LOS ANGELES – Taylor Swift set a record for most YouTube streams in a 24-hour period, generating 43.2 million views of her vengeful new music video “Look What You Made Me Do” after its debut Sunday night.

YouTube said on Tuesday it was the biggest debut of any video in YouTube history, beating the 36-million mark set by South Korean singer Psy’s “Gentleman” for that time frame in 2013.

“Look What You Made Me Do,” in which Swift takes aim at those who have attacked her professionally and personally in the last 10 years, has been heavily scrutinized by fans and entertainment media since it was premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards show on Sunday.

Swift, 27, who has been absent from award shows and red carpet events in 2017 after highly publicized feuds with Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry, did not attend the ceremony.

YouTube said the video averaged over 30,000 views per minute in its first 24 hours, with hourly views reaching over 3 million. By Tuesday, YouTube views had surpassed the 53 million mark.

The music video starts with Swift crawling out of a grave and declaring her old self dead, portraying a hard-edged artist with nothing left to lose.

It ends with the singer reviving all the personas of her music career – from gawky, guitar-playing 16-year-old to poised Grammy winner – and having them bicker with each other for being fake, pretending to be nice and playing the victim.

MAY NOT LAST
The immediate success of the rapping, techno-beat single – the first from a new Swift album due for release in November called Reputation, her first album in three years – portends a good fall for Swift. Yet the rapid growth of streaming services Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music guarantees that viewership records have a short life.

Here are the streaming records that have fallen just this year:

• In August, Latin singer Luis Fonsi’s 2017 global hit “Despacito,” became the most-viewed YouTube video in history, surpassing the 3 billion mark early that month.

• In April, Drake’s “More Life” set the record for most Spotify streams of an album on its first day, and most streams of an artist in one day.

• Just one month earlier, Ed Sheeran had established a new high for most one-day streams.

Expect records for most views to keep being broken as more listeners access music through streaming. Spotify added 40 million users just in the year ended in June, while Apple Music gained 27 million subscribers in the two years since its June 2015 debut. YouTube, meanwhile, added 50 million monthly users between 2013 and 2017. – Bloomberg/Reuters

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