The Tortured Poet’s Department, the highly anticipated 11th studio album by Taylor Swift, will be released April 19, 2024.
Swift announced the new album while winning ‘Pop Vocal Album of the Year’ at the 2023 Grammys for her previous album Midnights, and fans have eagerly waited the release since.
In true Swift fashion, a single has not been pre-released, meaning listeners will hear the entire album for the first time on the 19th.
However, the tracklist, runtime, and bonus vinyl tracks have all been released.
After the Grammy’s announcement, Swift used different international shows on her Eras Tour to announce the vinyl variants, The Manuscript, The Bolter, The Albatross, and The Black Dog. Each comes with it’s own unique cover, pressing (which vary between gray shades), and a song titled after the variant, which is only available on the aligning record.
Signed editions of The Manuscipt vinyl and CDs were released on April 13, and sold out almost instantly.
Swift partnered with Apple Music the week ahead of TTPD’s release to create a hunt for fans — each day, one song of hers will have certain letters capitalized, which will reveal one word from the album.
“Easter Eggs” are a staple in Swift’s fandom, as she has been implementing hidden clues and messages into songs, lyric booklets, online posts, music videos, and even outfits.
Additional promotion includes a Target exclusive vinyl variant, which Swift posted online with the caption, “I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all.”, which fans speculate as a lyric to a potential lead single.
The vinyl itself is labeled as “Phantom Clear,” and 3 cds are also available to purchase at Target, which include a fold-out poster.
Online, Swifties have been working to build hype around the album, creating theories and making their own promotional posts. One theory, which gained enough traction to attract the attention of Swift herself, revolved around the vinyl variants representing the 5 stages of grief, as the album is theorized to be about her 2023 breakup with her 6-year long boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. Swift was inspired by this idea to create Apple Music playlists of her own songs which represent the feeling in early April.
Listen to the full album on April 11, 2024 at midnight EST on music streaming services everywhere, and pick up a physical copy at Target, Walmart, and local record stores everywhere.