Swiftonomics … Taylor Swift went from teen music star to cultural icon worth $780 million, embracing social influence and new business models … What can business learn from the new star of Harvard University?

November 25, 2023

A few years ago I was out running along the Cape Cod seafront, passing the Hyannisport Yacht Club. It was my daily 10km route amidst the summer heat and beautiful sea views. I ran passed a young couple, just beyond the Kennedy Compound. I grunted “hi”, she smiled back, calling out “good job”. Hours later my teen daughters jealously enlightened me about my brief flirtation with Taylor Swift. Years later, she is recognised not just as one of the world’s top music artists, but as a trailblazer in how to do business too.

Swift, the 34-year old global singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania has had a significant impact on the music industry, artistically and commercially, and on popular culture too. So much so, that Harvard University this month launched a new course that pits her among cultural inspirations like the Brontes and Martin Luther King.

Her career was meteoritic from a young age. She signed a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV at 14, becoming the youngest signing in the company’s history. In 2006, she signed with Big Machine Records and released her self-titled debut album, which included the hit single “Tim McGraw”, one of the great country music stars which she went on to emulate.

Throughout her career, she has transitioned from country music to pop, releasing several successful albums, winning numerous awards, and embarking on multiple world tours. She has also been involved in various philanthropic projects.

Swift: The Harvard Class

In 2009, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me” on the radio, in grocery stores, and on TV. Harvard English professor Stephanie Burt still remembers the first time she heard it, describing it as so much “better” and “more compelling” than all the other pop songs that were playing at the time.

Fourteen years later, and Burt is still a diehard Swiftie. Her interest in Swift has followed her to the classroom. Next semester, Harvard’s English Department will debut the course “Taylor Swift and Her World,” taught by Burt. In this class, students will earn college credit for their deep dives into Swift’s lyrics, music, and influence, dissecting her catalog and reading a host of authors Burt finds relevant to understanding Swift’s artistry.

The Harvard course syllabus reads “We will move through Swift’s own catalogue, including hits, deep cuts, outtakes, re-recordings, considering songwriting as its own art, distinct from poems recited or silently read. We will learn how to study fan culture, celebrity culture, adolescence, adulthood and appropriation; how to think about white texts, Southern texts, transatlantic texts, and queer subtexts. We will learn how to think about illicit affairs, and hoaxes, champagne problems and incomplete closure. We will look at her precursors, from Dolly Parton to the Border Ballads, and at work about her (such as the documentary “Miss Americana”).”

Swiftonomics: What can business learn from her?

Swift, whose net worth Forbes estimated to be around $780 million, has demonstrated a distinctive approach to strategy and marketing, a pioneer of building and influencing fanbases  in the social media age, and a savvy commercial approach too, which have been instrumental in her rise as a successful entrepreneur.

Her willingness to stay relevant and embrace change, build strong relationships, and know her worth has set a valuable example for entrepreneurs in various industries. Her impact on the music industry, her determination to own her own work and advocacy for artists’ rights, and her ability to engage and inspire her fan base have also contributed to her business success.

Inc magazine articulated 4 Swift-inspired lessons for business

  • Sell yourself: Every business leader sells. They sell to customers, employees, investors, partners, and others. The best are so full of belief in their product they call on every potential customer, undeterred by fear of rejection.  Swift has been relentlessly selling since at least age 11. According to the Wall Street Journal, “while her mother and younger brother waited in the car, Swift went door to door asking Nashville record labels to listen to her CDs of karaoke songs.” She did not give up when the labels refused her. Instead, Swift “picked up a 12-string guitar, practicing for hours every day. She also started writing songs. Two years later, her original songs helped her secure a development deal with RCA Records,” noted the Journal. If you can’t believe in your company enough to overcome being ignored, how can you persuade people to buy your product?
  • Build relationships: To succeed in business, leaders must build relationships. To do that, they must learn early in building those relationships what matters most to these associates, often their friends and families.  Business leaders who excel and sustain relationships remember the personal details each time they interact with associates. Swift is such a leader. Executives, radio programmers, and others told the Journal she remembers details about their spouses and children. Doing this does not require a photographic memory. The first time you meet someone, write the details on a card and use it to refresh your memory in subsequent meetings.
  • Relentless innovation: One of the most fundamental truths about business is that every successful product matures and dies. Part of the reason is that the market for the product becomes saturated. Another is that a new product comes along that tickles customers’ buying bone more than the original one. To keep your business growing, you must be the one inventing that new product. Music executives say she excels at reinventing herself. Rod Essig, Swift’s agent in early years, told the Journal, she keeps people interested because “none of the records are the same, the shows are never the same.”
  • Treasure your customers: After creating new products, business leaders must let their customers know they’re available. To do that well, business leaders ought to be at the forefront of their customers’ evolving media preferences. In that way, you can build on the power of winning customers and keeping them happy. Swift recognized early in her career that waiting for radio DJs to play her music was a losing game. She made her music available to fans at their latest social media obsession — which changed from Myspace to Tumblr to Instagram and now to TikTok. The platforms allowed her to serve her music to fans faster than radio would.  Before appearing at a radio station, she promoted her fans on social media who called the station to request her songs. Lucian Grainge, CEO of her label and publisher, Universal Music Group, told the Journal, “The way she uses technology to create an authentic connection with her fans has in many ways defined the modern music industry.”

 

More from the blog