In a recent interview with Time, Taylor Swift discussed the emotional harm caused by her conflict with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. She also criticized the music industry for its treatment of young pop artists, as she was named the publication’s person of the year.
After a successful year headlining the highly profitable Eras tour, Swift expressed her disappointment with the music industry’s tendency to prioritize short-term success over nurturing and developing its artists. She believes that record labels often discard their artists once they reach the age of 29, just as they are starting to fully understand and cope with the demands of their career. In the past, it seemed like labels would simply throw a group of young musicians into the spotlight and see what happens, only to replace them when they became more experienced. In response, Swift has made a conscious effort to reinvent herself with each new album, recognizing that labels are always searching for the next big thing. She sees it as a way to stay ahead of the game and make it harder for them to replace her.
She strongly criticized her first six albums’ label, Big Machine, for tightly controlling her artistic decisions. She stated, “Every creative decision I wanted to make was questioned. I was constantly overthinking these albums.”
Their professional partnership came to a bitter end, as Swift strongly objected to the transfer of her Big Machine albums to music manager Scooter Braun, with whom she had ongoing conflict. In an interview with Time, she expressed her belief that her masters were being sold to someone who had malicious intentions.
Braun has not provided any feedback on the interview, but has previously stated that there may have been misunderstandings in the agreement and the commotion surrounding it. He acknowledged that he believed it was unjust, but also acknowledged that the other party may have felt the same way.
Swift’s dislike for Braun stems from his time managing Kanye West. West had released a song called “Famous” which included the lyrics, “I made that bitch famous”, alluding to a previous disagreement between Swift and West. Swift publicly expressed her disapproval of the lyrics, but faced criticism after Kim Kardashian, West’s former wife, leaked a recording of a phone call between West and Swift in which it seemed like Swift had given her approval for the song. However, a longer version of the video proved Swift’s innocence by showing that she had not approved the use of the word “bitch”.
The ongoing dispute received widespread coverage in the media and online platforms for many years, and had a negative impact on Swift’s reputation (as evidenced by the title of her sixth album). In an interview with Time, she acknowledged, “My career was unjustly taken away from me.” She further explained how an illicitly recorded phone conversation, manipulated by Kim Kardashian, was released to the public, portraying her as a dishonest person. This experience had a severe psychological toll on Swift, causing her to isolate herself in a foreign country and avoid social interactions. She also became distrustful of those close to her and experienced a significant decline in her mental and emotional well-being.
Kardashian has not provided a response, but stated in 2020 that the word “bitch” was used without her consent. She also denied editing the footage and clarified that she only shared a few clips on Snapchat to express her point. In addition, she claimed that Swift pressured her into defending West. In a 2016 interview, Kardashian also stated that Swift gave approval for the controversial line.
Swift spoke proudly about 2017’s Reputation – which was seen by some as a failure on release but is now much championed by Swift fans – calling it “a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure”.
In a recent interview with Time, she also talks about her highly scrutinized romantic relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce, her ongoing effort to re-record her albums from her time with Big Machine, and addresses the comparisons being made between her Eras and Beyoncé’s Renaissance tours, both of which have resulted in successful concert films. She expresses frustration with the media and fans pitting women against each other for profit.
In a more general sense, the speaker expressed joy over the current trend of female pop stars being popular. The majority of nominations for the 2024 Grammy awards are held by female artists, which is encouraging. The speaker believes that if we view this in a cynical manner, the rise of feminine concepts being profitable will lead to an increase in female-created art. This is very uplifting.
Source: theguardian.com
