Taylor Swift’s New Album: Total Cash Grab or Pure Inspiration?

Many artists seem to pump out album after album, often with little regard for the creative process — is Taylor Swift any different?

By Olivia Prieto 

Photo by Zoe Fu

On October 3, Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl — the second project she has written while on her record-breaking Eras Tour. Creatively, Swift is moving in a slightly different direction with this album, describing it as “exuberant, vibrant, and electric,” to reflect her inner life in the past year on the road. Fans were buzzing with anticipation, but it begs the question: how does Swift make the time and energy to commit to constant new music? 

One explanation may be linked to our shortening attention spans. A research study by Microsoft in 2015 claimed that the average human attention span had dropped to eight seconds — shorter than that of a goldfish. When we binge our favorite shows or listen to the music we enjoy, our brains release dopamine, reinforcing our sense of pleasure. The second the internet gets spotty, a song doesn’t load, or our wireless headphones die, dopamine will suddenly stop processing in our brains, causing us to feel upset or even angry at the lack of content. This craving, in turn, pressures artists to deliver fresh music at an unsustainable pace.

Swift isn’t the only artist pumping out constant content. Look at Sabrina Carpenter, for example. Just one year ago, her sixth studio album, Short n’ Sweet, was released, thus propelling Carpenter into a brand new era herself. After touring the album for a little over a year, Carpenter surprised fans with a brand new single titled, “Manchild,” and revealed her new album, Man’s Best Friend, was set to be released a couple days after Short n’ Sweet’s one-year anniversary. Carpenter commented on her album-release in an Instagram post, stating, “How special to make something out of pure inspiration and zero pressure.”

Like Carpenter, Swift stated on the podcast “New Heights”, featuring her fiance Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce, that she had been struck with complete and total inspiration to conceive, write and produce The Life of a Showgirl, with seemingly no external pressure. Additionally, Swift promised there would be no surprise double album or extra songs like she did with The Tortured Poets Department a year prior.

Still, the business side of music looms large. Deluxe editions, remixes and live recordings are nothing new — they’ve long been used as a way for artists to profit more from their initial creations. However, it seems that recently many artists go overboard with their alternate covers and vinyl offerings. Last summer, Swift took this strategy to the next level. With The Tortured Poets Department, she released 36 alternate covers and editions, propelling her up the Billboard charts as fans streamed and collected every version. This impression of Swift led many non-fans to deem her greedy and money-hungry, while “Swifties” applauded her for being creative and working the system. 

The real question is how Swift finds the time to create new albums while touring a three-hour show, week after week, in multiple countries, for almost two years. It’s certainly impressive, but from the outside, it appears extremely overwhelming and subject to burnout. Still, it seems clear that Swift wouldn’t release a brand new album if it wasn’t on her own terms. What is certain is the turnout for the album. Upon its October 3 release, Swift broke her own record as the opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia” achieved the title of most-streamed song in a single day on Spotify. Many have waited in anticipation for TS12, and it’s finally here. Whether it truly is just a cash grab or pure inspiration is now up for consumer interpretation.