Today, we’ll discuss Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift by Stephanie Burt, a humanities professor at Harvard.

Taylor’s Version is a little bit of a complicated book review for me because there is a lot that I really liked about this book, but I also must admit it wasn’t as much fun as other books that I have read in the Taylor-verse for some reasons very specific to me. It may very well be perfect for you.

You can tell reading this book that it was written by a humanities professor. This is good for me. I like the academic approach, and she goes all in on it. She takes a very academic approach to her look at Taylor Swift and her music from a literary lens, but she is particularly focused on the music. This book has a ton of music theory, so if you don’t know a lot about music theory, get ready.

Bert does, I’m sure, a fantastic job, diving into the exact musical theory. She talks a lot about the notes, chords, and key changes. She talks about what Taylor’s accomplishing with the music and the deliberate choices she makes in her songs. My problem was that I don’t understand music theory very well, so I found some of Burt’s points hard to follow.

It’s something I wish I knew better, and I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had learned more about music theory before reading Burt’s book.

Burt also does not shy away from potential issues in Taylor’s work, her music, and her story. She spends a lot of time discussing privilege, race, and social issues, and how they connect to Taylor’s work. As you might expect, sometimes Taylor gets credit, and sometimes Taylor is the problem.

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In the book’s structure, Burt goes through Eras, one album at a time. This structure works well. I want to call out my two favorite chapters of this book, chapters that I highly recommend you read, even if you are in the camp of not loving academic or music theory texts and thus are not planning on reading the whole book.

Bert really shines in her chapter on Tortured Poets, and in the last “Eras” chapter. These two chapters are absolutely stellar: the Tortured Poets one because there are few more qualified to break down that album than a humanities professor, and the final chapter, as it is where she makes her final case for why she chooses to use the word “genius” to describe Taylor in the title of this book, and why she thinks Swift deserves that moniker.

And being a humanities professor, a literature professor, she is very thoughtful about the words that she uses. She is explicit about the fact that she is not giving Swift the moniker of “genius” lightly.

Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift is very well researched and very thoughtful. Burt didn’t just write this up in a week and send it off. She uses a lot of sources that you don’t see anywhere else, and she connects Swift to a number of important folks from other pieces of culture in ways that you aren’t going to find anywhere else

I will be back with you soon with another Swiftie book review. In the meantime, let me know what you think about Taylor’s Version. Have you read it? I’ll see you soon!

If you are considering buying this book, would you also please consider using my affiliate link through Bookshop.org? It would allow you to purchase the book at the same price as anywhere else while supporting my work and independent bookstores. Kind of a win-win-win if you ask me. :)

Taylor Swift’s new song for Toy Story, “I Knew It, I Knew You”, is exciting in its own right, (It’s such an earworm! I love it!), and tells us more about her debut plans (who else can’t wait to hear Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version) in her grown-up voice! And the Vault Tracks!), but it also says a lot about her focus right now.

Taylor Swift is focused on bolstering her legacy. A focus on her legacy explains all the major career decisions that Taylor has made for the past four or so years — but that’s next week’s article.

Specifically for this week, one of the things that she really wants for that legacy is an Oscar.

Taylor’s Previous Oscar Chances

This will be Taylor’s ninth song that she has written for a movie. For various reasons, often a technicality, some of those songs were ineligible for the Oscar for Best Original Song, while others were submitted, and a couple were shortlisted, including “Sweeter Than Fiction”, “Carolina”, and “Beautiful Ghosts”.

Unfortunately, those songs didn’t make it past the shortlist and thus didn’t earn Taylor a nomination. As such, Taylor has yet to receive an Oscar nomination, let alone a win. She also tried to go the directorial route with the “All Too Well” short film, but again, she did not make the nominations.

What Will It Take For “I Knew It, I Knew You” To Secure the Nomination — Let’s Review The Rules

Now, the criteria for the Oscar for Best Original Song require that the piece be written directly for that movie.

“An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits.” _{-Rule 15: Special Rules for Music Awards, The Academy}

As far as we know, Swift’s song checks all of the boxes there. Since Taylor has already had the Toy Story team confirm that her song is not the first end credits song, her song about Jessie must play during Toy Story 5.

Otherwise, it won’t be eligible. That’s what happened with her song for the Hunger Games. She became ineligible for the Oscar because she was the 2nd song in the credits.

It is also required that the song “must be the result of a creative interaction between the filmmaker(s) and the composer(s) and/or songwriter(s) who have been engaged to work directly on the motion picture.” _{-Rule 15: Special Rules for Music Awards, The Academy}

I believe this is why we saw Taylor specifically call out that she had seen a cut of the movie and that this song was written after seeing that cut and talking with the filmmakers. It’s also why we have an amazing quote from Andrew Stanton in Disney’s press release announcing the song.

The rules also help us understand what to expect in this song because they specifically call out songs from popular franchises.

“In cases such as sequels and franchises, the score must not use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise.” _{-Rule 15: Special Rules for Music Awards, The Academy}

Swift gets a check mark there as well. When you listen to the song, you don’t hear any of the previous biggest songs, such as “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” sampled or referenced. We hear completely new phrases, lyrics, and melodies. Taylor does not want to get excluded on a technicality, as she has in the past.

The rules also state that the song must be recorded directly for the motion picture and used in the motion picture before “being publicly exploited or performed anywhere else”.

So, this means that we cannot expect to see additional promotions or any performance of this song until the movie airs. We will see the song in the movie before Taylor performs it publicly. (Fingers crossed at least. Knock on wood.)

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Taylor Has Learned From Past Oscarss Campaigns (The Biz Strategy of it All)

This song, the ninth one she’s written for a movie, shows she has learned a lot from her previous attempts at an Oscar.

Number one, she went back to a collaborator who has nearly as many Grammy Awards as she does, and is extremely well respected: Jack Antonoff. Potentially part of the calculus is realizing just how strong her songs written with Jack were. Max Martin brings commercial success. Jack Antonoff pushes her to produce the best possible piece of art. (Or maybe that’s just my opinion.)

Disney called out (and we can hear in the song) that it is a “return to her country roots”. While that fits for the cowgirl Jessie is, and while that may be convenient for a year where she’s planning on celebrating “Debut” primarily, it also shows that she’s aware that straight-up pop doesn’t usually win the Oscar. You see a lot more classically written songs, or just other genres, that win more than a pure pop song.

In addition, the House of Mouse, along with their sub-brands, has earned the most Oscar nominations for Best Original Song vs. any other studio — a whopping total of approximately 40 nominations for Best Original Song, and they’ve secured 16 wins.

For this attempt at the Oscar, Swift shows the logic of doing her research and, this time around, deciding to go with a studio with a history of winning and the clout to bring respect as a bit of an interloper in the film side of the entertainment industry. I’m sure amoung the reasons she decided to partner with Disney was for the clout. In the press release, she receives glowing statements from Andrew Stanton, a multi-Oscar winner, and a personal Instagram post from the legendary CEO himself, Robert Iger.

On June 1st, when the announcement went out, we saw a photo of smiling Bob Iger and Taylor Swift on his Instagram account, with a caption saying how excited he is to have Taylor working with them again, reinforcing that narrative. Bob Iger holds a lot of clout in the movie world, and he will probably be given some sort of lifetime achievement award at this year’s Oscars. Having him in her corner, having him say that this collaboration is enhancing the movie, is a big push towards her Oscar campaign.

Disney is also a well-chosen partner because of its deep pockets to push a major Oscar campaign. And we have already seen the signs of that major Oscar campaign.

From the massive rollout to boost popularity, to the sale of physical products, which will drive popularity metrics and, hopefully, inspire more radio play.

Of course, to win, you have to be a good song, but if you look at the past several Oscar wins, we see popularity helping many of our Oscar winners. Look no further than “Golden” last year; the song played everywhere. It was extremely popular, and it cleaned up in the awards department. Then you can look at Billie Eilish, who won her Oscar when her song was everywhere. There was “Shallow”, as well, and so many other examples of popularity helping an Oscar win.

That’s why we’re seeing the major rollout with all the easter eggs (nearly as many as she put together for her last album announcement!) and all the fanfare — because she wants to ensure that the song is as popular as possible.

We will find out for sure in January whether Taylor receives her first-ever Oscar nomination, which would put her one step closer to some of the big North stars I believe are governing her career right now.

And we’re going to talk about that, along with where I think she’s focusing her career, next week. Please subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

And until then, what do you think? Do you think Taylor will finally receive her first Oscar nomination in January? What do you think about the song, now that it’s been released?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, and I will see you soon!

Still, the references in reputation & Lover are not to be missed, so let’s dive in!

reputation

Right from the get-go with one of her singles, Swift gives us a more obscure Shakespeare reference when she alludes thematically to “The Taming of the Shrew” with the lines “I’m so very tame now, never be the same now” in “Ready For It?”. Far from my favorite Shakespearean or Swift depiction of love, but nonetheless a literary reference.

We also get our first cultural reference to Taylor’s idolization of Elizabeth Taylor and her romance with Richard Burton in this song, with the line “Burton to this Taylor”. It was around this time that Taylor mentioned reading and liking the biography Furious Love by Nancy Schoenberger and Sam Kashner, which centers around the lives of both Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I also highly recommend it — or if you want a quicker version, you can take a look at this video I made about it.

“This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” is practically an ode to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby from the first verse: “Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year,” to the free-flowing champagne. The song also relates thematically to the book by exploring how kindness toward others can make some people skeptical. In the novel, Jay Gatsby throws parties, brings his friends together, gives generously, and receives little back but speculation and gossip behind his back. Swift, of course, experienced the same thing when many she thought were friends turned their backs on her the minute #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty started trending on Twitter/X.

While she may not have intended to reference it, as the meanings don’t quite line up, she does have a possible Vonnegut reference in reputation. “So It Goes” is a key phrase throughout Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and I expect Taylor was aware of this when putting out the song.

Far from good literature, but I have often wondered if this song wondered if this song was inspired by the Fifty Shades books. It was, after all, released in the same year as the song she wrote for the Fifty Shades Darker movie.

Lastly, in “Getaway Car”, Taylor plays with the A Tale of Two Cities opening line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” by starting her song with “It was the best of times, the worst of crimes”.

Lover

Thematically, Lover alludes to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden.” This is by no means the last time, nor the most prominent time, we will see odes to Burnette’s book in Taylor’s discography. The imagery throughout the album’s photography brings florals front and center and at times places Taylor literally in a secret garden. The imagery and the songs show Taylor in a secret garden where she is safe and loved, where none of the negative forces in her life can reach her. Taylor slips in “through the garden gate” in Track 2 and spends the rest of the album in this rose-colored glasses world.

During her Lover album, we receive a quote from the classic nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty” during “The Archer” with the lyrics, “All the king’s horses, all the king’s men / couldn’t put me together again.”

Next up, I was happy to see Shakespeare come back with a reference to one of his lesser-known plays (All’s Well That Ends Well) in the line “All’s well that ends well to end up with you”.

We also see Taylor repeatedly drawing from the Bible throughout “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”. I believe Taylor was raised Catholic (though sources about her early life that don’t have a direct confirmation from Taylor herself can be hazy in their accuracy), and we see a familiarity with the Bible throughout her work.

Lastly, there’s some debate about “The Wasteland” by TS Eliot influencing Swift’s writing of “Cruel Summer”. While both Swift and T.S. Elliot depict winter as representing safety and emotional detachment, and spring or summer bringing about a torturous or anxiety-inducing reawakening for an emotionally numb subject — Swift is writing about an affair or a lover and T.S. Elliot is writing about post-war Britain…. We also don’t see Taylor playing directly with lines in “The Wasteland”, so….

Up Next: Folklore & Evermore

Which literary reference is your favorite? Let me know in the comments, and make sure you subscribe for part two (folklore & evermore) on June 16th!

If you are considering buying this book, would you also please consider using my affiliate link through Bookshop.org? It would allow you to purchase the book at the same price as anywhere else while supporting my work and independent bookstores. Kind of a win-win-win if you ask me. :)

Swiftie History Class is in session: Five Holes In The Fence edition

Let’s cast our minds back in the Swiftie lore to Fall 2019. We’re still in the reputation era — moody, dark, strong, and edgy. But in September, we start to see some color return to Taylor’s Instagram feed. It’s looking like we might be leaving the reputation era.

Then, February 24, 2019. Taylor posts a picture with seven palm trees and captioned it 🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴 (7 emojis). Swifties were officially back in business. We had the definitive proof that Taylor was up to something, and it was time for the next era. (Ah, when things were simple, and there were fewer options for what Taylor could have planned — is it the movie? A streaming deal? A single? A tour? Merch? A book? Or an album? — It can be anything now!)

But we’re in 2019 — February, to be exact — with a picture of pastel palm trees; a definitive break from the reputation aesthetic. Fans really went into overdrive the next day when she posted a picture of herself sitting on a staircase, on the 6th step. Then, fans looked back and noticed that a photo posted the day before showed eight indents on the sofa behind Meredith.

8, 7, 6….

It had to be a countdown.

The next day, she posted a picture of herself standing behind a fence. At first, folks were confused. Then a fan started counting, and there were 5 holes in the fence. Ok, we’re all good. We have five. It’s definitely a countdown.

We got a bit nervous when nothing was posted the next day, but tried to laugh it off.

When Taylor finally posted again on February 27th, it wasn’t to resume the countdown. It was a very shocked-looking Olivia with the caption “She read all the theories 🙀”.

We, over-eager fans, were left holding the bag with nothing to say, “but there were five holes in the fence…” and the realization that the countdown wasn’t real.

Thankfully, we didn’t have long to be sad because the very next day, on February 28, she was back with a very pastel spread, egging “ME!” in Elle UK magazine. Her iHeartMusic Awards appearance in the fabulous purple sparkly romper and Sophia Webster butterfly heels (often seen as the true beginning of our Lover era) was just two weeks later, on March 15, 2019.

Taylor later acknowledged the meme a few different times. First, she egged the “You Need to Calm Down” music video on June 14, 2019, by posting a photo of an orange fence in the trailer park with the caption “There were five posts in the fence.”

Later, thirteen days before the August 23, 2019, release of Lover, Swift posted a new palm tree photo with 13 palm trees and 13 palm tree emojis, followed up by reposting the same 5-holes-in-the-fence photo on August 18th — five days before the album release and captioning this later post with, “Okay NOW there are five holes in the fence 😬😺💋”.

It remained the biggest collective miss of clowning until most of us became convinced she was releasing reputation (Taylor’s Version) at the end of the Eras Tour. How wrong we were…..

Taylor Nation also referenced the event when promoting the Lover cardigan on January 23, 2025. The video featured a very similar white fence and a shot of our model seen through five holes in that fence.

Present Day Connections: The Toy Story Countdown

When we encountered this Toy Story-esque countdown to nothing, it brought many fans back to the five holes in the fence situation from 2019. Many felt that May 2 was the end of that, and the countdown wasn’t going to lead anywhere, just like the five holes in the fence.

I think this is different. I don’t believe we have another five-hole-in-the-fence situation. I maintain that there was a tech snafu that showed us the countdown early, and something is still coming in the first half of June. But we’ll see!

What do you think? Is there something behind the clouds countdown, or were we looking at a five-holes-in-the-fence situation?

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It’s now time for the most exciting topic I can come up with — the intersection of Taylor Swift & Books! In Vogue’s 73-question interview, Taylor states that if she were not a musician, she might have become an English teacher and refers to herself as such in her engagement announcement. While she may not have quite the bona fides for such a role, we do see a literary aptitude in her work, with lyrics packed with literary and academic cultural references. As such, I’m beginning a series where we weave our way through them era by era. Today: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, and Red.

Debut

Despite playing all the country-music tropes, 15-year-old Taylor still managed to sneak in a literary reference on her debut album, Taylor Swift. In her song “The Outside,” she references Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” for the first time. We’ll encounter two more allusions to this poem within her current discography.

Fearless

Fearless includes perhaps her best-known literary reference — when she changes the ending of Romeo and Juliet to make the story romantic rather than ridiculous, impractical, and tragic. Additionally, in that same song, she also references Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter for the first time.

Later in the album, she plays with modern fairy tale tropes in “Today was a Fairytale” and references a character originally created by the Grimm Brothers — Snow White — in “The Best Day.”

Still a teenager, and our total count of literary references in her professional work is up to 5.

Speak Now

While Speak Now, the album, is light in direct literary references, it is rich in literary language and tropes. From “The Story of Us,” taking a relationship of us chapter by chapter, to using the fairytale trope of being whisked to somewhere better while the villain is left behind in “Mean”, Taylor weaves narrative and books throughout the album. The album is full of dusty books “covered in cobwebs,” full of romance, monsters, and enchantment.

In Speak Now, she also fits in one more direct reference. One of her bonus tracks plays off of the “Superman” comics — the aptly titled song “Superman”.

Red

Red steps away from fairytales and happily-ever-afters as Taylor writes about her first big heartbreak and instead opts for more nuanced references.

Swift references ‘Tonight I Write the Saddest Lines,’ a Pablo Neruda poem, in the Red album prologue. The Pablo Neruda line “Love is so short, forgetting is so long” also opens the All Too Well short film.

It fits that she would feature Shakespeare somewhere on this album, and indeed “All Too Well (The 10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” references The Bard with the line “all’s well that ends well, but I’m in a new hell”.

In “State of Grace,” she includes an allusion to Achilles, a hero of the Trojan War (at least according to the Iliad and Odyssey), with the lyric, “These are the hands of fate, you’re my Achilles heel.”

1989

In 1989, we see Taylor’s literary references finally start to take off. She provides the return of Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter with the line “show off our different scarlet letters” in “New Romantics”.

The bonus tracks, however, are really where the literary bona fides are for this album. Alice in Wonderland is used throughout Taylor’s bonus track “Wonderland”. The track is full of madness, rabbit holes, Cheshire Cats, and allusions to Lewis Caroll’s book.

The Iliad comes back around in “You Are in Love” with the line, “And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars.” It refers to the report that the Trojan war, which the Iliad focuses on, was started because of Helen & her beauty. She was reportedly kidnapped by Paris after he became mad and fancied himself in love at the sight of her. The war reportedly started when her native Greece went to war to get her back.

We then get Taylor’s first bible reference in the vault track “Now That We Don’t Talk” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version) with “you part the crowd like the Red Sea, don’t even get me started,” — referencing Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt in the “Book of Exodus”.

Up Next: reputation & Lover

Which literary reference is your favorite? Let me know in the comments, and make sure you subscribe for part two (reputation & Lover) on June 2nd!

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If you are considering buying this book, would you also please consider using my affiliate link through Bookshop.org? It would allow you to purchase the book at the same price as anywhere else while supporting my work and independent bookstores. Kind of a win-win-win if you ask me. :)

So what’s happening and what can we expect to come down the pipeline this year? That’s coming in a minute, but first, what tells me we’re leaving the Showgirl Era? After all, for us, it hasn’t even been a year? (For Taylor, this album started back in 2023.)

The Ending of The Showgirl Era

First, we observed the petering out of the “Elizabeth Taylor” rollout strategy. (I have a whole breakdown on that here and on YouTube if you want to know more.)

This, combined with a more convincing effect from the noticeable increase in activity from Taylor and Taylor Nation and the new aesthetic we have seen from Taylor, confirms it. We have seen Taylor out 4 out of 5 nights in the past seven days, and the posting volume for both has increased. More on our new Tay-setic in a minute.

Additionally, the style of completion video/fan edit — whatever you want to call it — we saw in the “Elizabeth Taylor” music video is common at the end of an era for Taylor.

And lastly, perhaps the biggest sign is that Taylor’s style has changed. Her style has often been the canary in the coal mine, so to speak, at the changing of eras, and the Showgirl has now been out to dinner multiple times in a row in outfits that were devoid of all the characteristics of the Showgirl’s signature style.

In most of her recent outfits, we saw none of the short skirts or sparkles characteristic of The Life of a Showgirl dressing, and a move away from corsetry, a hallmark of both TTPD and Showgirl’s style. We also saw a move away from the orange and teal or mint green that signaled Showgirl, and while we did see a little bit of mint green with Taylor’s purse in London when she and Travis went to see Sadie Sink in Romeo & Juliet, the mint green is also associated with Debut, so….

This aesthetic has featured longer skirts, flowy details, neutrals, mostly black-and-white, silk, and lace. We’ve also seen that the majority of the bags Taylor was carrying were designed under Johnathan Anderson, the new Dior creative director.

When Taylor was captured in her one fully Showgirl look (5/11/26: Valentino LBD with silver sparkly bow accent), Swift was captured with her “I have a big secret” smirk. That smirk has always meant good things were cooking when we’ve seen it in the past.

These were all times when Taylor was clearly not hiding from the paparazzi; instead, she often stopped for a moment, giving the paparazzi plenty of time and access to capture her photo. It’s times like these that she has sent messages through her fashion in the past.

What’s Next: The Immediate Future

In fact, Taylor went so far as to use one of her dinner outfits to hint at something coming next. She stepped out to dinner in a blue midi-length dress, brown Louboutin sandals, and a swoon-worthy yellow flowered Dior bag. The outfit was fun and very unlike anything we’d seen her in recently. It was clocked as a fabulous fit at the time, and the differences from her Showgirl style were notable, but it wasn’t until a 48-hour countdown was posted to her website and then quickly removed that we started to see the symbolism.

The outfit perfectly matched the countdown’s colors, which also matched the Toy Story logo/wordmark. There were also clouds in the back of this countdown that matched the cloud wallpaper the movie made famous. Lastly, the latest in the franchise, Toy Story 5, is set to debut on June 19, 2026 — a very important day for Taylor. June 19, 2026, will be the 20th anniversary of Taylor’s first-ever single, “Tim McGraw”. It will mark the 20th anniversary of the first release Taylor ever gave to the world.

June 19th: A Red Letter Day?

We have had several hints from Taylor herself about June 19th. We know Taylor loves Easter eggs in her speeches, and in her acceptance speech for the iHeartRadio Music Awards, she talked about loving songwriting since she was 12-years-old, when there were 12 weeks until June 19th.

So what was the deal with this countdown popping up in early May and disappearing right away? Well, often the simplest answer is the right one. I believe that Taylor has either licensed a Debut vault track or written an original song for Toy Story 5, and that this countdown was accidentally set to go live during testing. It was originally intended for Midnight Eastern Time on June 17th, with the expiration at Midnight Eastern Time on June 19th, when the movie would officially release.

I don’t know if we’ll still see this countdown come back at the correct time, but I do believe we will be getting a new (at least to us) song on June 19th.

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So what does this new Tay-sthetic say?

This aesthetic has featured longer skirts, flowy details, neutrals, mostly black-and-white, silk, and lace. We’ve also seen that the majority of the bags Taylor was carrying were designed by Johnathan Anderson, the new Dior creative director, at the helm.

I’m reading romance, confidence, sophistication, and self-assuredness in her look, nothing about these looks — while fabulous on her — says Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version), which is what we thought was coming after this potential Toy Story song. This could mean a few things. It could be a red herring, or it could be that Taylor is simply dressing for herself and not egging anything (unlikely; she probably would have saved herself the frenzy and gone in the back door if this were the case). She could be egging her forthcoming movie deal, about which we’ve heard scarce details; it could be TS13 (unlikely; though she has started egging an era with over six months to go before), or it could be our old clowning standby: the reputation vault tracks.

The aesthetic fits a grown-up reputation perfectly — the album was, at its core, a romantic one dressed up in tough-girl and bad-girl clothing. The leather, lace, and silk —the negatives for a black-and-white album—it all fits quite perfectly. While I’ve long maintained that I expected the reputation vault tracks on the album’s 10th birthday next year on November 10, it could also be quite fitting to release them on May 30th of this year — the one-year anniversary of her letter announcing the purchase of her old masters.

There is thought that the white mini-dress with the black silk bow in her hair from 5/12/26 evokes the cover art of Debut where Taylor wears a white mini/midi dress with a black band (or likely a leather strap) tied around her wrist.

Whatever it is she is egging, I’m grateful for all the appearances she’s gifting us and the excitement trying to decode the messages brings. I’m always happy for an intentional Taylor spotting!

But Wait… There’s More! A Swiftie Summer In The Making

On May 17th, there is a For Your Consideration event for the End of an Era Docuseries in New York City. Taylor’s attendance is not confirmed, and it is unclear whether her name would appear on the nomination should the docuseries be nominated. The nominations are announced in July, and the ceremony will be held on September 14th.

There are additional Swiftie Red Letter days before that big June 19th date, where we may learn more about Taylor’s plans. The first is Swiftdepence Day on May 30th. Whether or not she releases the reputation vault tracks (currently approaching a 50–50 toss-up in my mind), it can be assured that, at a minimum, Taylor Nation will post about it, and it is worth keeping an eagle eye out for easter eggs in their posts.

We also saw her capitalize all the Ts unnecessarily in her Instagram caption for the recent New York Times 30 Greatest Living Songwriters. 4 Ts equal 40? 40 days from April 28th is June 7, and 40 weeks later is February 2. Neither strikes a chord with me, so I’m still trying to figure that one out.

Taylor’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame with her class of songwriters will be held in New York City on June 11th. This is a big moment for cementing Taylor’s legacy so I’m very excited for her. I’m particularly interested in seeing what she wears to the event and whether it furthers her transition back into her debut era.

Additionally, at some point this year, we will likely see the joint red-carpet debut of Taylor and Travis as a couple (Travis skipped the red carpet and joined Taylor inside the iHeartRadio Music Awards), something some fans have been eagerly awaiting. The Songwriters Hall of Fame may be that moment. We’ll have to wait and see.

But wait, there’s more! Taylor Nation will likely release a summer merch drop, and, of course, at some point in the summer, Taylor will be getting married. I’ll take this moment to say: no one bother her on her wedding day, let her be a normal bride. Let her share her pictures if and when she wants to. Let her be. Fans do not bother Taylor Swift on her wedding day.

I’ve been saying that at some point during the year, I expect news that Taylor’s feature directorial debut is moving closer to production — something that will hopefully let us learn a little about it. Taylor signed a deal with Disney’s prestige arm, Searchlight Pictures, back in 2022 — but the effort is currently in a holding pattern.

Then we hit the fall, and the real party begins.

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Last week, Variety reported that Taylor Swift filed three new trademark applications with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office . Two of these trademarks cover audio clips of her voice and one protects an (iconic) specific visual image of her onstage. Why? To give her an edge against the tech bros who seem to think the money they hope to earn from all these AI advances is the only thing that matters.

Why would AI be an issue for her, and how would the trademarks help? Well, unlike copyright law, which only stops identical copies without compensation or approval, trademark law can help her block anything that is “confusingly similar.”

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Billionaire investor Bill Eggman and his hedge fund, Persian Square Capital Management, want to acquire UMG with a proposed offer valuing it at roughly $64 to $65 billion. In light of this proposed deal, UMG is looking to offload half of its 3% stake in Spotify. And that’s where Taylor Swift comes in. But first, a little bit of background.

UMG acquired its 3% stake in Spotify because it decided to bet on streamers early on. UMG and other labels took stakes in companies like Spotify to hedge their bets as the industry shifted, since large record companies didn’t know how those shifts would affect them. Warner and Sony also acquired stakes in Spotify, and all three companies pledged to share a portion of any profits, if they ever sold their shares, with their artists.

When Sony paid out to its artists, the company ignored whether an artist was fully recouped. The artist received a payout regardless of whether they still owed the company money under their deal. Warner Music Group, however, did consider recoupments. This meant some artists received full payouts, while others received debt forgiveness, allowing the label to keep more of the profit.

Right around the same time, way back in 2018, Swift was a free agent with a lot of power, and she didn’t like seeing Warner consider recoupments in their payout. As part of her negotiation process to sign with Universal Music Group, Swift demanded that if the company ever sold their Spotify stock, UMG would pay out their artists regardless of the artists’ recoupment status.

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Let’s dive into what this Spotify clause means, and what she means by securing a payout regardless of the artist’s recoupment status.

When a new artist signs with a label, the label pays upfront advances, recording budgets, and other expenses such as marketing. Those are recoupable costs, and as the album sells and the artist tours, they are repaid through withheld royalties. If the artist doesn’t sell well enough to fully pay back the record label, the label eats the cost.

So what Swift said in her clause is that all of UMG’s artists get a cash payout regardless of their debt status. It’s not entirely clear how artists’ shares of this payout will be determined, but it appears payments will be based on a group’s share of the streaming pie and its royalty deals. This means that some larger artists will likely earn millions of dollars from UMG as a result of this sale, but more importantly, it also means that smaller artists who never expected to see another penny from UMG will now receive a cash payout.

If you’re wondering why Taylor put this into her 2018 contract, it’s far from the first time she’s used her power to address artists’ pay in relation to streaming. We saw something similar with Spotify in 2014, when she removed her entire catalog from the site because of low payouts. She returned her music to the platform in 2017 once a new deal was negotiated. Additionally, in 2015, she posted an open letter to Apple on her Tumblr page, urging Apple Music to pay artists streamed during free trials, not just paid subscriptions.

Will this Spotify clause change anything for you day to day as a Spotify listener? Nope. But you can sit back and enjoy Taylor’s tunes knowing she made another successful swing for many musical artists.

The proposed UMG deal, on the other hand, will have ripple effects in the industry. If approved, the deal is expected to close by the end of 2026.

My name is Amanda, and I cover the intersection of Taylor Swift and business in my Taylor Swift Biz School series, where I use my MBA to break down Taylor’s business strategy. I also cover the intersection of Taylor Swift and books. If either sounds like fun, I would be honored if you would give this article a like and subscribe. I also want to hear from you — what do you make of Taylor’s savvy contract negotiations? Let me know in the comments below.

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Let’s go back to Swiftie Biz School!

I recently graduated with my MBA near the top of my class from a top-ranked U.S. Business School, and I use that education to break down all of Taylor Swift’s business strategy in my Swiftie Biz School Series.

Today, the “Elizabeth Taylor” single rollout…. Or lack thereof. Also, what does it take to get a single to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, because it’s more than just writing and releasing a great song, though that is critical.

First, we’ll delve into what I’d originally predicted for Taylor’s rollout, a strategy that I believe could have earned her a third number one single had she followed through with what I expected (or a similar strategy).

Then, we’ll go into what actually happened and, third, I why I think she abandoned the strategy partway through as well as what she and her team are directing their energies toward instead.

Streams & Radio Play

This time around, for the third single from “The Life of a Showgirl,” I was expecting her to use the same three-prong strategy of streams, remixes, and physical products, but with a different mix than we’ve seen with the other two singles.

We can expect a new mix because Taylor never does the exact same thing twice (which is part of her brilliance, she’s always adapting and tweaking. Trying new things and learning from them. But that’s another article.)

First — let’s talk the steaming and radio play side of things:

Taylor began this campaign by announcing the Record Store Day release and, following that up, by attending the iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 26th. With the camera’s eye — and thus fans’ attention — on her, she included several Easter Eggs for “Elizabeth Taylor” in her outfit. (If you’d like to see those and make sure you caught them all, look for the video I’ll embed at the end.)

Then, of course, the following Tuesday, she surprised us by dropping the “Elizabeth Taylor” music video and adding the “So Glamorous” cabaret version to Spotify.

Once again, she drops the music video only for premium streaming on Spotify and Apple, because that earns the most points on the Billboard charts.

Taylor is now keeping videos off YouTube for the first few days after YouTube’s tussle with Billboard in December, when they decided to stop reporting. I would expect to see this continue for so long as YouTube remains a non-factor in the Billboard charts.)

After all, this is all about the business strategy of getting to the Billboard charts. It’s a numbers game.

Where Things Start To Go South

And this is where the streaming side gets interesting: it is a numbers game, and this music video, while a beautiful tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, doesn’t inspire the number of rewatches that an easter egg-filled video will.

It also doesn’t lend itself to an extended cut with behind-the-scenes footage, as Taylor continued to push that streaming number with “Opalite”. This is sort of a one-and-done music video.

So this is where the strategy starts to crack. The steps that Taylor had made thus far didn’t have their usual impact, and it was at this point that I think Taylor and her team went back to the board room and pulled the plug on the release strategy — quietly killing any efforts planned outside of the already announced Record Store Day release, which fans were already incredibly excited about.

This would have been done in favor of directing their energies elsewhere, which we’ll talk about in a few minutes, but first:

What Would It Have Given Her Another #1?

If Taylor had wanted to push forward, she would have had to lean heavier on remixes and physical products — both of which I expect she’d already planned on and were in the works.

After all, it would be clear to her team going in that the streaming and radio play side of things was never going to be enough to really push it up the charts. That’s just not the music business of today. As such, they would have had other efforts already in the works once it was decided to release Elizabeth Taylor as a single.

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First: remixes.

If Taylor wanted to continue, she would have had to rely on many more remixes — more than we’d seen for either “Opalite” or “The Fate of Ophelia” and they would have been from big names, either big names within the remix or house field, as well as at least one remix with a generally well-known name in the music industry.

A low-hanging fruit for the team would have been working with those necessary to release a version of the Everybody x Elizabeth Taylor mashup that DJ Lydgiggs created a few months ago. One that was substantially similar to “Elizabeth Taylor” that it would still qualify as an Elizabeth Taylor remix. (This goes into the nuances of the billboard rules, and we could talk more about that in the comments if you would like to go into depth there.)

If you haven’t heard her remix, you need to give it a listen. It’s phenomenal.

A remix like that could have gone viral and sold quite a few copies — and sales always count the most for the Billboard charts, so that’s where we’re going next.

However, since she did decide to sunset the strategy, it is not surprising that further remixes were not released.

The big thing that really would have turned the tide for Elizabeth Taylor’s journey on the charts would have been a merch music bundle or a few options of merch/music bundles. If she had been committed to “Elizabeth Taylor” peaking in the top 10, and potentially hitting number one, she would have had to rely the most on remixes and merch.

Additionally, if she had wanted to press on, we would have had to rely on a merch bundle. The metric that counts most on the Billboard charts is physical sales — vinyl and CDS. This is why we see artists releasing sooooo many variants of a new release, and why, as annoying as this practice is to some fans, it’s not going to stop anytime soon.

In particular, Taylor’s chart efforts are of interest for a loophole Billboard allows that lets an artist bundle a piece of merch with a physical musical product, such as a CD. We’ve already seen Taylor take advantage of this during the rollout of “The Life of a Showgirl,” when she bundled the highly anticipated “Showgirl” cardigan with the CD, as well as the first merch offered, and deluxe variants of the CD with jewelry or a keychain.

In order to ensure Elizabeth Taylor reached number 1 on the Billboard charts, Taylor would have had to rely on another merch bundle.

And you might be saying, “Wait, Amanda, I’m done buying singles. That vinyl is gorgeous for Record Store Day, but like, enough is enough.”

I very much understand that sentiment, but if she had ensured that it was a particularly desirable piece of merch and made the accompanying CD “Elizabeth Taylor” single variant a beautiful collector’s edition — a perfume, an embroidered pullover… something like that, it would have been well received, and she would have seen large order volumes.

Then, if her team had been ready to ship out the merch pack for that special edition CD (with desirable merch) by Thursday afternoon following record store day (at the latest), that could have gone a long way toward guaranteeing that Elizabeth Taylor hits the top.

If the remixes, record store day, and a well-thought-out, desirable merch bundle had all hit in the same week for the Billboard charts, she could have cracked the top 10 and likely hit the number one slot on the Billboard charts.

However, since she decided not to continue with the rollout, it makes sense again that the merch bundle was never released.

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So What Happened?

So why? Why did Elizabeth Taylor peter out like this? Why did we see only one halfhearted story post from Taylor Nation and not even the basics from Taylor herself? No post, no profile pic change, no remixes, merch, etc.

There are a few possibilities.

First, and most likely, Taylor saw the mixed reviews of the music video and the low place that “Elizabeth Taylor” debuted at and decided it wasn’t worth the time or effort — she’d focus her and her team’s time on what’s next (the debut anniversary and her Songwriters Hall of Fame induction) and what was a sure bet.

Second, it’s possible that she’s so far removed from this album in her life that she’s no longer as excited to promote it as she is by what is more front of mind at the moment. She mentioned in a “Showgirl” promotion that she feels weird when she’s promoting something from a very different headspace than she’s in at the time of the interview, and she is in a completely different life stage from when she started this album in 2023 or finished it in December 2024.

It’s been quite a while, so she’s certainly writing and experimenting with new material by now. She’s had too much life to not be — songwriting is part of who she is. It’s not just a job. She’s always writing, whether or not she decides to release the song or keep it private.

It is a very realistic business decision: once it’s clear that such a sustained effort will be needed to crack the charts, Taylor and her team decided the effort just wasn’t worth it.

She’d already achieved more on the charts than she had since 1989 as an album, she has a good shot at another Grammy in February, and she and her team have a lot to focus their energies on — both personally and professionally.

Among the things I expect Taylor and her team chose to prioritize over continuing the “Life of a Showgirl” era were:

• Her wedding planning

• The celebration of her legacy that the 20th anniversary allows (now)

• The celebration of Debut’s 20th anniversary (October 2026)

• New writing & TS13 concepting etc. (while I’m sure she’s started TS13 — don’t look for a release this year)

Killing the “Elizabeth Taylor” rollout (as disappointing as it is for me) wasn’t capitulation. It was a thoughtful business decision because an important part of business is sometimes knowing when it’s time to pull the plug. When something isn’t working as you intended, you need to know when to work to fix it and when it’s time to direct your energies to something that can be more successful.

And that, I believe, is the business decision that Taylor and her team made around “Elizabeth Taylor” as a single. At the end of the day, Taylor Swift is an artist, but she is also a business, and that is why it is so fun to dive into all her business decisions.

We finally have the “Opalite” music video in all its glory and whimsy, and full of easter eggs, and it debuted in a new-to-Taylor method. Instead of the music video dropping on YouTube as many have before, she held it back until Sunday and made Spotify and Apple Music the only places to find it.

Like the businesswoman that she is, Swift changed her release strategy to ensure that the music video made the maximum impact possible on the song’s chart performance. This change came after developments in Billboard and YouTube’s tussle over how much YouTube streams would count. The ratio was adjusted this December, and YouTube responded by saying essentially, “Fine. If you don’t want to recognize our ad-supported streams, we won’t report data at all.”

As such, with views mattering much more on Spotify and Apple Music this time around, and YouTube views not mattering at all, Swift drove fans to the paid platforms, thus ensuring higher stream numbers for the charts.

An interesting note: physical sales are counted even more than paid streams, and those sales are counted when they ship, not when they're ordered, so Taylor has a huge bump just waiting to hit the charts, as neither the CD nor vinyl single has shipped yet.

It appears that Swift and Taylor Nation have decided that there isn’t much point in competing with Bad Bunny for the top spot this first week, with the Super Bowl bump he’ll undoubtedly get, especially with such a good night at the Grammys a mere week before, and are holding shipments for at least another week.

Taylor is a businesswoman who knows what she is doing, and my guess is that the strategy is to start the momentum by having the music video push “Opalite” above the #10 slot it’s been sitting at for a few weeks now for the first chart (released Feb 17; dated Feb 21), and then build on that momentum with the physical sales the following week in an attempt to propel the single to that coveted #1 slot. She also might have an encore planned, but we’ll talk more about that in a minute.

Taylor has already had success with the album's charts. “The Fate of Ophelia” reigned at #1 for 10 total weeks - a career best for Taylor. With that number one reign, she reached a total of 13 number one singles (and as we know, 13 is a big number for Taylor), since her first #1 in 2012. She is currently tied with Drake and Michael Jackson.

Can “Opalite” give her two #1 singles from the same album? This is something that hasn’t happened since 1989, which had three songs hit #1 - “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” and “Bad Blood” (with Kendrick Lamar), and would allow her to surpass the two. She’ll be tied with Rihanna when she reaches 14, unless Rihanna secures another #1 before then. We’ll find out soon. The record, for those wondering is held by The Beatles with a whopping 20 #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. (Though Elvis Presley may have beat them if a few of his hits hadn’t pre-dated Billboard Hot 100, which launched on Aug. 4, 1958.)

To see how “Opalite” fares in its first week as a single, we’re looking for the chart released on February 17th, which will count sales, streams, and airplay from Feb 6 - Feb 12. It will be dated Feb. 21.

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Now about that encore….

Some photos of Taylor with her extras have been circulating. (We’ll pause to acknowledge that stars making sure to take a photo with every single extra is rare, and Taylor should be commended for this.) But the thing that’s catching my eye is that in a few of them, she’s wearing an outfit that suggests there’s a scene that didn’t make it into the final video.

Perhaps, once Opalite starts moving, Taylor plans to post an encore scene to Spotify and Apple Music (sorry, YouTube, maybe you should go back to negotiations with Billboard) to get folks streaming the song again. It would help move it even further up the charts, and Showgirl is an album intended to be a commercial success.

Of course, only Taylor knows what she has planned, but it would be an interesting business move if it indeed comes to pass. I’ll be watching the charts over the next several weeks to see how “Opalite” fares.

Thanks for reading!

Amanda

P.S. – Who else was super excited to see all the butterflies and teal throughout the “Opalite” music video!?!?! Things are looking good for Debut TV! Would a deep dive of all the ways the “Opalite” music video foreshadows an October Debut celebration be of interest? Let me know!

Taylor sings about her grandmother, Marjorie, on Evermore — and shared the stage with her at every Eras tour performance. Most recently, her grandmother received a large feature in Episode 5 of the End of an Era docuseries on Disney+. But those are far from the only places you see Marjorie’s impact on Ms. Swift and her work — plus, Marjorie herself had a fascinating story.

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Born Marjorie Moehlenkamp in October 1928 in Tennessee — though her father was from the St. Louis area — she was raised in the St. Louis metro area, well, in St. Charles for those who want to be particular.

In 1949, Moehlenkamp graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music from Lindenwood College (now Lindenwood University), and that’s when her musical career really started to take off.

Marjorie was a coloratura soprano with the incredible ability to hit high notes quickly. She performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra choir in their pops concerts and also worked as a bank receptionist at Boatmen’s National Bank.

In 1950 — a year after graduation — she won an ABC network talent contest — Music With the Girls. Moehlenkamp toured with the show for 15 months and continued her music studies in Massachusetts and New York.

She married Robert Finlay in March of 1952. He was president of Raymond Construction Company, and for his work, the couple moved between Cuba, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

Despite attitudes toward married women working in the 50s, she was able to keep her musical career alive as they traveled. She released a solo album in Mexico, performed in operas, concerts, supper clubs, and hosted a bilingual variety show, El Show Pan-Americano, that aired in Puerto Rico. She was also successful in singing with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra.

In 1958, she gave birth to her second daughter — at the time Andrea Finlay — now known as Andrea Swift or Momma Swift. But, as Andrea confirmed in the docuseries, even with two daughters and societal pressure against women working, Marjorie kept her musical career alive — and often asked her daughter for support.

“Everywhere we went, she was absolutely beloved. … on the way home, in the car, I remember she would often say to me, “so, Andrea, on that part of the delivery did it make you want to cry? … She was always looking for feedback … I knew that I had a job to do. Because I was going to be quizzed on the way home.”

“It was a beautiful relationship that I had with my mom, but it was all with the awareness that my mom was this person who loved singing, who loved to perform, and who people love. So, it began with my mother. And I think that prepared me better than anything could have for having a child like Taylor.”

Indeed, Marjorie instilled her love of music into her granddaughter, introducing her to the piano and passing down her love of singing and of performing.

Sadly, Marjorie Moehlenkamp Finlay died on June 1, 2003, at the age of 74, when Taylor was 13, reportedly during a trip to Nashville with her mother to hand out demos. Majorie Finlay lives on through much of Taylor’s career — especially her title track “Marjorie” on Evermore.

Odes to her also appear in several of Taylor’s music videos. In the music video for “Wildest Dreams,” from Ms. Swift’s album 1989, Swift appears as a 1950’s-era actress on a film set in Africa. With her dark locks and glamorous aura, she looks just like Finlay or Elizabeth Taylor. If you look closely, the movie theatre marquee in the final shot of the video reveals that Swift’s character’s name is “Marjorie Finn,” solidifying the reference to Finlay.

In the “Anti-Hero” bathroom scene, a portrait of Marjorie hangs on the wall.

Most recently, Taylor also placed a tribute to Marjorie in the “Fate of Ophelia” music video, giving her character, Kitty, the last name of Finlay and placing a photo of her grandmother in the dressing room scene. The name Kitty is likely a nod to her mother, who named her gigantic Great Dane Kitty.

Taylor has been quoted as saying that her mother sees many similarities between herself and Majorie, and she also still shares connections to the St. Louis area. A good amount of Taylor’s family on her maternal side still lives in the St. Louis area — something Taylor called out during the reputation Stadium Tour. She says she has spent many Thanksgivings here in St. Louis and details one of them in a Fearless-era vlog on her YouTube channel.

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Thank you!

Amanda

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Taylor started the year strong by being elected to the National Songwriters Hall of Fame! When she is inducted on June 11th in New York City, she will become the second youngest person ever inducted into the Hall of Fame. Stevie Wonder will likely keep that honor for quite a while, as he was only 32, and an artist becomes eligible 20 years after their first commercial work is published. Taylor just barely squeaks in as her debut single, “Tim McGraw,” was released in June 2006.

Taylor is also the youngest female ever inducted and will be the first person since the creation of the Hal David Starlight Award for promising young songwriters to receive that award and then be inducted into the Hall of Fame. She won the award in 2010.

To represent her songwriting range, Swift selected five career-defining tracks. Taylor chose:

• “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”

• “Anti-Hero”

• “Blank Space”

• “The Last Great American Dynasty”

• “Love Story”

Next, if Taylor decides to attend the Grammys on Sunday, February 1st, that would be the next time we see her. While Taylor isn’t nominated (she didn’t have anything eligible), it is the awards show she has most consistently attended, and friends Sabrina, Jack Antonoff, and HAIM are all nominated. The awards will be broadcast on CBS.

New Music Videos?

There’s also hope for an “Opalite” music video to drop around Valentine’s Day. Taylor created quite a stir when she announced collectors’ editions of “Opalite” on January 21^st signaling that the next single from The Life of a Showgirl will be “Opalite”. The collectors’ editions were priced to sell, and nothing moves a song up the charts like sales of a physical recording. Plus, Taylor said when promoting the album that she would like to make new music videos for it, and there have been not one but two rumor articles in “The Sun” around Taylor & music videos.

Our biggest hint that a new music video is coming is that Mandy Moore mentioned in a recent interview that she had wrapped on a top-secret music video project. Taylor Swift is the only musical artist (that we know of) that Mandy Moore works with. he’s usually focused on film, television, and now Broadway.

IF Taylor is kind enough give us not one but two more music videos for her Showgirl project there is a good chance that the third video would be for “Elizabeth Taylor” – and if we’re lucky enough to receive it when would be a better release date than Friday Feb 27th – what would be Elizabeth Taylor’s 94th birthday if she were still with us.

Spring

At some point this year, we will likely see the joint red-carpet debut of Taylor and Travis as a couple — something some fans have been eagerly awaiting. I think the Met Gala on the first Monday in May would be a perfect venue for that joint red-carpet appearance and would give Travis a chance to lay the groundwork for his career, be it another season with the Chiefs or whatever comes next.

At some point during the year, I think it’s plausible that Taylor’s feature directorial debut begins to move forward publicly again, and we learn a little about it. Taylor signed a deal with Disney’s prestige arm, Searchlight Pictures, back in 2022 — but the effort is currently in a holding pattern. I think this could be the year that it starts moving forward again.

Summer

June 11th will likely see Taylor attending the National Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. This is a big honor for her, so I see no reason why she would not attend the ceremony.

Summer will also bring a summer collection to her store, hopefully she hides some easter eggs to parce out in the collection.

And, of course, at some point in the summer, Taylor will be getting married — I’ll take this moment to say no one bother her on her wedding day, let her be a normal bride. If you try to track down the wedding, you are not a real fan of Taylor — you’re creepy. Let her share her pictures when she wants to. Let her be. Fans do not bother Taylor Swift on her wedding day.

I think a lot of Taylor’s focus this year will either be on her personal life or setting the stage behind the scenes for major events coming in future years, be it her feature film directorial debut, writing and recording TS13 (more on that in a minute), beginning basic concepting and timeline for the next tour (more on that as well), or her wedding and family life. While I don’t believe we will see any of this publicly, I think she’ll be doing a lot of planning, behind-the-scenes work, and stage-setting for what’s to come over the next couple of years.

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Taylor Swift’s Next Studio Album – TS13

To that end, while I expect she has begun writing and concepting TS13, I don’t think we will see it come into the world — or be announced — until 2027. 13 is a big number for Taylor, so I think she’s going to want to do even more with this one and take her time with this release. I also don’t think she’ll want to compete with herself for Grammy nominations. The Life of a Showgirl is eligible for the 2027 Grammys and will likely be nominated. By the time the Grammy eligibility period is up in October 2026, we’ll likely all be busy with Debut’s 20th anniversary — another reason that TS13 won’t appear until 2027. My guess is that she will release it in spring or early summer 2027.

Debut’s 20^th Anniversary

October 24th, 2026, will be the 20th anniversary of Taylor’s self-titled debut album and will likely bring Debut (Taylor’s Version) out of the vault for a special 20th anniversary release. This will be the centerpiece of the year. For the 20^th anniversary of Debut, I expect Taylor to go big and give Debut the pomp, circumstance and proper era it never had.

I think we’ll see the Taylor’s Version release with fan favorite vault songs – fingers crossed for “I’d Lie”, a new music video (or two), a remastered original recording, and possibly a short documentary mythologizing her early career.

For the music videos, I could see one where she sings with her younger self, featuring artists for the vault tracks like Leann Rimes (who Taylor idolized as a young girl), Tim McGraw, or Faith Hill. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Dolly Parton were one of her featured artists?

In terms of the short documentary, there are some fantastic stories from that time-period that aren’t well known and many of the folks who were working with her at that time – Her first manager Rick Barker, her early songwriting partner Liz Rose, members of her band, and her current stylist, Joseph Cassell all have very, very complimentary things to say about her.

Debut didn’t get its own era in the beginning, it wasn’t celebrated as part of the Eras Tour, it’s the last re-record, and it’s a big anniversary. I’m predicting – and hoping that Taylor will go big for this anniversary. Debut deserves its moment.

Concert Films

Among the other things I expect at some point in 2026 is a streaming announcement for Taylor’s previous concert films. She’s on great terms with Disney right now, so I could see it being a beneficial deal for both parties for her to license to Disney+ — but it could be anyone. There is no reason for her to keep them in the vault when she could excite fans and make a killing licensing the films for streaming. I expect that to happen this year.

I don’t think we’ll see the Hollywood Reporter’s prediction of a sale of assets, as Taylor likes to keep control of her work — from a biz school perspective, it doesn’t make sense for Taylor, and it doesn’t make sense from what we know of Taylor as a person. It was incredibly important to own not just the master recordings but all the art, music videos, etc. that went with those eras. Everything produced as part of an Era is her art, not just the music, and she wants to retain control of her art.

When Will Taylor Tour Next?

I do think we’ll see additional tour films on streaming, but I don’t expect a tour announcement. Here’s why: In October, Taylor said she was not planning the next tour yet. Yes, she loves to have a good surprise on us, but I believe her. Plus, the tours are produced over a two-year period. If she started concepting now, she wouldn’t be ready to kick off the tour until January 2028.

Besides, I think she’ll probably be focused on different aspects of her private life this year and in the first half of next year and be uninterested or unable to tour until spring 2028.

The Eras Tour was announced four months before it started, so if we expect it to start in the spring of 2028, we could expect the announcement in late 2027 or early 2028.

Given how well building a tour around multiple albums went and her songwriting being much more prolific than a touring schedule can accommodate, I think we’ll see her tours for the foreseeable future cover two to three albums.

I think she’ll likely release music either every year or every other year, but constant touring isn’t sustainable, so we’ll likely see her tour every 3 to 4 years or so. Thus, instead of touring in service of one album and playing the majority of that album, I expect her to combine albums and play selections from each of her releases since the last tour. This would mean a possible 2028 tour would focus on both Showgirl and TS13, whenever that album comes out.

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The reputation Vault Tracks

Lastly, when will we receive Rep Vault tracks? I’m thinking we’ll see those drop for the album’s 10th anniversary in November 2027.

Here’s why: previous re-records tended to include 6 to 9 vault tracks, and those albums were in production for about 2 years. Reputation was cooking for about 3 years. We could see up to 10 – 13 vault tracks.

There is likely enough material there that it will meet the Grammys’ minimum time requirement to count as an original record (especially without the original reputation tracks), and Taylor isn’t going to want anything confused with the masterpiece she intends for TS13. So, if TS13 releases in spring or early summer of 2027, as I expect, a Nov release of the Rep Vault tracks for reputation’s 10-year anniversary fits nicely into the schedule.

What else will we see this year?

However, while I don’t think we’ll be seeing a new album or the Rep Vault Tracks, I do think there’s a chance we see her feature on a friend’s album. She’s shown an interest in writing with friends, and I think this could be a good way for her to stay in the public conversation and satisfy fan’s hunger while she works behind the scenes on bigger projects this year.

I would be eternally happy if she finally wrote with Selena or released another track with Ed, Gracie, or HAIM. More likely, though, based on her track record of writing with up-and-coming breakout artists, would be Sombr (at dinner with Taylor in January & a best new artist nominee) or Tate McRae (who received a shout-out on one of her talk show appearances late last year).

We also could see her pop up on someone’s tour, a televised event, or agree to a headlining slot at a music festival to scratch that live performance itch.

Would it be too much to ask for a new Holiday single come out in December? We do know that November will bring us her Holiday Merch drop, a new ornament collection, and a new snow globe. But maybe another Christmas song?

What do you think? What do you expect to see from Taylor this year, and what do you make of my predictions — please let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading — it would mean the world to me if you would subscribe (if you haven’t already) or maybe hit that heart button!

Thanks, and see you soon!

Amanda

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Amanda

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