Taylor Swift Donates Signed 'Folklore' CDs To Help Indie Record Stores Across The U.S.
Taylor Swift surprised independent record stores around the country this week by providing them free signed copies of her album “Folklore” to sell.
On Thursday, Twitter lit up as record stores shared their new merchandise courtesy of the singer-songwriter.
Thank you @taylorswift13 for supporting local record stores and sending us limited amount of "Folklore" signed CDs! These are available for local purchase only! Limit one per customer! #recordstorefolklore #taylornation #taylorswift pic.twitter.com/PaNPWOHgiN
— Zia Records (@ZiaRecords) August 20, 2020
Look what just showed up!Taylor Swift just sent a bunch of signed copies of her smash FOLKLORE! Limited so no holds, locals only and just one per customer. Thanks Taylor for your love of indie shops !
#recordstorefolklore #taylornation #taylorswift pic.twitter.com/fEkGO80BUT— Shake It Records (@shakeitrecords) August 20, 2020
Need an autographed copy of @taylorswift13 new album Folklore? We got you! In-store only, no shipping. Let’s go! #recordstorefolklore pic.twitter.com/dCifQy1tdq
— Darkside Records (@DarksideRecordz) August 20, 2020
Bull Moose, a record store with locations in Maine and New Hampshire, told Rolling Stone a sales representative from Universal Music Group reached out earlier this week with an opportunity to get in on a “promotional sale for signed CDs by a major artist.”
“I said ‘Sure, sounds like fun. Who’s the artist?’ and he said Taylor Swift,” the Bull Moose representative told the publication. “And I was pretty floored. The idea, as I understand it anyway, was to partner up with Record Store Day to give something super cool for indie stores to sell to drive some foot traffic into stores to help those affected by the pandemic.”
The store tweeted Thursday that it did not have to pay for the CDs.
A funny thing happened on the way to Bull Moose today. Several locations received a shipment of Folklore CDs all autographed by @taylorswift13~! Check out Windham, Lewiston, Bangor, Salem, Scarborough, Mill Creek, & Keene.
Thanks T Swift for the support for local record shops! pic.twitter.com/onP2H6GvQO— Bull Moose (the store) (@BullMoose) August 20, 2020
It's a big help for us for sure. She didn't even charge us for these!
— Bull Moose (the store) (@BullMoose) August 20, 2020
While Record Store Day isn’t until next week (Aug. 29), Swift’s gesture clearly upheld the sentiment of an event meant to “celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally,” according to a website dedicated to the day.
The Bull Moose representative told Rolling Stone it only took “about two hours” after tweeting for the CDs to completely sell out.
“Phones rang off the hook in every store. Folks took road trips to try to get one. It was a huge deal! Honestly, I expected it to be big, but this was huger than I expected!” the rep said.
Angie Roloff, the owner of Strictly Discs in Madison, Wisconsin, told Billboard they “weren’t permitted to talk about it until the CDs were in hand, and then we could post socially about it so folks could come and find us.”
“And the other requirement was it has to be just local customers, not just shipping them to people outside of our immediate area. So today has been the day of Taylor Swift frenzy, which was actually quite fun,” she shared.
There was an overwhelming response to the “Cardigan” singer’s generosity on social media, with fans excitedly showing off their signed CDs and praising their rollout.
@taylorswift13 did a wonderful thing today. She sent signed “Folklore” CD’s to struggling indie music shops all across the country with no charge. I managed to get one, album of the year for me. pic.twitter.com/K0pN2AGNFT
— Alex Maizus (@RealAlexMaizus) August 21, 2020
Taylor Swift sending signed copies of #folklore to local independent record stores to support small businesses during the pandemic.
I don’t know a better person.— Allison 🤍s Taylor (@PopulationSwift) August 21, 2020
Very cool @taylorswift13 who surprised shipped autographed Folklore CDs to various Indie record stores, here’s the one I picked up at Vintage Vinyl pic.twitter.com/0jjIl1NdLh
— Rich Russo (@DJRichRusso) August 20, 2020
Swift also made headlines this week for helping an 18-year-old university student in London, Vitoria Mario, meet her tuition goals on GoFundMe.
“Vitoria, I came across your story online and am so inspired by your drive and dedication to turning your dreams into reality,” Swift wrote on Mario’s GoFundMe. “I want to gift you the rest of your goal amount. Good luck with everything you do! Love, Taylor.”
Mario, who describes herself as “a young Black 18 year old with a dream,” received more than $30,000 from Swift and surpassed her goal.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.