There is fame. Then there is generational fame. The latter includes prominence and fortune, but the recipient defines an era while simultaneously impacting culture in lasting ways. The individual becomes a notable historical figure, not just another fond youthful memory or meaningful song on a Spotify playlist. They embed themselves in a society’s identity mythos, sometimes transmuting into living legends.
Welcome to Taylor Swift’s universe. As the first quarter of the 21st century nears its end, it’s safe to say that she falls under the definition of generational fame – at the very least, for a solo artist.
Why? The answer requires a combination of data, sociology, anthropology, neurology, and a dash of mysticism because art is always the great unknown. And even then, there’s no promise her uber-success lightning can be stored in a market research bottle. If that were possible, Swift would be waiting behind a long line of Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston clones today. Art is always the great unknown, indeed, and destiny often chooses for national recognition those who express the subconscious desires, hopes, and fears of a generation.
Swift by the Numbers
Going into the juggernaut that Swift has become in the last five years requires almost no explaining. For many in the West, she is ubiquitous, going beyond her craft to who she is dating to her questionable carbon footprint. Ruling the world always means being under an intense microscope.
But for some context, her 2022 album “Midnights” was the year’s top seller at 1.8 million copies, and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” rewarded her the prize of most No1 by any female artist, surpassing Barbra Streisand. Her “Eras” world tour is on track to dethrone Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour” as the highest-grossing concert tour in history, effortlessly crossing the billion-dollar mark. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has become the highest-grossing concert movie of all time, shattering records with its $123 million opening weekend and surpassing Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
Other female superstars that are contemporary to Swift – like Katy Perry, Rihanna, or Beyoncé – have long climaxed in popularity. Incredibly, Swift seems to become more popular with each release or concert show. That’s an extraordinary feat for someone who started charting in 2006 as a country singer. As the ultimate highlight, perhaps, Swift is the only female singer (and entertainer) in history to win Time’s Person of the Year.
What might surprise many is her fanbase’s gender, which is relatively split (52 percent female and 48 percent male). Only 44 percent consider themselves “Swifties,” the term for a devoted, rabid fan.
What won’t surprise most people is the race identification of Swift fans:
Like Elvis Presley knighted as the cultural leader of the Silent Generation, or Bruce Springsteen shepherding baby boomers, Swift is the sole commander of Millennials, with 45 percent being part of that demographic (23 percent are baby boomers, 21 percent Gen Xers, and 11 percent are Gen Z). Most of her fanbase identifies as Democrat and lives in the suburbs (55 percent and 53 percent, respectively).
Many stories abound on Swifties spending exorbitant amounts of money on private planes, tickets, and hotels, positively affecting local economies (with the typical fan spending $1,300 to attend the “Eras” tour). However, data suggests that a considerable portion of Swift fandom falls under the moderate-income grouping. About half of the devoted Swift fans reported a household income under $50,000, while 25 percent reported an income between $50,000 and $100,000.
As seen, the Swifty marketing persona is easy to identify.
But again, Why? Why is she so mega-famous?
There are several possibilities.
On the Therapeutic Shoulder of Giants
Swift owes her rise to decades of incredible mainstream female singers before her, from Ella Fitzgerald to Shania Twain. But one could separate her songwriting from most female singers in that her songs lean heavily into confessional and therapeutic arenas. Swift is not shy to discuss her mental health challenges and ego-driven bad decisions. This openness makes her both relatable and vulnerable to audiences.
The nineties can be praised for Swift’s lyrics, and the decade provided the peak in sales for eminent artists like Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey. However, under a Grunge surly atmosphere, it also gave rise to women who sang about more than love relationships and enjoying material rewards. Musicians like Sinead O’Connor, Tori Amos, Alannis Morrisett, and Fiona Apple laid their scarred cards on the table while selling millions of albums. They sang candidly and passionately about touchy subjects like sexual abuse, mental disease, and social injustice. Unfairly called the “angry women” or part of “angry girl rock,” this brand of female singer faded at the turn of the century or appeared in more diluted forms with Katy Perry or Lady Gaga. But the demand never ended.
Swift came along and bled her heart to a generation of Millennials who thanked her for expressing their own trauma and mental health issues. Considering that today, women are suffering more anxiety and depression than ever in these volatile times, Swift doubles as a mirror, projection, and playground to manage collective and personal frayed emotions. As an example, take the lyrics of “Anti-Hero”:
“I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser
Midnights become my afternoons
When my depression works the graveyard shift
All of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room.”
It certainly helps that, like The Beatles and Elvis, Swift presents herself as approachable, friendly, and funny. She possesses that all-American girl image even as she shares her shadow side with listeners. And just like The Beatles and Elvis, she has the refreshing and candid ability to be self-deprecating, whether in songs or media interviews. This attitude can be seen by returning to “Anti-Hero”:
“It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me
At tea time, everybody agrees
I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror.”
She Is Always Mythunderstood
In 2021, Swift’s 10-minute version of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” unseated Don McLean’s iconic song “American Pie” to become the longest No. 1 hit in Billboard’s Hot 100 chart history.
Why does it matter to understand the Swift phenomenon? “American Pie” is considered not just a song but a grand saga of the American psyche across postwar history. The song is more of a grand, didactic myth than a typical pop tune, a classic deeply embedded in the country’s soul.
Swift matched and topped “American Pie” in theme and purpose. The song may not be about the death of heroes or the erosion of American innocence like “American Pie.” Still, it’s a touching odyssey through the labyrinth of relationships and emotional sorrow (and some believe it was written about Swift’s relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
The main point is that sharing your sanity or dating problems in a catchy tune is not enough for stratospheric stardom. An artist must be a skillful storyteller. In understanding the essence of a past culture, those that relate tales are as relevant as those shaping history. Shakespeare is as important as Queen Elizabeth I. Homer is as important as Alexander the Great. Our storytellers both record and define a people and their place in the universe. Joseph Campbell said, “People forget facts, but they remember stories.” It’s just the way the human mind is wired. Stanford University’s neurological research agrees with Campbell explaining that the mind is not there yet evolutionary to accept data and logic. Yet, it easily grasps stories, leading to deeper learning and remembering.
Swift is an unmatched storyteller, weaving together life experience, mental trauma, and relationship heartache in her music. She exemplifies the folk 1960s and 1970s serious female singers like Joni Mitchell or Joan Baez. She mixes a folksy vibe with the raw anger and pain of the 1990s “angry chick” – all within an ecosystem of safe pop riffs and formulaic production. She can uniquely express “descriptive details, powerful perspective, and illustrative metaphors.”
Swift knows that the power of storytelling and mythmaking is essential to commune intimately with audiences, saying:
“You can draw inspiration from anything. If you’re a good storyteller, you can take a dirty look somebody gives you, or if a guy you used to have flirtations with starts dating a new girl, or somebody you’re casually talking to says something that makes you so mad – you can create an entire scenario around that.”
Here are some illustrations of Swift’s bardic storytelling in her songs:
It’s All About the Marketing
No amount of talent or storytelling matters if a music artist doesn’t have a promotional force behind them. Shakespeare didn’t become globally famous until after his death; to many, that is an unfair tragedy. Back to the Beatles and Elvis, both acts were heavily backed by skilled managers and record companies once they were deemed distinctive talents. Yet unlike them, Swift is more along the lines of Michael Jackson or Barbra Streisand in that they didn’t storm out of the gate but carefully and meticulously developed their personas and fame in stages.
Swift grew up in privilege, unlike poverty-stricken Elvis, Jackson, and Beatles members. Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a former stockbroker for Merrill Lynch, and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift, is a retired homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive. Swift tapped into family resources and connections to get her foot in the country scene at a young age. Then, she gradually expanded the marketing machine and grew into a superstar. She may appear approachable and vulnerable, but Taylor Swift’s persona is a carefully manicured image that ticks all the checkmarks of a modern celebrity. No one will ever hear Swift say she is more famous than Jesus (like The Beatles did) or wildly shoot television sets in a Las Vegas hotel room (like Elvis often did). Just as good, Swift has avoided the drug and alcohol issues that cut short the careers of so many talented singers like Judy Garland, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse.
Swift possesses that uncanny ability to navigate the heaven of benign poetry and the hell of the music industry. Like Madonna, another marketing genius whose vocals are far from the sublime levels of Whitney Houston, Adele, or Aretha Franklin, Swift knows the marketing data as much as the human soul. As Chris Molanphy wrote in Slate: “Those who call her a musical wunderkind are right. Those who call her a cold-blooded marketing tactician are also right. Just look at the results.”
Even Salesforce bows to Swift and her team’s business acumen (and agrees with this article), stating that her brand is built on relatability, authenticity, and connecting with fans by sharing her intimate experiences, opinions, and emotions – all paired with the importance of storytelling, customer engagement, and staying relevant in a rapidly changing technological world.
Will Swift’s fame continue? Will history place her on an eternal pedestal like Shakespeare, Michael Jackson, or Elvis?
That’s for history to decide. Swift has sold an estimated 114 million album units worldwide. Yet she isn’t the highest-selling pop music act (The Beatles), nor the highest-selling solo act (Elvis), or even the highest-selling female act (Madonna). She will never make the top ten pop vocalist list that Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, or Adele makes effortlessly across various media. Her dancing and acting chops haven’t impressed anyone with any sense of impartiality (many are still trying to forget her role in the disastrous, cringy Cats).
But she has timeless stories to tell, which never go out of fashion or are forgotten.
