FEATURE:
Taylor Swift: Woman of the Decade
PHOTO CREDIT: Inez & Vinoodh for Vogue
A Role Model for Everyone
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I know I have talked a bit about Taylor Swift…
in a musical context and the fact that, as an artist, I am not her absolute biggest fan. Whilst the music might not be designed for me and does not capture in the same way as the best Pop music ever, I can appreciate a different side of her. Maybe her brand is not full of hooks and designed to last through the ages but, in many ways, the way she holds herself and what she says away from music will have more of a legacy. Her songs do touch of themes such as L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ visibility and equality, but she is much more than a musician. Swift has received Billboard’s first-ever Woman of the Decade award. She picked up the award on 12th December at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and collected it from Jameela Jamil. I shall not quote the entire speech, but the reason I wanted to include Taylor Swift in a feature is how she continuously speaks up and speaks out against industry failings and how women are judged. Before I continue, here are a few passages from her speech:
“I'm Taylor, good evening. I wanna first thank Billboard from the bottom of my heart for this honor…I wanna say thank you so much to Billboard for giving me this honor, for naming me as their Woman of the Decade.
So what does it mean to be the woman of this decade? Well, it means I've seen a lot. When this decade began I was 20 years old and I had put out my self-titled debut album when I was 16, and then the album that would become my breakthrough album, which was called Fearless. And I saw that there was a world of music and experience beyond country music that I was really curious about.
I saw pop stations send my songs ‘Love Story’ and ‘You Belong With Me’ to number one for the first time. And I saw that as a female in this industry, some people will always have slight reservations about you. Whether you deserve to be there, whether your male producer or co-writer is the reason for your success, or whether it was a savvy record label. It wasn't.
PHOTO CREDIT: Taylor Swift
I saw that people love to explain away a woman's success in the music industry, and I saw something in me change due to this realization. This was the decade when I became a mirror for my detractors. Whatever they decided I couldn't do is exactly what I did….Whatever they criticized about me became material for musical satires or inspirational anthems, and the best lyrical examples I can think of are songs like ‘Mean,’ ‘Shake It Off,’ and ‘Blank Space.’ Basically if people had something to say about me, I usually said something back in my own way.
In the last 10 years I have watched as women in this industry are criticized and measured up to each other and picked at for their bodies, their romantic lives, their fashion, or have you ever heard someone say about a male artist, I really like his songs but I don't know what it is, there's just something about him I don't like? No! That criticism is reserved for us!
But you know, I've learned that the difference between those who can continue to create in that climate usually comes down to this. Who lets that scrutiny break them and who just keeps making art.
I've watched as one of my favorite artists of this decade, Lana Del Rey, was ruthly criticized…in her early career and then slowly but surely she turned into, in my opinion, the most influential artist in pop. Her vocal stylings, her lyrics, her aesthetics, they've been echoed and repurposed in every corner of music, and this year her incredible album is nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys because she just kept making art. And that example should inspire all of us, that the only way forward is forward motion. That we shouldn't let obstacles like criticism slow down the creative forces that drive us”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Bruinooge/Getty Images
There are articles out there that highlight why Swift is a role model to so many out there. She remains humble and lacking of ego, in spite of the fact she has a huge following and great wealth. Swift has remained true to herself and has a bond with her fans like few other artists. Whilst a lot of major artists will lose identity when it comes to their lyrics, Taylor Swift has remained real and pure. Whilst her sound has evolved from the earliest days, she has not stepped away from her roots and what makes her music resonate. In her Billboard speech, she called out Scooter Braun. That name might not mean much to a lot of people. He was sold the rights to Taylor Swift’s master recordings. This Vox article explains more:
“Taylor Swift just announced that she’s about to hit the recording studio again to make music. But she won’t be working on new material. Instead, the Hollywood Reporter writes, she is rerecording all her albums.
Swift’s announcement comes a month after the news broke that her old record label — Big Machine Records, which she left in 2018 — had been sold to music megamanager Scooter Braun. That gave Braun the rights to all of the master recordings for Swift’s old music, meaning that anyone who wanted to license one of Swift’s old songs to play in a TV show or movie or an ad would have to ask for Braun’s permission and pay him a licensing fee. And because Braun used to work with sworn Taylor Swift enemy Kanye West, Swift was devastated. In an emotional Tumblr post, she called the news “my worst case scenario.”
In an interview with CBS’s Tracy Smith that is scheduled to air this Sunday, Swift said she plans to sidestep Braun by rerecording her entire songbook, which contains all the songs she released prior to her forthcoming album, Lover.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Smith asked Swift if she is planning to make new versions of all of her masters, and Swift replied, “Oh yeah.”
“That’s a plan?” Smith asked.
Swift confirmed again: “Yeah, absolutely”.
When you’re pretttttty sure that if you were a man, you’d be the man 💅
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) December 11, 2019
📷: Sami Drasin pic.twitter.com/rjJesldpEQ
Not only is Swift someone who speaks out against inequality and prejudice; she is also an artist who has great pride in her music and will not let anyone compromise that. She has had to face a lot of upset and criticism through her career, yet she remains resolute and strong. Taylor Swift has been responsible for more women and girls picking up guitars, and she is speaking about political matters. She has just turned thirty and, even at this age, artists are not encouraged to speak out when it comes to their political beliefs. In Pop music, there is huge risk backing a particular party or getting involved in politics. Maybe labels think that sort of bias might be bad for fans or there could be backlash on social media. Swift is a Democrat supporter and does definitely not endorse Donald Trump. The current President has plenty of detractors, yet many artists feel worried about talking about him in case they are attacked or judged.
I am not surprised Taylor Swift was given a huge accolade by Billboard. Rather than follow the same scripted line as a lot of musicians, Swift is very much her own person. She believes in things passionately and does feel the need to hide that. Whether it is L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ visibility or sexism in the music industry, here is someone who is a very strong role model and voice. I will bring this feature to a close soon, but I wanted to bring in an interview from The Guardian, where Swift discussed politics and L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ rights:
“Instead, she has swapped personal disclosure for activism. Last August, Swift broke her political silence to endorse Democratic Tennessee candidate Phil Bredesen in the November 2018 senate race. Vote.org reported an unprecedented spike in voting registration after Swift’s Instagram post, while Donald Trump responded that he liked her music “about 25% less now”.
Meanwhile, her recent single You Need To Calm Down admonished homophobes and namechecked US LGBTQ rights organisation Glaad (which then saw increased donations). Swift filled her video with cameos from queer stars such as Ellen DeGeneres and Queen singer Adam Lambert, and capped it with a call to sign her petition in support of the Equality Act, which if passed would prohibit gender- and sexuality-based discrimination in the US. A video of Polish LGBTQ fans miming the track in defiance of their government’s homophobic agenda went viral. But Swift was accused of “queerbaiting” and bandwagon-jumping. You can see how she might find it hard to work out what, exactly, people want from her.
PHOTO CREDIT: Taylor Swift
She resists blaming anyone else for her political silence. Her emergence as a Democrat came after she left Big Machine, the label she signed to at 15. (They are now at loggerheads after label head Scott Borchetta sold the company, and the rights to Swift’s first six albums, to Kanye West’s manager, Scooter Braun.) Had Borchetta ever advised her against speaking out? She exhales. “It was just me and my life, and also doing a lot of self-reflection about how I did feel really remorseful for not saying anything. I wanted to try and help in any way that I could, the next time I got a chance. I didn’t help, I didn’t feel capable of it – and as soon as I can, I’m going to”.
Taylor Swift is an artist who is connecting with a much wider audience than a lot of her peers. Maybe that is because of her activism and popularity, but I think her music has become more wide-ranging and boundary-straddling. Maybe I am not a covert, yet there are so many people who were not aware of Taylor Swift years ago that are now fans. When it comes to her latest album, Lover, I can respect the fact that it has broken records, and it a hugely important release. I would suggest people check out her music, as it is a hell of a lot stronger and more intriguing than a lot of what is out there. From the Country sounds of her first couple of albums to what she has brought us this year, this megastar has evolved and broadened her music.
I can appreciate the fact Swift is very personal and honest in her lyrics and, whilst she has her critics, her music has changed lives and is a source of huge inspiration to so many people. Swift connects with her fans and she has a common touch that is very rare; she is a fantastic businesswoman and continues to endure and amaze – it has been thirteen years since her eponymous debut album was released! I want to quote from an interview Swift gave to Billboard, as part of their Woman of the Decade feature. She was asked about being this ambassador/role model and whether she would give her younger self any advice:
“You’ve served as an ambassador of sorts for artists, especially recently -- staring down streaming services over payouts, increasing public awareness about the terms of record deals.
We have a long way to go. I think that we’re working off of an antiquated contractual system. We’re galloping toward a new industry but not thinking about recalibrating financial structures and compensation rates, taking care of producers and writers.
We need to think about how we handle master recordings, because this isn’t it. When I stood up and talked about this, I saw a lot of fans saying, “Wait, the creators of this work do not own their work, ever?” I spent 10 years of my life trying rigorously to purchase my masters outright and was then denied that opportunity, and I just don’t want that to happen to another artist if I can help it. I want to at least raise my hand and say, “This is something that an artist should be able to earn back over the course of their deal -- not as a renegotiation ploy -- and something that artists should maybe have the first right of refusal to buy.” God, I would have paid so much for them! Anything to own my work that was an actual sale option, but it wasn’t given to me.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sami Drasin for Billboard
Ten years ago, on the brink of the 2010s, you were about to turn 20. What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time?
Oh, God -- I wouldn’t give myself any advice. I would have done everything exactly the same way. Because even the really tough things I’ve gone through taught me things that I never would have learned any other way. I really appreciate my experience, the ups and downs. And maybe that seems ridiculously Zen, but … I’ve got my friends, who like me for the right reasons. I’ve got my family. I’ve got my boyfriend. I’ve got my fans. I’ve got my cats”.
So many incredible women have defined music this decade. I think things are starting to change and we are seeing small steps towards equality. There is a long way to go, but we have artists like Taylor Swift to thank. As one of the most successful artists in the world, she could well perform her music and not speak out; she could remain distant and not really engage. It is right that she has been crowned Woman of the Decade by Billboard. As we head into a new decade, Swift will be re-recording her older material, touring the world and thinking about what comes next. I think there will be a lot of charity work and award success. It is hard to tell how the 2020s will treat her. I think Swift will break new ground, and she will continue to inspire and give a voice to those who do not. There is no doubt that Taylor Swift is…
SUCH an important role model.