Taylor Swift influenced record labels to change the way they write contracts

In addition to being a successful songwriter, Taylor Swift is a change-maker in the music industry. She asserted creative control over her music, re-recording her earlier albums after she lost the rights to them, and sparked a vinyl revolution in a digital age.

Taylor Swift outsmarted her label by re-recording her albums

After Taylor Swift lost the rights to her songs, she lost control over what she could and couldn't do with them. Aware of her fan base, she re-recorded them, encouraged fans to listen only to her new versions, and improved the production quality, creating new hits out of existing songs.

Taylor Swift frequently reinvents herself musically

Swift began her career as a country music artist, morphed into a pop singer, and from there experimented with everything from dance to anthemic pop-rock to a more indie singer-songwriter sound. Her introspective 2020 album “Folklore” offered melancholic tunes to accompany the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taylor Swift became more outspoken about her politics in the late 2010s

Vocally supporting LGBTQ+ rights, speaking out against racial inequality, and endorsing presidential candidates are more recent features of Taylor Swift's career. She first broke her political silence around the 2018 midterm elections.

Watch Taylor Swift write a song

Taylor Swift is one of the most famous and successful entertainers of the modern era, whose music wins fans and Grammy awards, and secures billions of streams on Spotify. In this clip from the Netflix documentary Miss Americana, Taylor lets cameras film her in the process of writing a song.

The self-titled country album hinted at what would come later

While Taylor Swift eventually crossed over to pop, a Pitchfork review of her first release hints at the ingredients that would fuel Taylor’s rapid ascent and help her connect with fans, including songs with catchy melodies, relatable themes, and deeply personal lyrics that reflect her experiences as a young woman.

A comprehensive understanding of Taylor Swift

The podcast Every Single Album: Taylor Swift on The Ringer covers everything you need to know about Swift's vast and successful music career. From changes in her voice over the years to the popularity of her album re-recordings, the hosts of this show offer a comprehensive understanding of Taylor Swift's impact and her evolution over time.

Taylor Swift was 16 when she released her debut album

When Taylor Swift released her first album, she was a little-known country singer-songwriter. A decade later, she was a world-famous pop superstar. In the first 10 years of Swift's career, her songwriting talent, savvy marketing, and engagement with fans helped propel her into stardom.

Taylor Swift's feud with executive Scooter Braun

Braun, whom Swift said had a personal vendetta against her, purchased the rights to Swift's early music throguh his company.

Taylor Swift's songwriting resonated with teenage girls around the world

One fan recalls that the themes of Swift's early songs included hope, betrayal, and a sense of being unremarkable but wanting to be special. She argues that these themes were especially powerful to young girls, regardless of where they were from.

Listen to a Taylor Swift superfan podcast

One measure of Taylor Swift's popularity is the scale of her online fan community, which manifests in everything from fan-created art and cover songs to podcasts hosted by her fans. Tay of the Day dives into Taylor Swift's world by demystifying everything from her music to her globe-spanning tours.

Taylor Swift's family encouraged her interest in music from a young age, and moved to Nashville before she reached high school so she could be close to the country music industry.

Taylor Swift is one of the world's most successful artists

Swift is one of the best-selling musicians of all time. She has sold more than 200 million records and won multiple Grammy Awards. Known for her storytelling and ability to reinvent her music, she’s expanded her career from country roots to global pop stardom.

Taylor Swift's one-note melody increases her relatability

Despite music’s variety, a few musical elements have been scientifically proven to make a song compelling to listeners. Swift's one-note melody helps her songs mimic the cadence of speech, assisting in her storytelling and accessible image.

Watch this video to find out how Taylor Swift became a billionaire from her musical empire.

Rockefeller heir Rebekah Harkness served as inspiration for Taylor Swift

In 2020, Taylor Swift wrote a song that highlighted her similarities to Rebekah Harkness, the former owner of Swift's Rhode Island beach house. Harkness filled the Rhode Island home's pool with champagne, courtesy of her late husband, a Standard Oil heir.

'The Life of a Showgirl' was Swift's 15th chart-topping album

That places her second on Billboard's all-time list, though streaming has significantly changed how "sales" are interpreted. Prior to the shift to digital music, Billboard's album chart relied solely on sales of physical units. Since 2014, the chart has also considered streams from services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

In 2023 Taylor Swift made history having the most #1 albums of any female artist

Taylor Swift is as much a businesswoman and a marketer as she is a successful musician and performer, all of which has helped her become one of the biggest entertainment stars of the modern era.

Taylor Swift is one of the most successful artists in the world

Few musicians are more popular (or more influential) than Taylor Swift. that's not a broad generalization. The data from this music-industry report backs it up. Luminate not only breaks down Swift’s titanic streaming numbers but also analyzes the strength of her fandom, which the publication considers indicative of “influence.”

Taylor Swift owns more than 300 trademarks—a strategic way she protects her brand

Taylor Swift holds trademarks ranging from her album titles and song lyrics to the names of her cats. While the sheer amount of trademarks may seem excessive, it's one way Taylor Swift can protect the integrity of her brand and make sure everything that's branded as Taylor Swift actually comes from her.

Taylor Swift fans are called 'Swifties'

Taylor Swift has a massive worldwide fanbase. Interacting with fellow so-called “Swifties” is part of what keeps her fans engaged. An interview with a 21-year-old fan who runs an influential Taylor fan account on X (formerly Twitter) talks about what it’s like to connect with fellow fans and their experiences.

Taylor Swift helps drive fan engagement by filling her music with easter eggs

Taylor Swift is famous for incorporating Easter eggs—specifically, hidden messages and clues—in her music. Her music videos are often sprinkled with visual nods to her past, and fans pore over her lyrics for the cryptic messages they frequently contain.

Music today is often intended to circulate on social media

Artists are increasingly using TikTok and other short form video platforms as a space to promote their music. One scholar notes this emphasis, and connect it to Taylor Swift's early use of social media to promote her own work and brand.

Taylor Swift was the first artist to occupy all of Billboard's Top 10

Swift's 2022 release "Midnights" led to an unprecedented feat: For the first time in Billboard history, the entire top 10 of the Hot 100 was occupied by the same artist. Two years later, "The Tortured Poets Department" would occupy the first 14 slots on the chart.

The Eras Tour generated $2B in ticket sales, but $5B in consumer spending

Taylor Swift has achieved such high-profile status, her music and tours influence a broad swath of industries, communities, and economies. “Swiftonomics” is the term used to describe how Taylor’s tours, merchandise sales, and brand boost everything from local business receipts to tourism in a community.

Taylor Swift's relationship with Kansas City Chief's star Travis Kelce helped boost the NFL's popularity, especially among younger generations.

Dylan influenced many of his contemporaries

Dylan's groundbreaking approach to songwriting didn't just change his career; it changed the trajectory of American popular music. This podcast from the National Association of Music Merchants' oral history project features interviews with several Dylan compatriots and fans–including Pete Seeger, Emmylou Harris, and Robbie Robertson–who detail how Dylan changed their careers and how they viewed songwriting.

Viral pop artists create systems of participation, not just music

Musicologist (and Swift expert) Paula Clare Harper weighs in on the factors that make music go viral. Tracks designed for shareability that feed well into content algorithms on streaming platforms are able to grow in popularity, with traditional human gatekeepers sidelined.

Several major artists have embraced manipulating the Billboard charts

Billboard is supposed to be an accurate, objective representation of the country’s listening habits, but artists and their fans have discovered ways to manipulate the magazine’s methodology in order to push tracks to the top of the charts. In 2018, Taylor Swift rewarded fans for purchasing her album multiple times; in 2020, Justin Bieber reposted suggestions that fans repeatedly stream one of his songs while they sleep.

The iPhone reshaped culture, media, and communication through innovation

Cultural moments, such as Ellen's viral Oscars selfie and Taylor Swift's iPhone Notes statement, have demonstrated how deeply integrated the device has become into society. The film "Tangerine" and Kendrick Lamar's "Pride" were created with the iPhone, underscoring its use in media creation.

In 'Life of a Showgirl,' Taylor Swift nods to Pre-Raphaelite muse Elizabeth Siddal

Born in 1829, Siddal was an artist and poet who would become immortalized when she modeled for John Everett Millais' 1852 painting 'Ophelia,' depicting the suicidal lover from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet.' For years, Swift has alluded to Siddal as an exemplar of the sidelined female artist.

Some influencers are facing the dark side of being a public persona

From burnout to stalkers, a content creator’s life can quickly become complicated as their following grows. Women’s Health recently spoke with some creators about what they wish they’d known before they started their careers on social media.

In the late '70s, Dylan started a trilogy of Christian rock albums

Across his six decades making music, Bob Dylan’s gone through numerous artistic eras and reinventions, but among the most polarizing (and, for some, the most perplexing) is Dylan’s Christian period in the late '70s and early '80s.

'After you make a fool of yourself a few hundred times, you learn what works.'

- Musician Gwen Stefani (1969-present)

How Taylor Swift is related to poet Emily Dickinson

In 2024, genealogy site Ancestry.com claimed that the pop star and the poet were descended from a 17th-century English immigrant, Swift's ninth great-grandfather and Dickinson's sixth great-grandfather. That would make Swift and Dickinson sixth cousins, three times removed.

Watch a 1965 press conference with Bob Dylan where he mocks the media's focus on celebrity.

Read a 1984 interview with Dolly Parton, conducted by artist Andy Warhol.

Dylan was called 'the voice of his generation,' but rejected the title

By the mid-60s, Dylan made it clear he had no desire to be a spokesman for anyone but himself. He found the title stifling and believed it would prevent him from creating authentic art.