Taylor Swift is one of the most influential artists in America with a global fanbase. Recently, she has been outdoing herself with her sixth headling tour while signifying the importance of artists owning their work through another much-awaited re-release, only to experience people snooping around in her personal life again. (You would have thought things changed after her speech upon accepting the Woman of the Decade Award.) However, before we delve into that, shall we give her Eras tour and re-release the recognition they deserve?
The Eras Tour – A Monumental Success
With ten albums from 2006 to 2022, each embodying different eras of her life, and a fanbase of millions who have been with her since the start, Taylor Swift initiated the Eras Tour to conjoin all her albums into one concert while welcoming fellow musicians like Pheobe Bridgers and Ice Spice. The tour started this year on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and aims to conduct about 60 shows before its conclusion on August 6. On average, each of these 60 lasts about three hours and has a song list of 44 songs combining her ten albums. Not only is this tour special in terms of its representation of Swift’s music career, but it also emphasized diversity amongst the dancers, vocals, and production, coinciding with the singer’s constant support of the LGBTQ+ community despite opposing claims.
Despite having two more months before ending, the Eras Tour has already had a great turnout, as over 3.5 million people applied for the presale program from the end of 2022. With more than 71,000 people per show, the Eras Tour became one of the most successful tours in America, giving further recognition to the albums she made during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), and Evermore (2020). Plus, just a week ago, Swift announced that she will be bringing the tour to Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil with special guest Sabrina Carpenter.
Re-Releasing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
To the joy of Swifties, at the first Nashville show of her ongoing tour, the renowned singer and lyricist also announced her re-release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), featuring collaborations with American rock acts Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams. This re-release is part of a series of re-releases resulting from Swift’s disputes with Big Machine Records over her master records. Through a series of selling her masters to other holdings and blocking her from purchasing them with unfavorable conditions, Big Machine Records, the record label Swift first signed with at fifteen for her 2006 album Taylor Swift, has prevented Swift from owning her first six studio recorded albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. This lack of ownership has interfered with Swift’s career, causing Swift to re-release her past albums to perform her pieces again for her fans without legal issues.
Throughout her efforts to gain ownership over her work, Taylor Swift has repeatedly spoken about the importance of artists owning their work as she re-released Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version), and This Love (Taylor’s Version), starting in April 2021 through Republic Records. Now, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has been added to the list, with its release date set for July 7, 2023. As simple as this might seem, artists should have the right to their work. The creative melodies and heart-wrenching lyrics are all made by dedicated artists who deserve to have the rights to their creations. Taylor Swift even quoted in an interview with Billboard in 2019, “The reason I’m re-recording my music next year is because I do want my music to live on, I do want it to be in movies, I do want it to be in commercials. But I only want that if I own it.” Artists should have the right to choose what they can do with their work, whether performing it for the American Music Awards or including it in a documentary shedding light on their career.
The Unneeded Controversy With Matt Healy
However, despite the numerous monumental moments her career has been hosting as of late, some of her fans are more fixated on her relationship status, sharing a common thread with the many parasocial relationships fans often have with their favorite celebrities. After being together for six years, Swift recently announced her breakup with Joe Alwyn. This led to millions of Swifties vocalizing their thoughts and opinions about her personal life, to which they definitely have the right.
After a couple of months, Taylor Swift and Matt Healy were seen together in several different outings, getting the fanbase extremely livid again. Many Swifties were upset because Healy has been guilty of stating many racial comments, among other insensitive moments. The Swifties got so upset that they felt the need to write an open letter to Taylor Swift to try and help her “re-evaluate” her relationship with Healy, which can be found below.
As many can agree, this whole issue is unneeded as it removes the focus from what Swift rightfully wants it to be: her music, and we should learn to separate the artists from their personal lives. At the end of the day, Taylor Swift’s fanbase is responding to problematic behavior with problematic behavior. As perfectly stated in the YouTube show The Comment Section by Brett Copper, “Go touch grass, go kick rocks, and throw your phone in a lake.”
Works Cited
Elizabeth, Skylar. “All of Taylor Swift’s Album Eras and Their Distinctive Styles — Taylor Swift Midnights.” L’OFFICIEL USA, 21 March 2023, https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/every-taylor-swift-album-era-style. Accessed 5 June 2023.
Morrow, Brendan. “The story behind “Taylor’s Version.”” The Week, https://theweek.com/taylor-swift/1013413/why-taylor-swift-keeps-releasing-all-those-re-recorded-albums. Accessed 5 June 2023.
Shuttleworth, Catherine. “Taylor Swift fans write open letter criticizing her ‘relationship’ with Matty Healy | indy100.” Indy100, 21 May 2023, https://www.indy100.com/celebrities/taylor-swift-matty-healy-open-letter-2660391782. Accessed 5 June 2023.
“Taylor Swift Doesn’t Owe You S***.” YouTube, 23 May 2023, www.youtube.com/watch v=CE9Fa7_IKkQ&ab_channel=TheCommentsSectionwithBrettCooper.