# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/161 "2023-06-13T14:23:13Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I have to laugh when people scorn those who worship a Creator and then turn around and worship humans instead. When you tithe your 10% to Tay Tay, she shows up. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/162 "2023-06-13T14:25:48Z")
A jersey worn by Wayne Gretzsky in the game where he scored his last NHL point just sold [for over $715,000](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/37841505/last-wayne-gretzky-worn-nhl-jersey-sells-715120-auction#). What would a fan pay for a concert-worn Taylor Swift outfit? ---
**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:** [June 13, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/163 "2023-06-13T14:29:10Z")
I’m not even a big Taylor Swift fan, but if I had the obnoxious disposable income where $92,000 meant nothing to me, I absolutely would spend it on Taylor. And probably give another $92K to charity in penance. I would have loved to have been part of that spectacle. That woman is amazing. Two of my friends sent me clips from the show (one of my friends surprised his wife for her 40th birthday with tickets. I never did ask how he got them or what he paid for them.) And it just looked amazing. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/164 "2023-06-13T14:42:40Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > When you tithe your 10% to Tay Tay, she shows up. “Music is the only religion that delivers the goods.” --Frank Zappa ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/165 "2023-06-18T12:55:04Z")
Gift link to a New York Times article on how relatable Taylor Swift is: [Taylor Swift Has Rocked My Psychiatric Practice](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/17/opinion/taylor-swift-mental-health.html?unlocked_article_code=By5vU9d9fcTNEStGfkK-fi2dElqfrQp_xXSLwearoxqb5uBaRtVg74ebPQ5jlr9YievDVWaKMn1d_Sci8-WXQCNCPYB1tRHDMVx36CfQEhhtDNZAGhmyK94wDNCdXzR8-j0nzUb4nZR3hAz6DZAszmBaHP_07W_VrgRHXpRy1FckIQXExnJiYKiAwffXuEmfyd-UDtgGTiSUqrqBxandZpzUayleGZfuzVcPkxtlKLo9h8Lgw7OXV4-Q7-_tD662kySGDN11kHCTyzE3pwkRQ5dD0e7ceU4_7Gzu9v2dWogam-kw_iSHp7I2oDUxCYj4zNjs4fndpxUF1SB9qk57M9RO_Q&smid=url-share) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/166 "2023-06-18T13:41:45Z")
What a great article, thanks for sharing that. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/167 "2023-06-18T13:48:13Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > thanks for sharing that Yeah. As stated above, I’m not in her demographic and don’t listen much to contemporary music, but I find her a force for good, a centered role model for young women, and a gifted artist. I play one of her hits, “Shake It Off,” in regular rotation (along with my “Greatest Hits of the 1970s”) and I enjoy it richly–it’s funny, truthful, self-mocking, and catchy all at once. She’s now my favorite Swift, above Jonathan and Bill. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/168 "2023-06-23T23:24:14Z")
> **[Swift Street temporarily renamed to 'Swift Street - Taylor's Version' in...](https://www.kmbc.com/article/north-kansas-city-temporarily-renames-street-in-honor-of-taylor-swift/44309042)** > > Taylor Swift's influence just keeps getting bigger, at least in North Kansas City. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/169 "2023-07-30T05:24:30Z")
Ugh > **[Santa Clara is renaming itself — and making Taylor Swift honorary mayor — for...](https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article277517708.html)** > > If you could rename your hometown after Taylor, what would you call it? Taylor Swift is negatively impacting my happiness. Her stupid concert is like 3 miles from me. I can hear the cultists from here. There are some helicopters circling around. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/170 "2023-07-30T05:29:22Z")
Taylor’s concert in Seattle last weekend registered 2.3 on the Richter scale, breaking the record set by Seahawks fans cheering for Marshawn Lynch at the same stadium in 2011. > **[Taylor Swift Seattle concert generates seismic activity](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66347361)** > > The activity equivalent to a 2.3 Magnitude quake beats a previous record set by fans celebrating a touchdown. Incidentally, when I saw Taylor live in 2011, it was $80 for an eighth-row floor seat at the Tacoma Dome and I got to high-five her when she did her walk through the crowd. That amount of money won’t even get you in the door these days. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/171 "2023-07-30T05:36:39Z")
Luckily, a 2.3 earthquake is pretty much unnoticeable round these parts. But the fans _have_ been significantly louder than a typical football game (the stadium is mainly used for 49ers games). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/172 "2023-07-30T16:34:29Z")
I read that all top twenty songs on Spotify are occupied by Taylor Swift. I hate to say it but I think she’s bigger than Madonna was. (Hate to say it because I loved Madonna and regarded her as the undisputed Queen.) May have to try listening to this lady soon. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/173 "2023-07-30T16:40:48Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I hate to say it but I think she’s bigger than Madonna was. Taller, certainly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/174 "2023-07-31T02:36:59Z")
Hardened criminal Taylor Swift breaks the law to ruin my evening: > **[Taylor Swift concert breaks curfew at Levi's Stadium, and record VTA ridership](https://www.ktvu.com/news/taylor-swift-concert-breaks-curfew-at-levis-stadium)** > > Taylor Swift is used to breaking record but now she's breaking curfew. Dave Detling has more on potential curfew fines and record setting stats created by the pop sensation. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/175 "2023-07-31T02:56:14Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Hardened criminal Taylor Swift breaks the law to ruin my evening: > [Taylor Swift concert breaks curfew at Levi's Stadium, and record VTA ridership](https://www.ktvu.com/news/taylor-swift-concert-breaks-curfew-at-levis-stadium) From the link. > It’s unclear what repercussions the stadium will face, but in the past other performers, including the Rolling Stones, U2, Coldplay, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have ignored the cutoff time. **Past performances have cost the stadium $1,000 in fines.** That’s gonna leave a mark. :rolleyes: If they’re so worried about noise, maybe the idiots shouldn’t have put the stadium there. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/176 "2023-07-31T04:58:34Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > What would a fan pay for a concert-worn Taylor Swift outfit? Dry-cleaned or as is? Creeps everywhere want to know… > [@Smapti](#): > > Incidentally, when I saw Taylor live in 2011, it was $80 for an eighth-row floor seat at the Tacoma Dome and I got to high-five her when she did her walk through the crowd. That amount of money won’t even get you in the door these days. > [@Smapti](#): > > And to think that in 2011 I spent $80 for an eighth-row floor seat and got to high-five her when she did her walk through the audience. So have you ever high fived Taylor Swift @Smapti? I’m unclear at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/177 "2023-07-31T06:02:15Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That’s gonna leave a mark. :rolleyes: I know, eh? It should be 1% of ticket sales. Or be like speeding tickets in Norway and charge Swift 1% of her annual income. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/178 "2023-07-31T06:45:09Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I hate to say it but I think she’s bigger than Madonna was. She’s bigger by far, and has been for years. Better, too. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/179 "2023-07-31T12:58:26Z")
I think it would be very difficult to come up with a concrete definition of biggest artist, particularly in this era of streaming and fragmented sales, but an argument could be made that if you look at where everyone was at 33 years old, she is the biggest artist since the Beatles. > **[List of best-selling music artists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists)** > > The following list of best-selling music artists includes those music acts from the 20th century to the present with claims of 75 million or more record sales worldwide. This information cannot be listed officially, as there is no organization that has recorded global music sales. > The tables are listed with each artist's claimed sales figure(s) and their total independently certified units and are ranked in descending order by claimed sales. If two or more artists have the same claimed sales,... ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/181 "2023-07-31T18:14:00Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I spent $80 for an eighth … Legalization has really brought the prices down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=10)