Whether or not you’re a fan of her music (psst… we LOVE her music), as marketing professionals, we can’t ignore the power of Taylor Swift, her brand, and her influence. With the recent release of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, we thought it would be relevant time to analyze the longevity of her success.
In this blog post we’re going to (stage)dive into how she does it.
The Folklore: The Art Storytelling
Why do we love Taylor Swift so much? Swift’s songs tell deeply personal stories, which resonates with her fans. Especially for the ones who have followed her “love story” since the very beginning. This authenticity of her diary-like lyrics strengthens her connection with listeners by building trust.
Without a doubt, she has a unique talent for turning her experiences into timeless stories that speak to the human condition. Her stories resonate deeply with her audience. How? Let’s get into it:
Personal Narratives
Swift’s songs tell deeply personal stories, which resonate with her fans. Especially for the ones who have followed her “love story” since the very beginning.
Drawing from her own life experiences about love, heartbreak, friendship, or personal growth, Swift is able to craft deeply personal narratives in her songs. This authenticity allows her listeners to relate to her songs on a personal level, creating a strong emotional connection. Moreso, it also fuels media attention and speculation about her relationships which is why we can’t stop hearing her name in the media.
Vivid Imagery
Swift is a master at painting vivid pictures with her lyrics. She uses descriptive language and imagery to bring her stories to life, making them feel real and tangible to her audience. This attention to detail enhances the storytelling experience and immerses listeners in her world. Go through the following few lyrics and notice how vivid it paints a picture in your own mind (try not to tear up while you do):
“At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on, and that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding.”
Taylor Swift, “The Tortured Poets Department”
“The autumn chill that wakes me up, you loved the amber skies so much, long limbs and frozen swims, you’d always go past where our feet could touch, and I complained the whole way there, the car ride back and up the stairs, I should’ve asked you questions, should’ve asked you how to be.”
Taylor Swift, “Marjorie”
“Cause here we are again in the middle of the night, dancing ’round the kitchen in the refrigerator light, down the stairs, I was there, I remember it all too well.”
Taylor Swift, “All Too Well”
“And it was like slow motion, standing there in my party dress, in red lipstick, with no one to impress, and they’re all standing around me singing, ‘Happy birthday to you,’ but there was one thing missing, and that was the moment I knew.”
Taylor Swift, “The Moment I Knew”
Character Development, Narrative Arcs, and Symbolism
Why is she a genius? Well if we didn’t call her a music genius, we’d have to call her a literary master.
In many of her songs, Swift creates rich characters with distinct personalities and motivations. Whether it’s the lovestruck protagonist, the heartbreaker, or the betrayed friend, she brings her characters to life through her lyrics, allowing listeners to empathize with their struggles and triumphs.
Swifts songs often follow a narrative arc, much like a short story or a movie. There’s a beginning, middle, and end, with a clear progression of events and emotions. This structure helps to engage listeners and keep them invested in the story she’s telling.
And finally, she uses metaphors and symbolism to convey deeper meanings in her songs. Whether it’s using weather imagery to represent emotional turmoil or using fairy tale motifs to explore themes of love and loss, she adds layers of depth and complexity to her storytelling.
Let’s Not Forget – The Easter Eggs
Taylor Swift often weaves continuity and easter eggs throughout her music, creating a cohesive narrative across multiple albums. She “codes” in references to past songs, people, characters, events, and themes, thus rewarding longtime fans who pay close attention to her lyrics. This extreme attention to detail adds richness to her storytelling and encourages fans to engage with her music on a deeper level from each album to the next.
Here’s an relatively in-depth article on some of the bigger and more noticable easter-egging from her past.
This doesn’t at all include all the newest hidden messages waiting to be decoded in The Tortured Poets Department.
Truly, hours if not days could be spent looking into every easter egg from every song ever written by Swift. We recommend a good Youtube rabbit-hole on this (*just realizes now why they’re called easter eggs*).
Popular psychology confirms this is genius: did you know that the more you make connections between ideas, the more you visualize those ideas, and the more time you spend thinking about those ideas, the more you will remember those ideas as long-term memories.
Swift Knows Business All Too Well
Taylor Swift is not only a talented artist but also a savvy businesswoman. She’s negotiated groundbreaking deals with streaming services, retained control of her master recordings, and reinvented her brand and business again and again. Here’s how:
Her Re-recordings
This isn’t just about Scooter Braun, it’s about paying the artist. Did you know that the owner of the master copies of any song gets paid more than the artist themselves?
In the diagram below you can see Spotify’s payout structure. In 99.9% of cases, the record label is the one who earns most of the profits from streaming.
By rerecording her albums, Taylor Swift has made herself the master owner of these songs. The lore attached to Scooter Braun effectively galvanized her audience into supporting her new tracks over her previous records – thus making them all hugely anticipated by her fans with ever re-release. Swift has absolutely mastered the art of reinventing herself, also highlighting the power of evergreen content.
Monetize Every Era in Every Way
Her tours, her physical albums, and her streaming platforms – meticulous attention has been paid to each profitable avenue. No two experiences will ever be the same.
Did you know that Taylor Swift has released three albums since her eras tour began – effectively changing the setlist with each release.
And each album has a completely different experience depending on the medium. For example, fans began noticing TTPD lyric differences when turning on Dolby Atmos on Apple Music that didn’t exist on any other platform.
With her TTPD album releases – CDs and vinyl – Swift signed many of these making them highly desirable golden-ticket-like commodities. The CD version contains a poem written by Stevie Nicks for Taylor Swift; and, the vinyl version comes in two colour variants. These little details make it enticing enough for fans to buy multiple version of the same album. GENIUS.
It’s Time To Go (In Conclusion)
We said it once, we’ll say it again. If you are a marketing professional you have to admire her success from a professional standpoint. Stacked up again the marketing funnel, we could map out the meticulous detail dedicated to every phase of the buyers journey. From how she builds awareness and interest with teasers, coding, easter eggs, and staying relevant in the media; to delivering music that is so entertaining that we purchase multiple versions of the SAME album; to the way the cycle repeats itself forever & always.
Shortly after writing this article, Taylor Swift became the first billionaire ever to make profit off of music alone. So even if this article didn’t convince you she deserves a lot of credit, the numbers will speak for themselves.
Artist. Business woman. Marketing genius.
