Why Taylor Swift Is A Business Genius

Taylor Swift has been called many a thing in her time, but one of the less frequently heard is business woman. While it is widely known that musicians (as well as actors and models etc) have to market themselves rather then a product, Tay Tay once again outdoes her peers. One month on from the release of her 6th studio album, reputation, let's take a look at the business savvy that has lead to her continued success.

1. Stay on Brand

The old Taylor is dead? I don’t think so - Brand Swift is totally alive and kicking. At the heart of it all is the music, and the music is all about the heart. The issue is that Taylor, and her original audience, are growing up and she can no longer write about schoolgirl crushes and young love – she now writes about a mature type of love; admitting that she makes mistakes too, and that love isn’t a rollercoaster rush, but just someone telling you you’re there best friend.

2. Reinvent yourself… But not too much

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Each of Taylor’s albums represents a new era – Red was the 50’s, 1989 the 80’s, reputation is definitely the now. For each album she has a new haircut, a new dress sense, and a new tone to her music. Each reinvention gets her back into the headlines, grabs her new fans, and keeps the old ones mesmerised. But she doesn’t go overboard – all the changes are very superficial; her music at its core is very much the same, as is Taylor the person. Her astute lyrics still allow you to voice feelings you couldn’t even understand, while her catchy beats keep the songs stuck in your head all day. And you can guarantee that any album release is followed by a flurry of articles breaking down the messages in the songs.

3. Not All Publicity is Good Publicity

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Taylor Swift is pretty good at staying out of the limelight. Don’t laugh, just hear me out. Yes, she gets into the tabloids for her various relationships, but it’s hard to think of many ‘dramas’ she’s involved in, other than her Bad Blood with Katy Perry or Kanye West (I mean, that was 2009 guys). When she responds to gossip it’s through her music, and when you see photos of her it's on red carpets. She doesn’t really ‘do’ social media – you don't see a mountain of insta selfies or tweets of her every thought, she only uses it as a promotional platform.

4. Know Your Customers

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Taylor knows how hardcore her fans are, and rewards them for it. She hosts album parties, for which she invites a group of diehard Swifties to her home to chill with her and listen to the album a month before its release. She’s also stuck to communicating with them through very special channels – I mean who has tumblr anymore?! But she’ll go through and like what people have posted, often to confirm a fan theory, but other times just to make someone smile (or #die). Apparently she’s also soon to be bringing out her very own app, ‘The Swift Life’, where you can, amongst other things, share things directly with Taylor!

5. Know Your USP

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Taylor knows that what her original USP (unique selling point) was is her dorkiness. She played it up in her ‘You Belong With Me’ music video,

by dressing up as Chewbacca for Halloween, and performing the “Ew!” skit with Jimmy Fallon. More than that though, she comes across as 100% the girl you want to be besties with. She bakes, she dances awkwardly, she seems to be always laughing, she has the same best friend as she had when she was 15, she’s not afraid to mock herself… and it all feels genuine, not a character she’s playing.

6. Don't Follow the Rules

If there is a rulebook for success, Taylor sure isn’t following it. Just look at the last year; she seemingly vanished off the face of the earth, her fans left disappointed after the expected new album didn’t drop in October 2016, then a out of the blue total wipe of Instagram. Then the release of reputation was anything but standard; songs and videos were released all over the place, with something new practically every week for Swifties to #die about.