Why Taylor Swift Is The Music Industry
By Amanda Gage
I think it is safe to say that everyone is ready for 2020 to end. Despite having high expectations for the new decade, the whole world seemed to crumble at the hands of the pandemic, wildfires, social injustices, etc. However, when all hope for humanity seemed to be lost, Taylor Swift kept us afloat by releasing her album Folklore in July. In a time when my emotions were running wild and my sanity was declining rapidly, Swift somehow managed to capture all of our feelings through her powerful storytelling in this album. And, when we thought we wouldn’t be able to recover from this masterpiece, Taylor presented us with Evermore to celebrate her 31st birthday, a sister album to Folklore. These two albums are something we have never seen before from Taylor Swift, or any artist. Just like every Swift era, she proves that she is unlike any other singer or songwriter and capable of producing music of any and all genres.
Photo: New Yorker
It makes me laugh when I think about myself in sixth grade. As a devoted Harry Styles fan, I was outraged that Taylor had stolen my man. What else would you expect from an immature twelve year old, tainted with internalized misogyny. Now, as a nineteen year old college student, I have left these attitudes behind and have joined the rest of the population in their deep love for Taylor Swift. There may be some people who claim to dislike her and her music, but it’s 2020. It’s no longer cool to pretend to hate Taylor Swift because she has singlehandedly built the modern day music industry.
Photo: The Globe and Mail
This is not an exaggeration. Swift began her career as a simplistic country girl, taking country music mainstream, being one of the few country artists to win Grammy’s and VMA’s. Then, she proved she could flawlessly make pop music after releasing 1989, one of the most iconic albums in pop culture, and followed with two beautiful records Reputation and Lover. Now, she is demonstrating her ability to create folk-inspired music with her two latest albums. In the Netflix documentary Miss Americana, Swift explains that female artists constantly need to improve and create new versions of themselves to keep audiences interested. Though this sheds light on sexism within the industry, we will save that topic for another article, but I think it is safe to say she has accomplished this phenomenon.
Photos (left to right): Pop Crush, Pop Sugar, Vanity Fair
Taylor Swift is one of the only artists to rebuild herself and her music multiple times over her career without losing her identity and what makes her music stand out from the rest. Throughout all her different eras, she has consistently provided lyrical complexity and in-depth storytelling to capture audiences from all over the world, regardless of the genre, because her music speaks to everyone.
We owe everything to Miss Taylor Swift. She has provided us with so many anthems that make all of us break out into a dance party. Some people will try to say these songs are cheesy, but let’s stop pretending that we don’t all become choreographers when Shake it Off comes on shuffle. Taylor Swift single handedly wrote our Instagram captions and bios for our shameful middle school profiles. Don’t act like your bio didn’t say, “darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream” in seventh grade from the hit song Blank Space. She also seems to perfectly put the emotions we find difficult to express into song lyrics. Whether it’s giving us the breakup anthem we need to get through heartbreak or a song about the beauty of falling for the person of our dreams, she has mastered the concept of the love song. Despite being painfully single for the past nineteen years, I am still inspired to have a relationship that generates the same emotions Taylor Swift poured into All Too Well.
Our generation has grown up with Taylor Swift, and through each major turning point in my life, there always has been a Taylor Swift song that has captured my feelings at that very moment. When I am going through hardship or need a pick-me-up, there is always a song for me to listen to. There is also a unique, intimate connection with every listener and Swift because we seem to go through it all together. Her artistry, attention to detail, hard work and storytelling has set her apart from anyone else in the industry. Taylor Swift has no boundaries nor limits. She doesn’t meet music standards, but rather, she has set the standards. She has quite literally built the music industry we all know and love.
Photo: The Fader
