Taylor Swift: A Businesswoman Like No Other
Taylor Swift is only 33, but she's already made history. She's the only woman to win three Grammys for Album of the Year, and her Eras tour is set to make her the highest-grossing female artist of all time. Here's a look at her business success.
![Author profile image](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1613257710597709838/HttHvtVx_normal.jpg)
Rex Woodbury
Partner @IndexVentures. Writing about how technology shapes humanity, and vice versa, at https://t.co/aJbldZ12vG. Investing Seed, Series A.
![Header media for article](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsA1fL5XsAMS-Vx.jpg)
-
Taylor Swift's Eras tour is set to make her the highest-grossing female artist of all time.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
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."
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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: -
Taylor Swift is only 33, but she's already the only woman to win three Grammys for Album of the Year.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
I admire Taylor Swift for her artistic talent & her business savvy.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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: -
Lesson #1: Great Products Expand Markets
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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. -
What they all missed is that great products *expand* markets.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
Same lesson applies in startups:
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
Lesson #2: Cultivate Your Community
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
More recently, Swift has updated her playbook for the 2020s, frequently commenting on fans' TikToks.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
She knows how to tap into the fandom to stay in touch, cultivate community, and hear feedback. pic.twitter.com/8Ho1keIvcl -
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.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
There's no substitute for *talking* to users. pic.twitter.com/2kZoyG0vrw -
Lesson #3: Build a Clear Brand
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
The best companies do the same thing.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
When Apple launched Apple Music, it gave everyone a three-month free trial. The problem: artists wouldn’t be paid
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
Lesson #4: Product Velocity Wins
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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). -
She's also re-recording her albums to reclaim her art.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
Lesson #5: Reward Your Superfans
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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: -
Swift knows how to monetize her superfans. One brilliant example:
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
I love Taylor Swift for her songwriting.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
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 -
Full breakdown of the @taylorswift13 School of Business in this Digital Native piece. Also really enjoyed the @AcquiredFM episode on Taylor, which I highly recommend.
— Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) March 24, 2023
Curious what else I'm missing in Swift's playbook from over the years.https://t.co/EIbkhgVecZ