After growing up with Taylor Swift, new releases make me feel like I’m sitting next to her, reflecting on the past memories we’ve shared. Every track is a meticulously designed page in a photo album capturing the overall moods and emotions of the record.
In the world of music marketing, Swift has become a standout figure balancing between music and business. Her savvy strategies not only continue to boost her career but change how other artists look at marketing their brand.
As a Swiftie myself, I jumped on the bandwagon early on in Swift’s career when she released her 2012 album, “Red.” Now, as her influence has become significantly greater, she has become the best marketer in the music industry.
Of course, every artist has their connection with their fans, but Swift takes it to a whole new level. She utilizes universal experiences in her music to make you feel like you’re sharing the emotions with her in the moment.
Even before the scandal between Swift and her former manager Scooter Braun, Taylor has been an advocate for artists rights. In 2015, she threatened to keep “1989” off Apple Music because the app wasn’t going to pay artists’ royalties during streamers’ three-month free trial, per Billboard.
The day after Swift announced this, Eddie Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet services and software at the time, suggested on the platform X that Apple Music needed to make a change. Not only does this show how much of a fighter she is, Swift uses her brand to show how she is an ally to other artists, not their competition. In light of the Swift and Braun situation, Swift and her team have made it a mission to speak openly about unfair treatment in the music industry.
One of Swift’s most recent ways to catch the world’s attention is the way she constantly rebrands herself and experiments with sound. Her discography displays a variety of different music styles including country, pop, rock, folk and alternative. Not to mention, she flawlessly transitioned from country to pop and became a sensation in both genres.
In Gen-Z, the only other artist who made a similar transition from country to pop was Miley Cyrus. As we all know, this transition was rather bumpy and received a lot of bad press because of Cyrus’ provocative behavior. Swift, on the other hand, planned her shift well instead of creating controversy. Unlike Cyrus, Swift’s move wasn’t abrupt, she remained authentic to her brand but made “1989” a full pop album without the country twang we hear in albums like “Fearless” and “Speak Now.”
After the infamous on-stage run-in with Kanye West at the 2009 VMAs, Swift faced online harassment and harsh criticism of her work. As many Swifties might say, this was the origin of her “Reputation” album, because of theories that some of the songs on her sixth studio album could be about West. In 2017, Swift decided to delete all of her social media, unfollow everyone and hide from the press.
Swift isn’t the only one to participate in a social media blackout. In October 2023, Dua Lipa wiped her Instagram of all posts to prepare for the release of “Radical Optimism,” her third studio album. This didn’t attract overpowering press coverage because Lipa isn’t as influential as Swift. While she is a successful artist, Lipa’s fanbase is much smaller so nobody seemed to flinch when she went silent.
Other artists who have done so in the past include Sabrina Carpenter, Avril Lavigne, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga. Again, this is a list packed full of talented artists but their social media blackout wasn’t covered as much in the press because their audiences are rather selective, unlike Swift, whose fanbase is fluid.
When the album “Reputation” was finally released in November 2017, Swift displayed extreme versatility and began incorporating rap, electro-pop and contemporary R&B into her style. Her sudden return to social media immediately caught the attention of Swifties and even those who hadn’t liked her music previously. Clearly, this was yet another successful attempt at reinventing her image.
At the Kansas City Chiefs game on Thursday, Sept. 5, Swift rocked an all-denim look with thigh-high red boots. This outfit’s debut led fans to believe this was an allusion to the future release of “Reputation (Taylor’s Version).” In the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video, she wore similar red boots. Of course, she was just repping Chiefs’ red, but that doesn’t stop us from clowning.
Swift uses her social media platforms to increase engagement with her audience. For example, she announced limited edition acoustic and demo versions of songs from “The Tortured Poets Department” — a generous souvenir for her fans to remember their time at “The Eras Tour.”
Before Spotify made the Global Top Artist announcement in 2023, billboards all across the country displayed different pieces of the graphic, causing fans to wonder what it could possibly be. Parts of the image displayed beaded bracelets with 13, Swift’s lucky number, while another part showed the Lover House, an array of her albums organized into different rooms of the house. One of the most popular theories was a new orange-colored era titled “Karma.” If I’m being honest, I might have looked into this theory a little too much and had myself slightly convinced.
Swift also releases behind-the-scenes content of past recordings, especially since the “Taylor’s Version” collection is almost complete, to promote her music and get fans excited for what’s to come. By advertising the songwriting process, Swift is creating an ever-growing relationship with her fan base. For me personally, I feel that I’m connecting with her on a more personal level.
Every Swiftie knows that she is famous for hiding cryptic messages in her music videos. In a segment on “The Tonight Show” in 2021, Taylor admitted that doing this became a tradition when she was putting together her first self-titled album in 2006.
If you look up what singer is famous for easter eggs on Google, all of the top results are about Swift. This just proves that she’s the queen of subliminal messages. Mixed in here and there, there are some articles about Olivia Rodrigo who’s idol just happens to be Swift.
At the end of the day, in the words of her “Midnights” track, Swift is a “Mastermind” and it seems like everything she puts out has a hidden meaning. She is — no doubt — one of the most influential artists this world has ever seen. If it’s not for her performing, it’s for the way she keeps the media and her fan base wrapped around her finger.
Everybody is eager to predict Swift’s next move, and now that she knows how much we look into everything she does, she’s only getting sneakier.
