Swifties can thank a decades-old exemption for shielding her new record vinyls from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of the Showgirl,” dropped Friday, with nods to Hollywood glamor (“Elizabeth Taylor”), tragic Shakespearean maidens (“The Fate of Ophelia”) and her new fiancé, Travis Kelce. While released digitally on popular music platforms, her 12 new songs are also available in the form of vinyl records, CDs and cassettes — which will ultimately escape the president’s signature economic policy due to a Cold-Era carveout, according to CNBC.
In August, Trump eliminated the “de minimis” exemption, which allowed shipments valued under $800 to be imported into the United States without duties. While his rollback now subjects them to tariffs, Swift’s physical album copies are exempt, CNBC revealed. It is all due to a provision known as the Berman Amendment to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which ultimately prohibits U.S. presidents from controlling “informational materials,” including physical music, books and artwork.
“If vinyl had gotten tariffed, you could have possibly seen the price of a record going up to $40 and $50,” Ralph Jaccodine, a professor at the Berklee College of Music, told CNBC. “So this is welcome news for people buying physical music.”
Ryan Mitrovich, the general manager of the nonprofit Vinyl Alliance, also told the outlet that it is “very encouraging and a bit of a relief that physical music formats” have been guarded from tariffs.
“However, we’re not really taking anything for granted here with the chaotic climate around trade disruptions,” Mitrovich added.
Swift’s last album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” released in April 2024, sold 3.49 million physical and digital copies, according to entertainment data company Luminate. The sales helped increase Universal Music Group’s second-quarter revenue by 9.6% compared to the same period in 2023.
Swift is selling her new album’s collection of vinyls, CDs and more on her online storefront and exclusive editions at Target.
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