Can Taylor Swift's '1989' Save The Record Industry's 2014?

'1989' Looking To Bolster 2014

That's what hopeful music biz insiders are asking -- as does a ROLLINGSTONE.COM story which wonders if TAYLOR SWIFT's new "1989" album on BIG MACHINE, set for release next MONDAY (10/27) can set the tone for the crucial fourth quarter in a a year that has seen a severe -- an almost 15% drop in CD sales, with no album, so far, reaching the platinum sales mark of one million.

As STONE's STEVE KNOPPER has noted, potential blockbuster albums "sell up to a few hundred thousand copies in the first week, then quickly dropping out of the Top 10."

TRANS WORLD ENTERTAINMENT VP/Music Merchandising ISH CUEBAS tells STONE, "She will be the big fish.  The overall release schedule this year has been weak compared to last year. The big title last year for the fourth quarter was EMINEM -- TAYLOR will more than make up for EMINEM."

This month, albums by country superstars JASON ALDEAN, BLAKE SHELTON and LADY ANTEBELLUM all sold "fewer copies than expected," according to KNOPPER, putting more pressure on SWIFT, whose "1989" has already produced the hit, "Shake It Off," and this week debuted the lead album track, "Welcome to NEW YORK."

As the industry moves from CD and download sales to streaming subscription services (which were up 42% according to the RIAA), one record label source admitted. "The industry is going to go through a rocky couple of years as it makes that transition."

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