A shrewdly strategic musician, taylor swift has always understood the value of building an audience. From the moment she won a Nashville talent contest at age 12, her keen sense of how to market herself and her music helped her build one of the most successful careers in pop history. She’s also proven herself to be a talented songwriter with songs that have become household names.
At the height of her Fearless era, Taylor began writing for other artists and even wrote 2 tracks for Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana movie soundtrack – “Crazier” and “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home”. She continued to write songs in the same vein on the subsequent album, “Speak Now”, including the hit “Fearless”, which was featured in the opening credits for the film of the same name.
On her sixth studio album, “Reputation” Taylor pushed herself to explore more nuanced relationship issues – a move that paid off. The record went to number one on the Billboard 200, stayed there for eight non-consecutive weeks and was a huge commercial success. It spawned several hit singles including “Look What You Made Me Do”, “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space”.
In 2020, Swift turned down the romance for her albums evermore and folklore – ruminative, lo-fi releases that showcased her adeptness at switching genres. Both albums were released during the COVID-19 pandemic and received critical acclaim, with the latter reaching #1 on the US Billboard 200.
When Taylor decided to re-release her first 6 albums, she created an entirely new format and re-titled them to “Taylor Swift”. She paired them with 6 never before released songs to create a deluxe version of each album that topped the charts. This effort solidified her position as the biggest selling artist of all time.
With her release of the album, Taylor Swift made a statement that she would be taking control of her own music. She collaborated with a wide range of artists on the project, including Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner (from The National) and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The result was an incredibly personal and imaginative album that found Taylor pushing herself to the limits of her creative capabilities.
In the years since, she’s remained one of the most popular artists in the world, both as an entertainer and as an activist for gender equality. She’s used her platform to advocate for women’s rights, donate money to charities and organizations around the globe and speak out against discrimination and racism. Her ability to take on these challenges and succeed has been awe inspiring to many fans. She has a knack for connecting with her audiences and making them feel like they’re part of her world. This is what has fueled her success and allowed her to remain relevant over the years.
