Cultural impact of Taylor Swift

Journalists describe Swift as a cultural touchstone. The Guardian columnist Greg Jericho dubbed Swift a "cultural vitality" whose consistent popularity, accentuated by the era of internet and globalization, surpassed that of the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and U2, all of whom had a short-lived, commercial and critical prime, whereas Swift continued to find success in the 18th year of her career with the release of her tenth studio album, Midnights, in 2022. Jericho cited numeric infographics showing that, as of 2022, only Drake, Kanye West and Beyoncé could compete with Swift in terms of contemporaneous popularity, with Swift being the most popular female artist of the 21st century, "miles ahead" of Beyoncé.[8] Chris Molanphy of Slate underscored how Swift's career has lasted longer than that of the Beatles, breaking the band's once-deemed "unbeatable" records.[9] Bree Player of women's magazine Marie Claire opined that "the word 'icon' is thrown around far too liberally these days, but Miss Swift is a living legend."[10] Elle described her as a "pop megastar at celestial echelons".[11]

Swift's girl-next-door image made her "America's Sweetheart" in her early career. Pictured is a photograph from her 2011 YouTube interview.

Within contemporary celebrity culture, Swift's music, life, and image are points of attention.[12] Swift became a teen idol upon the release of her eponymous debut studio album in 2006,[13] and has since become a dominant figure in popular culture,[14] often referred to as a pop icon or a pop diva.[15][16][6] Kristy Fairclough of the University of Salford School of Arts and Media dubbed Swift "the center of the cultural universe."[17] The Ringer journalist Kate Knibbs wrote, Swift is inescapable as her music saturates "deep into the tissue of contemporary public life whether we like it or not."[18] Therefore, Swift's career choices and activism has resulted in reformations in the music industry. In a 2016 article, Billboard opined that despite having had only a decade-old career, Swift has shown an "undeniable" impact on culture holistically.[19][11] Time included Swift on its 2010, 2015 and 2019 rankings of the 100 most influential people.[20] In 2014, she was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in the music category.[21] Swift became the youngest woman to be included on Forbes' list of the 100 most powerful women in 2015, ranked at number 64.[22] She was the most googled woman in 2019 and musician in 2022.[23][24]

Journalists have also associated Swift's fame with Americanist values. According to Knibbs, Swift, by her second studio album Fearless, had already become a "countrified celebrity solidified into industrial-grade American fame", thanks to three factors: critics who admired her craftsmanship as a songwriter who does not have to rely on others; parents, who appreciated the lack of profanity in her songs, and "everyone loved that they were catchy as shit."[18] Jack Dickey of Time said, Swift had become "America's most important musician" by 2014.[25] Maxim called Swift's career "a quintessential American success story".[26] Shaina Weatherhead, writing for Collider, called Swift "a pillar of the cultural zeitgeist", embodying love, diligence and feminism, irrespective of "whether [Swift] likes it or not". Weatherhead further wrote that Swift's fame has turned her into a staple of American culture beyond American music alone.[27]

Cultural critic Greil Marcus noted that Swift "wears the American flag on her face: red lips, white skin, and blue eyes."[5] According to Vulture senior writer Nate Jones, Swift is the "musical embodiment of American hegemony".[28] Emily St. James of Vox writes that Swift tells the stories of American millennials through her songs, in the same way Springsteen represented American baby boomers.[29] Swift also metaphorically referred to herself as "Miss Americana" in her 2019 song "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince",[30] which also inspired the namesake 2020 documentary about her life and career.[31]

Bloomberg Businessweek proclaimed Swift "The Music Industry" on the magazine cover dated November 14, 2014.[1]

Swift has received various honorific titles and sobriquets throughout her career in recognition of her cultural impact. "America's Sweetheart" is a common title that media used to refer to Swift in her early career, owing to her image as an "all-American" girl,[32][33] and "Princess of Country" stemmed from her mainstream popularity as a country star.[34][35][36] Some media called her "the Pop Titan"[37][38] or the "Queen of Pop" in reference to her dominant position in pop music.[39][40][41] Time and PopSugar used "Queen of Bridges" to appreciate Swift's ability to compose well-received bridges.[40][41] "Queen of Easter Eggs" was coined once Swift became known for her use of Easter eggs and clues in her album cycles and promotional activities.[42][43][44][45] Swift has also been referred to as "The Music Industry" by Bloomberg Businessweek,[46] The Odyssey,[47] and American journalist Barbara Walters in light of her grip on the industry's fiber.[48][49]

In 2019, Swift became the first-ever recipient of the Woman of the Decade (the 2010s) title from Billboard for being "one of the most accomplished musical artists of all time over the course of the 2010s",[50] whereas the American Music Awards named her the Artist of the Decade as she had won the most trophies during the 2010s.[51] In 2021, Brit Awards awarded Swift the Global Icon trophy "in recognition of her immense impact on music across the world".[52] In 2022, Nashville Songwriters Association International presented her with the Songwriter of the Decade award to acknowledge "her incredible success" between 2010 and 2019 as a writer.[53][54]

Various objects and locations have been named after Swift out of honor or gratitude. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, established the Taylor Swift Education Center to host, "curriculum-connected activities for school groups, tailored programs for toddlers, afterschool workshops for teens, and book talks for curious adults".[55][56] In May 2022, Swift received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from New York University for being "one of the most prolific and celebrated artists of her generation", and served as the commencement speaker at the graduation ceremony.[57] In December 2022, a group of entomologists conferred a Tennessee-endemic millipede species the scientific name Nannaria swiftae.[58] Botanists termed the backronym TSWIFT for a high throughput remote senor for plant vegetations sensor called the Tower Spectrometer on Wheels for Investigating Frequent Timeseries in 2023.[59][60]

According to Roland, Swift insisted on writing her songs, mining inspiration from her real life, which plunged her into the country music scene that has historically been "a place where adults sang grown-up songs for other adults".[19] With her autobiographical songs about romance and heartbreak, Swift introduced the country genre to a younger generation who could relate.[6] Even though the age demographic of U.S. country radio's target audience was between ages 25 and 54, listeners have usually been limited to those older than 35 years. Various country music artists, label executives, and radio programmers have unsuccessfully attempted to lower this median age since the early 1980s; however, with Swift's rise in the early 2000s decade, the median age dropped below 25, and the genre began attracting teenage audiences. According to radio programmer John Shomby, Swift "introduced a new age group to this format because of her sound and because of her writing" and "wrote for that specific age and was the first one to ever do that."[19]

Swift is one of the first country acts to use the internet as a marketing tool, promoting her songs and other works through MySpace, a social networking website that was the largest in the world between 2005 and 2009.[66][67] She established her MySpace page the day before her then-label, Big Machine Records, officially launched (August 31, 2005). She eventually accumulated over 45 million streams via MySpace, which Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta used to convince "skeptical" country radio stations that Swift had an audience. Social media followings and data from streaming services have since become standards "to prove an act's viability to radio".[19]

Swift embraced "pure pop" with her fifth studio album, 1989, which solidified her status as a pop icon.

Journalists have highlighted how Swift redefined mainstream pop music within the 21st-century context by expanding pop's perceived boundaries to bring forth emotional engagement and artistic ambition without losing commercial success, defying popular beliefs. In 2013, Rosen described the Red-era Swift as a prim figure—"a rock critic’s darling who hasn't the faintest whiff of countercultural cool about her", setting her apart from other pop stars that followed the "raunchiness" trend of that period.[6]

Following the release of Swift's fifth studio album 1989, Roland wrote, Swift "managed to conquer country and, in an unprecedented move, transition fully into life as a pop artist [...] without even a hiccup."[19] 1989's commercial success transformed Swift's image from a country singer to that of a pop icon.[68][69][70] Its singles received heavy rotation on U.S. radio over a year and a half following its release, which Billboard noted as "a kind of cultural omnipresence" that was rare for a 2010s album.[71] The academic Shaun Cullen specializing in the humanities described Swift as a figure "at the cutting edge of postmillennial pop".[72] Retrospective commentary from GQ's Jay Willis,[73] Vulture's Sasha Geffen,[74] and NME's Hannah Mylrea note how 1989 avoided contemporary hip hop and R&B crossover trends, influencing younger musicians to embrace "pure pop" and contributing to a growing trend of nostalgic 1980s-styled sound.[75] Geffen attributed Swift's success in her pop transition to her lyrics rooted in layered, emotional engagement rather than superficial themes common in mainstream pop music.[74]

According to Lucy Harbron of Clash, pop stars like Dua Lipa would not exist if Swift had not normalized blending various genres with pop in 1989—a well-marked trend among pop artists since the album's release.[76] BBC journalist Neil Smith wrote that 1989 paved the way for artists "who no longer wish to be ghettoised into separated musical genres".[77] Ian Gormely of The Guardian called Swift the flagbearer of poptimism in the 21st century as she replaced dance and urban trends with ambition, proving with her albums that "chart success and clarity of artistic vision aren't mutually exclusive ideas."[78] In 2022, music critics Sam Sanders and Ann Powers regard Swift as a "surprisingly successful composite of megawatt pop star and bedroom singer-songwriter."[79]

Throughout her career, Swift has ventured into diverse genres and artistic reinventions.[80][81] Pitchfork opined, Swift changed the contemporary music landscape forever with her "unprecedented path from teenage country prodigy to global pop sensation" and a "singularly perceptive" discography that accommodates both musical and cultural shifts.[82] Harbron stated Swift's genre-spanning career encouraged her peers to experiment with diverse sounds.[76]

Swift's Les Paul guitar and microphone from the Red Tour (2012–13) placed in the Musical Instrument Museum of Phoenix

Swift's fourth studio album, Red, was the record that intensified the critical debate over Swift's allegiance to a music genre, as she was a country artist at that time, but Red contained heavy pop, electronic and rock elements. To this critique, Swift responded that she "[leaves] the genre labeling to other people."[83] The Los Angeles Times' Randall Roberts and The New York Times' Jon Caramanica felt that Red signifies Swift's inevitable transition to mainstream pop in the future. Roberts claimed that irrespective of whether Red is stylistically a pop or country record, it is "perfectly rendered American popular music" with influences from modern trends. Caramanica dubbed Swift as "a pop star in a country context".[84] According to Harbron, Red proved to the industry that avant-garde is not the only approach to experiment with music and that Swift "opened a door for every other musician" in 2012 to coalesce multiple genres into an album.[76]

Post-1989, Swift released Folklore and Evermore, which were described as a mix of indie folk,[85][86] chamber pop,[87] and alternative rock styles,[88][89] following which the perception of Swift's discography had been expanded, with many critics starting to describe her catalog as a musically heterogeneous collection of songs.[12][90] BBC and Time designated Swift a "music chameleon".[81][80] Billboard credited Swift with the power "to pull any sound she wants into mainstream orbit".[91] Her 2023 concert tour, the Eras Tour, continued to prove to the public and critics the versatility and musical diversity of Swift's discography.[92][93]

Enriched by her Nashville background, Swift is fundamentally a songwriter, "steeped in Music Row's values of craftsmanship and storytelling" as per Rosen.[6] In being personal and vulnerable in her lyrics, music journalist Nick Catucci opined Swift helped make space for later pop stars like Ariana Grande, Halsey, and Billie Eilish to do the same.[94] According to Scarlet Keys, professor of songwriting at Berklee College of Music, Swift's lyrical prowess stems from the way she "mixes poetry with a very colloquial, current language". Keys further stated that Swift frequently uses poetic devices but also knows how to be "practical", such as in "Mean" (2011) or "Shake It Off" (2014).[5]

Although Swift received critical praise for her lyricism throughout her career, it was not until Folklore and Evermore (2020) she was regarded as a lyricist with an explicitly visible cultural significance. Commentators regarded both Folklore and Evermore as poetic reinventions and contextualized them as "lockdown projects" or archetypal "quarantine albums".[95][96] The release of Folklore, the first of the two, was described as a "respite from chaotic events" by The Guardian.[97] NME said the album will be remembered as "the quintessential lockdown album" that "felt like the perfect accompaniment for the weird loneliness" of 2020.[98] Uproxx noted how Folklore changed the tone of music in 2020,[99] finding its impact on the year's cultural landscape immeasurable.[100] Vogue listed the album amongst the best moments of lockdown culture.[101] Critic Tom Hull wrote that Swift "caught the spirit of the times" with Folklore.[102] Billboard named Folklore and Evermore as the best examples of innovative albums from artists who amended their creative process during the pandemic.[103] The New York Times named Folklore as one of the "17 pop culture moments that define the COVID era".[104]

British scholar Jonathan Bate dubbed Swift a "real poet", favorably comparing her to literary figures such as William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickinson, and wrote that she has a "literary sensibility" that other contemporary pop stars lack.[105] The term "Swiftian" has been used in music journalism to describe works that are similar to or derivative of Swift's music and lyrics.[106][107][108]

Swift has been a highly successful artist on various charts published by Billboard, redefining the parameters of commercial success for the industry.[112] Nine of her songs have topped the Billboard Hot 100. She is the longest-reigning act of Billboard Artist 100 (64 weeks),[113] the soloist with the most cumulative weeks (56) atop the Billboard 200,[114] the woman with the most Hot 100 entries (189),[115] top-ten songs (40),[116] and weeks atop the Top Country Albums (98),[117] and the act with the most Digital Songs number-ones (23).[118][119] She became the first artist to have three albums—Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021)—charting at number-one in less than a year, beating the Beatles' 54-year-old record.[11] Billboard placed her eighth on its Greatest of All Time Artists Chart in 2019.[120] Her 2021 song "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is the longest song ever to top the Hot 100.[121]

Swift is the only artist in Luminate Data history to have five albums—Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017) and Midnights (2022)—sell over one million copies in one week.[122] To New York magazine, her sales figures prove she is "the one bending the music industry to her will".[110] Within the pan-format success of Midnights in the streaming era, critics began to describe Swift's commercial power as unprecedented and unrivaled by her contemporaries. Billboard noted how Swift's success is "evenly" distributed across streaming, album sales and track sales, unlike other albums of 2022.[123] Financial Times questioned whether Swift is "the last pop superstar", given her ability to generate sales figures (1.5 million first-week units in the U.S.) unseen since the "1990s boy bands" era, which was regarded as the commercial peak for the American music business.[124] Similarly, I-D called Swift the "last remaining real popstar" who is capable of "shifting more albums and filling more stadiums than her contemporaries [...] unseen since the industry's golden era".[125] Noting a 2021 article from The New York Times that asked "if Adele couldn't sell more than a million albums in a single week, could any artist?" after her album 30 missed the mark, Rolling Stone responded that Swift "has once again moved the goalposts regarding what the music industry can see as possible from a major pop star".[126]

An AirAsia Airbus A320 celebrating Swift's arrival to Kuala Lumpur for her first ever concert in Malaysia in 2014

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) ranked her as the Global Recording Artist of the Year in 2014, 2019, and 2022, for being the most consumed artist in those years; she is the only artist to ever achieve the feat thrice.[127] Swift became the first country artist who experienced chart success beyond North America. Rosen described Swift as country music's "first truly global star", cultivating dedicated fandoms in foreign markets such as Ireland, Brazil and Taiwan.[6] Her chart success extended to Asia and the U.K., where country music had not been popular.[61][6] The most entries and the most simultaneous entries for an artist on the Billboard Global 200, with 94 and 31 songs, respectively, are among her feats.[128][129]

Swift has the most number-one albums in the United Kingdom and Ireland for a female artist this millennium,[130][131] and earned the highest income for an artist on Chinese digital music platforms—RMB 159,000,000.[132] Her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) became the highest-grossing North American tour ever,[133] and Swift was the world's highest-grossing female touring act of the 2010s.[134] Beginning with Fearless, all of her studio albums opened with over a million global units.[135] Variety dubbed Swift the "Queen of Stream" after she achieved multiple streaming feats as well.[136] Swift is the most streamed female act on Spotify,[114] and the only artist to have received more than 200 million streams in one day (228 million streams on October 21, 2022).[137] Midnights holds all-time records on global Spotify, such as the most streamed album in a single day with 186 million streams in its opening day,[138] breaking the former record of 155 million streams set by Drake's Certified Lover Boy (2021),[139] and became the first album to collect 700 million global streams within a week.[140] Bloomberg News reported that Midnights collected US$230 million in sales for Universal Music Group in the last nine weeks of 2022 alone, accounting for 3% of their annual revenue—the highest annual contribution from any artist.[141]

Swift is regarded as a champion of independent record shops. She has made vinyl variants of her albums exclusively available via small business stores, driving their sales; during the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift sent her LPs to record shops free of charge.[142][143] In this way, she vastly contributed to the 21st-century vinyl revival.[144][145] Evermore sold 102,000 vinyl LPs in April 2021, breaking the record for the biggest sales week for vinyl LPs in the U.S. since Luminate Data's inauguration in 1991. The record was surpassed by Swift's own Red (Taylor's Version) in November 2021 with 112,000 vinyl LP sales,[146] and again with Swift's Midnights (575,000 LPs),[147] which became the first album from the 21st century to sell over one million vinyl LPs in the U.S.[148] In the U.K., Midnights sold 80,000 LPs in 2022, the highest annual figure for an album in the 21st century, pushing total vinyl sales in the U.K. ahead of CD sales for the first time since 1987.[149] Due to her support of independent record shops, Record Store Day (RSD) named Swift their first-ever global ambassador.[142] LPs of Swift's third live album, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, were issued as RSD-exclusive limited editions and became the first RSD-exclusive release in history to chart within the top 10 of the Billboard 200.[150]

Journalists consider Swift's name as a brand on its own.

In attempting to explain her "ceaseless" success and fame,[4][5] various authors have compared Swift to media franchises, conglomerate companies or a one-woman brand. As per The Ringer, Swift is an omnipresent "musical biosphere unto herself", having achieved the kind of success "that turns a person into an institution, into an inevitability."[18] Music publisher Matt Pincus called Swift "an intellectual property franchise" like the DC movies;[124] Fortune compared her to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[151]

According to Professor R. Polk Wagner of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Swift associating her lyrics with a range of goods and services through trademark applications represents her understanding that "she is bigger than the music". He added, "It's more of a branding right, thinking of Taylor Swift as a conglomerate."[154] Pitchfork opined that the name Taylor Swift is a brand.[155] Additionally, in a practice called "domain squatting", Swift bought the pornographic website domain names "taylorswift.porn" and "taylorswift.adult" to prevent them from being misused by others;[156] Caroline Reaper of Marie Claire said, by making the purchase, Swift could exercise further control over her public image. Reaper highlighted Swift's 2014 tweet when a nude photo of Swift was allegedly "leaked" online by hackers: "Any hackers saying they have 'nudes'? Pssh, you'd love that wouldn't you! Have fun photoshopping, 'cause you got nothing."[157]

Swift, one of the most-followed people on multiple social networking services, is a "social media powerhouse", according to Kate Taylor of Entrepreneur.[152] She was the most followed person on Instagram from September 2015 to March 2016,[158][159] and has consistently been influential on Twitter, placing first in Brandwatch's rankings in 2018, 2019,[160] and 2021.[161] Pop culture journalist Brittany Spanos opined that Swift's acquaintance with social media is one of the reasons she's "still relevant" after years: "[Swift is] an artist who kind of has come up through every possible social media platform you can. She grew her fan base on Myspace. She was using Tumblr way past its prime. Twitter. She's now on TikTok, commenting on people's videos. So she uses all these things in a way that allows her fans to feel like they can really, really connect with her."[162]

Swift's marketing is a combination of social media engagement and television. Brandwatch and Cision called Swift a "master of product launch", with knowledge of "a strategic and well-balanced communications campaign". According to public relations academic Sinead Norenius-Raniere, Swift has implemented an integrated marketing strategy, that consists of a design of timed announcements across marketing channels, harnessing the potential of both traditional and digital media, authentic and "intimate" communications with consumers to build trust, and usage of multimedia to offer "sneak peaks".[163] Her novel promotional efforts, such as Midnights Mayhem with Me, has been a subject of critical praise.[164][151]

Swift is known for her traditional album rollouts, consisting of a variety of promotional activities.[165] Rolling Stone described her album cycles as an inescapable "multimedia bonanza" in 2020.[166] She is credited with making the "two-year album cycle" method of releasing and promoting albums the industry standard, as her first albums were all released with two-year gaps.[19] Nevertheless, journalists also praised Swift's fast-succeeding release of Evermore less than five months after Folklore. Variety compared it to similar moves by the Beatles and U2,[167] while Rolling Stone termed it a "hot streak" reminiscent of Prince in 1987 and David Bowie in 1977. Vulture called it a "major shock" from an artist known for her traditional album cycles.[168] Our Culture Mag welcomed her "artistic dedication", as Swift was also concurrently re-recording her back catalog at the time.[169] The Sydney Morning Herald named her "the queen of pandemic productivity".[170]

Easter eggs and cryptic teasers became a common practice in contemporary pop music because of Swift.[171] Publications describe her discography as a music "universe" subject to analyses by fans, critics and journalists,[172][173][14] referred to as "Swiftology" in the media.[174] Swift's outfits, accessories, and diction have also been easter eggs.[151] Hence, El País critic Iker Seisdodos referred to Swift as "a master of the art of suspense".[5] According to Lutz, her marketing style employs "an ever-changing burlesque act of selectively revealing details while maintaining an aura of mystery and excitement"—a strategy that goes beyond the music and entertainment industries.[151]

A digital screen visual from the Eras Tour (2023), depicting various alter egos of Swift from across her 10 album cycles

Reinventing her image and style throughout her career, each of Swift's album cycles is characterized by a unique aesthetic and fashion style.[175][176] As a result, Swift has popularized several aesthetic trends, such as Polaroid motifs with 1989,[177] and cottagecore with Folklore and Evermore.[178] Lutz opined that her image shifts help broaden her fan base and critical appeal.[151] André Spicer, professor of organizational behavior at the University of London Bayes Business School, commented that being "interesting" is an important asset in the modern digital economy.[179] Sehdev asserted that Swift has managed to be interesting and constantly reinvent herself "while remaining authentic and true to herself".[151] According to Rosen, Swift portrays herself as "a bleacher warmer, a wallflower, an underdog" through her songs.[6] However, in a contradictory perspective, Fairclough claimed that Swift's "shifting aesthetic" indicate her struggle with a lack of identity and authenticity. making her a "profoundly unsympathetic underdog".[15]

Swift's marketing and album cycles also incorporate strategic business partnerships with numerous companies. John McDuling of Quartz wrote, Swift embraced corporate sponsors, a move initially regarded as a "taboo" among musicians, with an ardor not reported before.[180] Marketing expert Christopher Ming wrote, "Sure, working with brands like Apple Music, Elizabeth Arden, and Diet Coke feel like no-brainers. But it takes a certain amount of marketing ingenuity to make campaigns with NCAA Football, United Parcel Service, and Papa John's work. Yet they all did."[151] Paper wrote that the impact of Swift's album-releases is "felt across social media", with companies often "capitalizing on her momentum" via social media to endorse her.[181] Inc. said the companies leverage Swift's cultural relevance.[182]

Despite being a well-known philanthropist and a supporter of the arts,[189][190] Swift has been described as a "polarizing figure". Her fame has had detrimental effects on her perception in the media; some are genuine critique of her actions, while the rest constitute unverified tabloid gossip that has resulted in various moments of negative press for Swift.[191][192] Branding expert Jeetendehr Sehdev told American business magazine Fortune, "People love her or hate her".[151] She has generally used negative critique as fodder for musical inspiration, writing songs such as "Shake It Off" (2014), "Look What You Made Me Do" (2017), and "You Need to Calm Down" (2019).[18]

Swift's dating life has been a subject of tabloid scrutiny and has thus encouraged some pop culture news outlets, conservative commentators, and social media users to slut-shame her.[193][194] Figuring out the celebrity inspiration behind a Swift song is the media's favorite game, in the words of Rosen, who wrote that outlets maligned Swift "as a serial kisser-and-teller, as an entitled rich kid, as a mean girl with a victim complex", attributing it partly to the "shrill" tone of Swift's early songs. However, Rosen also stated that there is "a sexist double standard in the policing of Swift's confessions, especially when you consider the routine misogyny in the songs of rockers, rappers, and woebegone beardy indie balladeers."[6] Some media outlets and journalists are also noted for their bias, frequently vilifying Swift for clickbait or to gain readership, capitalizing on consumer interest in "juicy" details about Swift's life.[11][195]

In her "You Need to Calm Down" music video, Swift critiqued the media for pitting female artists against each other by portraying drag queens dressed as various pop stars competing for one crown.

Swift's public disputes and alleged "feuds" have received widespread online attention and media coverage.[196][197] She began experiencing media "overexposure" in 2012.[198] Some media are noted for synthesizing "beef" between Swift and other celebrities, especially "pitting" her against other women. Swift has had "feuds" with female celebrities like Katy Perry,[199] and Nicki Minaj,[200] both of whom publicly engaged Swift and vice versa. Animosity alleged by media outlets also contest Swift against Cardi B,[201] Adele,[202] Demi Lovato,[203] SZA,[204] and Ariana Grande—despite the fact that Swift engaged none of them and even attempted to quash some of the rumors[205]—and against her former boyfriends Joe Jonas, John Mayer, Calvin Harris,[197] and Jake Gyllenhaal.[206]

Kanye West taking the microphone from Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, with Taylor Lautner and Shakira in the background.

American rapper Kanye West was a significant source of controversy in Swift's public image.[207] Their decade-spanning feud mutually affected their reputations and perception in contemporary popular culture.[208] On September 13, 2009, at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Swift won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video for her 2009 single "You Belong With Me", becoming the first-ever country singer and one of the youngest artists (age 18) to win a MTV Video Music Award. While Swift was delivering her speech, West climbed the stage, interrupted her, and grabbed her microphone to announce "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!", referring to "Single Ladies" (2008). Swift was immediately escorted backstage. Beyoncé later won the highest award of the evening, Video of the Year, and invited Swift to finish her speech. Nevertheless, West's actions were met with widespread news coverage and severe criticism; then-U.S. President Barack Obama called West a "jackass" on television. West issued apologies and blamed his "difficult day" but subsequently recanted. Swift joked about the incident in her Saturday Night Live monologue in November 2019. Swift and West posed together in photographs from the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015, and she stated that they had become friends with help from Jay-Z, their mutual friend. However, the feud was re-ignited when West released his 2016 single "Famous", containing the lyrics "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous" in reference to the 2009 incident. West claimed that Swift had approved the lyrics beforehand on a phone call, and Swift responded that she was not made aware of the second line describing her as a "bitch". After Swift "shaded" West in her speech following her Album of the Year win for 1989 at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in 2016, talking about not allowing detractors to take credit for an artist's fame, West's then-wife, Kim Kardashian, released trimmed clips of the phone call between Swift and West on Snapchat that appeared to support West's claim. The hashtag "#TaylorSwiftisOverParty" trended at number one worldwide on Twitter, with viral social media posts calling Swift "fake, calculated, manipulative, a snake, a liar and is not what she seems". Various television and media outlets criticized, trolled and "cancelled" Swift. That year, West also released a music video for "Famous" that incorporated a wax doll of a naked Swift, which she dubbed "revenge porn" in 2019. The intense backlash caused Swift to step away from the spotlight for one year, avoiding being seen by the press until the 2017 release of her sixth studio album Reputation, which was partially inspired by the controversy. It was not until 2020 that the full, unedited footage of the phone call leaked online, proving that Swift had not lied about the situation and resulting in "#KanyeWestisOverParty" becoming the top trend on Twitter.[208][207][209] The BBC called the Swift–West feud "music's most notorious on-off feud".[210]

Jones pinpointed her overexposure during the Red and 1989 album cycles as the reason why the media easily "turned against" her in 2016,[28] such as an opinion piece from Vice's Grace Medford that attributed Swift's later success to her vilification of West.[211] However, after 2020, media outlets began praising Swift for standing her ground.[212][213] Knibbs commented that Swift was a "country music princess on the verge of superstardom" in 2009, became a "snake" in 2016, and returned as a "full-blown music juggernaut" after 2019, providing an excellent "case study for the ups and downs of modern pop stardom".[18] Swift has attempted to avoid overexposure since 2017,[214] and has often mocked the media in her music; she sold supplementary magazines inspired by Reputation at Target with sarcastic cover headlines about her life, such as "Who is Olivia's real father?" and "Taylor drama: Her personal photos exposed."[215] According to Carter Sherman of Vice, after viewing Swift as a "villain" from 2016 to 2018, growing self-awareness in the media helped popular culture undergo a "Great Swift Revival" in 2020, during which her public image recovered.[216]

Swift has been vocal about the impact of press coverage on her personal health, discussing issues like eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia athletica, self-esteem, and cyberbullying; Jessica Gold, a professor of psychiatry at the Washington University in St. Louis, stated that, "when our political leaders are struggling to build consensus on and convey the gravity of issues" like mental health, Swift is sending a powerful message by opening up about her mental health issues—"one that is likely to save lives in myriad ways".[218] New York Post's Elana Fishman confessed, "every so often, I'll still catch myself criticizing the way my tummy or legs look in a photo or how a certain pair of pants fits me. From now on, whenever that happens, I'll be repeating a line Swift says in [Miss Americana]—We do not do that anymore, because it's better to think you look fat than to look sick".[219]

Anne Petersen of BuzzFeed News said that Swift contributes to society's "collective understanding of what beauty and success looks like", and that she is also talking about her "susceptibility to the pressure of that understanding".[220] The Daily Targum stated, despite being an expert in handling negative criticism, even Swift "succumbed to insecurities that blossomed into eating problems, which shows how even the strongest among us are susceptible to potential eating disorders due to the toxic environment of social media".[221] Ellen Ricks of HelloGiggles called Swift's reveal of her disorder inspirational, noting "how it can potentially impact so many people still fighting", as "there is still so much stigma and misinformation" surrounding it.[222] In an article about "Why women say sorry too much" for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, writer Kate Midena highlighted how Swift speaks about her struggle to "deprogram the misogyny in [her] own brain" and "it's a conundrum women have been stuck in since the middle ages". Midena said girls are often taught to value empathy over "masculine traits" such as strength and assertiveness, and hence they "feel the need to cushion their actions with an apology".[223]

Miss Americana prompted several critics of Swift to respond, such as comedian Nikki Glaser,[224] who confessed that her comments on Swift came from a place of insecurity and projection; and journalist Richard S. He, who stated that the intention of his 2016 Vice article "Taylor Swift Isn't Like Other Celebrities, She's Worse" was to "deconstruct the pettiness of the celebrity–industrial complex" but regretted that it could have been "overly critical" of Swift.[225]

People have been singing songs about broken hearts as long as music and broken hearts have existed, and [Swift's] male peers aren't questioned in quite the same way she is. Heartbroken girls are labeled as whiny in our society, while heartbroken guys are endearing and lovable. And it sucks.

— Nicole Pomarico, "Taylor's Pointing Out Sexism in The Music Industry", Bustle[230]

Journalists have highlighted the intense misogyny and slut-shaming to which Swift's life and career have been subject.[231][194] Swift has been highly vocal in condemning all forms of sexism. She has highlighted misogynistic language used against her in tabloids and magazine headlines, as well as sexist connotations discrediting her from her achievements.[11] She has stated that her "dating life has become a bit of a national pastime" and does not appreciate the "Careful, Bro, She'll Write a Song About You" trope as it "trivializes" her artistry.[228] Glamour opined Swift is an easy target for male derision, triggering "fragile male egos".[232] The Daily Telegraph said her antennae for sexism are crucial for the industry.[233] According to Rosen, some media and public censure Swift's "acidic" lyrics about former partners while praising male artists like Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Drake for the same, revealing the double standards.[6]

There have been numerous instances in television and press where blatant comments or "jokes" have been made about Swift by men or women, with or without her presence, that have been perceived as sexist or misogynistic. The New Feminist highlights that, apart from sexist male detractors, several women also channel their internalized misogyny towards Swift.[234] At the 70th Golden Globe Awards (January 2013), hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler delivered a "joke" about Swift, following tabloid news that week that claimed Swift had broken up with Connor Kennedy; Fey said that given Swift's "interest in famous guys", she should stay away from actor Michael J. Fox's son, who was escorting the award winners off the stage that evening. Poehler disagreed and said "Swift should go for it", to which Fey retorted. The joke was the subject of viral news coverage.[235] Fey also had a history of joking about Swift's dating life.[236] Two months later, when asked about Fey and Poehler in a Vanity Fair interview, Swift mentioned a Madeleine Albright quote she heard from American journalist Katie Couric: "there's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."[235] She subsequently elaborated on her comment:[236]

"For a female to write about her feelings, and then be portrayed as some clingy, insane, desperate girlfriend in need of making you marry her and have kids with her, I think that's taking something that potentially should be celebrated—a woman writing about her feelings in a confessional way—that's taking it and turning it and twisting it into something that is frankly a little sexist."

In June 2013, American retail company Abercrombie & Fitch began selling and released a shirt saying "more boyfriends than t.s." After backlash from Swift's fans, the retailer withdrew the shirt.[237] Westboro Baptist Church leader Ben Phelps called Swift the "poster child for the young whores of doomed America", accusing her of fornication and making "sin-coddling songs", and announced plans to protest at her concert.[238] In October 2014, on the Australian radio show Jules, Merrick & Sophie, Swift observed that she is "unfairly criticized" for her lyrics compared to her male peers:[239]

"You're going to have people who are going to say, 'Oh, you know, like, she just writes songs about her ex-boyfriends.' And I think frankly that's a very sexist angle to take. No one says that about Ed Sheeran. No one says that about Bruno Mars. They're all writing songs about their exes, their current girlfriends, their love life, and no one raises the red flag there."

In a 2016 Vogue interview, when asked what advice she would give her 19-year-old self, Swift replied, "Hey, you're going to date just like a normal twenty-something should be allowed to, but you're going to be a national lightning rod for slut-shaming."[240] In a 2019 interview for New Zealand DJ Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Swift stated that the slut-shaming "happened to [her] at a very young age, so that was a bit hard. That was one of the first times [she] was like, "Wow, this is not fair."[241]

On March 1, 2021, Swift also criticized the writers of the television series Ginny & Georgia for using a "lazy, deeply sexist joke" slut-shaming her and Netflix for allowing it despite also producing Miss Americana, a documentary that discusses feminism, amongst other subjects.[243] Beth Ashley of Grazia wrote sexism is why male celebrities like Pete Davidson are celebrated for his dating history, while Swift is "shamed and shunned".[241]

In August 2017, a sexual assault trial was held in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, involving former DJ David Mueller, who filed for defamation against Swift. He claimed she had him wrongfully terminated following an incident at a 2013 meet-and-greet,[244] in which Swift posed for a photo with David Mueller, a KYGO-FM radio employee at the time.[244] Swift alleged that when the photograph was taken, Mueller reached under her skirt and grabbed her buttocks.[245] Once Mueller and Melcher exited the room, Swift immediately reported it to her mother, managers, the photographer and members of her security team;[246] Mueller was escorted out of the concert.[244] The incident was reported to KYGO, and Mueller was fired shortly after the radio station conducted an investigation.[247] Mueller sued Swift for defamation in September 2015, claiming that he never touched Swift under her skirt and alleged that, as a result of her false claims, he had wrongfully lost his job and reputation.[245] Swift then counter-sued Mueller for battery and sexual assault, seeking a symbolic $1 in damages. The trial began on August 7, 2017, with both Mueller and Swift appearing in court, and concluded on August 14, 2017, with the jury ruling in Swift's favor and ordering Mueller to pay her $1.[247]

The trial was a subject of widespread media attention due to Swift's status as a high-profile celebrity. News outlets reported on the details of the case and the public's reaction daily.[248] In a post-trial statement, Swift revealed that she counter-sued Mueller to empower other victims of sexual assault.[249] The BBC stated that the trial was culturally significant as it highlighted the underreporting of sexual assaults, Swift's refusal to back down even though the defense lawyers attempted to undermine her credibility, and the symbolic $1 in damages. Brand strategists have suggested that Swift "has been not only trying to empower ordinary women that she doesn't know but also music industry colleagues" with the case. Public relations specialist Marvet Britto stated that Swift "is aware that her defiance in fighting against these allegations—not only made toward her but other artists and colleagues—will achieve global visibility around sexual assault issues that, in many cases, go unreported and ignored and are marginalized."[250] In December 2017, Swift was named a "Silence Breaker" in Time magazine's Person of the Year issue.[251] She gave the magazine her first recount of the assault and trial, detailing how it felt to testify and advice she would offer to readers.[251] Elle described the trial as a landmark case "aiming to not bankrupt the perpetrator [even though he had sued her for $3 million], but to set a precedent for other artists and women around the world to speak up and hold predators accountable for the irreparable damage they cause."[11]

Additionally, Swift donated $250,000 to American singer Kesha in 2016 to assist her with the legal fees for her sexual assault case, and further donation to the Joyful Heart Foundation for survivors of sexual assault in 2017. Elle opined that Swift's fight against sexual assaults "sends ripples through the world, which gives women the gumption to speak up."[11]

Swift is credited with providing the blueprint for the career trajectories of female country artists like Maren Morris (left) and Kacey Musgraves (right).

Critics have noted Swift's musical style resonating in albums released by female country singers like Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini, since her debut.[252] Swift's onstage guitar performances has contributed to the "Taylor Swift effect", a phenomenon to which upsurge in guitar sales to women, a previously ignored demographic, is attributed.[253][254][255] Todd Cassetty, president of Cassetty Entertainment, opined "everybody was trying to mimic [Swift]" during her early career, and that "a lot of young women are trying to find their voice now, but a lot of them were inspired to pick up a guitar because of Taylor Swift."[19]

Feminism is one of the core aspects of Swift's discography, particularly since 2014.[239] According to Rosen, Swift existed on the modest, "Victorian" end of the feminist spectrum, compared to pop stars like Beyoncé, Gaga, Rihanna, and Cyrus, who "represent aggressively sexualized feminist pop, harnessing big beats and skimpy outfits to work through questions of power and self-determination"; however, Swift's songs "aren't totally chaste: Sex is there in the rush and flush of the music, and it peeks through, discreetly, in the lyrics."[6] Many of her songs address feminist themes; examples include "I Did Something Bad" (2017), "The Man" (2019), "You Need to Calm Down" (2019), "The Last Great American Dynasty" (2020), "Mad Woman" (2020), "Vigilante Shit" (2022), and "Would've, Could've, Should've" (2022).[256]

Swift played a man (middle) in the music video for "The Man" (2020) to demonstrate sexist double standards against women.

Her 2014 single "Blank Space" is a satirical feminist critique of media's portrayal of Swift.[228] The Guardian columnist Jessica Valenti called its music video a "dystopian feminist fairytale", playing into the "annoying, boy-crazy" tropes media had projected on Swift.[257] The music video of "The Man" also addresses sexism through Swift's portrayal of a male alter-ego named Tyler Swift (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), presenting several prevalent examples of sexist double standards, including objectification, sexualization, toxic masculinity, and patriarchy.[258] iHeartRadio's Paris Close said that the video demonstrates "how the hubris of male privilege plays out in the real world".[259]

Swift has also said, "The female artists I know of have to remake themselves 20 times more than the male artists, or else you're out of a job" in regards to the music industry "discarding" female popstars as soon as they reach their mid-30s. A 2020 Prospect article titled "It's time to face the facts—our male pop stars need to try a bit harder" pointed out the requirement for female popstars such as Swift to be "highly visual, and to change that visual often".[260]

Even though Swift described herself as a feminist,[261] her public appearances and social media posts with female singers and fashion models whom the media called her "squad" gave some the impression that she did so just to keep her name afloat in news.[17] Few critics have also claimed that Swift's feminism lacks intersectionality,[262] causing her to come off as a white feminist whose "clique was really just an exclusive group of mostly white actresses and supermodels." They claimed that Swift uses other women as tools to promote herself, only "distilling feminism for her benefit."[28]

Swift is often considered a flagbearer for artists' rights. Journalists praise her ability to question and change industry practices, noting how her moves have reformed policies of streaming platforms, prompted awareness of intellectual property among upcoming musicians, reshaped the concert ticketing model,[11][277] and negotiated for better financial compensations for all music artists from labels.[209]

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek convinced Swift to return to Spotify after she released 1989 to wide commercial success without the platform.

Swift is known for contesting music streaming services to regulate corporate policies for better preservation of artistic integrity.[11][278] She has said digital streaming services had started to become a dominant form of media consumption around 2013, causing a gradual decline in traditional album sales.[279][280] On November 3, 2014, Swift announced that 1989, her then-upcoming album, would not be released on Spotify, which was growing in popularity at the time, in protest of the platform's "minuscule" payment to artists (US$0.006 to 0.0084 per stream). In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, she stated the value of a work of art should be fixed by its artists:[279]

"Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for. It's my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album's price point is. I hope they don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art."

Karim R. Lakhani and Marco Iansiti, professors of business administration at Harvard Business School, reviewed the issue and upheld Swift's belief that musicians should set the prices.[281] For academic Jessica Searle, Swift proposes music as a "non public good".[282] Nilay Patel, writing for Vox, criticized Swift's beliefs about albums. Patel said Swift "doesn't understand supply and demand", and that the internet has "killed" the album format, claiming most consumers would not shop for a Swift CD anymore.[283] Eventually, Swift withdrew her entire discography from Spotify.[279] Spotify responded, "We hope [Swift will] change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone." 1989 was a commercial success upon release, selling millions of CDs; another Vox journalist Constance Grady regarded this a "huge blow" for Spotify, which attempted to bring Swift back by releasing playlists dedicated to Swift. Her music stayed off Spotify for nearly three years, until Swift released it back on June 9, 2017, in celebration of her obtaining a milestone 100 million units in certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[284] Spotify CEO Daniel Ek stated on CBS This Morning that he had to convince Swift to publish her music back on Spotify; he visited Nashville to meet with Swift, "explaining the model, why streaming mattered", how her fans were asking for her music back on Spotify.[285]

In June 2015, Swift wrote an open letter to Apple Inc. on Tumblr, addressing the three-month free trial that Apple Music had chosen to offer their users while not paying the artists whose catalogs are streamed by users during the trial period. Swift expressed that she finds it "shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company" that they had opted not to pay "writers, producers, or artists" for those three months. She continued as follows:[286]

"This is not about me. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field…but will not get paid for a quarter of a year's worth of plays on his or her songs. [...] Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing. We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation."

Swift asserted that 1989 would not be available on Apple Music either and urged the company to change its policy before it launches on June 30, 2015.[286] Eddy Cue, a senior executive at Apple, apologized for the policy in a tweet and promised to reverse it.[287] Cue told Associated Press, "When I woke up this morning and I saw Taylor's note that she had written, it solidified that we needed to make a change."[288] When Apple Music officially launched, it paid royalties to artists during the three-month trial.[278] Various musicians, music organizations and industry commentators expressed their gratitude to Swift.[288] Elle described the Swift-enabled reforms to streaming services as "a milestone moment in the history of music".[278]

Following the expiration of her six-album contract with Big Machine in 2018, Swift signed a new, international contract with Republic Records, a New York-based record label owned by Universal Music Group.[289] She revealed that, as part of her new contract, Universal agreed that any sale of its shares in Spotify, the largest on-demand music streaming platform in the world, would result in equity shares for all of the label's artists on a non-recoupable basis.[290] Grady called it a huge promise from Universal, which was "far from assured" until Swift interceded.[291] Jamie Powell wrote in the Financial Times that "Swift, on her own, is as powerful as an entire union", and dubbed the equity negotiation "Comrade Swift's special dividend".[292]

Her "battle" against exploitative recording contracts for the ownership of her masters has been described as "revolutionary".[11] In June 2019, after Swift moved to Republic Records, Braun acquired Big Machine from Borchetta for $330 million, funded by many private equity firms, making Braun the owner of all of the masters, music videos and artworks copyrighted by Big Machine, including those of Swift's first six studio albums. Swift, in response, stated she attempted to purchase the masters from Big Machine but that the label offered unfavorable conditions, and that she knew the label would sell them to someone else but did not expect Braun as the buyer, recalling him being an "incessant, manipulative bully". Borchetta claimed that Swift had declined an opportunity to purchase the masters.[293] Swift further alleged that the label blocked her from performing her music at the 2019 American Music Awards and using them in her autobiographical documentary Miss Americana (2020).[294] She claimed that Borchetta and Braun were "exercising tyrannical control" over her music: "the message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished."[295] Big Machine went on to release Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 (2020), an unreleased live album work by Swift, without her permission or due diligence.[296]

Scooter Braun purchased Big Machine in 2019 and became the owner of the masters of Swift's first six albums for a brief time.

Eventually, Swift announced she would re-record the six albums to gain complete ownership over them, following which Braun sold the masters in October 2020 to Shamrock Holdings, a Disney family investment firm, for $405 million under the condition that he would still profit from the masters.[297] Swift disapproved again, rejected an offer from Shamrock for an equity partnership, and began releasing her re-recorded music via Republic Records.[298] Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), the re-recordings of her albums Fearless (2008) and Red (2012), were released in 2021 to critical and commercial success, breaking multiple sales, streaming and chart records.[299] When "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" became the longest song ever to top the Hot 100, Jack Antonoff, the song's producer and a frequent collaborator of Swift, told Rolling Stone that a 10-minute-long song topping the Hot 100 teaches artists to "not listen" to what the industry has to say.[300] Swift was the global best-selling soloist, as per the annual reports published by the IFPI,[301] and the highest-earning musician of 2021.[302]

The controversy was highly publicized, becoming one of the most widely discussed and covered news topics of 2020 and 2021 and a prominent pop culture moment.[303] Evening Standard called it "music's biggest feud".[304] Billboard wrote, since the controversy, acts "lined up for Team Swift or Team Braun, creating the most public battle about an artists' masters in recent memory".[305] Hashtags "#IStandWithTaylor" and "#WeStandWithTaylor" trended worldwide on Twitter.[306] Celebrities who openly supported Swift include Dionne Warwick,[307] Anne Murray,[308] Cher, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Iggy Azalea,[309] Sara Bareilles, Lily Allen, Tinashe, Ella Eyre, Hayley Kiyoko, Camila Cabello, Jordan Pruitt,[310] Brendon Urie,[311] Kelsea Ballerini, JoJo,[312] Azealia Banks,[313] The Regrettes, Echosmith,[314] Antonoff, Haim, Alessia Cara, Allie X, Hrvy, Gretchen Peters, Iza, Katy Perry,[309] Anita Baker,[315] Sky Ferreira,[316] Ed Sheeran,[306] Kelly Clarkson,[317] Cara Delevingne, Heidi Montag, Sara Sampaio,[309] Martha Hunt,[312] Gigi Hadid, Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Ruby Rose, Jameela Jamil, Joseph Khan,[310] Mike Birbiglia,[314] and Mamrie Hart.[309]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez contextualized Swift's battle for her masters as part of the subjugation of creative industries in the U.S. by private equity firms.

A multitude of music artists, politicians, journalists, cultural critics, and legal experts supported Swift's actions regarding the issue, deeming it trailblazing and inspirational.[295][318] Media outlets such as the BBC, Pitchfork, The Guardian and The New York Times opined that, while the issue of master ownership and conflicts between record labels and artists such as Prince, The Beatles, Janet Jackson, and Def Leppard have been prevalent earlier, Swift was one of the few to make it a public discourse on artists' rights, private equity and industry ethics.[319][320][155][321] Dubbing the dispute one of the 50 "most important moments" of the 2010s decade,[322] Rolling Stone journalists noted Swift's role in shifting the public perception of the concept of re-recording or re-mastering.[323] Dominic Rushe of The Guardian said Swift's battle marked a change in the digital music era, where artists are more aware of their rights and would not rely on record labels as much as in the past.[321] Pitchfork critic Sam Sodomsky recognized the visibility she brought to "one of the music industry's longest-standing issues". He said that Swift "is also so huge—not just an artist but a brand—that she can enact change by wielding the leverage of the reliability of her success" and that it is "financially lucrative for the industry to listen" when Swift makes a statement.[155]

Unlike most artists when faced with this kind of injustice, Swift could stand up for herself, and in doing so, invoke meaningful dialogue and inspire change within the notoriously slow-moving music industry [...] Re-recording a back catalog of six full albums and respective secret bonus tracks, then developing a hugely successful campaign to drive loyal fans towards the new versions of their beloved albums—and away from the original master recordings, prompting a dip in streams that will be mimicked in the rights holders' income statement—is something only very, very few artists can do. Taylor Swift is, indeed, amongst that handful.

— "Taylor Swift's Re-Recordings Expose The Music Industry's Chokehold On Intellectual Property", Refinery29[324]

The A.V. Club and MarketWatch interpreted Swift's statements as containing a subtext criticizing private equity firms, highlighting her mention of the Carlyle Group, one of the investors in Braun's purchase.[325] U.S. Democratic politicians such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backed Swift and stated that she is "one of many" creative businesses threatened by private equity firm that harm the U.S. economy.[326][327] The New York Times said that Swift, despite being a relatively young artist, was capable of turning a contractual dispute into a "cause célèbre", especially within a 2010s context where there is public wrath over corporate greed and "gender-based power dynamics".[328] The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber opined that the re-recordings were "a dazzling victory lap", disproving industry observers who had doubted Swift.[329]

Lydia Burgham of The New Zealand Herald dubbed the re-recordings an "ultimate middle finger to the bureaucracy of the music industry",[330] and Hannah Towey of Business Insider said they sent "shockwaves" throughout the industry.[331] The Hollywood Reporter consulted music attorney James Sammataro regarding the controversy; he observed that "any time Taylor brings attention to an issue, it gets magnified [...] She has a very loud megaphone and she's not afraid to use it. She's had great success in effectuating change."[332] According to Tonya Butler, professor, and chair of the Music Business Management Department at Berklee College of Music, "regardless of the reasons why [Swift is] re-recording, whether it's spite or good business, the fact she is bringing to attention the re-recording restriction agreement alone makes the whole controversy valuable."[333] Billboard named Swift the Greatest Pop Star of 2021 for the successful and unprecedented outcomes of her re-recording venture.[299]

Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) is the highest-grossing female tour of all time.

The concert industry shifted to a "slow ticketing model" after Swift first implemented it with her 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour. It replaced the selling-out of tickets in minutes with a demand-driven ticketing approach that requires consumers to register in advance and ticketing platforms to price tickets in accordance with what consumers are willing to pay, allowing consumers to purchase tickets at any time and price level upon access to the platform. This meant higher ticket prices in the beginning and a gradual drop as the concert date approached, replacing "momentum with consumer choice and experience" and bypassing scalpers, according to David Marcus of Ticketmaster. The model was initially criticized by journalists, who thought it was an attempt at camouflaging Swift's dull ticket sales following her unfavorable press in 2016; however, the tour was a sold-out success, surpassing the Beatles to become the highest grossing North American tour of all time, after which critics favored the model.[334][335][336]

On November 22, the first round of on-sale of the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour was mismanaged by Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment, attracting widespread public and political criticism. Due to the "astronomical" demand for tickets,[337] with 3.5 million people registering for the on-sale program, the Ticketmaster website crashed within an hour of sale but still sold 2.4 million tickets, breaking the record for the most concert tickets sold by an artist in a single day. Ticketmaster attributed the crash to heavy site traffic ("historically unprecedented demand with [14 million] showing up").[338][339] Swift said she was promised by the company that they could handle the demand.[340] Ticketmaster apologized to Swift and fans via social media.[341]

Fans and consumer groups accused Ticketmaster of deceit and monopoly.[342] According to several members of U.S. Congress, Ticketmaster and Live Nation should be separated, as their merger led to substandard service and higher ticket prices.[343] The U.S. Department of Justice had opened investigations into Live Nation–Ticketmaster,[344] whereas several fans sued the companies for intentional deception, fraud, price fixing, and violations of antitrust law.[345] Bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee censured the companies at a hearing in January 2023.[346]

CNN journalist Allison Morrow wrote, in an article titled "One Nation, Under Swift", that Swift's fans have united the two parties in a way "the Founding Fathers failed to anticipate".[347] Pitchfork asked, "Is there any other artist [other than Swift] who could force urgency into the federal investigation of a music industry monopoly just by going on tour?"[348] Brooke Schultz of Associated Press discussed how the issue turned into a political movement and considered Swift's fans an influential voter demographic during elections: "the sheer power and size of Swift's fandom has spurred conversations about economic inequality, merely symbolized by Ticketmaster".[349] Entertainment Weekly and The A.V. Club listed "Swifties vs. Ticketmaster" as one of the biggest cultural news stories of 2022. The former's Allaire Nuss wrote, "If there was ever an artist with enough pop-culture prowess to bring down the music industry's most hated monopoly, it's Taylor Swift."[350][351] The Washington Post proclaimed Swift has "an unbreakable hold on our increasingly fractured world—and its discourse—in a way that almost no one else can."[14]

Swift was apolitical as a country artist. She avoided commenting on political topics in her early career—noted by critics retrospectively as her time under Big Machine—hesitating to dictate her views to people. When enquired by Time in 2012 regarding her stance in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, Swift said, "I try to keep myself as educated and informed as possible. But I don't talk about politics because it might influence other people. And I don't think that I know enough yet in life to be telling people who to vote for."[360] Hence, journalists criticized her lack of political activism despite her wealth and status as a celebrated music icon, claiming Swift's philanthropy alone was not adequate.[15][361] Motivated by Swift's apoliticism, U.S. Republican politician Trump called her a "terrific" role model; conservative lawmakers invited Swift for personal tours of the U.S. Capitol and offered to donate tickets to her concerts.[362]

For the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Swift did not make any political statements or speak in support of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton or against Republican candidate Trump as some journalists had expected.[15] Pop culture commentators wondered who Swift had voted for in the election as she posted a picture of her standing in a polling station queue on Instagram.[363] USA Today asked, "Who did Taylor Swift vote for? Here's why her sweater [in the Instagram post] suggests Hillary".[364] Entertainment Weekly offered an analysis of Instagram's "most popular Election Day content", finding out that the most-liked posts were pictures from celebrities such as Rihanna, Demi Lovato, Kourtney Kardashian, and Ariana Grande, all of whom had explicitly endorsed Clinton, but it was Swift's "innocuous" non-partisan post that earned the most likes  (2.1 million).[365] This represented a conundrum in the relationship between the perception of pop stars in the media and their necessity to align politically, and how Swift was an anomaly, according to The Ringer critic Alyssa Bereznak.[363] BBC journalist Nick Levine found her political silence "increasingly conspicuous".[15]

According to Bereznak, it might have been "an advantageous business strategy" for pop stars to avoid discussing politics earlier. However, for today's cultural figures like Swift, it is the lens through which her "actions, communication, and work" will be analyzed in the media. In 2017, Swift made an Instagram post supporting the 2017 Women's March,[363] a global protest on January 21, 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration as U.S. president, prompted by his misogynistic policies.[366][367] The post was met with criticism from both fans and critics, who considered it pointless as Swift refused to channel her feminist activism into political counteraction.[363] The Cut suggested that, even though Clinton had the public support of Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Springsteen, Swift's endorsement of Clinton "could have" helped her become the president.[368]

Medford opined even Swift cannot subsist in a political vacuum as it becomes "deafeningly noticeable" and highlighted that, when Trump imposed a "racist" travel ban across the U.S. affecting "refugees, immigrants, green card-holding U.S. citizens" arriving from the Muslim world, the internet responded by organizing protests and sharing information on how to help, whereas Swift announced the music video for her single from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (2016), a collaboration with British singer Zayn Malik, a Muslim. Medford wrote, "To have such a large, wide-reaching platform and use it only for the advancement of your own ambition reflects poorly, regardless of how progressive your politics may be."[369] Some critics attributed Swift's political silence to a significant portion of her fandom being conservatives due to her country background.[262]

The most intense sociopolitical criticisms alleged that Swift is a crypto-fascist.[370][371] Making use of her continuing political silence in 2016 and 2017, some white supremacists in the U.S. considered Swift one of them—a neo-nazi—whereas alt-right websites proclaimed Swift their "Aryan Goddess" with "Nordic blood".[372][373][374] According to such alt-right media, Swift was waiting for Trump's election to announce her "Aryan Agenda" to the world.[375] Liberal and progressive media outlets began to demand Swift to clarify her political stance.[262] When a blog post by PopFront, a left-wing website, alleged that her 2017 single "Look What You Made Me Do" was a "subtle" nod to the alt-right movement, Swift's public relations and legal team called the post defamatory and demanded that PopFront "issue a retraction, remove the story from all media sources, and cease and desist," or face legal consequences.[376] In response, PopFront contacted American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which criticized Swift for attempting to "suppress constitutionally protected speech".[377]

In a critical analysis for NPR, journalist Leah Donella asserted that there is no reason to believe Swift is a white supremacist, claiming "she has no affiliation with any white supremacist groups. She has never publicly made any white supremacist remarks, nor has she ever been accused of making them in private". Donella further noted that claims that Swift is a white supremacist rest solely on the fact that she is white, "looks white, and hangs out with mostly white people", justifying the latter with 2014 studies demonstrating that a white person has only one person of color as a friend for every 91 white friends: "This isn't a Taylor Swift thing. It's a housing segregation/workplace diversity/general American history thing."[374]

Kamala Harris thanked Swift for endorsing the Democratic campaign in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

For the first time in her career, Swift voiced her political opinion in the 2018 United States midterm elections, "breaking her political silence".[378][379] She officially endorsed the Democratic candidates in her home state Tennessee, Phil Bredesen for U.S. Senate and Jim Cooper for the U.S. House of Representatives,[380] via social media posts on October 18, 2018, which were a subject of widespread media coverage and sparked much praise from fans, journalists, celebrities, Democratic politicians, and social media users. This Is Spinal Tap director Rob Reiner tweeted, "A big shout out to Taylor Swift for speaking out. You can single-handedly change this country. Impress your fans with how critical and powerful their voices are. If you get them to the polls on Nov 6, everything you care about will be protected."[381] Bredesen stated he was "shocked" to learn about Swift's endorsement and expressed his gratitude.[382] In her post, Swift censured Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn for her "appalling" policies:[381]

"In the past I've been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions. I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in [the United States]. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening, and prevalent."

Swift was met with "fierce backlash" from Republicans, supporters of Trump, and white supremacists who had formed an "odd cult" around Swift. Right-wing supporters, who felt "betrayed" by Swift widely criticized, slut-shamed, and berated her online, stating that she "ended" her career or that she should "shut up" and "stick to music". The National Republican Senatorial Committee stated, "If you haven't heard, multimillionaire pop star Taylor Swift came down from her ivory tower to tell hardworking Tennesseans to vote for Phil Bredesen." Charlie Kirk, a right-wing activist and president of the conservative group Turning Point USA, tweeted: "You just endorsed a Democrat in the Tennessee Senate race with a ridiculous statement saying Marsha Blackburn, a woman, is against women. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." U.S. President Trump told reporters: "I'm sure Taylor Swift doesn't know anything about [Blackburn]. Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25% less now, OK?".[381][379]

Over 169,000 people registered to vote in the 2018 elections within 48 hours of Swift's post, according to Vote.org, which also stated that only 59,000 people had registered to vote in the 30 days preceding Swift's post. Publications dubbed it "the Taylor Swift effect".[383][384][385] In a 2019 interview, Swift stated that when beginning her country music career, Big Machine and other label executives advised not discussing politics because of the consequences of the Dixie Chicks controversy.[380] She expressed regret for not endorsing Clinton in the 2016 election because her negative press at the time made her feel "just useless" and "like a hindrance", describing Trump's presidency as an autocracy.[386] She also explained to Vogue that Hillary was being called "manipulative" and "a liar" by Trump's supporters on the internet—the same type of harsh comments Swift had received in 2016 following her feud with West and Kardashian. Hence, Swift wondered whether she would be an endorsement or "a liability" to Hillary: "Look, snakes of a feather flock together. Look, the two lying women. The two nasty women." Swift added that millions of social media users wanted Swift to "disappear", so she decided to step away from the spotlight.[209] Emily Strayer, member of the Chicks, opined that "the power [Swift] has right now to change things is way beyond any power [the Chicks] ever had."[387]

In her 2020 documentary Miss Americana, Swift called Blackburn "Trump in a wig" who won in 2018 by "being a female applying to the kind of female males want us to be in a horrendous 1950s world."[388] Blackburn responded in a July 2021 interview to the far-right website Breitbart News, claiming that "when you look at Marxist socialistic societies, they do not allow women to dress or sing or be on stage or to entertain or the type of music [Swift] would have. They don't allow protection of private intellectual property rights"[389] and that Swift "is going to be the first ones who will be cut off because the state would have to approve your music."[390] Some political critics suggested that Swift should run against Blackburn in the next elections.[391] For the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, Swift endorsed Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and lent her protest song "Only the Young" (2020) to their campaign free of cost.[379] Forbes staff Seth Cohen wrote, Swift's increased political engagement in the past year "has been notable for its high-profile approach and big hit commentary."[352] Arnold opined that Swift's distaste for "her thralldom to a conservative ideology" helps her audiences to reflect on "serious changes" regarding gender in the U.S. and the ways those changes manifest in live the culture.[392]

Nota bene: This section is non-exhaustive and includes illustrative examples only. Other examples can be found in other sections of the article.

• The New York Times the positive impact Swift had on the LGBTQ+ community as a country artist by releasing the 2011 music video for "Mean".[361] Time described her 2014 song "Welcome to New York", which contains lyrics such as "You can want who you want/Boys and boys and girls and girls", as an "equality anthem".[393]
• On March 23, 2018, Swift posted about gun violence on social media, donating to victims and to March For Our Lives.[379]
• On June 1, 2019, she created a Change.org petition urging senators to vote for the House-passed Equality Act,[379] which bans discrimination "on the basis of the sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition of an individual, as well as because of sex-based stereotypes".[394] As of April 2020, the petition has over 704,000 signatures, including those from Democratic senators like Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Ed Markey, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tim Kaine, and Cory Booker. Swift also wrote a letter to the Republican Tennessee senator Lamar Alexander, asking him to support the act:[395] "For American citizens to be denied jobs or housing based on who they love or how they identify is un-American and cruel".[396]
• Swift performed at Stonewall Inn during WorldPride NYC 2019, a tavern regarded as the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement.[397]
• The release of her 2019 single "You Need to Calm Down", a song supporting gay rights, led to a spike in donations to GLAAD, an LGBT non-governmental organization, as the lyrics namecheck the organization. In response, GLAAD started a Facebook fundraiser for fans to support the advocacy work for Pride Month, with $1300 as a goal since 13 is Swift's lucky number.[398] Anthony Ramos, a GLAAD executive, stated that Swift "is one of the world's biggest pop stars; the fact that she continues to use her platform and music to support the LGBTQ community and the Equality Act is a true sign of being an ally."[396][399] CEO Sarah Kate stated, Swift "continues to use her platform to speak out against discrimination and create a world where everyone can live the life they love. [...] In today's divisive political and cultural climate, we need more allies like Taylor."[399]
• On August 26, 2019, at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, after winning the Video of the Year for the "You Need to Calm Down" music video, Swift delivered a speech urging the audience to sign the petition, to which the White House has not responded despite having "five times the amount of signatures that it would need to warrant a response".[394] The next day, then-White House deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere issued a statement criticizing the Equality Act.[400] "You Need to Calm Down" went on to become a gay anthem.[401]
• On May 29, 2020, Swift criticized Trump's "provocative" tweets regarding the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul,[379] and following the widespread George Floyd protests, she made donations to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Black Lives Matter movement,[402] voiced for the removal of Confederate monuments in Tennessee,[403] and extended her support for Juneteenth to become a national holiday.[404] Swift's tweet criticizing Trump became her most-liked tweet ever, garnering over two million likes.[405] In a Forbes piece titled "Taylor Swift And The Tweet That Could Help Take Down A President", Cohen wrote that Swift's political voice "could have enormous political consequences" as surveys suggested Trump had struggled with "winning over white women voters" and that "a base of younger and first-time voters" will most support Biden's efforts to unseat Trump; Swift's fanbase, which contains both of the said groups, "will therefore be key to the outcome of the 2020 election."[406] Trump eventually lost the election; Biden was elected as the next U.S. president.[407]

Various higher educational institutions offer undergraduate and elective courses focusing on Swift since 2022:[542][12]