Showgirl Sets Vinyl Record, Though Fans Have Objection

The Life of a Showgirl is off to a historic start, notching the second-biggest first-day album sales in modern US history. According to Billboard and Luminate, 2.7 million copies—physical and digital—of Taylor Swift's latest release moved on the first day. That's a personal record, though it falls just short of Adele's 25, which holds the top spot with 3.37 million sales. Swift's sales are receiving a boost from a scramble for exclusive acoustic bonus tracks unveiled for a limited time, Deadline reports. Swift shattered the record for most vinyl albums sold in a week, moving 1.2 million copies, handily surpassing her previous high set earlier this year with The Tortured Poets Department.

To mark the occasion, Swift announced a new batch of acoustic bonus tracks, available exclusively as part of four limited-edition CD releases sold on her website for 24 hours. Each version features two unique tracks, including acoustic renditions and previously unheard voice memos: "The Fate of Ophelia" and "Eldest Daughter" on the Alone In My Tower edition, "Wi$h Li$t" and the album's title track on the Dressing Room Rehearsal release, "Opalite" and "Ruin the Friendship" on Life Is A Song, and finally, two takes of "Elizabeth Taylor" on the So Glamorous Cabaret version.

It was complicated, with messages to fans to stand by for the drops, and online posts expressed frustration at what seemed to some to be manipulation. "This is so upsetting," one fan posted, per USA Today. "Why does one hard working fan have to buy seven different versions of an album instead of just having all of the songs be on one complete album?" Another wrote, "I love Taylor but 4 vinyls each with different songs feels like a cashgrab especially after all the previous versions."