Does Taylor Swift See Her Fans as $ Signs (Hint: Yes, She Does)

Does Taylor Swift only see fans as dollar bills? This is a question that was posed by someone in the following social media post:

The poster in question does not appear to be a fan of Taylor Swift. I mention this having read her posts for awhile now. To be clear, no one is required to like Taylor Swift or her music. Personally, I do, but that is not why I am writing this article coming to her defense (kind of). But it is a fair question to look at what Swift is doing and ask if she is taking advantage of her fans. Swifts pitch here is that after she released her newest album - "The Life of a Showgirl" - she went back to the recording studio and recorded acoustic versions of two of her songs, which will be sold exclusively on vinyl and CD.

Not only that, but there will be four exclusive covers that will only be available for a limited time. Which means, if you are planning to buy the album and are a hardcore Swiftie, you will have to buy her album at least five times to get all of the covers (there's still the mainstream release to consider after all). Now, this is not the first time Swift has done this. In fact, pretty much all of her albums since "folklore" have had multiple "limited edition" covers in addition to the standard cover that is released everywhere ("folklore," in fact, had eight. I should know: I bought them all).

It has almost become tradition for every new album for fans to be given the option of buying multiple copies to complete the "set" (her multiple covers of "Midnights" had the added benefit of creating an actual clock when you bought her specialty made frame for them). Now, this practice is not without its critcism. The idea that she sells multiple covers of all of her albums which are (essentially) all the same is not exactly a practice that is shameless. But is this shameless act something to criticize?

For my opinion, no, it is not.

In fact, I will go a step further: Swift probably DOES only see her fans as dollar bills! Is there anything wrong with that? I would argue, no, there is not. Part of the reason I am writing this is because I just re-watched a 4K re-release of the Satoshi Kon masterpiece "Perfect Blue," in which stardom and obsessive fans perceived "ownership" of people is a huge theme in this darkly disturbing movie. For years it has been a point worth beating home that entertainers are not in personal relationships with their fans. They do not owe fans anything, they do not have a special connection with you just because you buy their music, and they have a right to privacy.

These are facts that most people can agree with. So, if we are in agreement of these facts, then we must also acknowledge what they are: glorified salesmen. They are people who are selling a product. In this case, their primary product is their music. If they are popular enough they can also sell t-shirts, calendars, other merchandise, and even products in commercials. They sell overpriced concert tickets. Sometimes they lock their music behind the paywall of Tidal or Spotify if they get a big enough check to do so.

And all artists do it.

Beyonce, Maroon 5, Paul McCartney...it doesn't matter who you are. If you are in the music industry, you are selling your music. If you aren't selling your music, then you are not long for this business. And if you are selling your music, then ALL of your fans are potential dollar signs! In fact, let's talk about Paul McCartney for a bit, because a few years ago he released "McCartney III," completing his (largely uneven) 'McCartney Trilogy' of albums. While the album itself got decent reviews (I personally enjoyed it), there were critics that took issue with the extensive vinyl variant release.

As you can see from the imagine above, a variety of different colored vinyl's were released for the occasion in addition to the standard release. All of these were released in limited quantities and most were retailer exclusives. It made one music critic review the album not as a music release, but as a marketing gimmick and claimed that he had never seen an album release that was "less about the music" before. To add credence to that argument, a few months later the album "McCartney III: Imagined" was released, in which other artists covered the songs on the album the way the music had "inspired them."

Yeah, this album was so inspiring that a bunch of artists got together a day or two after the release to make a covered version that was recorded, perfected, and shipped to stores shortly after the main release? Give me a break. Yet it must have worked because the album was financially successful. All for music that I would dare you to hum three bars to without looking it up on a streaming service. But it worked: McCartney had successfully sold his music. And here's the thing: in a day and age where music is streamed more than bought, that is a mighty impressive feat.

And since selling music is her JOB, it should be no surprise that Taylor Swift sees her fans as dollar signs! Can we blame her; she has fans who have proven over and over again to buy things she sells just because she says so. No one is forcing them to buy five different copies of an album or pay for a theatrical event that is essentially a commercial for a music album. Those people want what she's selling, and she would be stupid to NOT sell them what they want! Now, yes, some of her sales tactics do give off a 'Disney Vault' vibe (buy it now before its too late), but there's a reason this is called 'show business' and not 'show friends.'

Taylor Swift doesn't know you. While she likely appreciates that you like her music, her primary goal is to sell it. This is the job of every artist. If Rhianna or Bruce Springsteen could get away with what Swift is doing, you can bet they would (and let's not forget that Michael Jackson did a multi-variant release of his final album "Invincible" on top of his countless compilation releases). Again, you don't have to like Swift's music. You don't have to like her sales pitch. Heck, you can like her music and find her business practices shady. You can feel however you want about it. But don't kid yourself: Taylor Swift is in the music business and her job is to sell you her music. That she is extremely successful in doing so by pulling sales stunts like this tells us more about her customers than it does about her.