# Can someone explain the Taylor Swift phenomenon to me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 19, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339 "2023-03-19T02:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/382 "2023-10-28T22:08:26Z")
Huh, I didn’t know that. I’d always heard she gave up country for Pop stardom. TIl: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/383 "2023-10-28T22:28:33Z")
My understanding is that she was ambitious and wanted artistically to go beyond country and expand her audience. Also, I heard she was getting weary of “bro country” and felt pop was a better genre to have her types of songs heard and have the creative freedom to do so. She was never middling when it came to her country work. She has had 108 songs on the country charts, including 9 number ones, and 36 top tens. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/384 "2023-10-28T22:37:44Z")
I definitely misspoke. I should have relied on old comments from friends. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/385 "2023-10-29T00:58:49Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > who listens to broadcast radio these days I had the same thought, but it turns out people in cars listen to broadcast radio, who’d’ve guessed? Data suggests that in their cars people who do not have CarPlay or Android Auto spend 67% of the time listening to the radio, and those with the phone connection systems spend 46% of their time listening to the radio. > **[In-Car Listening and Infotainment Systems - Edison Research](https://www.edisonresearch.com/in-car-listening-and-infotainment-systems/?__s=ahqades9i9nliancf029)** > > This post is from Edison’s Weekly Insights email. Please click here if you would like to subscribe. Choices, choices. The in-car audio landscape today offers myriad options, including radio receivers, satellite radio receivers, voice-activated... ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/386 "2023-10-29T04:50:38Z")
Yeah, my wife, who drives a 2008 Toyota, listens to broadcast radio in her car all the time. It’s much easier than trying to rig up a system for streaming, especially when cell service is hit-or-miss in this area. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/387 "2023-10-29T08:44:07Z")
According to conservatives Taylor is a serious danger to America. Check out these National Review articles. BTW WFB hated the Beatles as well. > **[Taylor Swift | National Review](https://www.nationalreview.com/tag/taylor-swift/)** ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/388 "2023-10-29T11:11:50Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Yeah, my wife, who drives a 2008 Toyota, listens to broadcast radio in her car all the time. It’s much easier than trying to rig up a system for streaming, especially when cell service is hit-or-miss in this area. i think the bigger point was “today - compared to 10 or 20 years ago - a whole lot of people is not listening to broadcast radio” … as father of 3 teenage kids I can attest to that. (come to think of it, we actually do not have any radio-receiver in the house anymore, and haven’t had for years) would be interested to find numbers like “ **broadcast radio minutes per head and year listened** ” for the recent past. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/389 "2023-10-29T15:13:16Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Data suggests that in their cars people who do not have CarPlay or Android Auto spend 67% of the time listening to the radio, and those with the phone connection systems spend 46% of their time listening to the radio. More than I would have guessed. Though the same outfit determined that [radio is a pretty slim part](https://www.insideradio.com/free/audio-is-finding-an-audience-among-gen-zs-but-they-re-unlike-previous-generations/article_4b17bd3e-97ca-11ed-a75e-df363dd981a4.html) of the Gen Z overall listening. Most of their music experiences happen outside of the car. > “The smartphone is how they find out about trends to how they learn new things. And of course, it’s how they consume audio,” said Edison Senior Director of Research Gabriel Soto. “These kids prefer to tap into digital audio sources,” he said during a webinar Wednesday. Edison’s [Media Habits of Gen Z](http://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Media-Habits-of-Gen-Z-from-Edison-Research-and-PRPD.pdf) found 37% of Gen Zs said they had listened to radio in the past week compared to 60% for older demos. And Gen Zs overall spend 15% of their audio time with radio compared to a 43% share for those over 25, Edison says. The study rather unhelpfully lumps everyone 25+ as one group so there’s no information on how Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X and older demographics compare in radio usage though I assume it’s a predictable increase in share along with increase in age. But even with that large lumping, radio isn’t even 50% of the average 25+ or older person’s audio consumption. They also separate “Streaming” from “YouTube” (huh?) which makes me wonder what falls into their “Other” category. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/390 "2023-10-29T19:20:16Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > They also separate “Streaming” from “YouTube” (huh?) YouTube is audio and video, and functions pretty differently than Pandora/Spotify/etc. As for “Other”, I bet it’s things like videos on Facebook, watching a concert in VR in Fortnite or Roblox, and other weird corner cases. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/391 "2023-10-29T19:29:46Z")
> [@Ted\_Striker](#): > > forcing aside rock, punk rock, house, acid house, techno, New Romantic pop, heavy metal, etc. There’s tons of most of these genres music being made. And they’re more accessible than ever. Turn off the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/392 "2023-10-29T19:57:39Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > YouTube is audio and video, and functions pretty differently than Pandora/Spotify/etc. I’m aware of what Youtube is but (a) YouTube also has an audio service and (b) even standard YouTube is still streaming, same as Netflix is streaming. Also, quite a few people just use standard Youtube as their streaming audio. Set up a play list or let it auto-play suggestions and turn the screen off. ---
**Author:** ![Ted\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Ted\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ted_Striker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/393 "2023-10-29T20:04:05Z")
No duh on that, that’s why I listed a few stations (plus one YouTube channel) that _don’t_ play Swiftboob’s (my name for her) mediocre ‘music’ but play great current music that _isn’t_ pop. Good for your wife from breaking away from the clutches of current Top Forty pop-addicted commercial radio (but you _could_ still give you wife the info on the stations I mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Ted\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Ted\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ted_Striker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/394 "2023-10-29T20:06:12Z")
Oh, but I’ve done so; all that I listen to (_ **sometimes** _) is [Indie 88](https://indie88.com). ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/395 "2023-10-29T20:06:46Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > even standard YouTube is still streaming, same as Netflix is streaming I think there’s a fairly obvious difference between the functionality and intent of Spotify/Pandora/Amazon Music/etc. and Netflix, don’t you? Yes, both use the term “streaming” - and this should have been a good opportunity to use a different term - but this seems overly pedantic. > [@Jophiel](#): > > quite a few people just use standard Youtube as their streaming audio Yes - 23%, as was listed in your citation. But despite people’s ability to fit that round peg into that square hole, it seems a meaningful distinction to separate YouTube from dedicated streaming audio apps. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/396 "2023-10-29T20:13:07Z")
Like Bob Dylan, I respect her more as a poet than as a musician. And like Bob Dylan, her fans, and some musicians, excoriate me for that opinion. Whatever. De gustibus. I have enormous respect for her body of work, and can’t think of another pop star who has written as many of their own hits. Still the music itself just isn’t the kind that appeals to me, and I sometimes have trouble understanding the words when she sings. So I like her best on a youtube with the video in the background and the closed captions on. I wouldn’t imagine myself particularly enjoying a concert. But the OP asked why her fans are so rabidly, well, fanatic, so here’s what I think. She has honestly and sincerely dug deep and, like any really good poet, expressed her raw emotion for all the world to see. And when somebody does that, and it happens to resonate with your own personal story, it is a profoundly bonding experience. Add in a bunch of bitter middle-aged-male reviewers tearing her apart for having exactly the emotions and experiences her fans are concurrently going through, and they become terrifically defensive of her as well. Remember “Leave Brittany alone?” Same phenomenon, stronger woman. They see her hurting, healing, opening up again, loving again, and they are along for the journey. She’s a willing self-reporting Truman Show with a catchy beat. She gives hope to millions of her young fans, and her courage puts me to shame. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/397 "2023-10-29T20:13:43Z")
> [@Ted\_Striker](#): > > Swiftboob’s (my name for her) Well aren’t you clever. ---
**Author:** ![Ted\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Ted\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ted_Striker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/398 "2023-10-29T20:14:06Z")
I’ll go you one better, echoreply-this article from about a decade back; [Radio Losing The Dashboard | Media Attache](http://mediaattache.blogspot.com/2008/02/radio-losing-dashboard.html) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/399 "2023-10-29T20:19:56Z")
Moderating: > [@Ted\_Striker](#): > > Swiftboob’s (my name for her Please don’t use sexist or sexually charged language to describe public figures, especially ones (like musicians) whose claim to bring in the public eye is based on something other than their appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/400 "2023-10-29T20:26:04Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I think there’s a fairly obvious difference between the functionality and intent of Spotify/Pandora/Amazon Music/etc. and Netflix, don’t you? In this regard? No. If you’re using YouTube to listen to music on demand that you don’t directly own but is rather being _streamed_ to your device via a service, it’s functionally identical to Spotify, et al (including YouTube having algorithms for this very purpose). Any pedantry is in acting as though YouTube’s potential to include video is somehow relevant in a discussion of how people are consuming _audio entertainment_ and makes it a totally different beast. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/401 "2023-10-29T20:28:15Z")
> [@Ted\_Striker](#): > > Good for your wife from breaking away from the clutches of current Top Forty pop-addicted commercial radio Actually, she’s a huge Tay-Tay fan. And that’s _without_ being brainwashed by Top 40 broadcast radio! Amazing that popular artists can be popular because people just like them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=21)