Dear Student Reader, do you ever stop and think about how she’s managed it? America’s Sweetheart has blazed a star-spangled trail across the globe, carving her name into the musical Hall of Fame for evermore. But it’s not only the music industry that Taylor Swift has dominated; she now seemingly reigns over political, economic, and sporting domains too. Her kingdom is expanding and we’re sitting here wondering how her castles haven’t crumbled.
In the past month, the name ‘Taylor Swift’ has been repeatedly splashed across international headlines, whether urging her fans via Instagram to vote in the 2024 US presidential election, boosting the Japanese economy by £179 million with her Eras Tour, or increasing NFL ratings and influencing the USA’s most popular sporting event: the Super Bowl. Even London’s V&A Museum is recruiting a Taylor Swift superfan to help inform future exhibitions. At this point, it seems she should be promoted from ‘Miss Americana’ to ‘Miss Universe’. But how has one woman single handedly attained global domination? Or was it all by design?
Much of the artist’s success hinges on the image she presents to the public, an image carefully curated and tailored by a behind-the-scenes team. Ever since Swift’s career as a rising young country star got underway, she has been branded by her girl-next-door authenticity, which she, in turn, has used to establish the foundation of her cosmic empire. Despite being “raised up and down the flagpole of public opinion so many times”, as Swift herself stated in an interview with Time Magazine, one thing has remained constant: her relatability.
Publicly flouting the unattainable standards set for women by the media, Taylor Swift has presented herself as an ‘imperfect’ being. By opening up about her relationships with food and her body in a raw and surprisingly self-empowering 3-minute snippet of her documentary, ‘Miss Americana’, the artist teaches her audience that insecurities are natural, and imperfections don’t make you flawed.
However, her musical success cannot be explained by her role-model persona alone. Having racked up 14 Grammys in her career, we should hope that Taylor Swift’s music is not a mishmash of tired clichés, nor should we wish her songs to be jam-packed with flashy, highbrow jargon in some shoddy attempt to be unique. Instead, she lays claim to a discography that tells a story – her story, of course – but one that is also infused with elements of nostalgia and familiarity, which let the listener share in the experience. Through her music, she manages to forge an interpersonal bond, an invisible string if you will, connecting herself to her audience. To them, she seems to be more easily accessible. It’s not like listening to some untouchable superstar on the radio, but instead feels more like a phone call with a best friend. Keeping this in mind, it’s no wonder friendship bracelets have become the emblem of the Eras Tour.
So, if we assume that relatability and accessibility are the two pillars without which the Taylor Swift brand would implode, can we really say that it is sustainable? As the singer achieves more fame and her wealth skyrockets, she is pushed further away from the fanbase that considers her a friend, pulling the string taut and causing it to fray.
Should we be anticipating the imminent collapse of Taylor Swift and her personal brand? We’ll have to wait and see. Until then, she’ll continue on her star-spangled trail and make the whole place shimmer.
Image Credits: “Taylor Swift” by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity Photographer is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
