The Marketing of Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” #MusicMonday

We are witnessing a masterclass in marketing …

Just in case you didn’t hear, Taylor Swift dropped her latest album on Friday (and over the weekend) with multiple marketing elements to great success.

“The Life of a Showgirl,” her 12th studio album. Most artists are no where near as strong by the time they hit #12, and here is Taylor still ruling the industry and moving economies!

Full disclosure: I am not a fan and I am not a Swiftie, but I am a huge admirer of Taylor Swift because I think she is a brilliant writer, business woman, and marketer. Brilliant. For that I proudly follow her every move.

Her latest move is a brilliant series of steps.

Of course there are the Spotify Streams of which she broke the record for the most album streams in a single day in just eleven hours. The first single “The Fate of Ophelia” is also now the most streamed song in a single day as well.

But the truth is that artists don’t make the bulk of their money on streams anymore, the real cash comes from concerts, merchandise, vinyl, and other avenues.

Like movies.

Yes, Taylor had a one-weekend-only movie that raked in $46million dollars titled “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” which is essentially behind the scenes chat about the songs, the official music video for the first single, and other fandom footage. It sold and it also sold albums. The admission price? $12. Wink!

Now of course, the fans who went to see the movie all wore the latest Showgirl Cardigan (Taylor puts one out for each album). Merch. This one is signature orange.

Taylor has also released multiple vinyl versions of this new album, with bonus tracks for the fans (with some tailored to specific retailers). Vinyl.

There are now also four new CDs with acoustic versions of some of the songs (that was a Sunday development). Multiple copies available for sale.

And BTW, the reviews are quite positive too so she’s not disappointing her fans amidst all this marketing. And she appears to be supporting others coming up in the field too, such as Sabrina Carpenter with this duet …

And she’s in a very happy stage of her life, as witnessed by her writing (gotta love love) …

Good for you, Taylor. Enjoy the moment, you’ve created it, you’ve driven it, you’ve earned it. You’re a marketer and an entertainer of the utmost! Keep it coming!

What’s your experience? JIM