Taylor Swift: The Biggest Gangster In Music

That title is quite dramatic yeah? I could not resist, thanks in part to Drake mentioning this in his second diss track aimed at Kenrick Lamar – Taylor Made

It seems like there’s a plethora of people that do not understand the power that Taylor Swift holds in the mainstream music industry & why it’s possible that Drake is not entirely lying about Kendrick being scared to drop, seeing that Taylor just released her eleventh studio album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’. Matter of fact, for the rest of this read, I will be referring to her as ‘T Swizzy’.

Lets keep this brief. The fact of the matter is, as a fellow mainstream artist, if you drop your album the same week as T-Swizzy, your release will be overshadowed by the attention given to Swift’s music. How? Well, T-Swizzy’s albums consistently perform ridiculously well on the charts. Releasing music on the same day could mean competing directly with her for chart positions, which will affect your chances of achieving high chart placements. This generation can’t seem to multitask really well or might just be too busy & Swizzy has a massive, dedicated fan base that often obsessively focuses their attention on her releases. Releasing music on the same day or week *could* also mean that your work will receive less attention from fans who are busy consuming and dissecting her latest project.

Ah yes, how dare I forget… T-Swizzy’s releases are typically accompanied by extensive marketing campaigns and promotional efforts. Can you imagine competing for airplay, media coverage, and other promotional opportunities against such a powerhouse? While some artists may choose to avoid direct competition with The Swizz (I’m getting carried away), others might see it as an opportunity to stand out and attract attention in a crowded music landscape – kudos to those brave ones.

I know what you’re thinking & no, this does not apply to every single mainstream artist. Case in point – A friend of mine that I have frequent music-talks with saw T-Swizzy’s 2 million first week sales & started making Michael Jackson comparisons. I blame other blogs and sensationalist reporting for this. Do you want to go bar for bar with T-Swizzy first week? No. Can you outsell her? Yes – album sales don’t stop being tracked after the first week.

Taylor Swift sells well, really well. However, she is far from matching Michael Jacksons’ numbers. Get serious.

– Chazz.