AIBU to think Taylor Swift is being carefully repositioned and we’re not meant to notice?

[MidnightTheory]

I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a very slow, very subtle shift going on with Taylor Swift’s brand.

She built herself up as pro-choice, feminist, outspoken and a liberal figure. But since this whole NFL era, it feels like the edges are being sanded down. It’s not loud, not obvious, just little things like the relentless focus on her cheering in the boxes, the glossy all American girlfriend framing, the way the messaging has become more family-friendly, less political.

It’s clever because it’s incremental. Nobody suddenly says that she’s gone conservative, but drip by drip she’s aligning with NFL values which are patriotism, wholesomeness and big money sponsors who want safe.

I'm not a massive swiftie, but I have enjoyed her music, and maybe I'm a bit of a cynic but isn’t this how brand re-positioning works? Quiet, steady, so by the time you realise it’s happened, it already has.

AIBU to think we’re watching that play out in real time and it could backfire badly? Especially if the upcoming album turns out to be very beige?

Oh, hilarious. Boom boom.

Nope, it's a perfect example of what actually happened. HTH

That tour was insanely busy, is she just wanting to chill a bit, enjoy her relationship?

If the horrific stabbings in Southport and the terrorist threats have made her PR team a bit quieter then so be it.

I think that she is fantastic, a great role model and artist.

This is what I was thinking. Politically, she seems to be a savvy centre-ground moderate who has occasionally chosen to speak out.

You could say this is a cynical business move.

You could say it reflects her genuine beliefs (I think this is probably true - she has family, friends and connections in both "camps").

You could also say it's a healthy and positive thing to be somewhere in the middle, politically. Everything is so polarised these days - politics, social media. Everyone is shouting into their echo chamber but no-one is changing their views. I think it's actually refreshing when someone doesn't align themselves too strongly to either camp.

She may also be being savvy about what she says and when. In terms of politics it was worth speaking out at election time because she might have actually influenced votes. But Trump is in power now and will be for a while. There's probably no point being openly anti-Trump right now and it would be potentially damaging her own and her fiance's careers (and their safety). Similarly, Labour in the UK said some things against Trump when neither were in power, but now they are, they're aiming to have a functional working relationship with Trump rather than slagging him off, which seems sensible. She probably has more chance of making a difference (as well as staying popular of course) by not burning bridges, which I think is fair enough.

😆

Exactly. I can't see one single post on here where anyone is frothing and hysterical because someone else isn't a TS fan. I couldn't care less! 😂

I made one comment, the rest have beein in response to the frothing 'how dare you not adore Taytay'. HTH.
Anyway, off to pack. Tschüss.

Show us the posts where people are frothing and hysterical.

Can't can you, because there aren't any.

HTH.

.

I can. HTH.

Well, you seem incredibly upset that I dare not adore TS.

Ta ra then. Have a nice holiday ... 😃 Maybe download some Taylor Swift music to listen to, you'll enjoy it, I promise,

Might make you chill out a bit.

HTH.

p.s. I had a feeling you would bail once someone asked you to prove your claims of frothing and hysterical Taylor Swift fans on here.

(Hard to prove when it didn't happen. )

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People and their kids wanted to go and watch a singer in concert. Some more so than others. No one frothed, or died, or became hysterical, if others didn’t feel the same. The end.

Your constant ‘HTH’ aren’t really helping any of your points (and it’s a bit cringe).

Are you in PR or something?

As a 50 year old woman whose oldest daughter is into TS I think TS is generally a good thing, I don't care if every single one of her views does not perfectly align with mine, and don't mind hearing some of her music, and don't GAF how people think she is "being positioned".

It's shit like this why people take the piss of our of MN.

My favourite Taylor was when she was dating Tom Hiddleston 😍

As has been said, she came up via the Country Music route so the "Republican friends" criticism isn't a new one. She has openly supported Democrats and criticised Trump. And has been criticised for that too.

I think she's wise to take a page put of the Adele playbook for a while.

So High School is an outlier. TTPD, Folklore, Evermore deal with mature issues, clever, emotional, reflective writing from a woman who is nolonger a girl. She's a great writer if you listen. Upcoming album is touted to be much more pop than recent ventures but it will still be complex lyrically.

Everything about her is stage managed and controlled. You don't get to where she is without.

No, I don’t agree. She became ‘political’ very, very reluctantly and that’s not what she wants to talk about. She wants to talk about music and the rights of artists (especially female artists) to own and control their work and careers.

When there’s another election in sight, I’m sure she’ll encourage people to vote with kindness in their hearts, but that’s about it. She’s a feminist and strongly supports the LBGTQ+ community, but those things don’t define her.

She’s also in love, just got engaged, and if she wants to have children her clock is ticking. Her brand will change naturally as this part of her life evolves, but it’s not a deliberate shrug off of all she has ever stood for. She’s the same person.

Oh for heaven's sake, the 'want' was created by her machine - I find it amazing that people don't get this. Average singer, average looks, probably decent enough human, yet all the flipping hype!

I’ve not read the full thread but Taylor Swift’s whole thing is to constantly rebrand and reposition. So yes that’s probably what’s happening as it has many times before.

But her fiance seems to be a very liberal NFL player (he was one of few to take the knee for example). She seems to be close to the Mahomes now, but you absolutely should play nice with your other half’s colleagues - and the world could do with reminding that it is perfectly okay (and should be encouraged) to be friends with people whose political views don’t exactly align with yours.

And I am a right leaning, conservative voting feminist. No party exactly aligns with my views, we do exist. TS may be one of those.

Don't u have packing to do?

Did you miss the bit where I said I'd tried listening to it? Listening to TS does not seem to make 'chilled' people, on this thread at least.
Also, I'm not bailing, I have so far only packed toiletries and am leaving in a short while. It really is Tschüssy Tschüss this time.
🌊🌊🌊

Stop it. You are trying to obfuscate. We are talking about TS.

HTH

More whataboutery..

The woman caused a revolution with spotify because they didn't pay her enough yet she cant get behind standing up for the oppressed people of the world.

Imagine the influence she would weld...

BTW the other artist you mention are pathetic also.

Sorry what? She's a singer, not a politician. Her starting point was being a role model for little girls. On a few rare occasions she's spoken out about politics. She's always been hesitant to do this, although she's continued to be supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and other women throughout her career.

Since getting together with TK, she has released probably the most political and least family friendly album of her career, which she has referred to as "Feminine Rage" when performing it live.

Everything we've seen so far implies that LoaSG will be a pop album although we can see the usual themes of references to historical figures and there will doubtless be plenty of social commentary in the lyrics and motifs. One of the songs is called "Cancelled!" How much more political do you want it to be?

I agree- I think this is an interesting case study in what's going on with popular culture in the US. Hugely influential figures being subdued if not silent. There's an awful lot of self-censorship going on, even among regular people who are not in the public eye. They smile and carry on, go to work and don't talk about anything contentious. You can't know what anyone really thinks politically and those conversations are not encouraged, in fact quite the opposite. Not that anyone says anything to that effect really, just that you can tell there's no appetite to discuss what's going on. So yeah, I think with TS it might be a bit of a mix: planning for a family and keeping her head down until perhaps the worst of the storm passes...