by Hrefna Helgadóttir 09 Nov 2017
What was the 1989 strategy? In short:
THIS GIRL WHO WAS AFRAID OF A SPIDER ON HER LOVE STORY DRESS IS MAKING MUSIC VIDEOS WITH CGI SNAKES I LOVE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
— anu | 01 (@shadesofslaylor) August 23, 2017
For various reasons, it doesn't really make sense to keep up this image of cutsey perfection any longer. Why? "'cause she's dead!" (lol-jk). But actually because:
Oh, and it seems a tad disingenuous when she is influential enough to have Apple reverse a policy because of her in less than 24 hours, she can charge her assaulter a symbolic $1 via court rooms, and is worth $280 in self-made millions.
The reality in which a starry-eyed blondie can unironically sing "Romeo, Save Me" in a periodic gown and even the one who tells her peers to "Shake It Off" when the haters knock, is no longer hers. It's not just a couple of BFFs flipping through each others diaries anymore – she has been met with the full force of a spotlight strong enough to shave off Britney's hair and triggering a many ah-meltdowns à la a-listers.
To stay true to her ethos as a songwriter, writing authentically about her experiences, her latest work needs to reflect her reality that is darker but also more glamorous and powerful than a teenage heartbreak.
She still writes about heartbreak. Swift had already criticised 'take down' culture online and in the media, before she experienced a particularly cruel one last year.
This time it's not some actor who shatters her heart, it's the media cycle itself that she chronicles as crushing her whole.
And it's not just her music that's pointed, not everybody gets to play along. In this game of destruction, the entire strategy purposefully excludes those who don't play nice (or by her rules). After all, there's nothing she does better than revenge.
When you have 80 million fans per social network, you don't need to dance for the press –– as one Beyoncé Knowles proved –– you'll get press anyway.
So those are the obvious broad strokes, but Swift seems subtly tuned to things that only become noticeable when she's done it, first.
None of her four lead singles have been as big as singles from her past, but speculations seems to indicate that this was a good move in terms of making sure her album sells loads.
Is it because people move quicker through music now? Is it because she wanted to dominate streaming charts with multiple entries? Who knows, but Look What You Made Me Do didn't last very long at the top and wasn't very radio friendly – yet shattered at least 8 records on the day of release including YouTube and Spotify streaming records. Or is it because it sells albums?
– confirmed by a Target spokesperson in Billboard
The good thing about physical album sales? Money. It's possible to charge a higher premium for a physical product. That's it. Swift knows, and knows that an album on it's own doesn't sway, in the same way. So what does she do?
Partners up with Target (massive distribution across the US) and creates a physical product her fans (the actual people actually listening) want. Like really want.
This materialised as this magazine which seems irresistible to a Swiftie. But she didn't make one, she made two. Each comes with a CD. She's basically sold two physical CDs now, per fan. That's leaving out the digital version (which many might buy as well, counting three sold copies per fan).
– Jemima Skelley, a professional Swiftie (as far as we can tell)
It's hard to say anything concrete about TS Tix until, you know, tickets go on sale. But initial impressions: fans seem excited, and music media people sceptical. But then again, what else is new?
In all fairness, the biggest criticism is that it's a pay-to-play. Although who are we to argue with a $10 for the album plus $80 for the ticket versus $300 on a secondary ticket sales website...
– Jeff Rabhan, chair of the Clive Davis Institute
of Recorded Music at New York University in Billboard
"Make The Joke First, And Make It Funnier"
– Taylor Swift