Looked at one way, Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is already a record-smashing success, on track to sell more than 3.5 million copies — including more than one million on vinyl — ...

“The rule of show business is if it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping,” the not-so-Icarian pop star said during a recent conversa...