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Taylor Swift Tells Wall Street Journal She's Bullish On The Business
July 8, 2014 at 10:46 AM (PT)
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In a WALL STREET JOURNAL piece YESTERDAY (7/7), TAYLOR SWIFT admitted "an enthusiastic optimism" regarding the recording industry and the importance of music as an art form.
In a digital age, SWIFT stated, "People are still buying albums, but now they're buying just a few of them. They are buying only the ones that hit them like an arrow through the heart or have made them feel strong or allowed them to feel like they really aren't alone in feeling so alone. It isn't as easy today as it was 20 years ago to have a multi-Platinum-selling album, and as artists, that should challenge and motivate us."
With the rise of Internet radio and streaming services comes the idea that full albums may go the way of 8-tracks. But SWIFT sees the future a bit differently, and cited her belief in the element of surprise. "In the YOUTUBE generation we live in, I walked out onstage every night of my stadium tour last year knowing almost every fan had already seen the show online," said SWIFT. "To continue to show them something they had never seen before, I brought out dozens of special guest performers to sing their hits with me. My generation was raised being able to flip channels if we got bored, and we read the last page of the book when we got impatient. We want to be caught off guard, delighted, left in awe. I hope the next generation's artists will continue to think of inventive ways of keeping their audiences on their toes, as challenging as that might be."
With a generation of people who are constantly connected or plugged-in, the desire for all tangible items has decreased. Not only do we stream our music, movies, and television, but we also broadcast our lives via social media on a daily basis. More and more people are forgoing the need for a physical copy of an album in favor of a digital download. And SWIFT says that is not the only intangible item on the rise. "I haven't been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera," SWIFT commented. "The only memento kids these days want is a selfie. It's part of the new currency."
SWIFT concluded, "This moment in music is so exciting because the creative avenues an artist can explore are limitless. In this moment in music, stepping out of your comfort zone is rewarded, and sonic evolution is not only accepted, it is celebrated. The only real risk is being too afraid to take a risk at all."
Read the full article here (link).

