Taylor Swift: A Businesswoman Like No Other

Taylor Swift's Eras tour is set to make her the highest-grossing female artist of all time.

I've been thinking a lot about Taylor Swift as a businesswoman.

Let me geek out for a minute about Swift and what we can learn from her: pic.twitter.com/m5qAWuDoVe

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

First, it's no secret I'm a massive Taylor Swift fan. Billy Joel said it best when he called her "The Beatles of her generation."

This is partly an excuse for me to write about my favorite artist. But you also don't have to be a fan to appreciate Swift as a savvy businesswoman:

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Taylor Swift is only 33, but she's already the only woman to win three Grammys for Album of the Year.

She holds the record for most songs to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 (188 songs), and last fall became the first artist to own the entire Top 10 simultaneously. pic.twitter.com/8zt2qNNQC2

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

I admire Taylor Swift for her artistic talent & her business savvy.

Five lessons we can learn from her:

1) Great Products Expand Markets
2) Cultivate Your Community
3) Build a Clear Brand
4) Product Velocity Wins
5) Reward Your Superfans

First, expanding your market:

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Lesson #1: Great Products Expand Markets

Taylor Swift moved to Nashville at 13 and went door-to-door to record labels. They all turned her down.

Labels saw country music on the decline with young listeners, and didn't see a market for a teen country artist.

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

What they all missed is that great products *expand* markets.

Swift proved that there *was* a market as a teen country artist, then she quickly grew much broader into a bona fide pop star. pic.twitter.com/WPrZUj9F8K

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Same lesson applies in startups:

People underestimated Uber by looking at the size of the taxi market. But Uber had a 10x better product (mobile payments, dual rating system, better coverage density) that rapidly expanded the market.

Great product > market size pic.twitter.com/USv1lEvI9V

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Lesson #2: Cultivate Your Community

From ~2006 to ~2016, Taylor Swift was a Tumblr die-hard: she logged a stunning 27,000 (!) interactions with fans on Tumblr.

As one of the first internet-native superstars, she realized the importance of interacting with fans directly. pic.twitter.com/VOIZZ3wKRb

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

More recently, Swift has updated her playbook for the 2020s, frequently commenting on fans' TikToks.

She knows how to tap into the fandom to stay in touch, cultivate community, and hear feedback. pic.twitter.com/8Ho1keIvcl

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

The best companies do the same thing:@figma just launched its new Figma Community.@NotionHQ was brilliant in tapping "Community Ambassadors" around the world to host meet-ups.@CommonRoomHQ offers infrastructure for community.

There's no substitute for *talking* to users. pic.twitter.com/2kZoyG0vrw

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Lesson #3: Build a Clear Brand

Taylor Swift's brand is crystal clear: authentic, relatable, a champion for others (especially artists)

Like any good brand, she's evolved over time to stay fresh. But she never loses sight of what makes her unique. pic.twitter.com/vW9WSsQNiw

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

The best companies do the same thing.

Apple stands for product excellence & innovation. It also evolves its brand to stay modern (yes, Apple's first logo was an image of Newton under the tree).

One story about Taylor Swift & Apple that embodies her brand: pic.twitter.com/YV2nipEYoe

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

When Apple launched Apple Music, it gave everyone a three-month free trial. The problem: artists wouldn’t be paid

Swift wrote an open letter: "We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you our music for no compensation."

Apple quickly changed its stance. pic.twitter.com/XjcHrzB2Po

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Lesson #4: Product Velocity Wins

Taylor Swift is prolific. Take this stat:

Over the 11 years from 2006 to 2017, Swift put out six albums with 82 total songs (7.5 songs / year).

Over the four years from 2019 to 2022, Swift put out six albums with 125 songs (32 songs / year).

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

She's also re-recording her albums to reclaim her art.

Red (Taylor's Version) destroyed the original Red across streams, album sales, and radio plays. Check out the table here.

Like Swift, the best companies layer on new products with ever-greater velocity. pic.twitter.com/q6R5xMyrZ1

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Lesson #5: Reward Your Superfans

An artist’s superfans are her lifeblood: they buy every vinyl, rack up streams, buy the most expensive tour tickets.

Same for a company's superfans: they're customers with the highest spend & the best retention.

Swift understands this concept:

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

Swift knows how to monetize her superfans. One brilliant example:

For Midnights, Swift revealed that if fans bought all 4 versions of her vinyl, they could align covers to form a clock (Gasp!)

This was a highly-effective effort to get fans to buy 4x as much vinyl (at $30 each!) pic.twitter.com/YTjvfhQJtq

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023

I love Taylor Swift for her songwriting.

But as someone who geeks out about brands & marketing, I also admire her shrewdness as a businesswoman.

Few artists leveraged the internet so effectively from an early age and built such a massive money machine. She's a masterclass. pic.twitter.com/xe4Q8adzRq

— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023