Taylor Swift hits 104 weeks

Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has now spent 104 weeks on the Billboard 200, giving her a 14th album with two full years on the chart. (forbes.com) Forbes reported the 2024 album hit the 104-week mark this week, joining Swift’s longest-charting releases on Billboard’s main albums chart. (forbes.com) That chart run extends the life of an album that opened at No. 1 in April 2024 with 2.61 million equivalent album units in the United States, including 1.91 million in traditional sales, according to Billboard data cited by Reuters and NBC News. (billboard.com) (nbcnews.com) At the same time, Swift moved to protect the commercial life of her voice and image. Reuters reported that three trademark applications were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Friday, April 24, through TAS Rights Management. (usnews.com) (musicbusinessworldwide.com) Two of the applications cover audio clips of Swift saying “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” A third covers an image of Swift onstage holding a guitar. (cbsnews.com) (usnews.com) Reuters said trademark attorney Josh Gerben described the filings as an attempt to protect Swift’s voice and likeness from AI-generated deepfake audio and video. (usnews.com) The filings land after Swift was one of the highest-profile targets of fake AI imagery online in 2024, when explicit fabricated images spread across social platforms and drew renewed scrutiny of platform safeguards. (theguardian.com) (cbsnews.com) Taken together, the two developments show how a hit album’s value now stretches well beyond release week. Swift is still adding chart weeks to a 2024 blockbuster while trying to lock down how her voice and face can be used in the AI era. (forbes.com) (theguardian.com)