Taylor Swift described herself, in a 7/7 Wall St. Journal editorial, as “an enthusiastic optimist: one of the few living souls in the music industry who still believes that the music industry is not dying…it's just coming alive.”

Judging by the conversations we’ve had lately, her big ol’ bow this week, expected to exceed the giant debut of 2012’s Red, is definitely prompting renewed optimism among a lot of biz folk.

Scott Borchetta and his Big Machine family, understandably, are foremost among those feeling upbeat.

1989, Swift's first pure-pop excursion, is on track to move some 1.3m first week; Keep an eye on the HITS Building Album Sales Chart for the latest numbers.

More than the year's biggest debut, 1989 is testimony to the superstar's ability to chart new stylistic directions, whatever the supposed risk--you'll recall that her having stepped away from Nashville sounds entirely inspired much dour speculation, in some circles--with complete confidence that her fans would come along and simply explodes at Shazam.

As we write, the album remains in its accustomed #1 perch at iTunes, while the top two singles there, the cathartic "Shake It Off" and the playfully seductive "Blank Space," are Swift's as well. The former, after a meteoric rise to #1 at Pop radio (carried out by messrs. Walk, Spangler and the rest of Monte Lipman's Republic promo team) is #3, while the latter comes on strong.

Taylor is also due to become the #2 record-holder for first-week digital sales by a female artist, behind only Lady Gaga; and if you exclude 99-cent sales, Taylor’s the champ.

Remember, too, that this is just the first week. If you've heard 1989 in its entirety, you know it's chock full of likely hits (while still managing to feel very much like a cohesive album); this thing could retain its marketplace momentum for some time, especially since she's announced a giant 2015 tour. There are even some early indications that Swift's sales are helping other releases.

Feeling optimistic yet? We are, and we're planning to savor it.

MORE ON TAYLOR SWIFT

Taylor Swift: The HITS Q&A

Thoughts on 1989 and Pop Magic

The Road to 1989