Downloaded from YTS.MX
[wind blowing softly]
Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX
So how did you find out?
- I found out when it was online, like when it hit the news.
- Nobody in your inner circle knew.
Nobody knew.
And you didn't smell it?
No.
I knew he would sell my music. I knew he would do that.
I couldn't believe who he sold it to.
Because we've had endless conversations about Scooter Braun,
and he has 300 million reasons
to conveniently forget those conversations.
Now, could you rerecord?
Oh, yeah.
- [Interviewer] Might you do that?
Oh, yeah.
- That's a plan. - Yeah, absolutely.
[gentle music]
- [Narrator] Under US copyright law,
a music release is subject to two separate copyrights,
the copyright to the song or musical composition itself
and the copyright to the specific recording of that song,
which is usually contained on a master.
[gentle music]
The master from which copies are made for use in sales
and distribution is the original recording of the song.
Therefore, the owner of the master also holds the copyright
to all means of distribution for the recording,
including physical media, like CDs and final LPs,
as well as digital distribution for download or streaming.
On the other hand, owning the musical work is referred to
as the publishing rights,
which covers the lyrics before it became a sound recording.
Its melodies sheet, music, composition,
and instrumental arrangements.
Songwriters generally own the publishing rights
and are referred to as the publishers of the music.
[reporters speak indistinctly] [gentle music]
- [Reporter] Over your shoulder, Taylor,
and the back of the dress.
- [Reporter] Over your shoulder, love.
[video rewinding]
- No one told us it was country night.
Y'all wanna hear some country music?
[Audience] Yeah.
- Later on you wanna hear some Jack Ingram?
[Audience] Yeah.
- Right now you wanna hear some Taylor Swift?
[audience cheering]
You're in the right place.
[country music]
♪ I was riding shotgun with my hair undone ♪
♪ In the front seat of his car
♪ He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel ♪
♪ The other on my heart
♪ I look around, turn the radio down ♪
♪ He says, Baby, is something wrong ♪
♪ I say, Nothing, I was just thinking ♪
♪ How we don't have a song
♪ And he says
♪ Our song is the slamming screen door ♪
♪ Sneaking out late, tapping on your window ♪
♪ When we're on the phone, and you talk real slow ♪
- [Narrator] In 2003 at the age of 13,
Taylor went to Nashville to try and sign
with some major labels, but was rejected.
♪ And when I got home
- [Narrator] She tried her luck again the following year
and received an artist development deal with RCA records
before becoming the youngest artist, aged 15,
signed by the Sony Publishing house,
but left shortly afterwards due to concerns
that development deals may shelf artists.
♪ Had gone all wrong and been trampled on ♪
- [Narrator] Swift took part in an industry showcase
later that year at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe,
where she was recognized by Scott Borchetta,
a Dreamworks Records executive, who was considering
starting his own independent record company.
♪ Our song is the slamming screen door ♪
- [Narrator] Swift ultimately agreed
to a 13-year recording contract with Big Machine Records,
the new Nashville-based record label founded by Borchetta.
In exchange for a cash advance, Big Machine
received ownership of the masters for Swift's
first six albums under the terms of the agreement.
[wind rustling]
[gentle music]
Through his media company, SB Projects, Scooter Braun,
an American media proprietor, talent manager,
and businessman, is credited with managing the careers
of musicians Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande,
Demi Lovato, and Kanye West.
When Braun acquired Big Machine Label Group,
they encompassed all aspects of Big Machine's business,
including its client roster, distribution deals,
publishing rights, and music masters.
[gentle music]
On June 30th, 2019, Swift made a post and stated
that she had tried to buy the masters for years,
but was not given a chance
unless she signed another contract that would require her
to create six more albums under the label
in exchange for the masters of the first six,
which she felt was unacceptable.
[gentle music]
She emphasized Braun's contribution
to making Kanye West's 2016 famous music video,
where West used a stunt double to play Taylor,
which she called a revenge porn video
which strips her body naked.
Swift also alleged that Braun colluded with two clients
to bully Swift online, and persuaded Kim Kardashian,
who was then married to West,
to arrange an illegally-recorded snippet
of Swift's phone call with West.
She was alluding to a FaceTime screenshot of Bieber, West,
and Braun that was posted to Bieber's Instagram
after Kardashian released the snippet.
[gentle music]
Despite being aware of Braun's involvement
in harassing Swift, Borchetta was accused by Taylor
of betraying her loyalty by selling the masters to Braun.
[gentle music]
On November 14th, 2019, Swift claimed that Braun
and Borchetta had stopped her from singing
some of her older songs at the 2019 American Music Awards
and using some of them in her upcoming documentary,
"Miss Americana."
She said they were exercising tyrannical control
over her music, and claimed Borchetta told her team
that she would be allowed to use the music
only if she agreed to not rerecord copycat versions
of her songs.
Swift commented, "The message being sent to me
is very clear.
Basically, 'Be a good little girl and shut up,
or you'll be punished.'"
[soft dramatic music]
For an estimated $405 million Braun sold the masters,
related videos, and artwork to Shamrock Holdings
in October, 2020.
[soft dramatic music]
Swift claimed that she tried to bargain with Braun,
but that he only gave her the opportunity
to get the masters back if she signed an ironclad NDA
that only let her talk favorably of Braun.
She refused to sign the NDA.
She also claimed that Braun mandated Shamrock
not to notify her about the sale until it was complete.
[soft dramatic music]
After the news came out,
#WeLoveYouTaylor started trending worldwide on Twitter,
with Swifties making their feelings known.
Fans wondered if Taylor was connected
to the investment fund,
but she released a statement clarifying she wasn't part
of this deal at all, and still does not own the masters.
[soft dramatic music]
Swift wrote her album "Reputation" as a defense mechanism
that allowed her to to cope with the fallout
in public scrutiny.
She secluded herself from press attention
because she needed to protect her mental health
and stop feeling obliged to explain herself.
[soft dramatic music]
On the Reputation Stadium Tour,
Swift was inspired by the love she received from fans
to embrace positivity and vulnerability.
Despite her tarnished reputation in the press,
she realized her fans see her
as a flesh-and-blood human being.
To this end, she conceived her seventh studio album
as a personal vulnerable record
that would connect her with her audience
and showcase her strengths as a singer-songwriter.
[gentle music]
Swift wrote "Lover" as a reflection of her personal life,
describing it as very confessional and autobiographical,
yet also playful and whimsical.
She also said the album was a love letter to love
in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting,
horrific, tragic, wonderful glory.
♪ Or 20 years
♪ Can I go where you go
♪ Can we always be this close
- [Narrator] The track list consists of 18 songs,
more than any of her other albums,
depicting many sentiments stemming from love.
[gentle music]
The imagery of "Reputation" was dark and cold.
"Lover"'s bright colors and themes contrasted this.
However, a common misconception is that "Reputation"
lyrically is all about revenge.
Although some songs do touch on this,
the majority of the album details falling in love with Joe
amidst all the personal tumult.
[gentle music]
"Lover" acts almost as a sister album,
further detailing the relationship and the highs and lows
of what she had been going through.
In the closing track, "Daylight," Swift contemplates
that love to her now is golden, rather than burning red,
as she once believed, a reference to the title track
of her 2012 Studio album, "Red."
[gentle music]
The song represents Swift's mature understanding of love,
her personal life, and her public image.
[gentle music]
Although mainly positive,
some critics felt as though "Lover" was a bit too much
like an unnecessary course correction from "Reputation,"
rather than a collection of themes
Swift was really interested in pursuing.
The album features some career highlights,
"Cruel Summer," "Lover," "Cornelia Street," and "Daylight."
However, fans often feel as though the album is too long
and includes some of Swift's worst work today,
including the lead single, "ME!"
Because of "Reputation"'s poor critical success,
many believe Swift wanted to distance herself completely
and start new with the pop sounds and bright colors.
Both albums have now become fan favorites
and have received their flowers,
but at the time it seemed as though Taylor
was at a crossroads with her career.
Although she was still doing well commercially,
she wasn't at the height she was at a couple years prior,
during her "1989" era.
[gentle music]
The ongoing Kanye feud and relentless tabloid scrutiny
had taken a toll on Taylor.
[gentle music]
In April, 2020, Taylor Swift was set to embark
on Lover Fest, her sixth concert tour
in support of the album.
However, the tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[dramatic music]
On July 23rd, 202O, nine captionless black and white images
of Taylor standing alone in the woods were uploaded
to Swift's Instagram account.
She posted another message
on all of her social media platforms
saying that her eighth studio album
would be released at midnight.
Swift stated, "Most of the things I had planned this summer
didn't end up happening,
but there is something I hadn't planned on that did happen,
and that thing is my eighth studio album, 'Folklore.'"
[wind blowing softly]
The creation of the album was totally unexpected.
Whilst Taylor was in quarantine,
she watched numerous films, from "LA Confidential,"
"Jane Eyre," "Rear Window," and "Marriage Story."
She also read more books than she ever had before.
Books that dealt with times past,
a world that doesn't exist anymore,
such as "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier.
The fiction encouraged Swift to write songs
that weren't strictly autobiographical,
and instead experimented with alternative points of view.
She allowed her imagination to run wild
when she was alone during the period of lockdown,
creating a series of thoughts and visuals
that later became "Folklore."
[gentle music]
"Folklore" was supposed to be released in early 2021,
but it ended up being done earlier
and released without a second thought in July, 2020.
She approached the album's creation
without subjecting herself to any rules,
and explained that she used to put all these parameters
on herself like, how will this song sound in a stadium?
How will this song sound on the radio?
If you take away all the parameters, what do you make?
And I guess the answer is "Folklore."
[gentle music]
Swift told Billboard, "It started with imagery,
visuals that popped into my mind and peaked my curiosity.
Stars drawn around scars.
A cardigan that still bears
the scent of loss 20 years later.
Battleships sinking into the ocean, down, down, down.
The tree swing in the woods of my childhood.
Hushed tones of, 'Let's run away' and never doing it.
The sun-drenched month of August,
sipped away like a bottle of wine.
A mirrored disco ball hovering above a dance floor.
A whiskey bottle beckoning, hands held through plastic.
A single thread, that for better or worse,
ties you to your fate.
[soft dramatic music]
Pretty soon these images in my head grew faces
or names and became characters.
I found myself not only writing my own stories,
but also writing about or from the perspective
of people I've never met, people I've known,
or those I wish I hadn't."
[soft dramatic music]
For "Folklore, Swift's lyrics veered towards escapism
and romanticism.
She enlisted two producers to achieve her desired sound,
her longtime collaborator, Jack Antonoff,
with whom she'd previously collaborated
on the albums "1989," "Reputation," and "Lover,"
and Aaron Dessner,
guitarist for the American indie rock band, The National.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, Swift, Antonoff, and Dessner
quarantined remotely separate from each other,
creating "Folklore" by continually exchanging digital files
of instrumentals and vocals.
The album ensued from a DIY process,
mixed and engineered by personnel scattered across the US.
"Folklore" was written and recorded in secrecy.
Swift, her boyfriend, family, management team,
Antonoff, and Dessner were aware of the album's creation.
She did not disclose the news or play the album
to her friends, like she did with her previous works.
[soft dramatic music]
Near the end of "Folklore"'s recording process,
Dessner reached out to his regular collaborators,
including The National band mates,
to provide instrumentation remotely.
[soft dramatic music]
"Folklore" asserts something that has been true
from the very start of Swift's career.
Her biggest strength is her storytelling,
but this time her sound departed from pop maximalism
and synth-driven to an alternative indie folk sound.
[soft dramatic music]
The stories told in "Folklore" include a ghost
that discovers its murderer at its funeral,
a young girl with a traumatized friend,
an elderly widow shunned by her community,
recovering alcoholics, and a love triangle
between the fictional characters, Betty, James,
and an unnamed woman, as depicted in the tracks
"Cardigan," "Betty," and "August,"
with each of the three songs written
from each of the character's perspective
at different points in their lives.
[soft dramatic music]
DIY techniques were used to produce the album art,
packaging, and lyric videos for "Folklore."
Due to COVID-19 issues, Swift worked
without a technical crew on the visuals
with photographer Beth Garrabrant.
The photo shoot marked a change from Swift's older shoots,
where she would have 100 people on set
commanding alongside other people
in a very committee fashion.
She styled herself, including hair, makeup, and wardrobe,
and prescribed Garrabrant a specific moodboard.
The black and white, gray-scale filter on the photos
gives them their distinguishing look.
[soft dramatic music]
Swift departs from the technicolor carnival
of its predecessor, "Lover,"
and adopts a rustic, nature-focused, cottage-core aesthetic
for "Folklore" that reflects its lyrical ideas of escapism.
She opens the music video for "Cardigan" by settling down
at an old piano an a quaint cabin in the woods.
[soft dramatic music]
♪ But I knew you
♪ Dancing in your Levi's
♪ Drunk under a streetlight, I
♪ I knew you
♪ Hand under my sweatshirt
♪ Baby, kiss it better, I
♪ And when I felt like I was an old cardigan ♪
♪ Under someone's bed
♪ You put me on and said I was your favorite ♪
- [Narrator] The album was instantly hailed
as Swift's magnum opus, met with widespread critical acclaim
from critics and fans alike.
"Folklore" shows Swift at her most vulnerable,
the emotional weight and introspective songwriting
made it her most sophisticated and subdued body of work.
[soft dramatic music]
She uses the eccentric debutante, Rebekah Harkness,
who married into the standard oil dynasty
and once lived in Swift's Rhode Island house,
in her story in "The Last Great American Dynasty"
to celebrate women who have a marvelous time
ruining everything.
[soft dramatic music]
You're able to visualize the song's events in your head
like a tale because it is rich with historical information
and Americana imagery,
but it also makes a powerful statement
about how society views outspoken women.
[soft dramatic music]
At the conclusion, Swift skillfully creates a distinction
between Harkness and herself.
[soft dramatic music]
The album has been contextualized
as the quintessential lockdown album,
and felt like the perfect accompaniment
for the weird loneliness of 2020.
It is hailed as the first great pandemic art.
"Folklore" and its songs received
five Grammy-Award nominations at the 63rd ceremony,
winning the Album of the Year.
Swift became the first woman in history
to win Album of the Year thrice,
and the fourth artist overall,
tied with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.
[soft dramatic music]
On December 10th, 2020, Swift once again surprised her fans
with the announcement of her ninth studio album
and "Folklore"'s sister record, "Evermore."
She described "Evermore" as an offshoot
of the Folklorian woods.
[gentle music]
Swift and Dessner continued to collaborate virtually.
After the release of "Folklore," he would give her
instrumental recordings, to which she would add vocals.
[gentle music]
She stated the rave reception of "Folklore"
encouraged her to experiment further with its musical style.
"Evermore" was dubbed "a weird avalanche,"
effecting from "Folklore" by Dessner.
"Evermore"'s creation was a more experimental process
than its predecessor was,
during which the duo did not subject themselves
to any limitations.
[gentle music]
Much like "Folklore," on December 10th, 2020,
three days prior to her 31st birthday,
Swift posted nine photos on Instagram,
which together formed an image depicting the singer's back,
with her hair in a braid, and facing a forest.
Swift wrote, "You've all been so caring, supportive,
and thoughtful on my birthdays,
and so this time I thought I would give you something.
I also know this holiday season
will be a lonely one for most of us,
and if there are any of you out there who turn to music
to cope with missing loved ones the way I do,
this is for you."
[gentle music]
Prior to the "Willow" music video premiere,
Swift said she likens "Evermore" to fall and winter,
in contrast to its predecessor's, spring and summer.
♪ The more that you say, the less I know ♪
♪ Wherever you stray, I follow
♪ I'm begging for you to take my hand ♪
♪ Wreck my plans, that's my man ♪
♪ You know that my train could take you home ♪
♪ Anywhere else is hollow
♪ I'm begging for you to take my hand ♪
♪ Wreck my plans, that's my man ♪
♪ The more that you say, the less I know ♪
♪ Wherever you stray, I follow
♪ Begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans ♪
[gentle music]
- [Narrator] "Evermore" is a personal album
that has a strong foundation in character studies,
narrative mythmaking, and complex first-person storytelling
from third-person views.
It further explores the fantastical universe that Swift
created with "Folklore," by using fact and imagination.
[gentle music]
The escapist themes of both albums are similar,
but "Evermore" is bolder, unrestrained, frivolous,
and impressionistic, digging deeply into Swift's concepts
of adult love and grief, in contrast to "Folklore"'s
more introspective and sentimental nature.
[gentle music]
It was at this point in Swift's career that she was regarded
as the songwriter of her generation.
These two albums were career-redefining,
and threw emphasis on Swift's work ethic,
helping critics recognize her musicianship,
now viewing her as a dedicated singer
moving away from her pop star image in the mid 2010s.
[gentle music]
Being a Taylor Swift fan is hard work,
and she doesn't make it easy.
Ever since the beginning of her music career,
the singer has constantly left Easter eggs
within her work to leave fans guessing.
Whether it be hidden messages in lyric booklets
or teasing albums months in advance,
Swift has been the queen of teasing fans since day one.
"It's sort of a tradition that we started
a very long time ago," Swift said to Jimmy Fallon
about the origins of her Easter eggs.
"I think the first time that I started dropping
sort of cryptic clues in my music was when I was 14 or 15,
putting together my first album."
[gentle music]
While Swift stopped this tradition
during the "Reputation" era,
she had a habit of hiding messages in her old work.
Specifically, she would hide liner notes
in the lyrics of each of her songs in her CD booklets.
From "Fearless" to "Red," all of her lyrics were lowercase
and the message could be deciphered
through the capitalized letters.
For "1989," she did the opposite.
[gentle music]
During these eras, Swift's dating life
was often much more publicized than it is now.
The singer even used her music to address her romances,
from hidden messages to pointed lyrics.
Some of her references were more obvious,
as the liner message for "Should've Said No,"
just said the name Sam repeatedly,
addressing a former boyfriend who allegedly cheated on her.
Others were more subtle, like the liner note
for "Last Kiss," being, "Forever and always,"
a reference to a song title from her former album
that is said to be about Joe Jonas.
[gentle music]
As the "Reputation" album kicked into full gear,
the music video for her lead single,
"Look What You Made Me Do," was full of Easter eggs.
Since she wasn't doing interviews during this era,
Swift said it was her way of communicating
and staying connected to her fans.
"Literally the whole video is just an Easter egg,"
she said to Entertainment Weekly.
"There are thousands of Easter eggs.
There are some that people still haven't found.
It will be decades before people find them all."
[gentle music]
One of Swift's biggest Easter eggs came in the form
of an Instagram post in April of 2020,
when she shared a photo of herself with a caption,
"Not a lot going on at the moment."
Given that this was during the height of the pandemic,
fans did not consider this an Easter egg at the time.
Of course, once the singer revealed she was releasing
her eighth studio album, "Folklore," all became clear.
[gentle music]
As "Folklore"'s release had fans scrambling
to figure out all her Easter eggs,
one major one was William Bowery,
who was credited on two "Folklore" tracks
and is later credited on three for "Evermore."
Swifties were quick to figure out that William Bowery
was a pen name for Swift's boyfriend Joe Alwyn,
as his great-grandfather's name was William Alwyn,
and the Bowery Hotel was where Swift and Alwyn
first hung out in 2016.
[gentle music]
Swift confirms William Bowery's identity
in her Disney Plus film, teasing that,
"William Bowery is Joe, as we know."
[gentle music]
On February 11th, 2021, she announced
on "Good Morning America" that the rerecording
of "Fearless," to which she added the subtitle,
"Taylor's Version," was the first in the series
of her rerecorded albums.
[gentle music]
She released an anagram-filled video from the vault,
which referred to all of her unreleased songs
from the album.
"The vault door is about to be as unhinged
as you think I am after you watch this video,"
she said on social media.
"Level: Expert. Happy, decoding."
[gentle music]
Fans managed to decode the titles of the six new
vault tracks and the name of one of her collaborators,
Keith Urban, who is featured on a song.
The vault tracks Swift wrote when she was
in her teenage years and intended to include in,
but ultimately left out of the original "Fearless" release.
Swift said by including these unreleased tracks,
which she absolutely adored
but were held back for different reasons,
the rerecorded album proved that the artist
is the only one who really knows that body of work.
[gentle music]
The same arrangements and lyrics
are used as they were on the original recordings,
which prompted numerous critics to note
that a casual listener might not know any differences,
but underlined that the production
includes more defined instruments,
a crisper mix, and greater quality.
Journalists described "Fearless [Taylor's Version]"
as a key event in raising awareness
for artists' rights in the music industry.
They considered that Taylor's Version branding
an effective strategy in mobilizing Swift fans
to consume the rerecorded album over the original.
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart,
a return to the number one spot,
13 years after the original release in 2008.
[gentle music]
[soft upbeat music]
On June 18th, 2021,
Swift revealed that "Red [Taylor's Version]"
would be released on November 19th, 2021
and would contain all 30 songs
that were meant to be on the 2012 version.
She also teased the original 10-minute-long version
of the fan favorite track, "All Too Well,"
which had been highly requested by fans,
as part of the track listing.
[soft upbeat music]
On August 5th, Swift posted a cryptic video
across her social media teasing a word puzzle
for the fans to solve.
It's spelled out, "Chris Stapleton," "Phoebe Bridgers,"
"Babe," "Better Man," and "All Too Well 10 Minute Version."
[soft upbeat music]
Swift revealed a teaser for "All Too Well: The Short Film."
The Teaser showed a vintage car driving past a road
bounded by autumnal woods, and it was written and directed
by Swift, starring herself, Sadie Sink, and Dylan O'Brien.
This song has always been hailed as Swift's magnum opus
by critics and fans.
The song details the story of her breakup
with actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
[soft dramatic music]
Before "All Too Well" was cut down to a 10-minute version
and then more to a final five minute and 28 second version,
American songwriter, Liz Rose,
with whom Swift wrote the song,
believed it was probably a 20-minute song.
Memories are the building blocks of "All Too Well."
The song relies on specifics of the rise and fall
of a romantic relationship drawn from memory.
[soft dramatic music]
Apart from mentioning more expository details,
"All Too Well [10 Minute Version]"
provides greater context than the five-minute version.
Swift mentions the age difference between her
and the subject several times,
and states how the subject used it as an excuse
to terminate their relationship,
but continued to date women of her age.
She recollects the buildup and intensity
of falling in love and acknowledges her naivety.
The track was met with universal critical acclaim,
often hailed as the standout track on "Red"
and a career highlight for Swift.
Publications have said the release
of "Red [Taylor's Version],"
"All Too Well [10 Minute Version],"
the accompanying short film,
and Swift's rerecording venture,
collectively is one of the biggest newsmakers
in pop culture moments of all time.
♪ Keep my old scarf from that very first week ♪
♪ 'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me ♪
♪ You can't get rid of it
♪ 'Cause you remember it all too well, yeah ♪
♪ 'Cause there we are again when I loved you so ♪
♪ Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known ♪
♪ It was rare, I was there
♪ I remember it all too well
[soft dramatic music]
- At the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards,
Swift received five nominations for the short film,
winning three of them.
In her acceptance speech for the Video of the Year award,
she announced a brand new studio album
scheduled for release on October 21st, 2022.
Soon after, the phrase, "Meet me at midnight"
and a clock that was ticking down to midnight
were added to Swift's official website.
Some of Swift's tracks on Spotify had their song canvases
changed to a picture of a clock.
[soft dramatic music]
At midnight, Swift posted across her social media accounts
that her 10th studio album would be titled "Midnights."
She described the album as the stories
of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout her life.
[soft dramatic music]
Swift's official website crashed due to heavy traffic
following the posts.
According to Swift, the subject matter of "Midnights"
was inspired by five major topics, self-hatred,
revenge fantasies, wondering what might have been,
falling in love, and falling apart.
[soft dramatic music]
When Swift's and Antonoff's partners, Joe Alwyn,
and American actress Margaret Qualley, respectively,
were filming in Panama for the 2022 romantic thriller movie,
"Stars at Noon,"
they decided to team up to co-produce "Midnights."
[soft upbeat music]
Since "1989," Jack Antonoff
has worked with Swift repeatedly.
Swift and Antonoff collaborated in New York City.
While their co-stars shot,
the duo wrote 11 of the album's 13 songs together.
Of the remaining two,
Swift wrote the track "Vigilante Shit" alone
and "Sweet Nothing" with Alwyn,
who is credited with his pseudonym, William Bowery.
[soft upbeat music]
In contrast to "Folklore" and "Evermore"'s
indie and alternative folk sound,
Swift set out to make an experimental pop album,
extending her alternative approach to synth pop sounds.
"Midnight"'s, distinctive sound has been described
as maximalist minimalism, which incorporates soft melodies,
emphasized beats, and vintage synthesizers.
[soft upbeat music]
After experimenting with fictional plot lines and characters
in "Folklore" and "Evermore,"
Swift makes a return to lyricism
that is primarily autobiographical with this album.
The New Yorker said "'Midnights' is a collage
of various emotions during the spontaneous,
restless headspace of nighttime thought,
with a distinctive confessional, but cryptic tone.
The key topics include feminism, insecurity, anxiety,
and self-criticism."
[soft upbeat music]
The lead single "Anti-Hero" examines her mental insecurities
in depth, detailing the things she hates about herself
and her struggle with not feeling like a person.
Themes addressed include ghosting acquaintances,
camouflaging narcissism as altruism,
fears of relationships being transactional,
and Swift's inability to co-mingle with people,
normally due to her celebrity status.
[soft upbeat music]
Upon the release of "Midnights,"
"Anti-Hero" earned over 17.4 million plays
in its first 24 hours on Spotify globally,
becoming the biggest opening day for a song
in the platform's history.
♪ 'Cause you got tired of my scheming ♪
♪ For the last time
♪ It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me ♪
♪ At tea time, everybody agrees ♪
♪ I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror ♪
♪ It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero ♪
[upbeat music]
- "Midnights" is Swift's most commercially successful
album to date.
It broke a string of sales, streaming, digital, vinyl,
and official chart records globally.
Billboard declared it a blockbuster.
According to Universal Music Group,
"Midnights" moved 3 million global album equivalent units
in its first week, and over 6 million in two months.
It broke all-time records on Spotify,
such as those for the most streamed album in a single day,
with 186 million streams in its opening day,
surpassing the previous record of 155 million streams
by Drake's "Certified Lover Boy."
[soft upbeat music]
She scored the most historic week in the 64-year history
of the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart,
as she was the first artist to claim the survey's
entire top 10 in a single frame.
Various publications dubbed Swift as the Paramount pop star
of the 21st century, wielding a commercial
and cultural dominance
surpassing those of her contemporaries.
[soft upbeat music]
Swift had now become unstoppable.
Her career has lasted longer than that of The Beatles,
and even broke the band's once deemed unbeatable records.
[soft upbeat music]
Critics lauded her ability to remain culturally-relevant
and successful 18 years into her music career,
writing that the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, David Bowie,
and Bruce Springsteen were past their prime at that age.
[soft upbeat music]
During her promotion of "Midnights" on talk shows
such as "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"
and the "Graham Norton Show" in October, 2022.
Swift hinted at an upcoming tour.
[soft upbeat music]
On November 1st, she announced on "Good Morning America"
and through her social media accounts
her sixth concert tour, The Eras Tour, describing it
as a journey through the musical eras of her career.
[soft upbeat music]
The initial US states were so popular
that several politicians and government officials
demanded the tour be brought to their country or city.
[soft upbeat music]
Everyone knew getting tickets for Taylor Swift's
The Eras Tour was going to be a challenge,
but no one, especially not Ticketmaster,
the platform responsible for distributing said tickets,
seemed remotely aware of just how messy the process
would turn out to be.
[soft dramatic music]
The Verified Fan program from Ticketmaster enables users
to sign up in advance and have access to presale tickets.
The highest registration in the site's history,
over 3.5 million individuals registered for the program
in advance of Swift's tour,
and roughly 1.5 million were allowed access to the presale.
[soft dramatic music]
However, according to Ticketmaster,
when the presale began on November 15th, 2022,
bots and fans without invite codes crowded the site,
causing it to crash repeatedly
and aggravating fans to the point of rage.
Fans complained of hours-long wait times
that resulted in technical glitches
as well as presale phases that were rescheduled or canceled.
[soft dramatic music]
On November 17th, 2022, Ticketmaster announced
that the general sale wouldn't open at all.
"Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems
and insufficient remaining ticket inventory
to meet that demand, tomorrow's public on sale
for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has been canceled,"
the company tweeted.
[soft dramatic music]
Soon after tickets became available on Ticketmaster,
they went on sale all over resale sites,
selling from $200 to over $22,000.
Even some of the few who did initially get
to purchase tickets may have paid more than they expected
because of a dynamic pricing model.
On November 18th, 2022, Swift took to Instagram stories
to address the controversy,
writing a long statement that read, in part,
"There are a multitude of reasons why people had
such a hard time trying to get tickets,
and I'm trying to figure out how this situation
can be improved moving forward."
[soft dramatic music]
On December 12th, 2022, Ticketmaster began notifying
select fans, identified as fans who received a boost
during the Verified Fan presale
but did not purchase tickets,
of a second ticket-buying opportunity
to purchase a maximum of two tickets per user
through Ticketstoday.
Ticketmaster sold the first US leg's
remaining 170,000 tickets over four weeks.
However, amid all the drama, the tour received rave reviews
from music and entertainment critics
who praised both the high-end spectacle
and polished artistry of the tour.
[upbeat music]
♪ Are you ready for it
♪ I'm drunk in the back of the car ♪
♪ And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar ♪
♪ Said, I'm fine, but it wasn't true ♪
♪ I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard ♪
- People would come up to me and they'd be like,
"You're gonna just do a show with all the albums in it?"
And I was like, "Yeah, it's gonna be called The Eras Tour."
[soft dramatic music]
- [Narrator] The versatility of the show's, music, visuals,
and performance art was often a point of praise
in its reviews.
Going through every era of her musical career
creates a spectacle.
As Swift had released four new studio albums
since her Reputation Tour in 2018,
she thought this would be a good way for fans
to be able to hear all the different songs.
[soft dramatic music]
The Eras Tour broke ticket sales records worldwide.
On the first day of the US presale alone,
the tour sold over 2.4 million tickets,
the most sold by an artist in a single day.
And on August 31st, 2023,
Swift announced the concert film,
"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," directed by Sam Wrench.
[soft dramatic music]
The Eras Tour had a tremendous effect
on the entertainment world, the music business, and more.
It was said to be one of the most significant
21st century cultural phenomena,
attracting attention comparable to Beatlemania in the 1960s.
The tour improved the local economies of its stops
by boosting small businesses and tourism,
drew sizable crowds of fans outside stadiums,
dominated news cycles and social media,
prompted government and organization tributes,
and accelerated the public's consumption of her discography.
Critics often described The Eras Tour
as a monocultural event demonstrating Swift's impact
on popular culture.
[soft dramatic music]
Swift is regarded as a trailblazer of the 21st century
for her diverse music ability, songwriting skill,
and business acumen,
all of which have served as an inspiration to musicians,
entrepreneurs, and businessmen all over the world.
[soft dramatic music]
She started out with country music, migrated into pop,
and experimented with alternative rock,
indie rock, and electronic sounds,
erasing the lines between musical genres.
Her unique mix of chart success, critical praise,
and fervent fan devotion has been characterized by critics
as a cultural quintessence, allowing her to have
an enormous effect on the music industry and beyond.
[soft dramatic music]
There really is no stopping Taylor Swift.
Her career has had its highs and lows,
but she's now untouchable and unstoppable.
[soft dramatic music]
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