I once knew a professional marketer who told me he was going to write an article for his fellow marketers called “Taylor Swift is a Better Marketer Than You.” I don’t think he ever got around to it, but it’s a catchy title. I hope he doesn’t mind if I steal his idea and make one tweak, to make it more inclusive of the entire scope of Swift’s entrepreneurialism. I want to focus on not just Swift’s marketing skills, but also her promotional tactics more broadly, connection with superfans and lukewarm fans alike, business and financial sense, ability to disrupt the marketplace, ability to remake herself with each album, and quality of her art.

Most of all, I want to tell you about a great book I just read, called The Glory of Giving Everything: The Taylor Swift Business Model, by Crystal Haryanto.

This Author Is Younger Than You (Probably)

Haryanto starts her book by explaining that she was born in 2002. Gulp, that’s young for an author. I’m sure she is not the only young person who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Taylor Swift’s music, lyrics, and “eras.” But not many 23-year-olds have used their expertise in economics to create a college course called “Artistry, Policy & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version.” This course is part of the DeCal program at Berkeley, where students create and teach courses that other students take. And not many 23-year-olds land book deals.

I’m not going to pretend that The Glory of Giving Everything is a brilliant or masterful work of nonfiction. I will allow that it is a wonderful source of information about why Taylor Swift rose to the top, leaving so many other aspiring singer/songwriters in the dust. I read it as an artist and entrepreneur with my own ambitions. What does Swift know that the rest of us don’t? Surely there’s a lot to learn from her, whether you love her music or hate it (I love it, personally).

Swiftie Wisdom for Artists and Entrepreneurs

Without trying to list all of the little wisdoms in The Glory of Giving Everything—for that, you’ll have to read the book yourself—here are a few of the tips for artists and entrepreneurs that stood out to me as especially valuable in forging ahead in not only mastering your art form but also selling your art.

Tip #1: Pivot to Stay Relevant

“Swift’s consistent motivation to find ways to be relevant demonstrates a pivotal business point. . . . It’s only when you welcome the commercial aspects of your career that you can focus on your passion for it.”

Haryanto explains that when Swift did not win a Grammy for Reputation, she pivoted to create a different style of album that might win in the future. As another example, when the pandemic hit, Swift did not release the upbeat album she was planning to release, but pivoted to slower “cottagecore” albums to fit the dark, stay-at-home times.

Swift’s versatility is astonishing. In your own art, how can you move on from one project to something so dramatically different, and yet so in tune with the times, and yet also still so you—that people can’t help but sit up and notice?

Tip #2: Keep Your Fans on Their Toes With Continuous Outpourings

Swift, Haryanto says, has “created an endless loop of activity that persistently works in her favor.”

This is easy for all artists to do, now that we have social media and the internet—as long as we can summon the strength, time, and energy (which maybe isn’t so easy, after all). It’s hard to put yourself out there all the time. But if you can get into the habit of always sharing what’s happening now, always teasing your fans with what’s next, always leaving Easter eggs for your most enthusiastic fans, you can stay relevant in today’s fast-paced media environment.

Tip #3: Network, Network, Network

“The supreme law of business is that your network is your net worth.”

Swift is constantly partnering with other singers and songwriters, as well as large corporations. She sings alongside stars like Sabrina Carpenter and HAIM. She writes songs alongside stars like Post Malone. She has made exclusive deals for book sales at Target and film releases at Disney. These connections, which certainly benefit those stars and corporations, benefit Swift just as much or even more. As Haryanto points out, “healthy business relationships enhance everyone involved.”

The Book’s Title

The title The Glory of Giving Everything is great. Reading this book helped me understand that although Taylor Swift seems to be riding on a cloud, in actuality, this woman works her ass off, every single day. Sure, she has teams of people to help her. But surely no one could reach her heights of excellence without an incredibly serious work ethic. She gives and gives and gives. She dedicates all of herself to her art and her fans, and she gets glory (not to mention serious $$$, which somehow isn’t in the book title, lol) in return.

If you’re an artist and/or entrepreneur—are you giving everything?

Featured in this post: The Glory of Giving Everything: The Taylor Swift Business Model by Crystal Haryanto
Photo credit, Creative Commons license: Paolo Villanueva (original photo)