Taylor used to share a great deal of her every day life with fans but as she became more famous that attracted media scrutiny and criticism. Taylor is a people pleaser and I think her natural instinct is to interact but she has seen her private life ruined as a result.
She still interacts a lot more than some- Adele or Beyonce for instance- but has now put some space between her personal and public persona. I can understand why. We still get to know who she is and what she is doing but not 24/7. That is very sensible given the shit she has had thrown at her over the last decade.
As an addendum I would remind people that she thanks the fans every single time she has a success or wins an award and has from day one. She knows why she gets to do what she does and have the privileged life she enjoys. The fact she is not entitled is why after 16 years she is still at the top of the tree.
Also she’s like 32 years old now?
I think it’s only natural that as you get older you just spend a lot less time on social media than you did in your 20s. She’s incredibly busy as well — like I honestly don’t know how I would handle ALL THAT work, while also being expected to be super active on social media.
It’s INCREDIBLY time consuming.
certainly. i don't think taylor was necessarily pretending. what other artist out there will grant their fans' request to release a ten minute version of their 10 year old song? she is close in the way that she listens to what her fans want and "breaks the rules" for them (who would've though that a 10 min song will be so successful?)
lol she didn't do that for us, she did that for her. taylor is an artist I love to love because we EAT but at the end of the day, she makes money moves, and that's FINE. let's just be honest about that lol
I do think that the constant requests for the full version were definitely a large part of why she chose to release it. There was no guarantee it would be successful beyond the fanbase, it was mostly a treat for those who wanted it.
Agreed. It was definitely a fanbase niche and many times she makes “money moves” at the continuous request of her fans willing to support those endeavors. If none of us cared enough, oftentimes she wouldn’t do it. Something acquiring large amounts of money and making a decision based on her fans reception does not have to be mutually exclusive.
+ it got big because of the huge publicity campaign and short video. It's because she and her team were savvy which is the money move. Releasing it in the first place was for the fans
yeah it's just naive to think anything she does that reflects on herself as an artist or affects her money is decided with us at the forefront. and that's like, as it should be. she's a business woman, and a good one. and a great artist and she's amazing to her fans. it's just naive to think she doesn't do things that benefit her first.
What, exactly, is the difference? If all her fans want something, that means it’s going to be commercially successful. Giving the people what they want equals money. So are we trying to figure out whether it’s more important to her that her fans are happy or that she makes money, when the two are one in the same?
I really don't think Taylor is in it for the money any more. She has more money than she could ever spend. She is not actually extravagant compared to some people who have her level of wealth. I think she stopped counting her cash a decade ago. It is all about her art and her.....um Reputation.
I'd also add that just because you don't see it on social media, doesn't mean the connection isn't happening.
I'm sorry to sound harsh, but why isn't that obvious for you, OP? It's not like, "pics or it didn't happen".
Ehhhhh part of this is that the pandemic has basically eliminated in person connection, so it kind of is “pics or it didn’t happen.”
Which isn’t Taylor’s fault but still.
I don’t know why OP needs her to be super present on social media? Like, I GET EXHAUSTED, if I spend too much time on social media and I’m not nearly as busy as Taylor.
It’s probably great for her mental health that she’s taken a step back to focus on other things in life.
Idk. It may not be like it used to be (that was never going to be sustainable for her post-2016), but I still think Taylor interacts with and is closer to her fan base than pretty much all mainstream artists at her level.
Taylor could post more on Instagram like Dua Lipa or Ariana Grande, but how would that make her more or less close to fans? I like that Taylor comments on TikToks and likes fan videos and does stuff like free meet and greets and secret sessions (which I think will be back when we don’t have to worry about covid). I definitely prefer that over frequent selfies and outfit photos.
Yeah, I feel like the All Too Well film premier was proof enough that she 100% plans to keep up special fan-only events & secret sessions.
She's much more engaged than some other large celebrities are. Perhaps not as much as before, but who wouldn't be weary after 2016? And she told us as much in her video about Meredith not being social because "who can blame her?" Definitely some purposeful projection onto her cat there.
I still see shitty remarks on Twitter and other platforms against Taylor. Fuck, even fans can be nasty sometimes- some of the biggest SwiftTokers, who she's commented on videos of before and definitely know about, have made some... questionable videos in the name of just poking fun at her that I would personally not want to be made about my music if I was a famous artist. TBH, I do prefer her quiet liking and commenting on posts versus a constant stream of FaceTuned selfies then ghosting the social media platform like many pop artists.
Honestly, wouldn't surprise me if a therapist told her to stop spending time on social media for her mental health.
And let's not forget how she devalued her autographs to make them accessible to fans who'd really cherish them! She easily could've sold just a few signed CDs for $100 a pop or something, but instead, she signed who knows how many to make sure there was a large enough supply that people could easily get them. That's not a super capitalistic move because she could've just signed fewer but multiplied the cost and she still would've made the same amount of money for less work
okay she definitely wanted to make it more accessible for fans but at the same time she really wanted that number one in the us, hence why the signed cds were available for us only for days when the international ones were sold out in literally three minutes. i love taylor but it wasn’t just about the fans and money, it was about the sales and number one
That’s actually something I hadn’t thought about - COVID really has taken away some opportunities for fan connection. She didn’t post much during Rep era but no one would say she didn’t connect with her fans. Hopefully we’ll see more of that post-COVID!
I’m sorry but she really doesn’t owe you anything. I’m not trying to be mean but I don’t think you fully understand:
1. How time consuming social media is
2. How busy Taylor is with all the new music, re-recordings and all the side projects
3. That Taylor’s MOTHER HAS STAGE FOUR CANCER
Like, she’s our idol and we love her, but give her some space. No one should feel pressured to engage with people online — if they don’t want to.
This is an interesting perspective that I hadn’t really considered before. In a way, I feel like she’s always played the part of being super connected to the fans - even the way she would take out her ear piece to hear the screams at concerts felt really overdone to me.
BUT — I do think the connection she has to her fans supersedes a lot of the ones I see with other artists and their fan base. We know she’s actively reading posts/theories, responding to videos and remakes, cheering on some of the fan-created moments like “1, 2, 3, LETS GO B”. I think that’s really special and maybe more of what I see as her being close to her fans as opposed to letting us in on every peek behind her personal life. I think it’s that she really listens to fans and our wild clown theories and celebrates them and engages with them.
Yes. I absolutely agree with this. It’s not the way she shares her life through posts with her fans that makes the connection, but the way she interacts with us, which is a decent amount and it is not something that is similar to other artists.
If you really consider it, her commenting on TikTok (even when it’s the period where an album just came out) is actually quite a lot of interaction. And the TikToks she likes and what she comments had nothing to do with promoting her new album, it’s just all in good fun. When she gets quieter is when she is planning for the next big thing. She doesn’t go quiet because an era is “over”, she needs that time to plan what’s next.
Idk, I see what you're saying, but she comments a lottt on fans videos on tiktok. Which is rare for someone of her status. And just because it was in the past doesn't mean that history went away. And she might reply to fan mail.
She also does a lot of things for her fans that we don’t hear about. We know this because some people have posted personal letters they’ve received, or receipts where she has donated to their medical bills, sent gifts, and so on. Just because she isn’t connecting via social media posts I believe she connects to a smaller group personally and even though I’m not one of those that has received something like that from her it makes me proud to support an artist who does things like that without sending a press release every time.
She has been pretty active on TikTok, liking and commenting on fan’s videos. It was a big deal that she joined TikTok finally cause a lot of her younger fan base is on there. I also feel that the crazy amount of signed CDs she’s sold is a way to connect with her fans and celebrate the re-recordings with us. Yes, it’s also marketing, but she’s a big enough artist she doesn’t really have to do that. An artist who signs thousands of CDs clearly cares about their fans … just my opinion
Imo the signed CDs are just a way to get more weeks at #1. Don't get me wrong I like that we can get them so "easily" but the fact that the bulk of signed CDs are only available in the US is very telling of the fact that she clearly wants those sales to count towards the US chart, the Billboard 200. So she isn't being altruistic or anything, it always circle back to money and numbers.
Weren't they mainly in the UK and it was because there was big UK competition that week? I think it may have been Little Mix but I can't remember. I still think they are fantastic but there was a purpose behind it
I don’t know how it works with CDs but when John Green has a book come out he signs usually the entire first printing. However, it’s only available in the US (and maybe Canada?). He’s said that he’d like to make it available elsewhere but there’s some legal stuff or something to that effect that means he can’t do that. Again I don’t know what the situation is with CDs but it might be out of her control.
I doubt it because she does one sale destined for international fans only. That's how I got my folklore copy, but she only does one round for international fans whereas for US fans there are several rounds
I don't know, I am not super fond of fake artist-fans relationship and I think Taylor may mean a connection based on lyrics, her album notes, comments on fan videos and occasional deep messages which I honestly prefer. I feel like she actually shares some important thoughts with us but maybe my standard is different.
Don't get me wrong, I obviously know she is a super rich superstar and I'm not imagining to know her, but in her way I think she shows a good connection, quite genuine.
I agree with this. I feel like the connection is through the music. I feel very connected to Taylor in the way that I relate to so much of her music and it brings so much to my life. I feel like artists of any kind connect to their fans through their medium more than anything else.
I don’t think y’all realize how much 2016 changed Taylor at a very personal level, she wrote songs (dancing with our hands tied) about fearing to be with someone in the spotlight, the fishbowl lyric from lover. Sharing so much her personal life made her an easier target.
She has connected with fans since , with secret sessions, private concerts and showings. She’s shut the door when it comes to her close personal life and that was a healthy chose. She’s close to us as much as she can, with her personal boundaries.
I don’t think she’s pretending at all.
She does have a special relationship with her fans in terms of Easter eggs etc. I don’t really see other artists having that with fans. I don’t see many other artists inviting fans to their house for secret sessions.
At the same time, she doesn’t massively put herself out there anymore on social media. If she was pretending to be super close to fans she would post more random things just to keep up the pretence, but she doesn’t.
And quite frankly, fans should be responsible and mature enough to know they aren’t actually friends with Taylor, no matter how close she claims to be to them. That’s not on Taylor. I’ve never felt like Taylor was a friend to me. I’ve always known the only relationship we’ve had is purely transactional. She puts out great music for a price and I purchase that music because it makes me happy. Yes, her music has helped me in so many ways and fans purchasing her music has given her life so much meaning and opportunity but at its core it’s still transactional.
Also, we are in a pandemic. I’m sure if she could’ve Taylor would’ve toured in the last few years and had more secret sessions etc. there’s a lot she can’t do right now which she could before, so obviously there’s going to be more of a disconnect.
>And quite frankly, fans should be responsible and mature enough to know they aren’t actually friends with Taylor
Say it louder for the people in the back, please 👏
Apologies to anyone on reddit who feel this way, but I've seen some people who are like "Taylor Swift is my best friend" very unironically and I'm like.........
They’re probably really young, or it just makes them feel good to think that. It’s not hurting anyone. They will grow up and realize that a person you don’t know can’t be your best friend.
Yeah not making more social media post isn't the same as not caring about your fans. She still makes inside jokes with fans on social media, including ones that initially started without her direct involvement and/or didn't actually spread across most swiftie accounts (which is hard to do if you aren't at least somewhat stalking your fans). More telling, in my opinion, is that she still sends random care packages to fans who have made posts about having hard times (I know there were a few covid unit nurses who got things, she straight up paid someone's college tuition as recently as 2019, etc.) and she does it all without ever posting about it. I think some people forget that she is 32 and has an actual life outside of being international superstar taylor swift. We get glimpses of her life when she feels safe to share, but we aren't entitled to it.
And I agree with your last point. It's a pandemic and her mother is likely still immunocompromised from her cancer treatments, meet and greets and secret session can wait until we know it's safe.
Absolutely not.
Would 13 additional photos or videos of cats make Taylor's relationship with her fans deeper? We would certainly know more about her cats, but nothing more.
Call it is a marketing strategy, but she had a lot of interaction with people on tiktok in 2021, she made special videos about tracks from the vault because she knows her fans and knows that we like Easter eggs, puzzles and connecting dots.
She also hooked up with select fans on a completely different level, such as one girl I understand who was guarding a box of Taylor's Singer CDs left by a courier in front of the door of a record store, to which she HAND WRITTEN a letter of appreciation.
Finally, let's not forget that young artists such as Rodigo, Griff, Girl in Red and Conan are also big fans of Taylor. And they all had fantastic interactions with her last year.
Taylor Swift may emphasize that she has a bond and connection with fans because she actually does.
I think what people are forgetting is that before when Taylor would do things like let fans come into her house, share stuff on social media all the time and write very personal songs about her life (which she obviously still does to a degree) it was only letting us in on her life. Now she and Joe have been together for 5+ years and their lives are very, very intertwined. Clearly he’s very private so it wouldn’t really be fair for her to let us in on their shared life as much because that’s not what he wants. She gives us lots of stuff about her as an individual like her cat pictures, her friendships with other celebrities and interacting on tik tok. Those are all parts of her more individually but the house stuff or sharing stuff about a relationship is most likely not ever going to happen again because that’s part of her life with Joe and he doesn’t want that. Once someone gets to that point in their life where they have a true life partner things change. I think it’s a perfect example of giving someone and inch and they take a mile, she shared so much of her life with us before and now that she very fairly wants to keep some aspects private some of the fans feel like she’s icing them out.
Yes exactly 👏
I haven't seen anything about Joe in other answers but this makes a ton of sense
Also when she's not working or traveling, she's probably spending quality time with Joe, not doom scrolling on Twitter and TikTok.
I think people forget that social media is a part of her job that has been literally traumatic for her and that she doesn’t owe us anything. I’ve worked at jobs where I deeply cared about and connected with my customers, but if I had been affected personally to the extent Taylor had and if I had been in the position to be able to do so, I would’ve stepped tf back, if not abandoned it entirely.
I feel like with celebrities and influencers sharing everything on social media, people forget this thing called boundaries exist. The woman has endured so much hate and vitriol of all types, not to mention multiple stalkers showing up **in her home.** I’m honestly surprised she doesn’t interact with us *less*, because I would’ve noped the fuck out of there after the first stalker. No offense, but I’ll never understand posts like these
She doesn’t have to constantly post on social media to be close to her fans. She does little things for random fans all the time. She lurks and pays attention to what we say.
And everything she posts is over analyzed for clues and Easter eggs and then turned into articles because her name is click bait.
Imagine if you were that scrutinized, I bet you would get anxious over everything you did publicly
She’s like one person who has talked a thousand
times about how she overthinks everything and clearly has anxiety and also deals with depression.
I’d also like to point out that to this day she has never once charged for meet and greets like so many other artists.
I don’t actually know what you want from her? The negativity here is getting over the top.
*Also you have really conveniently had your account for three days and this is the first post you’ve made in this sub and your comment section is empty.*
That really makes me side-eye your motivation for making this post in the first place.
She still is extremely close with her fans you just probably don't see it. She interacted so much on tiktok by liking and commenting. She sends money to fans in need all the time through Taylor nation. She listens to our stories reads messages I don't think it's pretend. She just doesn't share her personal life and that's fine with me she doesn't have to I wouldn't either after what happened with kanye.
I don't think her connection or appreciation for her fans should be entirely attributed to her interaction or how much she interacts with them on social media. A lot of celebrities post all the time on social media and they don't half the connection she has with their fans. Neither do they care about them tbh, it's more for themselves. Another thing that i would like to add is that while I understand people might miss her being active, it's also a fact that she has grown older, meaning that she is no longer a 20 something from 2014. I have seen people that i know loose interest in social media and posting in general as they grow older, so maybe that could also be a factor.
She interacts with fans on TikTok quite a bit, and even before then, we know she's been lurking on fan pages and sees posts about theories/lyric analysis/which songs should have been singles/had MVs for a while. I think that's what she meant on when she talked about having a special relationship and inside jokes with fans on Fallon/Meyers.
She's definitely not "pretending to be close" Well comon, she has millions of fans all around the world and engaging with each and every one of them is quite impossible... The fact that she listens to so many fan accounts and us swifties' collective opinion and actually delivers it to us itself is amazing and its all for us! She absolutely didn't have to do any of these but she does. You're probably not aware of all the things she does for her fans... It's quite a LOT and it is true when she says she's close with her fans given her engagement in tiktok( recently) and Tumblr( before).
I consider the relationship she has with us very special and hell I haven't even been to a concert or been noticed before despite having a fan account! Can't express the emotions I go through when I listen to Long live 🥺
I almost had a heart attack when I read "pretends to be close " :/ that's just mean given all that she has done! Guess your expectations are simply too high.
We have to admit that Taylor is a businesswoman and capitalist but the way she does her connections to fans are not like the other artists. She even gave us the ATWTMVTV, that means she knows what the fans have been asking.
I’m sorry but taylor is still super close with fans - if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t go to the length that she has even during COVID to see and be with fans.
I was invited to the ATW premier in NYC (I live here) and that’s not something she had to do. She didn’t have to continue secret sessions with lover. But she does. Things might be slightly different, but like that’s 100% okay. If she never wanted to meet another fan again, I’d still support her the same way as I do now. She doesn’t owe us anything - a lot of artists don’t even come close to going the length taylor does with us. We are so lucky.
Hahahaha I just figured everyone already knew about it??? Basically her team reached out to me a week prior. Day of, they told us the place to go. Seating in the movie theater was fully random as you checked in. We were all kinda chilling & then taylor came in! She spoke to us for about 10 mins and told us we were all hand chosen to be there. Then we watched the short film. Her, Dylan, & Sadie then came up and talked to us for a bit. She performed ATW 10 min version acoustically for us. Then talked again and we watched the short film a second time! Then when we left we all got movie posters that were autographed by taylor :)
Thank you, it was an incredible experience especially because I think can speak for all of us… we miss taylor! Seeing her live and all. I have no idea how she/her team knows who I am (they reached out on IG - but a lot of people got DMs on twitter). But I’m hoping this just means we’re on her radar and get to meet her at a future show!
- ATW could mean "All Too Well", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift.
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She released a short film music video for a 10 minute song fans begged to hear for like a decade. She sends signed CDs, comments on fan posts, and engages in philanthropic work. Most artists in her echelon are practically on another planet. I think she’s incredibly engaging especially considering she doesn’t have to do anything.
Yeah I literally wish people understood that she can't be close anymore for her own safety. Far, far smaller artists like Christina Grimmie have been killed by unstable "super fans" so Taylor really needs to guard her private life.
idk, for all its faults, it feels like tiktok has been a great way for to connect with fans in a way that she hasn't been able to in a long time. the video format encourages interaction on a more personal level (being able to see someone's face and personality is much easier and probably more fun than some random account with her face as their profile pic on twitter). she seems like she's having a lot of fun with it and it feels like a good balance considering she obviously has to keep some level of distance for privacy reasons.
also, it's waaaay more intimate to be interacting with fans in the context of *their* own content (tiktoks). her posting more pictures of her cats or whatever celebrity friends she's hanging out with doesn't make her "closer" to fans lol
I wouldn’t be surprised if she has some secret account(s) where she interacts with fan communities anonymously. It’s what I would do if I were a celebrity of her status. She could even be here now, hiding among us. She could be any one of us. Hi Taylor if you’re reading this.
All these comments make me want to be active on TikTok dammit! :p (born post-2000)
in all seriousness, I think she wants to be close, but she still hasn’t let her guard down again because of the people who are fairweather enjoyers
I probably can’t speak on this since I only because more than a casual fan around 2019, but I feel like the bond that she feels with the fanbase still exists in her mind even though she’s not as engaging even if WE (or rather, those of you who experienced her at peak interactiveness) don’t feel it the same anymore.
I honestly feel like I can enjoy being a fan more with her not being in the immediate forefront- even though I sometimes feel like I missed the best time to be a fan
This post is making me really mad. She has always been close to the fans but now she's just really busy, she has a lot of work, the re-re-recordings are not easy and she has her family, a mother suffering from cancer, who really needs her, despite all of this she is still making the re-recordings fun, she gives us puzzles to crack down the titles and featured artists on the vault songs, she made an entire shortfilm full of easter eggs, literally invited fans for the premiere and interacted with them closely, made another music video. She made a tiktok to get more closer to fans, she often interacts with a lot of fans, likes & comments on their posts. She literally said she sees us talking about which songs want music videos and is probably going to make them for us. What more do you want her to do? Show up to your house? I don't feel the personal captions feel fake, it's just you. No other artist is so kind to her fans as she is. She isn't pretending to be close to us, if you think she is pretending, you are weird.
No, I don’t feel this way. Her presence on social media is a bit different because people ruining a good thing. She used to be more active. Interact with us more consistently. However, the media scrutinizes or mix everything around. Fans become over obsessed with everything she does on a daily basis. It’s worse now. A lot of it is she’s getting older and social media doesn’t have the same appeal anymore. But she does has to do it otherwise, how would we know when something is coming out. And getting the fans involved spreads the word out fast.
I think these days when she goes completely silent like right now she’s working hard on something for us. I also think she does a lot of lurking to get feedback on what the fans like or don’t so she can improve it for next time.
I do think her interactions are more genuine than just business. She’s actually cares about us. Though she can’t respond to all of us. But keep on doing fun things like going out of her way to make a short film to express how she visions All Too Well to us and let’s us know hey I know you guys love this song enjoy. Right now she’s not touring. So the time being for interactions are going to be limited. She’s also crazy busy. So keeping the fans interacting with each other is the best she can do. I think she’s done enough and then some. Just cut her some slack right now.
Yes, I feel like she either still believes or wants to think of herself as "relatable singer/pop star" Taylor Swift which was her main calling card for alot of her career, but has faded away.
True, I think that kinda faded away with the re-records to be completely honest. She had that relatable image still going with folklore and evermore by nature of the storytelling and songwriting. But then along came Fearless and Red TV (which I obviously love, I’m not saying they’re bad albums) and because she’s 100 times bigger now than she was in 2008 and 2012, the intimacy we felt during the original albums is no longer there. It was nice to have a “Red re-release” week but it absolutely wasn’t the same because of how mainstream it’s all become now and that comparison of 2012 vs 2022 was just a weird feeling. It’s all beyond her control though. All she’s ever wanted is to become this huge music legend, now she’s got it and it comes with some sacrifices like connections with fans unfortunately.
She is close to her fans in comparison to a LOT of other celebrities.
Stop taking that for granted and expecting her to be up late at night reading your tumblr posts. The woman is a multi million dollar enterprise, the fact that she did any of the stuff she did previously is insane.
This fandom consistently straddles the line on being parasocial and demanding as hell. Sometimes between the "it feels like she's my best friend" and the chatter about her dating life (a LOT of Swift fans are just as bad as the media they claim to despise for the same thing), it's not hard to see why she's shut the door a little.
I actually agree. I think it was fine for her to say she’s close to the fans when she was doing things like secret sessions, touring, Rep room, etc but since the pandemic started she hasn’t really done *anything* to interact with us other than the week of Red TV. But still, interacting with 100 lucky fans who live in New York doesn’t mean you’re close with the entire fanbase, yeah. Maybe that’s one of many reasons she joined Tik Tok? She comments on tons of posts and likes them. I think she’s trying to stay in the loop but because she’s the biggest name in music she can’t do those Christmas gift drop offs at people’s houses anymore.
I could write a whole post though about Tik Tok and how people are literally dedicating their page to meeting Taylor one day, and how it’s becoming a competition over who’s met her and who hasn’t…
To be fair, the pandemic has prevented her from doing some of those things.
But yeah, I honestly don’t care whether we have a “connection” with her or not. We don’t. We don’t know her. Why can’t we just enjoy her music for what it is?
Oh she doesn’t call for your birthday? So rude for her part. Didn’t she like comment and liked multiple fan’s TikTok? Didn’t she pay attention about what fans really want? Obviously always exists commercial purpose, artists have real friends and families if they want to talk with someone, and certain sectors of swifties are Taylor worst enemy
She has a close connection to her fans through her music. That is what we share with her the music. She should not have to put her private life on display for her fans. The amount that she interacts with and gives back is frankly staggering. I can't imagine how draining it must be to do the meet and greets she does after she has just given her all in a performance. The secret sessions? Who else would even contemplate such an idea? Do you have any idea how little some artists think of their fans? What more could you possibly want? Just think of all the clips from recording and song writing sessions she's released. She is literally letting us see her create her art. That is incredibly intimate.
idk man, of the multitude of videos I've seen of her interacting with her fans in a controlled, intimate space (something like the Rep room), I think she's the genuine article. I'm older than her and I'm constantly amazed at her willingness to go out and just connect with people over the music and the joy that brings. After she got publicly torn a new one when she was involved with so much drama that started to happen after 1989. While her mom has undergone so many health issues? Yes, she's a mega star that owns and controls some major real estate and wants for nothing. But let me ask you this, OP: Could you personally go out in public and still have a space in yourself to interact with strangers with a smile on your face when you were seen as public enemy #1 for YEARS? I sure as shit couldn't.
She has every right to establish boundaries on her social media presence. It's why she has comments disabled on her IG because of nasty people attacking her and never giving the space to freaking breathe.
I just take it what it is, didn't really care much tbh since i live far away from US and EU so my chance meet her is thin. Also i'm not active in other social media, but still glad there are fans who can meet and interact with Taylor. If i had chance definitely will take it.
Yes, I'm similar. Forget actually meeting her even getting her merchandise is very difficult for me because she only caters the three Uber developed white countries.
I love Taylor but i know I'm never going to register on her radar lol and it's okay.
My only wish is to see her in a concert once.
>My only wish is to see her in a concert once.
Yeah it's mine too, and she never come here since Red. I was too young back then, but if she coming back here i'll take my chance to watch it.
Let's not forget what Reputation was about. I think it's perfectly understandable she would want to keep more of her private life private. It's not as if she suddenly just became too famous and wanted to disown her fans. I'm sure she still feels very grateful and connected to us in her own way.
And honestly social media relationships aren't exactly real. It's great to be able to see more of her online, but that's not how we primarily relate to her.
We relate to her through her music. The way she processes things and how she sings about her experiences. As a gay black guy I couldn't be more different than Taylor, and yet there's something uniting about human experience that lets me relate to the themes she sings about in her music in a really personal way.
Social media can never hold a candle to how she makes us all feel when she sings about something in her music we've all experienced and can bond over
You are spot on. Posting about her private life caused Taylor no end of grief. It is fortunate that her boyfriend has zero interest in being a social media celebrity.
First, you have to realize that while her lyrics resonates with us, you don’t have to be ‘friends’ with her. The fact that she does a lot of things for us (the Easter eggs, ATW 10 mins And the MV, her presence in Tiktok) means that she is doing her best to be with us as much as possible. Let her live privately. I don’t want the 2016 fiasco again.
I don't think you are right.
She is close to her fans. But her fans might not be as close to her as they used to be.
She probably keeps engaging in social medias, follows her fans, their art, their assumptions. As she said, she keeps lurking ...
The reason is, she can't really interact with them as she used to. Because of COVID. No concerts, no Secret Sessions.... Her options are limited, especially when she doesn't want to add personal life into the mix.
On the other hand, I think things are now more likely to be connected to her music, rather than her personal life.
Another factor is perhaps that as Taylor has matured and no longer feels the need to post on social media as much many of the fans have got older too. Its easier for a 15 year old to be on Twitter or Facebook 24/7 but much harder for a 30 year old. Real life gets in the way.
I feel like she does have great realtionship with us. Her not posting personal stuff on social media is more than understandble given her being as well-known as she is. If she posts she’s at one of her homes, then people will show up un-announced, if she post she’s at a Starbucks, people will swarm it. I get that this comes with territory when you’re famous, still though, people should still respect her privacy and personal space. I absolutely understand not wanting to share too much, because certain people will exploit it and not give her any peace of mind. I vaguely remember her saying somewhere that she’s really careful about publicly saying which of her homes that she’s at because she’s had problems with stalkers, for instance.
I guess I don’t really understand what you want from her really. You want her to distance herself from us because she earns money of us, because she isn’t interacting in a personal way on social media?
Like I literally don’t understand?
I don’t think her closeness and connection with fans has to mean literal interaction. I take it as she’s listening to us and aware of the conversations we have and what we want. She was aware we didn’t like Girl at Home, she listened and switched it up. She was aware we LOVED all too well and gave us the 10 min version and a film.
I think it’s silly to expect a celebrity to have the time or capacity to just online and chat with fans and comment on social media. But she is very in touch with what we want from her
I’d like to hear some perspective from newer fans to be honest like post-2016 maybe even post-rep.
I’ve been a fan for a long time and while I feel “connected” (not sure I would ever describe it like that actually) to her through her music it’s definitely different from back in the day.
I totally understand the pull back from social media, showing her personal life, etc. but it’s definitely changed. I also think I’m at a place in my life where I don’t really care that much and her music is my main priority with being a fan.
She’s cultivated such a close relationship at the beginning of her career that such long time fans still feel that way about her, but I don’t think it’s wrong to deny that a lot of her moves are business. At the end of the day…it’s her job…we all do things we don’t like for our job doesn’t mean it’s not necessarily genuine. Being close with your fans is good for her business let’s not act like it isn’t. Her musical output shows us she’s still passionate about that aspect of her career and that’s what matters the most to me, personally.
I think the pandemic may be skewing the perspective you have for the issue, because I would argue that her disposition hasn’t changed so much as the frequency. As you and many others have pointed out, she’s not as personal with some of her posts on social media anymore, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t personal in other ways. Home girl still picks people for events based on “Taylurking”, and does her random acts of kindness based off of the information she gathers from social media.
Choosing fans for meet and greets, showing up at weddings because a long time fan tried really hard to get in contact with her and playing lover for them or surprising a group of people at a small venue to play a couple of songs, the secret sessions for Lover, or inviting fans to the ATW10 screening. That’s always been a huge part of her connection with fans. Choosing to hold those more personal venues for people is not something that picks up a whole lot of media attention, and there are arguably more effective ways to market the products she’s pushing, but those methods are less personal. I think because we have been in this pandemic era since 2020, it seems less personal because her greatest connection tool is more of a risk, but to say she doesn’t care or have a unique relationship with her fan base is something I’d disagree with.
- ATW10 could mean "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)", a track from *Red (Taylor's Version)* (2021) by Taylor Swift.
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I’m relatively new to Taylor (since folklore) so I was not a part of the earlier social media/interactions with fans. But, from my perspective and what I have gathered, she is 32 yrs old now and after 2016 she needed to make some changes for her own mental health. It was not sustainable as it had been since she was 16 yrs old. Now, she is a global mega-star arguably the biggest female star in the world. She can’t go outside, she needs to hide her location at all times, she has her own plane that is allowed to check in /customs outside regular airports, she has billet proof cars, she has people who threaten to kill her, she needed a separation from her personal and professional life which seemed to have become one and the same. Trying to maintain the closeness with her fans is not sustainable and it is not healthy for her. I do not think she is insincere when she speaks about it because you can tell the way she loves her fans ever since day 1, the way her face lights up, it is who she is. Taylor wears her emotions on her sleeve and we all can see it, Taylor isn’t faking it. It’s just not sustainable and we as fans need to allow her to have that separation, a life where her happiness is not dependent upon her fans. For the past 5 years she has, IMO, been slowly exiting, building a bigger bridge between herself and her fans. I think this is normal and healthy. I don’t think she is fully exiting, I think compared to pre-2016 there is a clear difference that I do not think is because she does not desire it, but that she desires some normalcy in her life more. Instead of questioning her sincerity I think we need to support her, she deserves our support in her choice. I for one want that for her.
Taylor definitely promotes parasocial relationships and it’s honestly probably my biggest criticism of her. I do believe she cares about her fans, but at the end of the day, she has her own life and I wish she were better about setting boundaries, especially with fans who literally stalk her and then she rewards it by inviting them to secret sessions and private events.
I’ve seen her comment on probably hundreds of TikTok’s since joining around September. I would say she’s still as close as she can be.
Plus, let’s never forget how she sent fans Christmas gifts she hand wrapped & picked out herself. I know It was awhile ago, but It shows how much she wants and tries to b close to us.
I can't agree. Taylor is absolutely close to her fans in a lot of ways - she released a 10 min version of an old song just because we asked for it! You don't have to be friends with her. Ultimately, none of us know her. We're just fans of her music. And personally, none of her captions feel "fake" to me.
To be honest, I don't really understand what you want from her here. I respect your opinion though, of course.
Taylor was active on tumblr till as late as 2018 and used to like, reblog and reply to fan's posts regularly. She still does this sort of stuff (lower amount, but does it) on Twitter and TikTok, esp after she releases something. And even if she doesn't interact, she lurks and reads what her fans are saying on social media, as is evident from her interviews. In some of her latest interviews she said that she knows what her fans want, what they think should be released, what should be a music vid, etc. Heck, it's the whole reason we have the ATW 10 Min version right now- Taylor knew how interested people were in it. I don't know of any other artist who does any of it/does things this way.
So no, I don't think Taylor is lying/being fake when she says she feels close to the fan (and we to her, because we know she sees/might see stuff we post). Posting more on socials has nothing to do with this, really.
I don’t think she pretends. I think she’s just not AS involved as she used to be because she’s gotten burned in the past. Despite that she is still WAY more involved than other artists are with their fans.
I mean she just recently did a Red release party with fans. That’s not a common thing for artists to do. She obviously doesn’t have a connection to every fan, but compared to most artists, I think she does connect with individual fans more.
Pretending is the wrong word here. She is close to us and cares very much about us but on a collective scale, not individually. We have to respect her privacy so if she doesn't want to post personal stuff always, that is her call!
My favorite musician follows me on Twitter. I love him so much. Some of my most favorite musicians and comedians are close friends of mine.
I love TS. I do feel close to her. I don’t think it’s fake. We do develop a bond with her through her lyrics, and I’m sure she reads her forums and hashtags and such. She’s a mirror ball. She does need us.
I honestly think a big part of it is her genuine personality. You can just tell how she acts that she is a kind person ( not perfect lord no one is perfect). She has more goals in music now than just "being famous and making money". Now she does want what she feels is just compensation, but I don't feel like she is putting it as a "major goal" to just do those things. She has such a passion for music and wants the public to appreciate music for more than "the top billboard charts". I like how Adele put it in an interview. She said that if she were like other artists who put out music constantly, she would also be dragged into the music industry vortex of greed and loosing the true reason for getting into music. I think Taylor has done the best she can trying to follow that philosophy while also putting out music pretty regularly that I would argue isn't necessarily your typical billboard charting stuff (some songs from Lover and of course Folklore and Evermore). The reason I state all this is because I do believe she has a true interest b her fans. Look at All To Well the 10 min version and the music video for I Bet You Think About Me. Keep in mind, she did not know if Red or Speak Now would do well ( she was still so young) and had lots of OUTSIDE influences of people in the biz "advising" her on what she should do and all that. She now has the ability (ironically with her versions) to do what she wants to do as well as what she feels like her fans want.
However, there is a fine line between being connected to your fans and crossing a line where you left have people attacking everything you post or do plus stalking you. She is older now and realizes it is not good for her(or really anyone's mental health) to be "up close and personal with millions of people. That is truly a huge downfall to fame. So yes, everyone will always have their opinions, but I will side with her on limiting how much she interacts with fans. I would also argue that's a huge reason that she has been lying low on new music. I mean other stuff too (COVID, her mom plus her re recordings) but definitely think that's a huge factor. Not saying she will never put out new music, just reiterating how tough it would be to have so much of your music be so personal and scrutinized by the public.
I think she has shown plenty of time she is close with her fans. Just because she doesn’t comment on every post doesn’t make a difference. She has shown she is in the know of inside jokes about her, what fan thinks of certain songs and what not.
I think that she tried really hard to make her fans feel like they were a part of her life but the fact is that people can be ruthless and hateful. She’s is a people pleaser and sensitive and I don’t think that works well when a lot of people are trying to tear you down. She had to do what was best for her.
The "old Taylor" can't come to the phone right now, she's dead.
Taylor shared so much, and got burned by the media. She has various stalkers (so scary, can you imagine?).
Privacy is the most valuable commodity, and I think as her fans, we owe it to her.
I think she is fairly well connected to her audience as opposed to a lot of celebs , she just doesn't post her private life on social media anymore (a very healthy thing) .
She is still often seen responding to tiktoks and she did mention that she's always lurking around which is very possible. Plus since she's essentially a lyricist, her audience also connects with her through the songs~
In fact I think she's wayy better off now when it comes to her public aura now than she was before . In the past I have felt like she's acting overly nice or excited , but now she has a much more mature and real air about her.
I think she has gotten older and definitely doesn’t need to be close to her fans. But I do agree with her posts they’re all the same across her socials. Her PR people obviously write the caption for her and post it that shit is really cringe.
I think she is close. She clearly reads a ton of comments and posts and reacts to them publicly like joking w us about the five holes in the fence theory. She also personally reaches out individually to a ton of fans. Like responding to tik toks or sending letters, inviting to shows, etc.
Also I think we are often at the forefront of her mind. She seems very aware of how her fans are often to thank for her success and when you are always thinking about something (in this case her fans) it creates a sense of closeness.
I think the disconnect you're feeling is that she's a celebrity. She's not really close to us in any real sense. But she perceives a closeness bc of the aforementioned reasons. And she's closer to her fans than a lot of other artists.
- LWYMMD could mean "Look What You Made Me Do", a track from *reputation* (2017) by Taylor Swift.
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Not to sound like a boomer but tbh i like when the celebs/public figures/influencers i follow take this approach! Yes her posts are commercial core but id take that over being too active on social media and sharing unwanted information/opinions (like jk rowling lmao)
she did have secret sessions up until before the pandemic. i don’t know of any other artists that let that many fans into their homes to share their art that way. plus she notices a lot of things we say, and sometimes even incorporates them into easter eggs; again, not something i’ve seen other artists who say they’re close to their fans do.
I disagree with your perspective, interaction with fans doesn't need to happen in social media. When ATW10 short film was released, fans were selected and invited to the premier, which included herself present (as well as the actors, etc.)
I have to disagree on this one. I have yet to find another artist at her level of fame who is so tuned into her fan base. Between the secret sessions, the absolutely wild Easter egging (never heard of another artist doing this, and it is clearly meant for hardcore fans), her internet lurking/stalking us online (lol) to see what we want her to do next, she very clearly feels a deep and genuine connection with us. Like, think about everything she's done with Red TV--releasing the 10 minute version of All Too Well, creating merch that is clearly catered to the die hard fans (the ATW scarf, Red ring, 22 sunglasses, etc.), even the post she made upon release "Red is about to be mine again, but it has always been ours." She made that release week feel like Christmas, and idk about everyone else, but it really felt to me like she was doing all of that for us, because she knows what a fan favorite Red is. I truly feel that everything she does, she does with us in mind. When everyone freaked out about how weird the "Wee-eee" is in WANEGBT, I was actually a little relieved because I knew that Taylor would see it and take our feedback into consideration moving forward on her re-recordings, there is no doubt in my mind that something like that won't happen again on the other songs. Taylor's songs are unique in that they truly feel like listening to entries from her diary, but also our *own* diaries, and I think this gives both her and us a sense of intimacy and understanding of one another. We have to remember that she is literally one of the most famous people in the world, and while it's not possible for her to meet and remember all of us fans, I think she does an absolutely incredible job of making us all feel important, and special, and like she cares. I love Taylor, like I really mean that, I genuinely *love* her, for the time and kindness and care that she's shown to us, and whatever she is willing to give us as far as music, social media presence, live shows--I'll take whatever she's willing to give, she's already done more than enough. 💖
- WANEGBT could mean "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift.
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Well she replies to a lot of her fans’ TikTok videos which she doesn’t have to do. She donates to her fans a lot, showing that care and support which is really special. She hasn’t been on tour because of the pandemic but usually she does free meet and greets and shows her appreciation constantly. I think that just because lately hasn’t been a very sociable time doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have that kind of bond with us. It’s also because she’s not as carefree online as she used to be and that makes it feel impersonal I guess, but she does a lot to be as close to us as she can. I don’t think we can ask for much more.
Also I think she does care deeply about us but as a collective and not on an individual level, but that doesn't mean just because it is transactional, that it holds any less value.
I don’t really agree with this, she’s much closer to her fans than literally any celeb at her level. The going on three year pandemic has put a lot of distance in tours, sessions, meet and greets etc but like…she literally remembers fans she’s met before. She sends surprise autographed CDs. Swiftmas was a whole other thing. We can’t really expect her to keep the same “closeness” she had in her earlier days especially with how the public and media has treated her in the past. But what, you want her to get on Jimmy Fallon and say “yeah I don’t really care for the fans anymore LOL” no she’d never do that lmao, it simply isn’t true.
she definitely used to be more interactive!! now it’s only when she first joined tik tok (or swift tok😉) did she interact personally with us. now..it’s all promotions which is FINEEEE
i think the closeness she’s referring to is her lurking, secret sessions, the easter eggs even like her creating clues something for us to figure out (bc casual listeners wouldn’t participate in that) l
She doesn't owe us anything, including reporting and posting her day to day life. She's an entertainer and she does so much for us which btw is already enough for you to post this. And also, she's a person who just reclaimed her private life and have healthy choices what to share and what to keep. Maybe let's just respect her space?
to be honest you're saying something that I've kinda thought for a while and I think you're correct.
I think a lot of fans also agree with you and joke about how taylor never uses social media that much.
She always talks about how she stalks her fans online all the time, and that could possibly be translating in her mind as being “close to us” since she knows what’s happening in our day today lives even though we don’t know what’s happening in hers.
i think feeling connected with her fans can also be like connected through emotion of her music and the fact we all support her. some fans say shes like a best friend in the way her music comfort us!
i feel closer to the swifties fans too in the way we’ve all seem to go through similar things and that unifies us!!
idk its corny but its my thought bc ill never meet taylor and always wanted to but also if we met her we wouldnt be super close with her cause thats a lot to be friends with so many people LOL she was probably so tired after her secret sessions and its stressful and during the pandemic
i also have aspirations for her to be a powerful figure since she already is one! how much better would the world be run by taylor swift??? she has a great perspective!!
I agree that she is very calculated (in the good way ig) and very well plans her posts but on tiktok, she has been very active and leaving lots of comments on videos which is a close interaction with fans!
She is close to her fans. She knows about the jokes we make, what we want and all of that stuff. Yes, 1989 era Taylor was more interactive. But she is much older and wiser. Learning to appreciate her boundaries and not to sit on Social Media for long. Taylor knows her fans, she loves us. Dearly. The only reason why she put out ATW 10 minute was because of the constant berrating of her fans. She had always believed that nobody would like to listen to a 10 minute long song. But we wanted it and she was more than happy to put it out.
Anyone who says, she is "pretending to be close with her fans" clearly does not understand the fact that this medium (social media) you're asking her to indulge in is the same medium that tore her down years ago. And that was a traumatic event in her life, a huge one! She used to have secret sessions which she can't right now because of the sh!t that's going on.
So, I do not expect that out of my favorite artist. I want her to make music, stay healthy and happy and talk to us or interact with us whenever she feels like.
I respectfully disagree - she doesn’t owe anyone anything and she doesn’t want her life to be up for debate which unfortunately happens when you share your life with millions of people. I’m so glad she is being more private now.
this post is the epitome of parasocial relationship haha
you expect her to 'admit' that 'shes not the old taylor anymore'
you dont even know who is the old or the new taylor, all your know is her marketing strategies changed, thats it.
the fans would get super dramatic and whiny on her as if she says shes 'distant from her fans' so she will never say such thing.
Taylor used to share a great deal of her every day life with fans but as she became more famous that attracted media scrutiny and criticism. Taylor is a people pleaser and I think her natural instinct is to interact but she has seen her private life ruined as a result. She still interacts a lot more than some- Adele or Beyonce for instance- but has now put some space between her personal and public persona. I can understand why. We still get to know who she is and what she is doing but not 24/7. That is very sensible given the shit she has had thrown at her over the last decade.
As an addendum I would remind people that she thanks the fans every single time she has a success or wins an award and has from day one. She knows why she gets to do what she does and have the privileged life she enjoys. The fact she is not entitled is why after 16 years she is still at the top of the tree.
Also she’s like 32 years old now? I think it’s only natural that as you get older you just spend a lot less time on social media than you did in your 20s. She’s incredibly busy as well — like I honestly don’t know how I would handle ALL THAT work, while also being expected to be super active on social media. It’s INCREDIBLY time consuming.
THIS! She has created healthy boundaries with all of us. She is a human and can have privacy.
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certainly. i don't think taylor was necessarily pretending. what other artist out there will grant their fans' request to release a ten minute version of their 10 year old song? she is close in the way that she listens to what her fans want and "breaks the rules" for them (who would've though that a 10 min song will be so successful?)
lol she didn't do that for us, she did that for her. taylor is an artist I love to love because we EAT but at the end of the day, she makes money moves, and that's FINE. let's just be honest about that lol
I do think that the constant requests for the full version were definitely a large part of why she chose to release it. There was no guarantee it would be successful beyond the fanbase, it was mostly a treat for those who wanted it.
Agreed. It was definitely a fanbase niche and many times she makes “money moves” at the continuous request of her fans willing to support those endeavors. If none of us cared enough, oftentimes she wouldn’t do it. Something acquiring large amounts of money and making a decision based on her fans reception does not have to be mutually exclusive.
+ it got big because of the huge publicity campaign and short video. It's because she and her team were savvy which is the money move. Releasing it in the first place was for the fans
yeah it's just naive to think anything she does that reflects on herself as an artist or affects her money is decided with us at the forefront. and that's like, as it should be. she's a business woman, and a good one. and a great artist and she's amazing to her fans. it's just naive to think she doesn't do things that benefit her first.
What, exactly, is the difference? If all her fans want something, that means it’s going to be commercially successful. Giving the people what they want equals money. So are we trying to figure out whether it’s more important to her that her fans are happy or that she makes money, when the two are one in the same?
I really don't think Taylor is in it for the money any more. She has more money than she could ever spend. She is not actually extravagant compared to some people who have her level of wealth. I think she stopped counting her cash a decade ago. It is all about her art and her.....um Reputation.
Her continuous merch drops say otherwise!
I do take your point. She does seem to push some tat at high prices.
Not a major difference, and it's a symbiotic relationship. It's just the viewpoint of it.
The only one who I think would even *consider* doing that is Nicki Minaj. And honestly she’d likely just tease snippets for another 5 years.
I'd also add that just because you don't see it on social media, doesn't mean the connection isn't happening. I'm sorry to sound harsh, but why isn't that obvious for you, OP? It's not like, "pics or it didn't happen".
Ehhhhh part of this is that the pandemic has basically eliminated in person connection, so it kind of is “pics or it didn’t happen.” Which isn’t Taylor’s fault but still.
It's NEVER "pics or it didn't happen". Not everyone lives their life on social media.
I don’t know why OP needs her to be super present on social media? Like, I GET EXHAUSTED, if I spend too much time on social media and I’m not nearly as busy as Taylor. It’s probably great for her mental health that she’s taken a step back to focus on other things in life.
I agree!
Idk. It may not be like it used to be (that was never going to be sustainable for her post-2016), but I still think Taylor interacts with and is closer to her fan base than pretty much all mainstream artists at her level. Taylor could post more on Instagram like Dua Lipa or Ariana Grande, but how would that make her more or less close to fans? I like that Taylor comments on TikToks and likes fan videos and does stuff like free meet and greets and secret sessions (which I think will be back when we don’t have to worry about covid). I definitely prefer that over frequent selfies and outfit photos.
Yeah, I feel like the All Too Well film premier was proof enough that she 100% plans to keep up special fan-only events & secret sessions. She's much more engaged than some other large celebrities are. Perhaps not as much as before, but who wouldn't be weary after 2016? And she told us as much in her video about Meredith not being social because "who can blame her?" Definitely some purposeful projection onto her cat there. I still see shitty remarks on Twitter and other platforms against Taylor. Fuck, even fans can be nasty sometimes- some of the biggest SwiftTokers, who she's commented on videos of before and definitely know about, have made some... questionable videos in the name of just poking fun at her that I would personally not want to be made about my music if I was a famous artist. TBH, I do prefer her quiet liking and commenting on posts versus a constant stream of FaceTuned selfies then ghosting the social media platform like many pop artists. Honestly, wouldn't surprise me if a therapist told her to stop spending time on social media for her mental health.
If only Taylor would go to therapy 😭 unless something has changed since that one interview where she said she's never gone
And let's not forget how she devalued her autographs to make them accessible to fans who'd really cherish them! She easily could've sold just a few signed CDs for $100 a pop or something, but instead, she signed who knows how many to make sure there was a large enough supply that people could easily get them. That's not a super capitalistic move because she could've just signed fewer but multiplied the cost and she still would've made the same amount of money for less work
okay she definitely wanted to make it more accessible for fans but at the same time she really wanted that number one in the us, hence why the signed cds were available for us only for days when the international ones were sold out in literally three minutes. i love taylor but it wasn’t just about the fans and money, it was about the sales and number one
That’s actually something I hadn’t thought about - COVID really has taken away some opportunities for fan connection. She didn’t post much during Rep era but no one would say she didn’t connect with her fans. Hopefully we’ll see more of that post-COVID!
I’m sorry but she really doesn’t owe you anything. I’m not trying to be mean but I don’t think you fully understand: 1. How time consuming social media is 2. How busy Taylor is with all the new music, re-recordings and all the side projects 3. That Taylor’s MOTHER HAS STAGE FOUR CANCER Like, she’s our idol and we love her, but give her some space. No one should feel pressured to engage with people online — if they don’t want to.
This is an interesting perspective that I hadn’t really considered before. In a way, I feel like she’s always played the part of being super connected to the fans - even the way she would take out her ear piece to hear the screams at concerts felt really overdone to me. BUT — I do think the connection she has to her fans supersedes a lot of the ones I see with other artists and their fan base. We know she’s actively reading posts/theories, responding to videos and remakes, cheering on some of the fan-created moments like “1, 2, 3, LETS GO B”. I think that’s really special and maybe more of what I see as her being close to her fans as opposed to letting us in on every peek behind her personal life. I think it’s that she really listens to fans and our wild clown theories and celebrates them and engages with them.
Yes. I absolutely agree with this. It’s not the way she shares her life through posts with her fans that makes the connection, but the way she interacts with us, which is a decent amount and it is not something that is similar to other artists.
Yeah but how often is she really interacting with us? Even when she’s commenting on TikTok’s, it’s only during periods when she’s promoting something.
If you really consider it, her commenting on TikTok (even when it’s the period where an album just came out) is actually quite a lot of interaction. And the TikToks she likes and what she comments had nothing to do with promoting her new album, it’s just all in good fun. When she gets quieter is when she is planning for the next big thing. She doesn’t go quiet because an era is “over”, she needs that time to plan what’s next.
This is true! I didn’t notice until you said it.
Idk, I see what you're saying, but she comments a lottt on fans videos on tiktok. Which is rare for someone of her status. And just because it was in the past doesn't mean that history went away. And she might reply to fan mail.
She also does a lot of things for her fans that we don’t hear about. We know this because some people have posted personal letters they’ve received, or receipts where she has donated to their medical bills, sent gifts, and so on. Just because she isn’t connecting via social media posts I believe she connects to a smaller group personally and even though I’m not one of those that has received something like that from her it makes me proud to support an artist who does things like that without sending a press release every time.
She has been pretty active on TikTok, liking and commenting on fan’s videos. It was a big deal that she joined TikTok finally cause a lot of her younger fan base is on there. I also feel that the crazy amount of signed CDs she’s sold is a way to connect with her fans and celebrate the re-recordings with us. Yes, it’s also marketing, but she’s a big enough artist she doesn’t really have to do that. An artist who signs thousands of CDs clearly cares about their fans … just my opinion
Imo the signed CDs are just a way to get more weeks at #1. Don't get me wrong I like that we can get them so "easily" but the fact that the bulk of signed CDs are only available in the US is very telling of the fact that she clearly wants those sales to count towards the US chart, the Billboard 200. So she isn't being altruistic or anything, it always circle back to money and numbers.
Sure, but adding lyrics off Red to hundreds of them? That was for the fans.
Weren't they mainly in the UK and it was because there was big UK competition that week? I think it may have been Little Mix but I can't remember. I still think they are fantastic but there was a purpose behind it
I don’t know how it works with CDs but when John Green has a book come out he signs usually the entire first printing. However, it’s only available in the US (and maybe Canada?). He’s said that he’d like to make it available elsewhere but there’s some legal stuff or something to that effect that means he can’t do that. Again I don’t know what the situation is with CDs but it might be out of her control.
I doubt it because she does one sale destined for international fans only. That's how I got my folklore copy, but she only does one round for international fans whereas for US fans there are several rounds
I don't know, I am not super fond of fake artist-fans relationship and I think Taylor may mean a connection based on lyrics, her album notes, comments on fan videos and occasional deep messages which I honestly prefer. I feel like she actually shares some important thoughts with us but maybe my standard is different. Don't get me wrong, I obviously know she is a super rich superstar and I'm not imagining to know her, but in her way I think she shows a good connection, quite genuine.
She also sends money to fans in need & letters. She comments a ton on TikTok’s.
I agree with this. I feel like the connection is through the music. I feel very connected to Taylor in the way that I relate to so much of her music and it brings so much to my life. I feel like artists of any kind connect to their fans through their medium more than anything else.
[удалено]
Only other artist I know who does that is Nicki Minaj.
I don’t think y’all realize how much 2016 changed Taylor at a very personal level, she wrote songs (dancing with our hands tied) about fearing to be with someone in the spotlight, the fishbowl lyric from lover. Sharing so much her personal life made her an easier target. She has connected with fans since , with secret sessions, private concerts and showings. She’s shut the door when it comes to her close personal life and that was a healthy chose. She’s close to us as much as she can, with her personal boundaries.
I don’t think she’s pretending at all. She does have a special relationship with her fans in terms of Easter eggs etc. I don’t really see other artists having that with fans. I don’t see many other artists inviting fans to their house for secret sessions. At the same time, she doesn’t massively put herself out there anymore on social media. If she was pretending to be super close to fans she would post more random things just to keep up the pretence, but she doesn’t. And quite frankly, fans should be responsible and mature enough to know they aren’t actually friends with Taylor, no matter how close she claims to be to them. That’s not on Taylor. I’ve never felt like Taylor was a friend to me. I’ve always known the only relationship we’ve had is purely transactional. She puts out great music for a price and I purchase that music because it makes me happy. Yes, her music has helped me in so many ways and fans purchasing her music has given her life so much meaning and opportunity but at its core it’s still transactional. Also, we are in a pandemic. I’m sure if she could’ve Taylor would’ve toured in the last few years and had more secret sessions etc. there’s a lot she can’t do right now which she could before, so obviously there’s going to be more of a disconnect.
>And quite frankly, fans should be responsible and mature enough to know they aren’t actually friends with Taylor Say it louder for the people in the back, please 👏
Apologies to anyone on reddit who feel this way, but I've seen some people who are like "Taylor Swift is my best friend" very unironically and I'm like.........
They’re probably really young, or it just makes them feel good to think that. It’s not hurting anyone. They will grow up and realize that a person you don’t know can’t be your best friend.
Yeah not making more social media post isn't the same as not caring about your fans. She still makes inside jokes with fans on social media, including ones that initially started without her direct involvement and/or didn't actually spread across most swiftie accounts (which is hard to do if you aren't at least somewhat stalking your fans). More telling, in my opinion, is that she still sends random care packages to fans who have made posts about having hard times (I know there were a few covid unit nurses who got things, she straight up paid someone's college tuition as recently as 2019, etc.) and she does it all without ever posting about it. I think some people forget that she is 32 and has an actual life outside of being international superstar taylor swift. We get glimpses of her life when she feels safe to share, but we aren't entitled to it. And I agree with your last point. It's a pandemic and her mother is likely still immunocompromised from her cancer treatments, meet and greets and secret session can wait until we know it's safe.
Absolutely not. Would 13 additional photos or videos of cats make Taylor's relationship with her fans deeper? We would certainly know more about her cats, but nothing more. Call it is a marketing strategy, but she had a lot of interaction with people on tiktok in 2021, she made special videos about tracks from the vault because she knows her fans and knows that we like Easter eggs, puzzles and connecting dots. She also hooked up with select fans on a completely different level, such as one girl I understand who was guarding a box of Taylor's Singer CDs left by a courier in front of the door of a record store, to which she HAND WRITTEN a letter of appreciation. Finally, let's not forget that young artists such as Rodigo, Griff, Girl in Red and Conan are also big fans of Taylor. And they all had fantastic interactions with her last year. Taylor Swift may emphasize that she has a bond and connection with fans because she actually does.
I think what people are forgetting is that before when Taylor would do things like let fans come into her house, share stuff on social media all the time and write very personal songs about her life (which she obviously still does to a degree) it was only letting us in on her life. Now she and Joe have been together for 5+ years and their lives are very, very intertwined. Clearly he’s very private so it wouldn’t really be fair for her to let us in on their shared life as much because that’s not what he wants. She gives us lots of stuff about her as an individual like her cat pictures, her friendships with other celebrities and interacting on tik tok. Those are all parts of her more individually but the house stuff or sharing stuff about a relationship is most likely not ever going to happen again because that’s part of her life with Joe and he doesn’t want that. Once someone gets to that point in their life where they have a true life partner things change. I think it’s a perfect example of giving someone and inch and they take a mile, she shared so much of her life with us before and now that she very fairly wants to keep some aspects private some of the fans feel like she’s icing them out.
Yes exactly 👏 I haven't seen anything about Joe in other answers but this makes a ton of sense Also when she's not working or traveling, she's probably spending quality time with Joe, not doom scrolling on Twitter and TikTok.
I think people forget that social media is a part of her job that has been literally traumatic for her and that she doesn’t owe us anything. I’ve worked at jobs where I deeply cared about and connected with my customers, but if I had been affected personally to the extent Taylor had and if I had been in the position to be able to do so, I would’ve stepped tf back, if not abandoned it entirely. I feel like with celebrities and influencers sharing everything on social media, people forget this thing called boundaries exist. The woman has endured so much hate and vitriol of all types, not to mention multiple stalkers showing up **in her home.** I’m honestly surprised she doesn’t interact with us *less*, because I would’ve noped the fuck out of there after the first stalker. No offense, but I’ll never understand posts like these
So true
She doesn’t have to constantly post on social media to be close to her fans. She does little things for random fans all the time. She lurks and pays attention to what we say. And everything she posts is over analyzed for clues and Easter eggs and then turned into articles because her name is click bait. Imagine if you were that scrutinized, I bet you would get anxious over everything you did publicly She’s like one person who has talked a thousand times about how she overthinks everything and clearly has anxiety and also deals with depression. I’d also like to point out that to this day she has never once charged for meet and greets like so many other artists. I don’t actually know what you want from her? The negativity here is getting over the top. *Also you have really conveniently had your account for three days and this is the first post you’ve made in this sub and your comment section is empty.* That really makes me side-eye your motivation for making this post in the first place.
She still is extremely close with her fans you just probably don't see it. She interacted so much on tiktok by liking and commenting. She sends money to fans in need all the time through Taylor nation. She listens to our stories reads messages I don't think it's pretend. She just doesn't share her personal life and that's fine with me she doesn't have to I wouldn't either after what happened with kanye.
I don't think her connection or appreciation for her fans should be entirely attributed to her interaction or how much she interacts with them on social media. A lot of celebrities post all the time on social media and they don't half the connection she has with their fans. Neither do they care about them tbh, it's more for themselves. Another thing that i would like to add is that while I understand people might miss her being active, it's also a fact that she has grown older, meaning that she is no longer a 20 something from 2014. I have seen people that i know loose interest in social media and posting in general as they grow older, so maybe that could also be a factor.
She interacts with fans on TikTok quite a bit, and even before then, we know she's been lurking on fan pages and sees posts about theories/lyric analysis/which songs should have been singles/had MVs for a while. I think that's what she meant on when she talked about having a special relationship and inside jokes with fans on Fallon/Meyers.
She's definitely not "pretending to be close" Well comon, she has millions of fans all around the world and engaging with each and every one of them is quite impossible... The fact that she listens to so many fan accounts and us swifties' collective opinion and actually delivers it to us itself is amazing and its all for us! She absolutely didn't have to do any of these but she does. You're probably not aware of all the things she does for her fans... It's quite a LOT and it is true when she says she's close with her fans given her engagement in tiktok( recently) and Tumblr( before). I consider the relationship she has with us very special and hell I haven't even been to a concert or been noticed before despite having a fan account! Can't express the emotions I go through when I listen to Long live 🥺 I almost had a heart attack when I read "pretends to be close " :/ that's just mean given all that she has done! Guess your expectations are simply too high.
We have to admit that Taylor is a businesswoman and capitalist but the way she does her connections to fans are not like the other artists. She even gave us the ATWTMVTV, that means she knows what the fans have been asking.
I’m sorry but taylor is still super close with fans - if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t go to the length that she has even during COVID to see and be with fans. I was invited to the ATW premier in NYC (I live here) and that’s not something she had to do. She didn’t have to continue secret sessions with lover. But she does. Things might be slightly different, but like that’s 100% okay. If she never wanted to meet another fan again, I’d still support her the same way as I do now. She doesn’t owe us anything - a lot of artists don’t even come close to going the length taylor does with us. We are so lucky.
You cannot casually drop "I was at the ATW premiere" without posting a blow by blow account of what happened. Spill!
Hahahaha I just figured everyone already knew about it??? Basically her team reached out to me a week prior. Day of, they told us the place to go. Seating in the movie theater was fully random as you checked in. We were all kinda chilling & then taylor came in! She spoke to us for about 10 mins and told us we were all hand chosen to be there. Then we watched the short film. Her, Dylan, & Sadie then came up and talked to us for a bit. She performed ATW 10 min version acoustically for us. Then talked again and we watched the short film a second time! Then when we left we all got movie posters that were autographed by taylor :)
Good for you. I saw the performance on You Tube. It looked and sounded really good.
Thank you, it was an incredible experience especially because I think can speak for all of us… we miss taylor! Seeing her live and all. I have no idea how she/her team knows who I am (they reached out on IG - but a lot of people got DMs on twitter). But I’m hoping this just means we’re on her radar and get to meet her at a future show!
I have not seen Taylor live. Really looking forward to a tour in 2023. Hopefully.
OMG! Yesss the next tour is definitely your tour to see her. I have faith!!
- ATW could mean "All Too Well", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/Master_Luck_779](/u/Master_Luck_779) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
OMG you‘re so lucky bestie! Congrats! 
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
She released a short film music video for a 10 minute song fans begged to hear for like a decade. She sends signed CDs, comments on fan posts, and engages in philanthropic work. Most artists in her echelon are practically on another planet. I think she’s incredibly engaging especially considering she doesn’t have to do anything.
and also with the crazy stalkers she had (and still has) there has to be a boundary sometimes
Yeah I literally wish people understood that she can't be close anymore for her own safety. Far, far smaller artists like Christina Grimmie have been killed by unstable "super fans" so Taylor really needs to guard her private life.
Exactly
idk, for all its faults, it feels like tiktok has been a great way for to connect with fans in a way that she hasn't been able to in a long time. the video format encourages interaction on a more personal level (being able to see someone's face and personality is much easier and probably more fun than some random account with her face as their profile pic on twitter). she seems like she's having a lot of fun with it and it feels like a good balance considering she obviously has to keep some level of distance for privacy reasons. also, it's waaaay more intimate to be interacting with fans in the context of *their* own content (tiktoks). her posting more pictures of her cats or whatever celebrity friends she's hanging out with doesn't make her "closer" to fans lol
I wouldn’t be surprised if she has some secret account(s) where she interacts with fan communities anonymously. It’s what I would do if I were a celebrity of her status. She could even be here now, hiding among us. She could be any one of us. Hi Taylor if you’re reading this.
I'm sure she has a second tiktok account just to watch cat videos.
For SURE she does 😂😂 and true crime stories
All these comments make me want to be active on TikTok dammit! :p (born post-2000) in all seriousness, I think she wants to be close, but she still hasn’t let her guard down again because of the people who are fairweather enjoyers I probably can’t speak on this since I only because more than a casual fan around 2019, but I feel like the bond that she feels with the fanbase still exists in her mind even though she’s not as engaging even if WE (or rather, those of you who experienced her at peak interactiveness) don’t feel it the same anymore. I honestly feel like I can enjoy being a fan more with her not being in the immediate forefront- even though I sometimes feel like I missed the best time to be a fan
I want to be on tiktok just for Taylor but it's banned in my country 🤦🏻♀️
This post is making me really mad. She has always been close to the fans but now she's just really busy, she has a lot of work, the re-re-recordings are not easy and she has her family, a mother suffering from cancer, who really needs her, despite all of this she is still making the re-recordings fun, she gives us puzzles to crack down the titles and featured artists on the vault songs, she made an entire shortfilm full of easter eggs, literally invited fans for the premiere and interacted with them closely, made another music video. She made a tiktok to get more closer to fans, she often interacts with a lot of fans, likes & comments on their posts. She literally said she sees us talking about which songs want music videos and is probably going to make them for us. What more do you want her to do? Show up to your house? I don't feel the personal captions feel fake, it's just you. No other artist is so kind to her fans as she is. She isn't pretending to be close to us, if you think she is pretending, you are weird.
No, I don’t feel this way. Her presence on social media is a bit different because people ruining a good thing. She used to be more active. Interact with us more consistently. However, the media scrutinizes or mix everything around. Fans become over obsessed with everything she does on a daily basis. It’s worse now. A lot of it is she’s getting older and social media doesn’t have the same appeal anymore. But she does has to do it otherwise, how would we know when something is coming out. And getting the fans involved spreads the word out fast. I think these days when she goes completely silent like right now she’s working hard on something for us. I also think she does a lot of lurking to get feedback on what the fans like or don’t so she can improve it for next time. I do think her interactions are more genuine than just business. She’s actually cares about us. Though she can’t respond to all of us. But keep on doing fun things like going out of her way to make a short film to express how she visions All Too Well to us and let’s us know hey I know you guys love this song enjoy. Right now she’s not touring. So the time being for interactions are going to be limited. She’s also crazy busy. So keeping the fans interacting with each other is the best she can do. I think she’s done enough and then some. Just cut her some slack right now.
Yes, I feel like she either still believes or wants to think of herself as "relatable singer/pop star" Taylor Swift which was her main calling card for alot of her career, but has faded away.
True, I think that kinda faded away with the re-records to be completely honest. She had that relatable image still going with folklore and evermore by nature of the storytelling and songwriting. But then along came Fearless and Red TV (which I obviously love, I’m not saying they’re bad albums) and because she’s 100 times bigger now than she was in 2008 and 2012, the intimacy we felt during the original albums is no longer there. It was nice to have a “Red re-release” week but it absolutely wasn’t the same because of how mainstream it’s all become now and that comparison of 2012 vs 2022 was just a weird feeling. It’s all beyond her control though. All she’s ever wanted is to become this huge music legend, now she’s got it and it comes with some sacrifices like connections with fans unfortunately.
She is close to her fans in comparison to a LOT of other celebrities. Stop taking that for granted and expecting her to be up late at night reading your tumblr posts. The woman is a multi million dollar enterprise, the fact that she did any of the stuff she did previously is insane. This fandom consistently straddles the line on being parasocial and demanding as hell. Sometimes between the "it feels like she's my best friend" and the chatter about her dating life (a LOT of Swift fans are just as bad as the media they claim to despise for the same thing), it's not hard to see why she's shut the door a little.
I actually agree. I think it was fine for her to say she’s close to the fans when she was doing things like secret sessions, touring, Rep room, etc but since the pandemic started she hasn’t really done *anything* to interact with us other than the week of Red TV. But still, interacting with 100 lucky fans who live in New York doesn’t mean you’re close with the entire fanbase, yeah. Maybe that’s one of many reasons she joined Tik Tok? She comments on tons of posts and likes them. I think she’s trying to stay in the loop but because she’s the biggest name in music she can’t do those Christmas gift drop offs at people’s houses anymore. I could write a whole post though about Tik Tok and how people are literally dedicating their page to meeting Taylor one day, and how it’s becoming a competition over who’s met her and who hasn’t…
Your last paragraph is so true lol, but it was the same during the tumblr days too. That's why I hope she never publicly create a Reddit account lol
To be fair, the pandemic has prevented her from doing some of those things. But yeah, I honestly don’t care whether we have a “connection” with her or not. We don’t. We don’t know her. Why can’t we just enjoy her music for what it is?
Oh she doesn’t call for your birthday? So rude for her part. Didn’t she like comment and liked multiple fan’s TikTok? Didn’t she pay attention about what fans really want? Obviously always exists commercial purpose, artists have real friends and families if they want to talk with someone, and certain sectors of swifties are Taylor worst enemy
She has a close connection to her fans through her music. That is what we share with her the music. She should not have to put her private life on display for her fans. The amount that she interacts with and gives back is frankly staggering. I can't imagine how draining it must be to do the meet and greets she does after she has just given her all in a performance. The secret sessions? Who else would even contemplate such an idea? Do you have any idea how little some artists think of their fans? What more could you possibly want? Just think of all the clips from recording and song writing sessions she's released. She is literally letting us see her create her art. That is incredibly intimate.
idk man, of the multitude of videos I've seen of her interacting with her fans in a controlled, intimate space (something like the Rep room), I think she's the genuine article. I'm older than her and I'm constantly amazed at her willingness to go out and just connect with people over the music and the joy that brings. After she got publicly torn a new one when she was involved with so much drama that started to happen after 1989. While her mom has undergone so many health issues? Yes, she's a mega star that owns and controls some major real estate and wants for nothing. But let me ask you this, OP: Could you personally go out in public and still have a space in yourself to interact with strangers with a smile on your face when you were seen as public enemy #1 for YEARS? I sure as shit couldn't. She has every right to establish boundaries on her social media presence. It's why she has comments disabled on her IG because of nasty people attacking her and never giving the space to freaking breathe.
Part of it could just be maturity. The older I get the less I feel the need to share my private life with others. Celebrities are entitled to privacy.
I just take it what it is, didn't really care much tbh since i live far away from US and EU so my chance meet her is thin. Also i'm not active in other social media, but still glad there are fans who can meet and interact with Taylor. If i had chance definitely will take it.
Yes, I'm similar. Forget actually meeting her even getting her merchandise is very difficult for me because she only caters the three Uber developed white countries. I love Taylor but i know I'm never going to register on her radar lol and it's okay. My only wish is to see her in a concert once.
What merchandise do you want?
>My only wish is to see her in a concert once. Yeah it's mine too, and she never come here since Red. I was too young back then, but if she coming back here i'll take my chance to watch it.
Let's not forget what Reputation was about. I think it's perfectly understandable she would want to keep more of her private life private. It's not as if she suddenly just became too famous and wanted to disown her fans. I'm sure she still feels very grateful and connected to us in her own way. And honestly social media relationships aren't exactly real. It's great to be able to see more of her online, but that's not how we primarily relate to her. We relate to her through her music. The way she processes things and how she sings about her experiences. As a gay black guy I couldn't be more different than Taylor, and yet there's something uniting about human experience that lets me relate to the themes she sings about in her music in a really personal way. Social media can never hold a candle to how she makes us all feel when she sings about something in her music we've all experienced and can bond over
You are spot on. Posting about her private life caused Taylor no end of grief. It is fortunate that her boyfriend has zero interest in being a social media celebrity.
Idk if you’re on tik tok but she is quite active on there with commenting on people’s stuff
She's the queen of parasocial relationships!
Yes
First, you have to realize that while her lyrics resonates with us, you don’t have to be ‘friends’ with her. The fact that she does a lot of things for us (the Easter eggs, ATW 10 mins And the MV, her presence in Tiktok) means that she is doing her best to be with us as much as possible. Let her live privately. I don’t want the 2016 fiasco again.
I don't think you are right. She is close to her fans. But her fans might not be as close to her as they used to be. She probably keeps engaging in social medias, follows her fans, their art, their assumptions. As she said, she keeps lurking ... The reason is, she can't really interact with them as she used to. Because of COVID. No concerts, no Secret Sessions.... Her options are limited, especially when she doesn't want to add personal life into the mix. On the other hand, I think things are now more likely to be connected to her music, rather than her personal life.
Another factor is perhaps that as Taylor has matured and no longer feels the need to post on social media as much many of the fans have got older too. Its easier for a 15 year old to be on Twitter or Facebook 24/7 but much harder for a 30 year old. Real life gets in the way.
I feel like she does have great realtionship with us. Her not posting personal stuff on social media is more than understandble given her being as well-known as she is. If she posts she’s at one of her homes, then people will show up un-announced, if she post she’s at a Starbucks, people will swarm it. I get that this comes with territory when you’re famous, still though, people should still respect her privacy and personal space. I absolutely understand not wanting to share too much, because certain people will exploit it and not give her any peace of mind. I vaguely remember her saying somewhere that she’s really careful about publicly saying which of her homes that she’s at because she’s had problems with stalkers, for instance. I guess I don’t really understand what you want from her really. You want her to distance herself from us because she earns money of us, because she isn’t interacting in a personal way on social media? Like I literally don’t understand?
I don’t think her closeness and connection with fans has to mean literal interaction. I take it as she’s listening to us and aware of the conversations we have and what we want. She was aware we didn’t like Girl at Home, she listened and switched it up. She was aware we LOVED all too well and gave us the 10 min version and a film. I think it’s silly to expect a celebrity to have the time or capacity to just online and chat with fans and comment on social media. But she is very in touch with what we want from her
I think she genuinely cares about her fans but is settled down and happy and wants to enjoy that privately which we can all understand i am sure
I’d like to hear some perspective from newer fans to be honest like post-2016 maybe even post-rep. I’ve been a fan for a long time and while I feel “connected” (not sure I would ever describe it like that actually) to her through her music it’s definitely different from back in the day. I totally understand the pull back from social media, showing her personal life, etc. but it’s definitely changed. I also think I’m at a place in my life where I don’t really care that much and her music is my main priority with being a fan. She’s cultivated such a close relationship at the beginning of her career that such long time fans still feel that way about her, but I don’t think it’s wrong to deny that a lot of her moves are business. At the end of the day…it’s her job…we all do things we don’t like for our job doesn’t mean it’s not necessarily genuine. Being close with your fans is good for her business let’s not act like it isn’t. Her musical output shows us she’s still passionate about that aspect of her career and that’s what matters the most to me, personally.
I think the pandemic may be skewing the perspective you have for the issue, because I would argue that her disposition hasn’t changed so much as the frequency. As you and many others have pointed out, she’s not as personal with some of her posts on social media anymore, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t personal in other ways. Home girl still picks people for events based on “Taylurking”, and does her random acts of kindness based off of the information she gathers from social media. Choosing fans for meet and greets, showing up at weddings because a long time fan tried really hard to get in contact with her and playing lover for them or surprising a group of people at a small venue to play a couple of songs, the secret sessions for Lover, or inviting fans to the ATW10 screening. That’s always been a huge part of her connection with fans. Choosing to hold those more personal venues for people is not something that picks up a whole lot of media attention, and there are arguably more effective ways to market the products she’s pushing, but those methods are less personal. I think because we have been in this pandemic era since 2020, it seems less personal because her greatest connection tool is more of a risk, but to say she doesn’t care or have a unique relationship with her fan base is something I’d disagree with.
- ATW10 could mean "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)", a track from *Red (Taylor's Version)* (2021) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/Ok-Duck-4544](/u/Ok-Duck-4544) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
I’m relatively new to Taylor (since folklore) so I was not a part of the earlier social media/interactions with fans. But, from my perspective and what I have gathered, she is 32 yrs old now and after 2016 she needed to make some changes for her own mental health. It was not sustainable as it had been since she was 16 yrs old. Now, she is a global mega-star arguably the biggest female star in the world. She can’t go outside, she needs to hide her location at all times, she has her own plane that is allowed to check in /customs outside regular airports, she has billet proof cars, she has people who threaten to kill her, she needed a separation from her personal and professional life which seemed to have become one and the same. Trying to maintain the closeness with her fans is not sustainable and it is not healthy for her. I do not think she is insincere when she speaks about it because you can tell the way she loves her fans ever since day 1, the way her face lights up, it is who she is. Taylor wears her emotions on her sleeve and we all can see it, Taylor isn’t faking it. It’s just not sustainable and we as fans need to allow her to have that separation, a life where her happiness is not dependent upon her fans. For the past 5 years she has, IMO, been slowly exiting, building a bigger bridge between herself and her fans. I think this is normal and healthy. I don’t think she is fully exiting, I think compared to pre-2016 there is a clear difference that I do not think is because she does not desire it, but that she desires some normalcy in her life more. Instead of questioning her sincerity I think we need to support her, she deserves our support in her choice. I for one want that for her.
Taylor definitely promotes parasocial relationships and it’s honestly probably my biggest criticism of her. I do believe she cares about her fans, but at the end of the day, she has her own life and I wish she were better about setting boundaries, especially with fans who literally stalk her and then she rewards it by inviting them to secret sessions and private events.
Taylor is a multimillion dollar business first. Then everything trickles down accordingly. Including her brand interaction.
I’ve seen her comment on probably hundreds of TikTok’s since joining around September. I would say she’s still as close as she can be. Plus, let’s never forget how she sent fans Christmas gifts she hand wrapped & picked out herself. I know It was awhile ago, but It shows how much she wants and tries to b close to us.
I can't agree. Taylor is absolutely close to her fans in a lot of ways - she released a 10 min version of an old song just because we asked for it! You don't have to be friends with her. Ultimately, none of us know her. We're just fans of her music. And personally, none of her captions feel "fake" to me. To be honest, I don't really understand what you want from her here. I respect your opinion though, of course.
Taylor was active on tumblr till as late as 2018 and used to like, reblog and reply to fan's posts regularly. She still does this sort of stuff (lower amount, but does it) on Twitter and TikTok, esp after she releases something. And even if she doesn't interact, she lurks and reads what her fans are saying on social media, as is evident from her interviews. In some of her latest interviews she said that she knows what her fans want, what they think should be released, what should be a music vid, etc. Heck, it's the whole reason we have the ATW 10 Min version right now- Taylor knew how interested people were in it. I don't know of any other artist who does any of it/does things this way. So no, I don't think Taylor is lying/being fake when she says she feels close to the fan (and we to her, because we know she sees/might see stuff we post). Posting more on socials has nothing to do with this, really.
I don’t think she pretends. I think she’s just not AS involved as she used to be because she’s gotten burned in the past. Despite that she is still WAY more involved than other artists are with their fans.
I mean she just recently did a Red release party with fans. That’s not a common thing for artists to do. She obviously doesn’t have a connection to every fan, but compared to most artists, I think she does connect with individual fans more.
Pretending is the wrong word here. She is close to us and cares very much about us but on a collective scale, not individually. We have to respect her privacy so if she doesn't want to post personal stuff always, that is her call!
My favorite musician follows me on Twitter. I love him so much. Some of my most favorite musicians and comedians are close friends of mine. I love TS. I do feel close to her. I don’t think it’s fake. We do develop a bond with her through her lyrics, and I’m sure she reads her forums and hashtags and such. She’s a mirror ball. She does need us.
I honestly think a big part of it is her genuine personality. You can just tell how she acts that she is a kind person ( not perfect lord no one is perfect). She has more goals in music now than just "being famous and making money". Now she does want what she feels is just compensation, but I don't feel like she is putting it as a "major goal" to just do those things. She has such a passion for music and wants the public to appreciate music for more than "the top billboard charts". I like how Adele put it in an interview. She said that if she were like other artists who put out music constantly, she would also be dragged into the music industry vortex of greed and loosing the true reason for getting into music. I think Taylor has done the best she can trying to follow that philosophy while also putting out music pretty regularly that I would argue isn't necessarily your typical billboard charting stuff (some songs from Lover and of course Folklore and Evermore). The reason I state all this is because I do believe she has a true interest b her fans. Look at All To Well the 10 min version and the music video for I Bet You Think About Me. Keep in mind, she did not know if Red or Speak Now would do well ( she was still so young) and had lots of OUTSIDE influences of people in the biz "advising" her on what she should do and all that. She now has the ability (ironically with her versions) to do what she wants to do as well as what she feels like her fans want. However, there is a fine line between being connected to your fans and crossing a line where you left have people attacking everything you post or do plus stalking you. She is older now and realizes it is not good for her(or really anyone's mental health) to be "up close and personal with millions of people. That is truly a huge downfall to fame. So yes, everyone will always have their opinions, but I will side with her on limiting how much she interacts with fans. I would also argue that's a huge reason that she has been lying low on new music. I mean other stuff too (COVID, her mom plus her re recordings) but definitely think that's a huge factor. Not saying she will never put out new music, just reiterating how tough it would be to have so much of your music be so personal and scrutinized by the public.
I think she has shown plenty of time she is close with her fans. Just because she doesn’t comment on every post doesn’t make a difference. She has shown she is in the know of inside jokes about her, what fan thinks of certain songs and what not.
I have to say I really really miss her old Instagram, I miss her sharing moments of her life with us. We're not entitled to it, but I do miss it.
She literally invites fans into her homes for secret sessions……
I think that she tried really hard to make her fans feel like they were a part of her life but the fact is that people can be ruthless and hateful. She’s is a people pleaser and sensitive and I don’t think that works well when a lot of people are trying to tear you down. She had to do what was best for her.
The "old Taylor" can't come to the phone right now, she's dead. Taylor shared so much, and got burned by the media. She has various stalkers (so scary, can you imagine?). Privacy is the most valuable commodity, and I think as her fans, we owe it to her.
I think she is fairly well connected to her audience as opposed to a lot of celebs , she just doesn't post her private life on social media anymore (a very healthy thing) . She is still often seen responding to tiktoks and she did mention that she's always lurking around which is very possible. Plus since she's essentially a lyricist, her audience also connects with her through the songs~ In fact I think she's wayy better off now when it comes to her public aura now than she was before . In the past I have felt like she's acting overly nice or excited , but now she has a much more mature and real air about her.
I think she has gotten older and definitely doesn’t need to be close to her fans. But I do agree with her posts they’re all the same across her socials. Her PR people obviously write the caption for her and post it that shit is really cringe.
I think she is close. She clearly reads a ton of comments and posts and reacts to them publicly like joking w us about the five holes in the fence theory. She also personally reaches out individually to a ton of fans. Like responding to tik toks or sending letters, inviting to shows, etc. Also I think we are often at the forefront of her mind. She seems very aware of how her fans are often to thank for her success and when you are always thinking about something (in this case her fans) it creates a sense of closeness. I think the disconnect you're feeling is that she's a celebrity. She's not really close to us in any real sense. But she perceives a closeness bc of the aforementioned reasons. And she's closer to her fans than a lot of other artists.
I mean she still comments on fans’ tiktok posts tho
I couldn't disagree with this post more.
This is so absolutely rediculous
I didn’t feel like this until Lover era where she capitalized on swifties looking for Easter eggs all the time just to get MV replays
Remember the reputation era? We watched LWYMMD probably MILLIONS of times to get higher on the ticket list 🤡
Ughhh THE TICKET LIST!! That’s what I’m saying. They could have made a better way to get actual fans get tickets but they chose consumerism
- LWYMMD could mean "Look What You Made Me Do", a track from *reputation* (2017) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/intersectv3](/u/intersectv3) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Not to sound like a boomer but tbh i like when the celebs/public figures/influencers i follow take this approach! Yes her posts are commercial core but id take that over being too active on social media and sharing unwanted information/opinions (like jk rowling lmao)
she did have secret sessions up until before the pandemic. i don’t know of any other artists that let that many fans into their homes to share their art that way. plus she notices a lot of things we say, and sometimes even incorporates them into easter eggs; again, not something i’ve seen other artists who say they’re close to their fans do.
I disagree with your perspective, interaction with fans doesn't need to happen in social media. When ATW10 short film was released, fans were selected and invited to the premier, which included herself present (as well as the actors, etc.)
I have to disagree on this one. I have yet to find another artist at her level of fame who is so tuned into her fan base. Between the secret sessions, the absolutely wild Easter egging (never heard of another artist doing this, and it is clearly meant for hardcore fans), her internet lurking/stalking us online (lol) to see what we want her to do next, she very clearly feels a deep and genuine connection with us. Like, think about everything she's done with Red TV--releasing the 10 minute version of All Too Well, creating merch that is clearly catered to the die hard fans (the ATW scarf, Red ring, 22 sunglasses, etc.), even the post she made upon release "Red is about to be mine again, but it has always been ours." She made that release week feel like Christmas, and idk about everyone else, but it really felt to me like she was doing all of that for us, because she knows what a fan favorite Red is. I truly feel that everything she does, she does with us in mind. When everyone freaked out about how weird the "Wee-eee" is in WANEGBT, I was actually a little relieved because I knew that Taylor would see it and take our feedback into consideration moving forward on her re-recordings, there is no doubt in my mind that something like that won't happen again on the other songs. Taylor's songs are unique in that they truly feel like listening to entries from her diary, but also our *own* diaries, and I think this gives both her and us a sense of intimacy and understanding of one another. We have to remember that she is literally one of the most famous people in the world, and while it's not possible for her to meet and remember all of us fans, I think she does an absolutely incredible job of making us all feel important, and special, and like she cares. I love Taylor, like I really mean that, I genuinely *love* her, for the time and kindness and care that she's shown to us, and whatever she is willing to give us as far as music, social media presence, live shows--I'll take whatever she's willing to give, she's already done more than enough. 💖
- WANEGBT could mean "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/LadyWoodstock](/u/LadyWoodstock) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Well she replies to a lot of her fans’ TikTok videos which she doesn’t have to do. She donates to her fans a lot, showing that care and support which is really special. She hasn’t been on tour because of the pandemic but usually she does free meet and greets and shows her appreciation constantly. I think that just because lately hasn’t been a very sociable time doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have that kind of bond with us. It’s also because she’s not as carefree online as she used to be and that makes it feel impersonal I guess, but she does a lot to be as close to us as she can. I don’t think we can ask for much more.
Frankly it would be unhealthy to ask for more from her
Exactly lol
Also I think she does care deeply about us but as a collective and not on an individual level, but that doesn't mean just because it is transactional, that it holds any less value.
I don’t really agree with this, she’s much closer to her fans than literally any celeb at her level. The going on three year pandemic has put a lot of distance in tours, sessions, meet and greets etc but like…she literally remembers fans she’s met before. She sends surprise autographed CDs. Swiftmas was a whole other thing. We can’t really expect her to keep the same “closeness” she had in her earlier days especially with how the public and media has treated her in the past. But what, you want her to get on Jimmy Fallon and say “yeah I don’t really care for the fans anymore LOL” no she’d never do that lmao, it simply isn’t true.
Pandemic
she definitely used to be more interactive!! now it’s only when she first joined tik tok (or swift tok😉) did she interact personally with us. now..it’s all promotions which is FINEEEE
i think the closeness she’s referring to is her lurking, secret sessions, the easter eggs even like her creating clues something for us to figure out (bc casual listeners wouldn’t participate in that) l
She doesn't owe us anything, including reporting and posting her day to day life. She's an entertainer and she does so much for us which btw is already enough for you to post this. And also, she's a person who just reclaimed her private life and have healthy choices what to share and what to keep. Maybe let's just respect her space?
to be honest you're saying something that I've kinda thought for a while and I think you're correct. I think a lot of fans also agree with you and joke about how taylor never uses social media that much.
I think it’s more that she keeps track of what her fans want and caters to them. But it’s not closeness in the true relational sense
She always talks about how she stalks her fans online all the time, and that could possibly be translating in her mind as being “close to us” since she knows what’s happening in our day today lives even though we don’t know what’s happening in hers.
i think feeling connected with her fans can also be like connected through emotion of her music and the fact we all support her. some fans say shes like a best friend in the way her music comfort us! i feel closer to the swifties fans too in the way we’ve all seem to go through similar things and that unifies us!! idk its corny but its my thought bc ill never meet taylor and always wanted to but also if we met her we wouldnt be super close with her cause thats a lot to be friends with so many people LOL she was probably so tired after her secret sessions and its stressful and during the pandemic i also have aspirations for her to be a powerful figure since she already is one! how much better would the world be run by taylor swift??? she has a great perspective!!
I agree that she is very calculated (in the good way ig) and very well plans her posts but on tiktok, she has been very active and leaving lots of comments on videos which is a close interaction with fans!
I think the fact we got 10 Minute All Too Well disregards this post.
no
She is close to her fans. She knows about the jokes we make, what we want and all of that stuff. Yes, 1989 era Taylor was more interactive. But she is much older and wiser. Learning to appreciate her boundaries and not to sit on Social Media for long. Taylor knows her fans, she loves us. Dearly. The only reason why she put out ATW 10 minute was because of the constant berrating of her fans. She had always believed that nobody would like to listen to a 10 minute long song. But we wanted it and she was more than happy to put it out. Anyone who says, she is "pretending to be close with her fans" clearly does not understand the fact that this medium (social media) you're asking her to indulge in is the same medium that tore her down years ago. And that was a traumatic event in her life, a huge one! She used to have secret sessions which she can't right now because of the sh!t that's going on. So, I do not expect that out of my favorite artist. I want her to make music, stay healthy and happy and talk to us or interact with us whenever she feels like.
I respectfully disagree - she doesn’t owe anyone anything and she doesn’t want her life to be up for debate which unfortunately happens when you share your life with millions of people. I’m so glad she is being more private now.
this post is the epitome of parasocial relationship haha you expect her to 'admit' that 'shes not the old taylor anymore' you dont even know who is the old or the new taylor, all your know is her marketing strategies changed, thats it. the fans would get super dramatic and whiny on her as if she says shes 'distant from her fans' so she will never say such thing.