Content Creation, Influence, and Disruption: Taylor’s Version
Taylor Swift is a household name. Love it or hate it, she is here to stay. As she’s evolved her style of content creation (aka, music) she put down her guitar, picked up her signature red lipstick, and changed the music business for all. Beyond the electropop musical shift from country, she’s gone from the passenger princess seat in business to the driver, mechanic, and lead designer. She is reinventing the wheel in her red lips and red-souled boots, pumps, and flats.
She played the game for about a decade and then changed the rules — and she’s not even approaching halftime. Read on to learn more about what companies can learn from Taylor’s success.
Fearless Content Creator
Taylor Swift has always been intentional about her brand – every Tweet and Instagram post perfectly Taylor – kittens, footballs, and all. The common theme is authenticity. Content creation isn’t easy, especially when it feels like a job. However, it never appears that way with her approach to accessing her fans.
Beyond cultivating a relatable and authentic persona, she has maintained some level of privacy over her personal life — something trendy musicians forsake in the name of being, well, trendy.
Taylor has built a loyal fan base by being authentic. She has carefully established herself as a respected and influential figure in an industry not known for being respectful or friendly towards female artists.
Taylor’s Version
If you’re unfamiliar with Scooter Braun, he became the owner of her master recordings when he acquired her former label. His scrupulous and unethical approach to ownership led her to re-recording her first six albums to regain full artistic ownership. The songs she owns have been approprietly renamed with (Taylor’s Version) after the title. Royalties go to Taylor, as they should. She can perform them as she wishes, as she should. This is the more difficult way around saying, “She licked it, it’s hers,” and rightfully so.
She’s certainly not the problem of the music industry — she’s the mastermind.
You’re Being Too Loud
Taylor secured the record for having more number-one albums in the US Billboard charts than any woman in history, usurping Barbara Streisand. With arms full of Grammys, a male peer rushed the stage as she was giving a speech, and she took it with grace — and came back to win more Grammys the following year. She does everything with a dollop of grace and a pinch of “I see you, and raise you.”
Content creation can be difficult, but she writes all her lyrics and inspires millions of young people to be who they are by being who she is and doing it her way.
Taylor Swift’s Strategic Partnerships: A Love Story
Taylor has also been strategic in her partnerships — Keds, Diet Coke, Target, and Christian Louboutin. She collaborates with brands that align with her values and image — and are typically a household brand. This has helped her maintain a position in everyone’s vocabulary while maintaining her authenticity and credibility. And yes, it also expands her business and personal branding. Content creation doesn’t have to be on her channels when she’s aligned herself with brands and businesses that promote her and her values, too.
Swift has built a loyal fan base supporting her music and business ventures by prioritizing fan engagement and authenticity. And on and on
State of Grace: Taylor’s Style
It’s no surprise to learn that Taylor Swift gives back to people with her various philanthropic efforts. She donates to academic causes and disaster relief efforts. She’s donated over $70,000 to her hometown library, $15,000 to a fan whose mother is in a coma, and more. She doesn’t donate for the PR. She contributes from a spot of gratitude towards her roots and her fans. Without support from others, she wouldn’t be where she is today, so her motives are aligned with who she is – not who others expect her to be.
If I Were the Man
So much of Swift’s “controversey” is because she takes care of business “like a man.” She doesn’t ask for anything a man wouldn’t, but she gets pushback for shaking the boat.
Throughout this article switch the brand name from “Taylor Swift” to “United” or “Starbucks,” and it would not make sense. Companies often forsake positive PR and do what’s right for the sake of bottom lines. They work for their stockholders rather than their fans. Their “fans” (customers) scream to be seen rather than from joy and elation. Imagine a world where more companies were Taylor Swift — genuine, authentic, and aligned.
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