Taylor Swift remains a genius in making and marketing music

I have thought all this time that Justin Bieber was the marketing genius. Remember how he was cancelled by his own country Canada for his then obnoxious behavior? Bieber turned that around to become a respected pop star. But it has now turned out that Taylor Swift is the true genius, not only in marketing but also in music production and in being able to turn painful memories into moneymakers.

Take a look at what has happened since she released her latest album Midnights at the stroke of what else, but midnight, last Oct. 21. Spotify crashed. Midnights became the most streamed album in a single day. Three hours later, Taylor released the Midnights 3:AM version with seven additional songs, tunes that were short-listed for the album but did not make the final cut.  Swifties, as her fans are called, went doubly crazy. So a week later, Midnights became the most streamed album ever. It also made No. 1 in Billboard’s Top 200 Albums hit list.

That is not all. Pop music history continued to unfold before our eyes or I should say in our ears, courtesy of Taylor. For the first time ever, 10 tracks by one artist made it to the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for an entire week. That was Swiftie and her Midnights, of course.  The last time something like this happened was in September 2021. Drake aced the feat but he had only nine singles in the Top 10 from his album Certified Lover Boy. Taylor has now broken that record with 10.

Take a look at the Top 20 songs in the latest edition of the Hot 100: Anti-Hero; Lavender Hope; Maroon; Snow on the Beach featuring Lana del Rey; Midnight Rain; Bejeweled; Question…?; You’re on your Own, Kid; Karma; Vigilante Shit, all of these tracks are by Taylor Swift.

Take note, Swiftie has more songs in the next 20 listing. Unholy by Sam Smith and Kim Petras; Bad Habit by Steve Lacy; Mastermind by Taylor; Labyrinth by Taylor; Sweet Nothing by Taylor; As It Was by Harry Styles; I Like You (A Happier Day) by Post Malone and Doja Cat; I Ain’t Worried by One Republic; Your Proof by Morgan Wallen; and Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve by Taylor.

Not only that. Swiftie still has more songs from Midnights in the Top 50: 21.) Bigger Than the Whole Sky; 26.) The Great War; 32.) Paris; 33.) High Infidelity; 41.) Glitch; and 45.) Dear Reader.

Midnights is Taylor’s 10th studio album. It contains new original compositions about 13 sleepless nights in her life. Unless caused by joy or too much excitement, sleepless nights are not pleasant experiences. The tossing and turning all night are caused by tears, boo-hoo, heartaches, fears, Eeek!, monsters under my bed!, pain, is it a heart attack or heartburn, and a lot of times by that man who left you, who betrayed you or didn’t love you at all.

Taylor has taken all those feelings and turned them into songs that are now making so much money, she will remain rich, overly solvent all her life. Nyanyanyananah! Eat your hearts out Scooter Braun for wanting to own my songs. Take this Kanye West, for picking a fight with me. Take this, John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Calvin Harris, Harry Styles, etc., all you guys who could have been nicer to Swiftie. Thank heavens, she has now found true love.

Pop rock Anti-Hero with its nightmare nods is interesting. Lavender Haze is dreamy disco. Bejeweled with its lush star-studded Cinderella-inspired video is fun. But Midnights has no stand-out single. Taylor meanders. The content is disjointed. Just like what happens with thoughts during sleepless nights. If this was her intent, then it is an excellent album.

What I see in Midnights is everything that Taylor has learned all these past years. That is what I find so remarkable about her. She is continuously learning the ropes about making and marketing music and putting all those into wonderful use. Now the question is if she has reached her peak. Not likely. She is still young. So, I wonder, what will she come up with next?