Taylor Swift ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ vinyl records are exempt from Trump tariffs — here’s why

A showgirl doesn’t person to woody pinch tariffs.

The Trump administration’s tariffs took effect connected Friday, August 29, revoking nan “de minimis” exemption, which erstwhile allowed billions of mini shipments to beryllium imported into nan US without charges.

But 1 objection survived — and it’s euphony to nan ears of Taylor Swift fans.

Physical copies of music, specified arsenic vinyl records, CDs and cassettes, person skirted nan restrictions, acknowledgment to a Cold War–era loophole known arsenic nan Berman Amendment to nan International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

This intends fans who acquisition beingness copies of Swift’s caller “The Life of a Showgirl” album, which was released Friday, won’t look further charges astatine nan register.

The Act prevents US presidents from regulating nan travel of “informational materials” — which includes music, books, and artwork.

“If vinyl had gotten tariffed, you could person perchance seen nan value of a grounds going up to $40 and $50,” Berklee professor Ralph Jaccodine warned CNBC. “So, this is invited news for group buying beingness music.”

Vinyl is making 1 of nan biggest comebacks successful nan euphony business. In nan past 5 years, younger buyers and nostalgic collectors person fueled a resurgence. Today, vinyl discs dress up astir three-quarters of U.S. beingness euphony revenue, a jump of astir 20% since 2020, per nan Recording Industry Association of America data.

With that overmuch astatine stake, nan tariff carve-out isn’t conscionable a quirk — it’s critical.

“It is very encouraging and a spot of a alleviation that beingness euphony formats person been classified arsenic exempt to tariffs,” says Ryan Mitrovich, wide head of nan Vinyl Alliance. Still, he warns, nan waste and acquisition situation is chaotic, and exemptions for illustration this shouldn’t beryllium taken for granted.

Labels are watching closely. Universal Music Group (UMG), which releases Taylor Swift’s records, saw a 9.6% gross jump successful Q2 2024 — partially owed to a 14.4% surge successful beingness sales. Swift was a awesome driver: her past medium moved 3.49 cardinal mixed copies.

This year, though, beingness gross dipped for UMG successful its July report, and its banal plunged 24%. But analysts are eyeing Swift’s newest merchandise arsenic a comeback — immoderate projections forecast complete 1 cardinal vinyl income successful nan first week alone, perchance rewriting nan market.

“Taylor Swift has a unsocial expertise to thrust nan marketplace done her decisions of what and really to merchandise music,” Jaccodine said. “Swift’s merchandise tin and will apt origin a roar successful nan euphony business.”

It’s not each cheers successful nan industry. Some American vinyl manufacturers support tariff implementation — but not for user protection. They simply spot it arsenic a measurement to bolster U.S. production.

Alex Cushing, co‑founder of Dallas’s Hand Drawn Records and committee personnel of nan Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association, insists tariffs could boost home manufacturing and create jobs. His patient makes 2 cardinal records annually pinch 60 employees, but says it lacks nan capacity to grip Swift-level demand.

Most pressing: nan earthy materials (PVC, ink, etc.) are already tariffed, driving world production. GZ Media, nan Czech‑based elephantine that presses 1 successful 4 albums globally, makes galore US records offshore. GZ CEO, Michal Štěrba, argues tariffs would inevitably raise prices for consumers.

And Cushing agrees. However, his position is that tariffs could redirect smaller artists’ manufacturing backmost to U.S. plants, fixed that home accumulation isn’t presently built for scale.

For musicians, beingness income still often outperform streaming revenue. On streaming platforms, artists typically gain betwixt $0.003–$0.005 per stream, whereas beingness grounds income tin salary royalty rates of 10–25%. That makes vinyl, CD, and cassettes a awesome income engine.

“Unless you are conscionable a fistful of musicians, you fundamentally are not making capable money from streaming to sustain,” Jaccodine said. “For artists ample and small, merchandise for illustration records, CDs, cassettes, hats, hoodies and summons income are nan breadstuff and butter.”

And that matters: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour unsocial made complete $2 billion successful tickets, while streaming brought successful $200 –$400 million — but beingness income stay a captious pillar of an artist’s gross stack.

In a study by UK-based Key Production, astir 60% of 18 – 24-year-olds said they perceive to beingness euphony — nan highest among property groups. On TikTok, “vinyl hauls” rack up millions of views, and uncommon colored-variant LPs spark #FOMO buying frenzies.

Industry insiders opportunity this is simply a rebellion against integer ephemerality: owning a beingness entity feels real, imperishable — not conscionable streaming metadata.

“So galore groups are connected their screens paying fees to person entree to contented but do not ever really ain anything, truthful this gives them beingness ownership,” Cushing said. “Vinyl is antagonistic to each nan easiness of modern euphony listening and that’s why group want it.”

Swift is nan queen of nan version game: 36 versions of her past medium spanned each formats, including vinyl exclusives pinch unsocial creation and prize tracks.

That’s because each exclusive version of a vinyl record, CD aliases cassette has nan imaginable to make millions. And her fans are present to salary up.

“As agelong arsenic a vinyl stays nether $75 for a caller release, I consciousness for illustration it is worthy it. It’s for illustration an addiction to getting these, but I emotion collecting them,” 24-year-old Tayra McDaniels told CNBC.