Taylor Swift sells 1.3m copies of new album Folklore in 24 hours

Artist also smashed global streaming records as critics hailed the ‘career best’ album

Taylor Swift in artwork for her eighth album, 'Folklore' (Beth Garrabrant)

Taylor Swift sold 1.3 million equivalent copies of her new album within 24 hours of its release, according to her label, Republic Records.

Swift surprised the world this week with the announcement of her eighth album, Folklore, which appeared on streaming services less than 17 hours later.

The 30-year-old collaborated with some of her “music heroes” for the record, including The National’s Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver, and her longtime songwriting partner and co-producer Jack Antonoff.

As well as achieving the huge sales feat, Swift broke the record for the biggest first-day album streams for a female artist, with 80.6 million total streams.

In 24 hours, Folklore also became the most-streamed pop album on Apple Music.

Swift’s album has received unanimous critical acclaim, with The Independent hailing it as a “near-perfect” record.

“This is an unconventional record, at least for the world’s biggest pop star,” the review said. “It’s also brilliant.”

Read what else the critics have been saying about Folklore here.