"Taylor Swift Has Given Fans a Lot. Is It Finally Too Much?" - The New York Times
A Swiftie's examination of media fatigue
By all accounts, I do not claim that I have any expertise to be able to speak on this particular topic, but I’m tired and you probably are too. So let’s talk about it.
For the past 18 months, the media has not been able to keep Taylor Swift’s name out of their mouth. Everything she does is reported on. And to be fair, she’s done a lot. To do a quick recap, Taylor has:
been on one of the largest world tours we’ve ever seen
ended a 6-year romantic relationship
had a 3-month situationship with a very controversial figure
started a relationship with a top NFL player
re-released 2 albums
released 3 music videos
released a concert film to theaters and on Disney+
recorded and released a double album
won Album of the Year at The Grammys
was named Times 2023 Person of the Year
attended a ton of Kansas City Chief’s games, including the Super Bowl
And there’s probably more that I’ve forgotten because 1) this is a lot and 2) I’m not googling anything. This is all just off the top of my head.
By all accounts, Swifties (I claim that title!) have been well-fed by Taylor since the release of Midnights in 2022. It’s been a good 18 months to be a fan of hers, especially after The Great Disappearance of 2016-2017 and the privacy she held during her relationship with Joe Alwyn. Many fans are happy to see Taylor back in public, so much so that a mass of fans bombarded Producer Jack Antonoff’s wedding in August 2023 when they caught wind that Taylor was present.
But honestly, the media attention is A LOT. USA Today officially hired a Taylor Swift reporter in November 2023, but many other media companies have a designated reporter to cover news on Taylor even if they are not officially named as such. We’re a Today Show family, and they have a designated correspondent who travels to Eras Tour shows and specifically reports on most Taylor Swift News (which also has its own very updated section on their website). Big and small stories are highlighted on an almost daily basis and it’s just a lot of information to consume regarding one person. And even as a fan of Taylor’s, I’m not even trying to consume that much information about her.
Let me be clear that I do not fault Taylor for this. In my observation, what happened is that media companies realized that anything related to Taylor gets major clicks and attention so they decided to just throw everything at us. Meanwhile, Taylor has only done one interview since Midnights was released - as Time’s Person of the Year. However, based on how much attention she gets you would think she’s out there talking to the media all the time. And of course, her people are talking to the media. The Taylor’s publicist and Queen of PR, Tree Paine, has a ton of Swifties too. And she doesn’t hesitate to put out statements on behalf of Taylor… you know… her job.
All that said, Taylor has done A LOT (thank you, TAS) but the information out there about her is not proportionate. And I fully blame the media for the effect of people being tired of Taylor. I’d argue that most fans are not tired of Taylor, but tired of her name being used constantly to generate clicks and engagement. And as much as Swifties love to look at everything through a microscope, we don’t need to rehash what “Taylor’s Version” means with every re-release and we don’t need an “audience cam" capturing Taylor’s reaction to every award winner at the VMAs and The Grammys. And while I’ve seen the criticism that Taylor seemingly leans into the attention she receives, I wonder what backlash she would receive if she didn’t lean into it. Taylor was told to “just smile” and accused of not being a good sport after her non-reaction to a joke about her at the Golden Globes.
And now in the wake of the release of Taylor’s 11th album, The New York Times has put out an article titled Taylor Swift Has Given Fans a Lot. Is It Finally Too Much? with the byline:
Swift has been inescapable over the last year. With the release of “The Tortured Poets Department,” her latest (very long) album, some seem to finally be feeling fatigued.
While I agree that 31 brand new songs was a lot digest, I’m not fatigued because Taylor released new music. I’m tired because she’s all the media has been able to talk about for the past 18 months. I’ve even gone to conferences and meetings where Taylor’s music is being played as part of keynotes, and it’s completely out of context with the messaging of the keynote. I cringe every time she’s mentioned because I know people are tired of hearing about her everywhere and I don’t want anyone to hate her because she is overexposed.
The fact is that Taylor Swift is treated differently than any other celebrity. The media wants to use The Taylor Swift Effect to their advantage while critiquing her every move simultaneously. And I don’t believe she’s above criticism. There is plenty of warranted criticism of Taylor, like all the variants of her albums and her private plane usage. And everyone is entitled to their opinion of her music and performances.
As Taylor has released The Tortured Poets Department and prepares to start the European leg of the Eras Tour, I know there is more news on its way. But maybe it’s time for a more measured approach to reporting on one of the music industry's most prolific artists.