Taylor Swift by

The Beginning of Taylor Swift's career

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:55:29 UTC

Swift signed to her first record label in 2004 with Sony at the age of 14 making her the "youngest signing in the company's history" (Avey, 2023)

Debut: Taylor Swift

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:57:15 UTC

Her debut self titled album was released in 2006 when she was only 16, with 5 singles including "Tim McGraw" and "Picture to Burn" in the top 100 for Billboard (2023) for 20 weeks.

This album solidifies Swift's original star image of the authentic country music star, adhering with the way she writes her own music, is mostly accompanied by her guitar and writes stories through her music about characters creating the storytelling aspect of country music.

Fearless

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:57:29 UTC

In 2008 she released her second album which became "the longest Billboard chart topper by a female country artist" (Avey, 2023). It held number 1 for 11 weeks (Billboard, 2023)

Speak Now

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:57:36 UTC

The singers third album was released in 2011, her first entirely self written album which was more experimental in the pop rock genre rather than country.

This genre shift disputes the representation of Swift being an innocent since the songs discuss her mistakes in her life. She is still crafting her representation as a victim however she is still trying to get rid of the innocence that came with her past two albums.

Red

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:57:42 UTC

Her 4th studio album 'Red' was another experimental album, Swift is progressing more into her pop genre.

The progression into the pop is shifting her star image to the more gritty and less innocent - songs like 'I knew you were trouble' create a sense of maturity to her music.

1989

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:57:52 UTC

Through the release of 1989 in 2014 swift changes her star image to that of the Zany popstar

Reputation

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:58:00 UTC

The 2017 album completed rebranded Swift and her star image to further curate her to be a bad girl who has done wrong - completely flipping her initial wholesome narrative.

This was done because of the backlash Swift was facing throughout her media representation and so she disappeared from the internet and reconstructed the narrative to make the media the villain and herself once again, the victim.

Lover

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:58:08 UTC

'Lover' 2019 played into themes of LGBTQ+ and self acceptance in which Swift is an advocate for, however, has not confirmed if she herself is part of the community. Swift pledging this ally ship to the LGBTQ+ community positions her in the centre of the community and means she is held on a pedestal to set an example to the rest of the world as an ally. This could be her personal beliefs - which I hope and believe they are. However, it is likely this was carefully constructed as a tactical move to appeal to a larger community - since Swift was already big in the LGBTQ+ community this shift in her star identity has solidified this and allowed for an expansion in her fans further into the community.

Midnights

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:58:29 UTC

The 10th album release 'Midnights', 2022 was designed to be tracks from midnights all throughout Swift's eras - which allowed for her fans to decode the songs as to which era each song was from. This album switched back to the more pop based music style which in turn promotes the zany star image as well as again perpetuating Swift's victim complex since a lot of the albums are telling stories about how she was broken up with because she wanted to get married.

'Anti-Hero' also tapped back into her self reflection work from her 'Reputation' era, playfully reminded her audience that she is the problem but at the same time making them feel sorry for her since she is so self aware.

The Eras

201461316 — 2023-10-06 14:58:43 UTC

Taylor Swift has 10 albums in which her and her fans refer to as "the Eras" this is due to each album having a significantly different sound equating to Swift's journey through her career.

2009 VMAs

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:00:04 UTC

After Fearless she went on to win the award for Best Female Video for "Love Story" in the 2009 VMAs in which Kanye West interrupted and stole her spotlight to say he thought Beyoncé's video for 'Single Ladies' was better. This created a huge rift between the artists.

Forgot About Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun’s Drama? Allow Me to Refresh Your Memory

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:00:12 UTC

The feud between Taylor Swift and celebrity manager Scooter Braun has been a significant catalyst to Swift's star image.

In 2019 when Swift left Big Machine Records, Braun took ownership of Swift's entire catalogue of music. So Swift has since been re-recording her past albums and releasing them as (Taylor's Version) in order to claim back what is hers.

This article is aiding in Swift's victim narrative and portraying her as the artist who was wronged and is claiming back what was rightfully hers. I don't disagree with this as a representation, however, I am aware of how this narrative assist's Swift's representation of herself as being a woman scorned rising above the difficulties.

Bonner, Bowenbank and Olson 2023

Hannah Montana

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:00:32 UTC

Taylor Swift featured as a performer in the Hannah Montana Movie - 2009 playing 'Crazier' a song she wrote for the movie as well as writing 'You'll always find your way back home' for Miley Cyrus in the movie. (Spotify, 2023)

The film used Swift to increase marketing and likewise Swift used the film to increase her audience.

Valentines Day

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:00:38 UTC

In 2010 Swift made her official acting Debut in Valentines Day where she played the girlfriend of Taylor Lautner, sparking rumours of their involvement.

Cats

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:07:42 UTC

Swift also wrote an original song for the film. This enhances Swift's appearance in the film as not only is she performing a song she is also creating for the film - giving her involvement a deeper connection to the film. This boosts the film's impact since now Swift's fans have more reason to watch and stream the soundtrack to the film.

Picture To Burn

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:15:28 UTC

This iconic track off of her self titled album had a controversial lyric which Swift did later change, which many would find homophobic. The lyric read "that's fine I'll tell mine you're gay" referring to a breakup.

Taylor's Version

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:16:25 UTC

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)

201461316 — 2023-10-06 15:16:52 UTC

Taylor Swift says 10-minute version of 'All Too Well' is the original version she wrote at 21 - Robinson 2021

This article is discussing an interview where Swift discusses how she wrote the 'fan favourite' track of Red (Taylor's Version) in which she states that she wrote it very spontaneously and it could have never been recorded.

This constructs Swift as a very down to earth and quite humble as she is expressing that it was a very spontaneous writing that was performed during a writing exercise whilst she was on tour. This projects to her fans that she is relatable and 'only human' which is a good way of marketing her persona.

This track from 'Red (Taylor's Version)'

Joe Jonas

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:04:37 UTC

Fearless featured songs referring to her relationship with Pop Star Joe Jonas, for example, 'Mr Perfectly Fine'. Gossip blogs reported that Jonas broke up with Swift over the phone.

The relationship with Jonas aligned with his own fame since his fans were falling for him at the same time as Swift - it made Swift a more relatable star especially since a lot of her Debut album tracks were love songs about him.

Since social media hadn't boomed during their short lived relationship, the reporting of the relationship was through gossip columns and is still being reported in magazines and speculated online in TikToks since the rerelease of 'Fearless'.

Taylor Lautner

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:04:49 UTC

On the contrary, Swift's breakup with Lautner resulted in 'Back to December' which was a reminiscent and mournful song in which she is regretful of how she ended the relationship and wishes she could go back to December and not break up with him.

The two's relationship was speculated during the filming and release of their film 'Valentine's Day' before being picked up by gossip columns.

John Mayer

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:04:58 UTC

Possibly the messiest breakup song since her career began, 'Dear John' was a direct call out to ex John Mayer for breaking her heart when she was at such a young age. This sparked controversy as Swift was only 19 at the time she was dating the then 32 year old singer.

Again the controversial relationship was reported on gossip columns and still is a huge topic of discourse on TikTok which is promoted by the rereleases.

Jake Gyllenhaal

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:05:09 UTC

One of Swift's relationships during this era was Jake Gyllenhaal, another big star but from a different industry. This relationship could have been publicity to boost both parties careers. However regardless, the way Swift portray's Gyllenhaal in her songs reinforces again the victim complex and creates a divide in the general public for those on Swift's side and those on Gyllenhaal's.

This relationship had a huge resurgence in gossip once the rerecording of 'Red' was released due to 'All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (From the Vault) (Taylor's Version)' and the short film that was released with it, with online audiences obsessing over whether the song was about Gyllenhaal and all of the iconography surrounding that.

Harry Styles

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:05:21 UTC

This relationship was a massive PR stunt to promote both Swift and Styles' career - Swift even released a song on 1989 called 'Style' which fans have theorised is about Styles. Again this relationship created a huge divide when they broke up especially since Styles' star image is just as big as Swift's, their fanbases cross over quite a lot and so fans struggled with picking their side in the breakup.

There has recently been a big backlash on this relationship further since the recent release of '1989 (Taylor's Version)' in which her 'Vault Tracks' seemed to include a lot of slander speculating to be about Styles, fans have taken to TikTok shocked about this with some relating to the lyrics and others poking fun at Styles by interpreting his reaction (which we have not seen).

Tom Hiddleston

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:05:30 UTC

Another publicity relationship was Tom Hiddleston, prompting songs like 'Getaway Car' Swift portrays this relationship essentially as a rebound in which she ended up cheating on him. This portrays Swift in a negative light but also creates sympathy from her fans since she is constructing her star image to play the victim even when she is in the wrong. Again this relationship was broadcast on gossip columns and never confirmed by the artist.

Joe Alwyn

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:05:38 UTC

Joe Alwyn is Taylor Swift's longest relationship - spanning 7 years. Alwyn is one of the relationships that I don't believe is PR since it was very much under the radar for the whole 7 years and the two were quite discreet.

When rumours of their breakup sparked in the Midnights era once Swift had started touring which then created a divide as to who was on Alwyn's side and who was on Swift's side. This again meant that Swift was trying to portray herself as the victim, with fans now interpreting new meanings to her songs to make her the victim - enforcing her star image once again.

The Eras Tour

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:05:51 UTC

The Midnights album release prompted a tour from Swift and so was born 'The Eras Tour' a three hour set in which Swift takes the audience through all 10 of her Eras including 10 different costume changes and sets.

The tour was revolutionary for Swift as she had never done something like this before - but she decided this would be the best way to come back from touring after the pandemic since she not only had one album to promote, but three (four if you include the limited 'Lover' tour pre-pandemic). This relates to her authentic star image since she portrays this decision to be all about the fans - even though Swift is the one profiting off of the tour.

Matty Healy

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:05:59 UTC

The rumours of Swift and Healy dating circulated in 2023 prior to the announcement of '1989 (Taylor's Version)'. This rumour was clearly PR to relate to the publicity stunt pulled in 2014 by both Swift and Healy (referenced in the 1989 portion of my project) where both parties wore each other's album merch in order to promote releases.

This stunt however, backfired, with Swift fans calling for the two to break up due to Healy's controversial activities and past. The cross promotion reference was not realised by fans the way that Swift wanted - since this was clearly an 'easter egg' set up by Swift to tease the announcement of the era's 'Taylor's Version', with only a few hardcore fans making the connection.

A lot of the publicity surrounding this controversy was picked up by gossip columns and a lot of it was spread due to fans of Swift making TikToks publicly declaring their dissatisfaction towards the rumoured couple.

Travis Kelce

201461316 — 2023-10-06 16:06:08 UTC

Taylor Swift's most latest beau is NFL player Travis Kelce. The couple have made a lot of very public outings suggesting that the relationship could be for PR purposes, however, a lot of her fans are hoping it is the real deal. Swift has been spotted at several NFL games and is making her way into being a common name in sports journalism. This is making its way into mainstream media outlets as well as gossip columns and fan discourse on social media such as TikTok.

8 Ways Taylor Swift Has Changed the Music Business

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:01:10 UTC

This article lists the ways Taylor Swift has shifted the music business as a whole however it portray's Swift's achievements and tactics in a positive and celebratory light. I would slightly disagree with this outlook since in a critical light, Swift has done all of these things to improve her star image and prosper economically as well as culturally - especially when relating to her 'across consumption metrics' as stated in the article, Swift repeatedly releases new presses of her vinyl and cd's in order to create more demand and sell more by marketing them as limited edition or collectors edition which I believe is slightly taking advantage of her fanbase.

Schneider 2023

Taylor Swift Is The 21st Century's Most Disorienting Pop Star

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:02:44 UTC

This article is describing Swift's writing style and how she was being compared to hip-hop artists when her album Reputation came out. Essentially this article is a sum up of Swift's ever changing music style - her writing has gone from being one of the top country writers to her fans saying she should win the best female hip-hop artist in 2017.

Donnella 2018

How did Taylor Swift get so popular? She never goes out of style

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:04:56 UTC

This article is praising Swift for being so popular and celebrating her achievements, Pattinson writes that in relation to Swift's constant change in image is due to the pressure on women in the industry with Swift stating in her Netflix Documentary Miss Americana, "The female artists I know of have to remake themselves like 20 times more than the male artists, or you’re out of a job." this again seems to create a victim complex around Swift since she is attempting to portray how difficult it is for women in the industry - she has a valid point, however it is clear it is a tactical move to align her star image once again.

Pattinson 2023

Commodifying participation through choreographed engagement: the Taylor Swift case

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:12:39 UTC

This article goes into depth about the marketing surrounding the release of 'Reputation'. The marketing began with Swift removing every post on her instagram and then posting a video of a snake slithering. This created conversation in the fanbase and in the traditional media.

The article states the "release of 'Reputation' is an example of a transmedia marketing strategy utilising what we call choreographed engagement" which is essentially describing marketing in which the fanbase is at the heart and actively creates buzz for the album. Examples such as hashtags for the album and encouraging fans to post their reactions to music videos with hope of being reposted as well as the 13 newspaper covered phone boxes around London that fans were encouraged to find and leave a message with the hope of Swift phoning them back. This essentially means the fans did the marketing and promotion for the album for them. Meaning it was more cost effective and created more of a buzz within the fandom.

Bengtsson and Edlom 2022

Taylor Made: Swift Branding

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:13:01 UTC

This article goes through Swifts whole catalogue of music and described how her branding and star image has changed throughout her career. It supports my analysis of her star image and when it has changed from being an innocent, wholesome country singer to a zany and hardworking popstar.

Allan, D. (2019)

Taylor Swift: the hardest working zaniest girl in show business

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:22:48 UTC

This article describes Swift's star image as 'zany' relating to her breakthrough into pop music with the release of 1989, her star image has changed to commercialise off of the genre change. The article references her 'Shake it off' music video and her dispute with Apple Music to then go on and do adverts for them where in both she is portraying a comical clumsy character in order to relate to the audience and convince them that she is hardworking and doesn't fit into the labels that most pop-stars do.

Wilkinson (2019)

Campaign Problems how fans react to Taylor Swift's Controversial Political Awakening

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:23:04 UTC

This article discusses when Swift 'came out' with her political stance on social media. Since a lot of celebrities don't speak very often on their political ideologies this put Swift in a position to be labeled as a CP (Celebrity Politician). This sparked some controversy in which some thought it was a strategy to alter her star image further towards the career-driven woman but others praised her for this and spoke out that other celebrities should be doing the same.

One point that stood out to me was that a group of people had labeled Swift "their “Aryan pop princess” due to her all-white, heterosexual, girl- next-door image" since she had not confirmed her political beliefs. This leads me to believe that this was in fact a tactical move to ensure that she did not get pigeoned holed into the republic country singer image. However, it was stated in the Miss Americana documentary (2020) that Swift's management and publicity team were against her publishing a statement since she would inevitably lose her republic audience that she would have obviously gained as a country singer so it could have been a personal move rather than a strategic one.

Driessen 2022

Look what you made them do understanding fans affective responses to Taylor Swift s political coming-out

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:23:17 UTC

This article discusses Swift's political coming out but in a way that centres around her fans activity. It states that regarding her star image - theoretically, fans should not enjoy a stars image and self presentation changing as much as Swift's does but in practice the fans are excited for it.

The article states that "Swift’s celebrity-text is continuously altered and carefully reconstructed when a new album is released." (Driessen, 2022, p93) referring to her ever changing star image and goes on to say these changes have become part of her star image, "foregrounding qualities such as resilience and adaptability, which are also discussed in her song writing on heartbreak or being an outsider" (Driessen, 2022, p93). There is also an emphasis on her authenticity which can be seen throughout her career.

Driessen, 2022

I Don't Give a Damn About Your Bad Reputation: Taylor Swift, Beyonce Knowles, and Performance

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:23:39 UTC

This article is assessing the performance during Swift's 'Reputation' tour as well as how real the performance in the tour's film was. This links to star image since it is discussing how Swift presents herself 'live' and how the majority of her star image is a performance. It talks of how the tour is constructed to present a narrative of "a success story meant to argue that a young woman can achieve a level of financial success, stardom, and control previously known only to men" (Arnold, 2021, p29). However, clearly this narrative is constructed and as this article perceives it and the performance, fake.

"Swift’s tightly choreographed Reputation tour is a perfect rep- resentation of her art. It melds together her persona, best-known music, and most importantly, her vision of herself, and it is a carefully presented showcase of all that she thinks is best about her art" (Arnold, 2021, p31) I found this quote interesting since it represents Swift in a very manipulative way that she is almost trying to deceive her fans - which I don't believe is the case. I believe Swift is using this to further construct her bad girl image to promote success but all the while keeping the authenticity she was first branded with.

This also applies to the Eras Tour - especially since the recording of the tour has just been released in cinemas.

Arnold, 2021

The Return to Craft: Taylor Swift, Nostalgia and Covid-19

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:23:50 UTC

This article is reviewing the 'Folklore' and 'Evermore' albums with relation to Covid-19. McGrath discusses how the albums play into nostalgia and authenticity during Covid-19 in order to create the "marketing narrative was that of an artist retreating to focused, introverted songwriting amid the lockdown turmoil" (2023, p77).

He states that the album was a "a stripped back low-key production of authenticity" (McGrath, 2023, p77) which is especially relevant since the 'Folklore' album was a surprise release that lacked marketing - this in itself was marketing in order to promote Swift's 'authenticity'.

This album was a shift back from her pop and 'hip-hop' styles previously portrayed in her albums and an attempt to reclaim her original folk roots and in turn "embracing themes of nostalgia and introspection" (McGrath, 2023, p77).

Swift introduced the album on Instagram, writing that “Picking up a pen was my way of escaping.” (McGrath, 2023, p77) this again enforced her 'authenticity' within her star image and the sister album, 'Evermore' follows in the same suit.

McGrath, 2023

TikTok, Twitter, and Platform-Specific Technocultural Discourse in Response to Taylor Swift s LGBTQ Allyship in 'You Need to Calm Down'

201461316 — 2023-10-07 17:24:02 UTC

This article discusses how Swift's 'You Need to Calm Down' was interpreted through TikTok and Twitter. It states that the song was a protest song for the LGBTQ+ society as well as a stand up to cancel culture and the way the mainstream media pit women against each other.

On Twitter, the song was received widely as it should have been - for these communities and as a protest song - this adds a layer to Swift's image of ally-ship and essentially puts her in the forefront of the LGBTQ+ movement herself even if she may not identify within that community.

However, on TikTok, it was apparent that a trend appeared utilising the sounds lyrics. This trend diminished the political meaning behind the song and in turn also contributed to cancel culture - the very thing Swift was calling out, on TikTok, "the song merely exists as a medium for the narrative format, documenting common experiences of being told, or telling another, that they are being ‘too loud’ and ‘need to calm down’." (Avdeeff, 2021, p91). This, although perhaps not what the song was intended to be for, promotes Swift and gets the song trending which in turn gets Swift more listeners.

Avdeeff, 2021

Boyfriends

201461316 — 2023-10-11 14:48:59 UTC

A big part of Taylor Swifts star identity is the gossip and publicity surrounding her potential boyfriends.

By publicly showcasing her private life and boyfriends, Swift is merging her public and private sphere and gaining a sense of authenticity with her audience and thus creating a more complex star image.

Taylor Swift as an actress

201461316 — 2023-10-11 15:05:14 UTC

It is important to note that Swift also features in several movies as well as her career as a musician, this adds to her star image however it is definitely not the main feature for her image. It portrays convergence in the celebrity industry and relates to the ideology of stars being given acting roles in order to publicise the films and create an easier marketing strategy.

Impact on the music industry

201461316 — 2023-10-11 15:11:36 UTC

The Ellen Show

201461316 — 2023-10-11 15:18:48 UTC

During this interview from 2013 Ellen DeGeneres is playing into the gossip and rumours regarding Swift's dating life, she essentially interrogates Swift and clearly makes her uncomfortable by arguing that Swift has dated multiple people that she has not, pushing the narrative that Swift has a lot of boyfriends or that she has dated everyone.

Ginny and Georgia

201461316 — 2023-10-11 15:23:01 UTC

Taylor Swift also called out Netflix tv show Ginny and Georgia on twitter for including the line "you go through men faster than Taylor Swift" which furthers the gossip Swift already endures and diminishes her writing.

I Can See You

201461316 — 2023-10-11 16:28:05 UTC

One of the Vault tracks from Speak Now (Taylors Version) that was released in July 2023 features Lautner in the music video as well as Joey King (who was in the original Mean music video) and Swift brought Lautner out at a performance at the Eras Tour showcasing how the two are on good terms.

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Taylor Swift Is Supporting Sophie Turner ‘However She Can’ Through Her Joe Jonas Divorce

201461316 — 2023-10-11 16:52:32 UTC

Taylor Swift has been seen with Sophie Turner after Turner announced her divorce with Joe Jonas. This is furthering her connection to women empowerment since she is taking Turner's side during the divorce. It also caused a lot of discussion in the media because of Swift's past involvement with Jonas' and the harsh breakup the two had.

Bailey (2023)

Why Did Taylor Swift's 'Speak Now' Re-Recording Become Her Best-Performing 'Taylor's Version' Yet?

201461316 — 2023-10-12 15:56:27 UTC

All 22 Tracks debuted in the Billboard top 100 with 'I Can See You' at No.5 with 716,000 album units making it the best performing re-recording album yet to release.

Atkinson, Dailey, Denis, Lipshutz, Unterberger 2023

All of Taylor Swift's biggest and best career moments so far

201461316 — 2023-10-12 16:09:56 UTC

Avey 2023

Taylor Swift | Biography, Music & News | Billboard

201461316 — 2023-10-12 16:10:44 UTC

2023

The Lorax

201461316 — 2023-10-12 16:12:55 UTC

Swift plays Audrey in the animated film 'The Lorax' 2012

The Giver

201461316 — 2023-10-12 16:22:08 UTC

All Too Well: The Short Film

201461316 — 2023-10-12 16:24:35 UTC

The All Too Well short film was another example of cross media convergence used to inflate Swift's reach and star image. The choice to call this a short film instead of a music video was a conscious choice to gain more attention to the film and develop Swift's star image further to the title of director as well as musician.

Red Taylors Version

201461316 — 2023-10-12 16:25:27 UTC

5 Star Identities: from Image to Persona and Publicity to Gossip

201461316 — 2023-10-12 17:02:08 UTC

Shingler discusses how stars create and maintain their image in a modern world. Swift's star image can relate to such. He states “in the age of the internet, the authenticity of star images has been ever more challenged and audiences have played a far greater role in determining them.” (Shingler, 2012, p127) which can be referred to how Swift has always tried to uphold her authenticity and essentially called out the media and the internet in her 'Reputation' era for painting her out to be the villain - creating pity for her and painting her as the victim.

“Although a star will invariably enact and maintain their established public persona when making such appearances, these do also provide some opportunity for stars to reveal (and audiences to glimpse) aspects of the ‘real person’ or, at least, they promise this opportunity even when it is seldom granted.” (Shingler, 2012, p141) This can be applied to Swift since she makes use of performance to express her 'real personality'.

Shingler, 2012

Fandom

201461316 — 2023-10-12 17:18:13 UTC

Taylor Swifts star identity is significantly reflected in her fans. Her audience and fans are a big part of who she is and she always acknowledges this in her star image.

Understanding Celebrity

201461316 — 2023-10-15 16:11:07 UTC

This chapter goes into depth about the celebrity industry and how star identity relates to brand identity. Swift creates her star identity through publicity and appearances especially with her potential boyfriends and public outings. Through this and her past of leaving easter eggs for her fans in everything she does, it conforms with the idea that stars are constantly selling their brand. For example when swift is seen on a red carpet in a black dress, fans decode this to mean that the next album rerecording is approaching for 'Reputation (Taylors Version)' the way that this is done is to constantly keep people engaged in what she is wearing and doing since everything could be a clue - it is all a publicity tactic to make her more money.

Turner, 2013

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Concert Films

201461316 — 2023-10-15 16:19:40 UTC

Concert films are a good example of Swift's cross media promotion since it ensures that her fans get to experience her live shows if they couldn't get tickets or could not afford to see her live. Swift has made an abundance of Tour and documentary style films over the years - I have used a few examples of recent ones.

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Convergence

201461316 — 2023-10-17 13:37:13 UTC

This also discusses the idea of convergence - this is evident through Swift's appearances as an actress in films, in the production of films such as her tour films and even in advertisements for other products

Women

201461316 — 2023-10-17 14:29:31 UTC

Due to the discourse surrounding Swift and her relationships with male celebrities, in recent years she has decided to change the narrative by surrounding herself with a group of women with the narrative of empowering women.

Whiteness

201461316 — 2023-10-17 14:29:36 UTC

Whiteness is a very key part of Swift's star image. From when she first began she was always portrayed as the innocent young white girl who had her heart broken and was done wrong. It also plays into the victim character that follows her throughout her career.

It is also really poignant since race is the one thing about her that she cannot control, everything else she can use as a tactic but she cannot use her race. Which is why it is such an important factor of her star image.

Bad Blood

201461316 — 2023-10-17 14:31:09 UTC

The Bad Blood music video showcases this perfectly with her 'girl group' being introduced as the confident power group of assassins which is flipping the narrative of Swift being the victim as previously noted from the 'Fearless' era, Swift is now constructing herself to be powerful and a hero.

Kanye vs Taylor

201461316 — 2023-10-17 14:31:54 UTC

The discourse surrounding the 2009 VMAs has painted Swift out to be the victim. This in turn helped her career and her star image as the innocent country girl early on in her career.

201461316 — 2023-10-17 14:40:21 UTC

Jake Gyllenhaal Seemingly Called Out Taylor Swift For Allowing Her Fans To Troll Him After The "All Too Well" Backlash

201461316 — 2023-10-17 16:48:16 UTC

This article discusses an incident in which Gyllenhaal expresses that Swift was allowing her fans to 'cyberbully' him after the release of the re-recording. This is a testament to Swifts impactful star image and how far her fanbase will go to defend her.

This again was published on gossip columns and the subject for many TikTok videos.

The 1975

201461316 — 2023-10-18 16:26:07 UTC

This photo encapsulates a marketing partnership. Since Taylor Swift and Matty Healy both have friendships and have worked with producer and musician Jack Antanoff, they partnered together to promote each other's albums by wearing each other's merch. This was obviously a successful way to cross market and effectively share audiences.

Beautiful Ghosts

201461316 — 2023-10-19 11:26:11 UTC

The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection

201461316 — 2023-10-19 15:18:37 UTC

Swift's second release was the Holiday collection - assisting in her curation of the wholesome country singer star image.

Beautiful Eyes

201461316 — 2023-10-19 15:24:25 UTC

Beautiful Eyes was Swifts EP after Debut in which she released minimally and it is not streaming on Spotify, she released it minimally to make sure it was not misconstrued as her second album. It again perpetuated the wholesome, humble country singer star image.

Shake it Off

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:25:46 UTC

The music video for 'Shake it off' from 1989 has been subject to some criticism for culturally appropriating black dancing such as twerking

Hip-Hop

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:26:02 UTC

When Reputation came out, Swift was critiqued for using very hip-hop genre features such as rap. This lead to her discussing that she has always loved hip-hop and its influences. However, due to the history behind hip-hop and its meaning for people of colour, it is not for Swift to claim as her own.

Is Taylor Swift revolutionary or is she just white?

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:28:59 UTC

This article discusses why the mass enjoy Swift's music and argue that it isn't that revolutionary but she is just "a white feminist who exists in a bubble where race, class, and everything else that’s different from the white, straight, privileged status quo is swept under the rug". They argue that Swift is failing to acknowledge her privilege as a white woman throughout her career and her self representation as a feminist.

McKay reflects on Swift's shifts in identity using the examples of 'Reputation' and 'Folklore' stating, "these transformations seem less like natural artistic evolution and more like meticulously curated identities that come off painfully inauthentic and consumer driven. "

It also refers to the 2009 VMAs arguing that Kanye's call out for Beyoncé's video being better was controversially correct and that "white women are constantly given recognition for half the work a Black woman does, while she receives little to no recognition." as well as referring to the 'Shake it Off' video only incorporating (and appropriating) black culture when it benefits her career stating that it was a "blatant perpetuation of Black stereotypes in order to appropriate and profit off of Black bodies and cultures".

McKay 2021

Music for Film

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:46:01 UTC

Swift has also been involved in the writing for many songs in films - this is a convergence tactic to assist with the marketing of films

Every Taylor Swift Song Used in a Movie Soundtrack

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:48:19 UTC

This is a list of Songs she has written/performed for film soundtracks.

Harbet, 2023

Safe & Sound - from The Hunger Games Soundtrack

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:49:11 UTC

Crazier

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:50:36 UTC

I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:52:12 UTC

Carolina - From The Motion Picture “Where The Crawdads Sing”

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:52:50 UTC

Only the Young - Featured in Miss Americana

201461316 — 2023-10-19 17:54:46 UTC

This was also used as a campaign song for the Biden-Harris campaign in 2019 and Swift wrote it to encourage her fans to vote.

Folklore and Evermore

201461316 — 2023-10-21 21:30:06 UTC

'Folklore' and 'Evermore' were the two lockdown albums, they were Swift's genre shift back to more traditionally folk and indie music. I believe this was a way to be reminiscent to the beginning of Swift's career since this was such a hard time internationally during the pandemic, Swift decided to take advantage of this in order to comfort her fans and remind her fans of her authenticity.

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Taylor Swift with Travis Kelce's mum at NFL game to all but confirm relationship

201461316 — 2023-10-22 19:36:12 UTC

Beattie 2023

Arts in Review - Music Review - 'Midnights': Taylor Swift After Dark

201461316 — 2023-10-22 19:51:07 UTC

This article is a fairly critical review of the album, criticising how empty the album feels and that it doesn't feel as risky as Swift's other albums. Especially after 'Folklore' and 'Evermore', 'Midnights' does feel quite musically different and slightly like a regression back to her pop-star image. However, the concept behind the album was to be tracks from past eras that did not make it on. This was not the case since a lot of these tracks were newly written however, the styles from the tracks can all be reminiscent of her past albums and eras. Aside from this making the album the least coherent of all her albums - this created another feeling of nostalgia for her past eras and could have been a set up to promote her past music and again to get fans thinking about which songs belong to which era. In terms of star image this once again reinforces the nostalgia linked to 'Folklore' and 'Evermore' as well as touching back into the zany popstar image from '1989'.

Richardson, 2022

201461316 — 2023-10-22 20:04:18 UTC

Claire Miles on TikTok, 2021

201461316 — 2023-11-01 16:35:17 UTC

Taylor Lautner on Fallon

201461316 — 2023-11-01 16:38:04 UTC

This TikTok particularly reflects the constant relevance of Swift in the pop culture world, Lautner is recollecting being asked to collaborate with Swift on the music video for 'I Can See You' and therefore in his promotional content for other projects he is being asked about Swift - further promoting her brand.

201461316 — 2023-11-01 16:49:22 UTC

beth ୨୧ on TikTok 2023

201461316 — 2023-11-01 16:51:20 UTC

This is an example of an edit of Harry Styles reacting to Swift's recently released songs. (For comedic purposes).

201461316 — 2023-11-01 16:53:37 UTC

When the promotion occurred, the social medias that dominated the online world were Twitter and Tumblr - with Swift and Healy being a big part of both social spheres it was quite a revolutionary partnership.

The above Tweet seems to completely ignore the potential for marketing and brand promotion and they are more invested in their 'favs' being connected.

Leah on TikTok 2023

201461316 — 2023-11-01 17:14:06 UTC

This is an example of a fan expressing their disappointment in the rumoured relationship. It can be noted that the thumbnail for the video refers to the two as 'Taylor' and 'Matty', creating a more personal address to the artists and suggesting that they, and the fan base, think of themselves to be more than just fans and to know Swift on a personal level and that they know what is best for her.