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Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop stars and an amazing songwriter. However, Taylor Swift is an amazing businesswoman and has had a huge impact on the economy in recent years. When Swift began her career she signed with Big Machine Records at just 15 years old. Her contract with them stated that she would record and release 6 studio albums under their label. As Taylor Swift’s name and brand grew she dominated different genres and told stories of heartbreak, love, friendship, growing up, and loss through her songs.

 After her third album, Speak Now (2010), Swift rebranded herself and began experimenting with making pop music on her Red album (2012). The way Taylor Swift rebranded her entire career from a Nashville country singer to a global pop star, set her apart from other musicians and developed her brand and identity while drawing in more fans and increasing her popularity with pop radio.

In 2019 Taylor Swift announced that the masters of her first 6 albums which she recorded under Big Machine Records, were sold to a private investor without her knowledge. Instead of letting this moment end her career, she announced that she would re-record her music and call the new albums, (Taylor’s Version). On these re-recorded albums she would add vault tracks, which were songs that she wrote for the album but never got a chance to release. The idea of vault tracks incentivizes people to buy and stream the new albums, as they would support Taylor and hear new songs from her. 

“When something says in parentheses (Taylor’s Version) next to it, that means I own it, which is exciting” – Taylor Swift  

After splitting from Big Machine Records, Taylor Swift signed a new contract with Universal Music Group (UMG), where she would own all the masters and the rights to her new music. Under her new label, Swift recorded her 2019 album Lover.

Taylor Swift’s tour, Loverfest, was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but this year would soon become one of the biggest years for her career. In July of 2020, Taylor Swift surprise dropped a brand new album called Folklore. This was another genre shift in Swift’s career from pop to folk music. Although it was a surprise album drop, Folklore rose to the top of the charts and later won Album of the Year at the Grammys. Swift stated in her 2020 documentary, The Long Pond Studio Sessions, that she wrote these songs to tell stories and create characters with love triangles. One album and a documentary were not all Swift did in 2020, in December Swift surprise dropped her second pandemic album called, Evermore, which she called “Folklore’s sister record.” Once again the album topped the charts and both albums became fan favorite albums by the Swifties. Taylor Swift’s fan base grew larger in 2020, due to the success of her albums, making 2020 one of the most notable moments of her career. 

In the following years, Taylor Swift announced and released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in February 2021, and Red (Taylor’s Version) in November 2021. Both albums were a success and proved to Swift that her fans would support her through the recordings. Red (Taylor’s Version), had an astounding success in the media, as it was the first time Swift had ever released a 10-minute song. On the rerecording of Red, Taylor decided to include All Too Well (10 Minute Version), as she had originally written the song as a 10-minute song and it was a fan favorite song among her fanbase. In 2022 Taylor announced her brand new album Midnights, at the VMA’s, which she then released in October of 2022. Following her 10th studio album, Taylor Swift announced The Eras Tour, which has grown to be one of the biggest tours of all time, breaking records and officially making Taylor Swift a self-made billionaire. 

On The Eras Tour, Swift announced and released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July of 2023, and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in August of 2023. Taylor utilized The Eras Tour as a way to market her new albums, by announcing them on the tour and talking about them during her shows to get fans excited for the new (Taylor’s Version) album. The Eras Tour also boosted streams in Taylor’s discography making her the most streamed artist on Spotify and Apple Music in 2023. Using the support and popularity from The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift announced another brand new album at the Grammy’s in 2024 called, The Tortured Poets Department, which will be released in April of 2024. 

Throughout her entire career, Taylor Swift has proven time and time again that she is an amazing singer/songwriter and businesswoman. Genre shifts, pandemic albums, and announcing albums on tour, are a few of the ways that Swift has marketed her brand and career as a songwriter. Taylor Swift’s marketing strategies continue to grow her career more each year.