Taylor Midnights has been trending for a while now. The 10th studio album from the star was released on October 21 at midnight, in keeping with the title. It would not be a stretch to say that Taylor Swift is a brilliant performer and an even better businesswoman.
The PR and marketing strategy for Taylor’s Midnights sent fans into a tizzy as she used social media channels to the hilt to leave clues and messages to her discerning fans. Her ability to connect with her fans on a deep, personal level is the number one reason why Taylor Swift’s has managed to sustain her level of success. She is your girl-next-door and a superstar; for fans, she is the therapist who articulates their feelings. The Taylor Swift brand is part of the new crop of female leadership that has taken the world by its lapels.
Taylor’s Midnights and Secret Sessions
Taylor fans, or should I say Swifties, know about the singer-songwriter’s fascination with the number 13. So, it is no surprise that she has dropped 13-tracks with Midnights. Explaining her album’s theme, she wrote on Instagram, “Midnights is a collage of intensity, highs and lows and ebbs and flows. Life can be dark, starry, cloudy, terrifying, electrifying, hot, cold, romantic or lonely. Just like Midnights.”
It is safe to say Taylor’s Midnights will never be the same anymore. The album has already sold over one million units in the US within the first five days.
The absolute blitzkrieg that was her marketing strategy ensured that fans were looking for Easter eggs and meta-analyzing every picture and message from the megastar. From Instagram to Tik-Tok, Swift used every tool at her disposal to keep her fans guessing on what is coming next.
Swift knows that her fans love her and goes the extra-mile to appreciate them for their unwavering support. Even before Taylor Midnights, she has been known to host fan meetings at her houses called Secret Sessions. She hosts these private sessions at her houses across the US and UK.At the Taylor Swift Secret Sessions fans get an up-close-and-personal look at unreleased albums, the opportunity to ask questions, and often go home laden with baked goods, made by the singer herself.
In connecting so deeply with her fans, Taylor has ensured that she has a shield when the world attacks her empire. The Swifties are extremely protective of their favorite artist and will speak up if they feel their demi-goddess has been wronged in any manner.
Taylor Swift Reputation
Taylor Swift Reputation is an album and a revelation of the phenomenal woman she is. She has continued to reinvent herself and changed her image depending on her releases. “The female artists I know of have to remake themselves, like, 20 times more than the male artists,” Swift said, “or else you’re out of a job.”
While constantly reinventing herself has earned her the admiration of fans, she has also faced intense media backlash for being a chameleon. Her edgy persona that seems to waver between approachable and mysterious has had an extremely polarizing effect on people.
Her downfall was swift and depressingly quick. The image of impossible imperfection was torn into shreds by critics who called her out for portraying a perfect, white, virginal image.
During the Reputation era, the Taylor Swift success story took shape in a more definitive form as she completely stopped making public appearances, in a move to control the narrative about her. Stories about dating Tom Hiddleston for PR, disagreements with Calvin Harris, and the never-ending fight with Katy Perry for hiring Swift’s backup dancers, seemingly through their songs, threatened to eclipse her success over the years.
After going dark in 2016, Taylor took her stadium tour as an opportunity to connect with fans in 2017. During this time, she did not give interviews or make public statements.
She also reclaimed her image after her very public feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Prior to her Reputation album, mysterious videos posted on her social media accounts depicted a writhing snake, an apparent reference to the time when Kim and Kanye fans bombarded her pages with the snake emoji.
“Taylor’s strategy has always been to remain as true to her roots as possible. She’s definitely shifted from country to pop but she’s kept that sensibility that her day one fans have loved so much,” says Jeetendr Sehdev, a branding expert and author told Fortune.
A Success Story: Lessons in leadership
Taylor Swift’s success comes not just from her chart-topping songs but also from being a woman of principle, who stands up for what she believes in. The Taylor Swift brand has been used to highlight the struggles of the LGBT community, how she felt in the aftermath of her sexual assault trial, her infamous feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, and the effect of cancel culture. In speaking up about her political views, she was able to push American youth to exercise their right to vote.
A fierce advocate of being true to yourself, the Taylor Swift brand is crafted around not letting other people’s opinions define your actions. She has been quoted as saying, “Just be yourself. There is no one better.”
When the mysterious writhing snake videos eventually turned into memes, Taylor Swift joined in on the fun by releasing the video Look What You Made Me Do. Laughing at yourself is the hardest thing to do, but Miss Swift knows that it also works to break the tension and earned her the admiration of fans and critics alike.
As a millennial who grew up in the limelight, Swift understands the impact of media. So, when she was canceled out by mainstream media, she took charge of the narrative. By going dark, she piqued the interest of the very haters who called for her dismissal before breaking records with her new album. Taylor Swift’s Reputation was never in anybody’s hands but hers.
One thing Taylor Swift’s Midnights, or for that matter all her albums, show us is that she is unafraid of change. Moving with the times is necessary for survival and success. Taylor Swift’s success shows us that to embrace change is to be bold and one of the key qualities of a leader.
She has spun her music empire into multiple other business opportunities. From dish towels to keychains to four separate vinyl editions of Taylor Swift Midnights, her quality pieces have fans clamoring for more.
