The secret behind Taylor Swift's "star era"

Thanks to promotional technology, country singer Taylor Swift has climbed to the top of contemporary pop music, creating the “Taylor Swift era.”

What is the truth behind this rise to power? This is the concern of many music lovers, because just a few years ago, when electronic music began to gain a foothold, cementing the name of the "witch" Lady Gaga, now, the charming princess with romantic music that seems to come out of a fairy tale suddenly stepped up to claim the throne of queen.

Taylor Swift is currently one of the artists dominating the contemporary music market.

To explain this phenomenon, we need to look back at the music industry of the global entertainment empire: America.

Manipulation of the "bosses"

The popularity of modern music and the rise of contemporary artists are controlled by big business. In the US, the recording industry is a $14 billion business.

Of these, the five major record labels Sony, Universal, BMG, EMI and Time Warner dominate 85% of the market, with the remaining 15% divided equally among hundreds of independent record labels and thousands of other artists.

Whenever a notable singer or band appears, these big companies often choose a name to build a “brand”. Depending on the level of success of this choice, the name of that artist will be pushed into a new “era” in music.

In this way, media moguls easily control the popular music industry, gain revenue, and at the same time minimize competition between artists.

According to statistics, about 27,000 music products are released each year. Of the 7,000 products released by new artists, less than 10% are profitable. Therefore, major record labels only sign contracts that they think will be profitable.

In addition, they only focus on the latest trends, and flood the market with similar products. In this way, they have created many new waves in the music market, from Rap music in the early years of the century, to R&B, Country and most recently EDM.

In fact, everything that appears on radio or television is part of the chain of major record labels. Meanwhile, listeners are too passive in receiving music, easily brainwashed by what they hear on the radio, see on television, or read in magazines.

And that is why popular music is not really created by the masses. In other words, a new “star” or “era” in music is partly created by the business and promotional strategies of the strategic minds of businesses, and sometimes, by the artists themselves.

Taylor Swift – talented singer or CEO

According to a survey conducted with more than 50 of the most influential figures in the American music industry in 2015 by Billboard magazine, Taylor Swift is currently the most favored name in this small and powerful group.

The survey results show that Taylor is the artist they prioritize when they want to start building a brand. Up to 70% of them answered “yes” when asked if they intend to actively support Taylor Swift.

Success came to Taylor Swift as a matter of course, because besides significant media support, she is also a talented CEO with an excellent strategic mind.

Her journey to fame is considered a classic marketing lesson for anyone who wants to successfully establish a personal brand.

Taylor Swift was born and raised in the era of social media. But not only did she embrace it, she also created a direct connection with her fans through a series of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram accounts. She constantly responded to posts, photos and questions from fans.

And by doing so, she “created a level of excitement and advocacy that no other form of advertising could,” says Matt Britton, CEO of branding firm MRY.

Taylor's understanding of how the media works also helped her craft a brilliant PR strategy, attacking free music releases from Spotify and Apple Music.

Taylor's personal message quickly spread across music forums, sparking heated debates everywhere about artist pay.

Surprisingly, just hours later, Apple, under the leadership of Tim Cook, reversed course and agreed to pay for online copyrights. This is a classic example of a CEO's leadership, with a vision that goes beyond personal gain, to gain others' confidence in his decisions.

Create joy, achieve success

On December 31, 2014, Taylor Swift released a video filmed at her home, showing her hand-wrapping gifts for select fans, then driving from New York to Connecticut to deliver them. She also spent several precious hours playing and chatting with an elderly fan and her son.

The video recording the journey quickly went viral, creating a special effect called “Swiftmas”. It quickly became a hot topic in the media, was the material for many touching stories in the newspaper, and developed into a free PR and marketing strategy.

For Taylor personally, this is a success that she did not need to put much effort to achieve. Her fans, who are enthusiastic and numerous, now have more reasons to be loyal to their idol. Many people who do not care, now know her name. And the executives of the popular music industry, once again promote the establishment of a new "era" in music called "Taylor Swift"./.

According to VOV