Taylor Swift’s recently released album “1989” is the first album to have gone platinum album since 2002.

In the digital age, consumers of music have been so accustomed to streaming and downloading, yet Taylor Swift has managed to surpass the digital sales of her album with the physical sales by 647,000 in comparison to 640,000 (Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ becomes). Most consumers nowadays would choose downloading music over actually stepping outside to buy the physical copy because it is so convenient to do so. Therefore it would seem highly unlikely that Swift would be able to change consumer’s mindsets so drastically. She was able to achieve this advertising her point of difference. Consumers had the preconceived idea of a CD being unnecessary and unpopular in the present, but she shifted their consumer mindset to convincing them that it is beneficial that the product is so unpopular because now owning her physical album would make the, apart of an exclusive movement. Swift also emphasized that her fans should perceive it as a “collector’s edition” as well as providing further incentive with polaroid photographs of herself in each box jacket. Furthermore Swift is one of the few artists to remove herself from Spotify. This is because for every song streamed 70% of the royalties are intended to go to the artist, however they have actually been going to the record label and managers. Fans can now only buy the album online or in the store, no free streaming allowed. By using points of difference and staying true to her value propositions, and shifting her key activities, Swift has changed her revenue streams and continues to increase her profit and popularity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2014/11/05/taylor-swifts-1989-becomes-the-first-platinum-album-of-the-year/?tid=sm_fb