Having read Jonah Rudy’s blog post, I found what I overheard to be quite the contradiction to his post. He mentions the use of the Internet changing value propositions of artists, gearing them towards more “theatrical shows while staying true to themselves.” I had agreed with the post, up until overhearing this the other day: “Taylor Swift recently released her ‘first official pop album’.” Presuming everyone knew that
Taylor Swift started out as a Country artist (one of her key value propositions), why is she now a Pop artist?
The blog post puts emphasis on the web as the reason for her fame and fortune, but I see it as the society and the changing market, industry,
and technology. The music industry is no longer dependent on skill and reputation. Take Beyonce and Swift, for example, both recently “leaked” parts of their album online. This may seem crazy to the accountants and finance team, but to the marketing team, this is pure genius. The leaked songs served as advertisement for the brands; the brands knew their markets. Both artists did their market research and knew that most of their target market’s demographics are those living and breathing the web. This not only generated record breaking sales (with Swift selling 1.287 million copies of her new album in the first week) for both, but proved that keeping up with the trends is not only cost efficient, but a needed marketing strategy.
Back to the question of why Swift is now in the Pop industry. She originally established herself as a borderline Pop artist with “bubblegum tunes” in the Country genre; she is the only artist to claim that title. With enough fame,fans, and fortune, this transition was not only expected, but is supported by her targets’ demographics.
Researched links:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2014/11/05/taylor-swifts-1989-moves-1-287-million-copies-in-its-first-week/
http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2014/11/taylor_swifts_1989_has_already.html