With new album, Swift again turns her lyrical skills into a business strategy

New York — The world’s most recognizable showgirl may be entering a new era, but there’s no sign that Taylor Swift’s gold rush is slowing down.

Swift is the only female musical artist in history to sell more than 100 million albums. Her newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” created a frenzy when it was released Friday.

“In terms of a business person, Taylor is at the top,” said Kevin Evers, author of the new book “There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift,” and a senior editor at the Harvard Business Review. “She’s always been extremely business savvy, and we can see this with this release, too.”

Evers says that Swift has always been “really fan-obsessed.”

“So if you look at all the album variants, and all this new stuff that she’s doing around this album, she’s really trying to give her fans as much value as possible,” Evers said.

In August, Swift announced “The Life of a Showgirl” on the popular podcast of her now-fiancé, Travis Kelce. She said the album was inspired by the record-smashing Eras Tour, the first-ever tour to gross more than $2 billion.

“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and, and vibrant,” Swift said on the podcast.

Since then, countdowns on her website appeared for limited edition vinyl records, CDs and cardigans, all of which sold out within minutes.
 
“I mean, she’s definitely going to make a lot of money from this album, and she’s not shy about that,” Evers said. “But at the same time, the reason why all these strategies are working is because her fans are actively engaged.”

Fans are flocking to see her film, “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” which is in theaters this weekend only.

The album became Spotify’s most streamed album in a single day this year. The company said it only took 11 hours to hit that mark.

“Streaming really does not create a lot of money for artists,” Evers explained. “Yes, Taylor Swift is making millions of dollars on streaming, but she’s making much more on merch and the vinyl variants.”

Some tracks seem to reveal new tidbits of her love story with Kelce, a key player in the album’s rollout. It is giving her dedicated fans a look at a new, happier chapter of her life off-stage, and a peek into the future of what could come next.

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