By Chloe Nicole Anak Joachim Ian
Whether you are a die-hard Taylor Swift fan or not, there is no denying that she is a cultural icon in the music industry.
Swift is the most successful and prominent musician of the 21st century. She is a pop icon, a businesswoman, a prolific songwriter, an advocate, and one of the most outstanding performers of all time.
The songstress has sold over 200 million records worldwide and earned the title of being the most streamed artiste on Spotify and Apple Music.
Not only that, Swift has even become a cultural figure in the world. Her ability to seamlessly change and experiment with different genres has helped her reach a wider audience.
Having begun her career as a country singer, her genres have since then ranged from pop, folk, rock, and even alternative, showing her impressive songwriting range.
She has released ten successful studio albums throughout her career, including four re-recorded versions of her older albums. Her songs have undoubtedly led her to achieve such a successful career in the music industry; however, her remarkable songwriting skills are the foundation of her success.
Her storytelling skills through her lyrics are extraordinary, with catchy melodies that resonate with millions of fans globally. She was listed as the youngest person on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time in 2015, further showcasing that she is a truly gifted songwriter. Many publications have even described Swift as a modern-day Shakespeare.
Vanessa Giang, a 22-year-old Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) student, has stated her thoughts on Swift.
“I honestly think that her name is such a household name, anyone you come across, whether they are a Swiftie or not, will know who Taylor Swift is. They don’t need to know her music or anything, but her name is powerful,” she said.
When asked how Swift has inspired and impacted her personally as a fan, she said, “I’ve always been a fan of literature, so whenever you listen or read her lyrics, it’s masterpiece after masterpiece; she inspires me emotionally to be my own person.”
In 2018, Swift switched to a new record label, Republic Records. However, in 2019, her former record label, Big Machine Records, was sold off to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. This gave Braun the rights to own all her master recordings for her first six albums. She called this situation “my worst-case scenario” in a Tumblr post.
This prompted Swift to announce that she would be re-recording her old albums to gain full ownership. Since then, she has released the re-recorded versions of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) as of today. She stated in a Tumblr post that she had tried to purchase the masters of her albums.
Still, Big Machine Records had given her an outrageous condition: if she wanted to own her albums, she would have to sign a new deal with Big Machine Records, which she deemed unacceptable.
Swift used this situation to speak out publicly and advocate for artistes’ rights to own their music, as well as touch on how important it is to own one’s work. By taking that step to re-record her albums, she could hold her masters and allow her fans to listen to her older albums without supporting Braun in any way, shape, or form. Furthermore, this issue between Swift and Braun exposed the lack of control artistes have over their own work within the music industry.
Many artistes have supported Swift during her controversy with Braun, including Halsey, Brendon Urie, Selena Gomez, and the band Haim, among many others.
“Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott’s hands and not my future. And hopefully, young artistes or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make,” said Swift in her Tumblr post.
In addition to Swift’s advocacy for artistes’ rights within the music industry, there is no doubt that her impact on the industry goes far beyond her business savviness and advocacies. Her impact in the music industry also stems from her talent as a performer.
After years of anticipation, fans worldwide were ecstatic when she announced that she would go on tour again after a long hiatus. The Eras Tour is Swift’s ongoing concert tour, and it is essentially a journey throughout her entire musical career.
With unparalleled ticket sales and a surge in economic impact, the Eras Tour is the highest-grossing tour of all time, with each show being over three hours long.
On October 13 this year, the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film was released worldwide, breaking box office records. Publications and critics all over have called the Eras Tour a cultural phenomenon. Fans have even started a new tradition of trading friendship bracelets with each other at the Eras Tour inspired by her song “You’re on your own, kid”.
“She started the tradition of exchanging friendship bracelets among friends, her fans, and anyone honestly, and that has been a good way to communicate and connect with people of all ages. That’s her impact as an artiste,” said Vanessa.
There is no doubt that Swift’s fan base is a tight-knit community. There are many reasons why people would feel a sense of devotion to a celebrity. In the case of Swift, she has a solid emotional bond with her fans.
Her songs are often so relatable that her fans can connect with them and relate to them on a deeper level. Other than that, there are a lot of fans who grew up alongside Swift from the beginning of her debut era up until the present.
When people were having relationship and friendship problems or even entering adulthood, Swift was also going through the same things and writing songs about all those things, which so many people could relate to.
“She’s not just a singer-songwriter; she’s also someone’s big sister. For whoever feels alone. People can connect through her songs, through her as a person and with her work and her masterpieces, she can bring forth a community that is so strong that these bonds will last for ages,” said Vanessa.
Swift has indefinitely left a significant impact on the music industry. From unforgettable three-hour-long concerts to record-breaking ticket sales, her fearlessness in advocating for artistes’ rights in the industry and her strong bond and connection with her fans have shown how much of a cultural icon she is in the music industry.
• This article was written by a student from the Strategic Communication Programme at the Faculty of Education, Language and Communication, UNIMAS.
