Taylor Swift grew up in Pennsylvania and signed her first record deal at the young age of 15. Since then, she has only grown in popularity. From the beginning, Swift has been intentional in maintaining her image by keeping her social media posts relatable and authentic, and by often connecting/interacting with her fans. She has also built, to quote the article here, “a successful merchandise empire.” With constant new merchandise drops and sneak peaks into her life on social media, she keeps her fans engaged and excited. Swift has also impressively touched the fashion industry with her very own clothing line and trademarked the lyrics to her songs on all sorts of merchandise. In addition to her music career, she has donated to causes that promote education and assist with disaster relief. One only knows what the entrepreneur will do next!
No list of entrepreneurs would be complete without Taylor Swift on it. Regardless of whether or not you are a fan of her music, you have to respect her drive to spark innovation in the music industry. She knows a thing or two about marketing music so it reaches more audiences, and the fact that she makes so much money from tours and merchandise is absolutely insane! What a great example of innovators doing what innovators do.
I think Taylor Swift’s story is very interesting. She has always seemed to care about her fans, and her persona with them. With her willingness to try new things and her natural entrepreneurial mindset, she has created such a following that even being spotted at a football game garners her national attention. The economic impact alone from her recent Eras tour has brought Swift to the forefront and even inspired a movie. While many famous people were pushed by their parents or family to become the stars they are, Swift seemed to navigate her own way through the cutthroat music industry to become the success she is today.
People (including myself) are so focused on what the whole world sees of Taylor Swift—her music—that they are often blind to the crazy and strategic entrepreneurship that goes on behind the scenes. If Taylor Swift’s songs ALONE were what defined her success… well. They’re not bad, but I agree, it is definitely more of the story she creates and way she uses them. Having each album be an “era” is a unique concept, and I think drew people who maybe liked a few of her songs into listening to the other. Though this is not the creation of the product, it is certainly a unique and entrepreneurial idea/concept she came up with.