According to a report by Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), the magazines featuring Taylor Swift on the cover in 2012 sold less than those displaying less well known celebrities such as Lauren Conrad and Zooey Deschanel.
Taylor Swift cut a glamorous sight on the covers of Vogue, Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar last year, following the October release of her hugely successful album Red.
The report, by the Alliance for Audited Media, examined sales of the high end women’s monthly magazines in 2012.
Taylor Swift’s Vogue cover in February 2012 sold a solid 329,371 – a little over the magazine’s six month average – but the star was outsold to a large degree by Lady Gaga whose cover appearance moved almost double – shifting 602,000 copies.
However, Lady Gaga’s appearance in a pink gown and hair raising wig featured on the magazine’s September issue, which traditionally sells more.
Adele’s March cover also beat Taylor Swift, selling 410,343, and providing Vogue with its second best seller in 2012.
Although Taylor Swift performed acceptably for Glamour‘s November issue, selling 443,000 copies, she failed to beat Lauren Conrad who proved the year’s “runaway best seller” for the brand with a little over 500,000, while Victoria Beckham’s September edition moved an impressive 482,000.
Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive told WWD that she believed Taylor Swift’s relationship troubles with One Direction star Harry Styles could have caused her low sales.
“There may have been a little hiccup for her right around the 1-D relationship,” she said.
“But it’s nothing a pro can’t come back from. I’d put money on her for the long run.”
Taylor Swift was also Cosmopolitan magazine’s worst seller of the entire year, with her December cover selling 20% below the six-month average for the magazine.
Scarlett Johansson was Cosmopolitan‘s top performing star, with 1.5 million readers interested in an interview with the Lost in Translation star, with Scarlett discussing what she finds attractive in a man.
Even Ashley Greene outsold Taylor Swift, with the Twilight actress ranking second in the year’s sales.
All this despite Taylor Swift, who appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in December and Elle magazine in February 2013, usually giving good value in interviews.
She made headlines for her Vanity Fair interview for April in which she appears on the cover, where she criticizes Golden Globe hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Gwen Stefani also beat Taylor Swift’s Harper’s Bazaar total of 138,412 copies, despite the No Doubt singer having a poor year in record sales.
Celebrities who performed well for the magazines in general include Katy Perry who sold best for Elle and Jennifer Aniston for In Style.
Kate Middleton’s cover was the top selling issue for Vanity Fair, with model Kate Moss also scoring well for Harper’s Bazaar and W magazine.
