The biggest book launch of the year so far belongs to an author known more for her singing than for words on a page.
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 as Swift sold the book exclusively through Target, which launched the “Eras” tie-in on Black Friday.
The retailer did not provide a specific figure for the number of books sold, saying only “nearly 1 million copies” were sold its first week of release, according to a Target press release.
The book, which retails in stores and online for $39.99, contains more than 500 photos from her worldwide tour, which became the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Swift announced the release in an Instagram post in October, writing that the book would contain her personal reflections on the nearly two-year tour, as well as “never-before-seen behind the scenes photos” and all the “magical memories” fans brought to the shows.
The fact that the book was published independently and exclusively sold through Target upset some local bookstore owners, who say they could have profited from such a big release. Swift also brought the three-hour “Eras Tour” concert film to movie theaters independently. The movie is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
Even some Swifties took issue with the book release — dubbing it “The Errors Tour Book” — after they spotted an abundance of grammar mistakes, typos, graphic design mishaps and blurry or low-quality photos.
In a TikTok post, one fan questioned whether the book was edited before it was published. With her “Eras Tour Book” in hand, she asked, “If you’re paying $40 for a book, wouldn’t you expect it to not have this many errors?”
Neither Target nor Swift’s team responded to requests for comment.
Still, the Black Friday in-store release marked soaring sales. The book was launched alongside CD and vinyl versions of Swift’s deluxe album “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.”
“We knew the release of ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Book’ and ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’ would be a huge, huge moment for Target shoppers and Taylor Swift fans everywhere, but seeing the record-breaking response unfold over the last week has been an absolute thrill,” Rick Gomez, Target’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a press release.
The book is also “the highest-selling book in the Music category since Circana began tracking 20 years ago,” according to the press release. Circana did not respond to requests for comment.
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