It’s no secret that anybody who knows pop music has heard of Taylor Swift. With over five billion streams on Spotify and Apple Music, she’s broken numerous records with 10 of her singles remaining on the Hot 100 for over 50 weeks.
The pop star from Reading, Pennsylvania began writing and performing songs at a very young age. At just sixteen, she released her self-titled debut country album with Big Machine Records. It was a huge success, with the single “Our Song” reaching 16 on the Hot 100 Billboard Charts. However, this was just the beginning for the young artist.
Since then, Swift has been on seven world tours, won 540 music awards, and broken over eight records for her successes. So what makes her music so extraordinary?
Lyricism.
Something that sets Swift apart from other pop artists is her poetic and relatable lyrics that tell a story.
“She has a terrific ear in terms of how words fit together,” the Harvard Gazette said. “She has a sense both of writing songs that convey a feeling that can make you imagine this is the songwriter’s own feelings, like in ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,’ and a way of telling stories and creating characters.”
She’s able to include almost every emotion in just one album. Her ability to shift from genre to genre and do it well is an outstanding skill that few artists can master.
Fanbase.
Something very notable about Swift is her elaborate and adoring fan base. They have coined themselves “Swifties”. They show their support by buying tour tickets and merchandise, sharing support for her online, or even just streaming her music. Even with her excellent songwriting and humble personality. she has fans to thank for a lot of her success.
“It’s honestly one of the most amazing feelings knowing that there’s this group of people that has my back, and that they always show up,” Swift said to MTV. “I try to figure out ways all the time to thank them for that.”
She expresses gratitude to her fans every chance she gets. One of the waysshe does this is through her performative concerts around the world. The most extraordinary and recent is The Eras Tour.
The Eras Tour.
Announced in Nov. of 2022, the Eras Tour is the highest grossing tour ever, grossing over $2.2 million.
“’Eras’ has become one of the biggest social events of the year, with concertgoers doling out thousands of dollars on tickets, outfits, transportation, and travel accommodations,” CNN said, “Concertgoers participating in a QuestionPro poll of 862 people who say they attended at least one ’Eras’ concert said they spent an average of $291.62 each on their outfits, $214.80 on merchandise, and $131.48 for food and drinks.”
The tour was so successful, Swift added another leg, branching out to various parts of the world. The Eras Tour started in March of 2023 and is not set to end until Nov. 2024.
(Taylors Version)
Back in 2019, Swift’s masters were purchased from her by Scooter Braun who purchased Big Machine Records. He then sold her first six albums,, stripping Swift of the rights to her music.
“Artists should own their work for many reasons,” Swift told Time Magazine. “But the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who knows that body of work.”
Instead of accepting the loss of her career, Swift decided to re-record all of her first six albums. She coined the re-recordings (Taylor’s Version), which became a phenomenon.
She has already recorded four of the six albums, giving fans excitement for rediscovering old songs they loved. With each new release, she puts out vault tracks, which are songs that didn’t make the album the first time.
It’s safe to say that Swift has built herself a legacy that will outlive her. The fans, the tours, and the lyrics themselves are the reason Swift is one of the most idolized artists of our time.
“Taylor Swift is the music industry,” Bloomberg Businessweek stated.
