employ people who adore music thoroughly and purely,” she added. “Those people and shops have had a rough few years and we need to support these small businesses more now than ever to make sure they can stay alive, stay eccentric and stay individual.”
