Inventing the Future: Taylor’s Version
For the last five years, I’ve co-taught a class at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner School of Design (the “d.school”) called “Inventing the Future,” which is designed to help students strengthen their sense of agency and influence in an increasingly complex, uncertain and ambiguous world.
As I tweak my syllabus for the coming year, I find myself wondering if I can change the name of my class to “Inventing the Future: Taylor’s Version.”
Much has already been written about Taylor Swift and her record breaking tour: how the tour announcement crashed Ticketmaster and caused a new feud in Congress; how the Eras tour may be the first in history to generate over $1 billion in ticket sales; how her concert in Seattle literally caused a small earthquake while her stops around the country created millions of emotional earthquakes among concert-goers of all ages and backgrounds; and how each event was a distinctive, epic (3.5-hour) feat of athletic endurance, breathtaking fashion choices, and immersive artistic staging.
And, even with all of this coverage, there’s a perspective on Taylor Swift that hasn’t yet surfaced: Taylor Swift as Futurist.
I don’t mean that Taylor Swift is clairvoyant or uses a crystal ball to predict the future.
Rather, Taylor Swift — through her actions on stage and off — is shaping better futures. And, not just for tween Swifties….she’s impacting all of us.
Unlike other “futurists” who prop up big visions with big thinking, Taylor is modeling a new kind of futuring. She’s pairing her visions with big actions, driving real and tangible impact with her bold imagination, spirit of generosity, connection to others, and attitude of learning.
And she’s inviting us to join her.
Below are a few lessons I’ve taken from Taylor Swift’s posture towards the future, and plan to weave into my class.
You have agency over your future.
Taylor Swift writes music, often autobiographical, that reflect her posture towards agency and action. Even in the songs about heartbreak and disappointment, life isn’t happening to Taylor Swift.
When Taylor Swift’s original six albums were sold to an unlikely and unwelcome buyer in 2019, she made a public commitment to re-record them to regain creative control. In an interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts just before the release of her seventh album, Lover, Taylor said, “One of the special things about this album is that it’s the first one that I will own….I’ve long believed that artists deserve to own their own work.” By fulfilling her promise to own all her own music, she’s modeling ways for others to hold on to ownership for their art. At the last stop on her tour, she announced the release date of her final and fifth re-recorded album, “1989.” And, of course, she made the announcement of this latest “Taylor’s version” album, in her own Taylor version.
Taylor’s “make it bold and make it happen” stance animates the audacious Eras tour of 146 shows across five continents. In addition to its gross ticket sales, the massive effects on local communities from her tour stops, including hotel revenue, transportation, merchandise, services, and more are estimated to create $4 billion in economic activity, according to the market survey company QuestionPro. To put that in perspective, this tour’s economic engine is on par with Germany’s GDP, the fourth largest economy in the world.
Recognizing the larger than life (not just monetary) influence the Eras tour had on its cities, local officials have creatively celebrated the positive influence of Taylor Swift’s present. The City of Tampa gave Taylor a key to their city and made her mayor for the day; Glendale Arizona renamed their city “Swift City” (temporarily), and the Governor of New Jersey renamed its state sandwich to officially become “Taylor Swift Ham, Egg and Cheese.”
Taylor’s concerts prompted some of the largest live gatherings in recent history, including some massive “Tayl-gating” parties in adjacent parking lots. In stark contrast to tragic headlines that have become all too common, the gatherings were free from large-scale violence and mass shootings. Now that’s a future vision we can all get behind.
This past week, Taylor announced pre-sales of the Eras Tour concert movie which is scheduled to open in AMC theaters mid-October. The opening day ticket sales topped $26 million, shattering previous presale records for AMC and Fandango. And, once again,Taylor rewrote the rules of the movie’s distribution, bypassing traditional Hollywood studios in order to work directly with distribution channels to accelerate its release. News of its release also caused other movies scheduled to premiere that weekend to move their opening day.
An abundance mindset is a futurist’s superpower
Taylor shows us that life — and business– don’t have to be zero-sum games of winners and losers. You can turn your success into success for others, without sacrificing any power or status. Taylor Swift proves that power and success can amplify strength across multiple dimensions –how we feel about ourselves, each other, our communities, and our futures.
In nearly every interview, Taylor talks about her success with appreciation and gratitude — and always in the plural: “It’s such a group effort. Thank you for doing this for us.” She celebrates her fans and friends on social media and during her concerts, and has been known to write personal thank you notes to fans — both famous and not — who she invited to come. Throughout her tour, she brought up surprise guests with grace and generosity, making everyone the magic of friendship and care.
This mindset of abundance doesn’t just apply to her public persona and performance. It’s how she runs her business and honors the people who make it possible for her to do her work. According to recent reports, Taylor Swift has given over $55 million in bonuses to every person working on the tour including dancers, riggers, caterers, and sound technicians. Her truck drivers received $100,000 in bonuses, nearly 100x more than the standard amount. I can’t help but wonder what our companies and societies might look like if they were lead by more leaders who embodied an abundance mentality.
And, her generosity didn’t just end with her touring entourage. At each of her 20 concert city stops, Taylor Swift also made significant contributions to local food banks, which have been experiencing rising demand for their services since the pandemic. And according to various food banks through the country, her contributions didn’t just provide a financial boost; they helped raise awareness of the ongoing problem of hunger, attracting ongoing community support and funding.
Unexpected moments of uncertainty can be turned into opportunity
Did things go astray on the tour? Oh yes! From the three hours of torrential rain at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, followed by the “haunted” piano causing Taylor to pivot to playing a guitar. An unpleasant exchange with a security guard in Philadelphia when Taylor defended a concert goer, ironically in the middle of her “Bad Blood” song, was yet another of many moments that required off-script improvisation.
Futurists often turn moments of uncertainty into opportunities not because they have some magic power to control outcomes, but because they are clear about the values and purpose they try to uphold. When Taylor encounters uncertainty, she makes choices that will serve the audience experience aligned with her values of care and community.
Comfort in navigating uncertainty also comes from experience and perspective. Over the course of Taylor Swift’s 17-year career, she’s battled extreme moments of uncertainty, often in very public ways. From the famous uninterrupted interruption during her first VMA awards in 2009, to the swings in public sentiment about her advocacy, fashion statements, and romantic choices, to unexpected breakdowns in technology complicating shows and ticket sales, Taylor Swift has become a master at acting with positive and authentic responses in the face of unexpected obstacles and pressure.
Futurists celebrate small steps, not just big visions
A single wrist adorned with three or four homemade beaded bracelets, colorfully showcasing a favorite Taylor Swift lyric or meme. Fifty thousand-plus wrists waving in unison multiplied by 146 concerts. A simple idea transformed into a phenomenon.
Inspired by the song, “You’re on your own, Kid,” from Taylor Swift’s 2022 Midnight’s album, these bracelets represent much more than cute concert swag. They’ve become a symbol of autonomy, reminding listeners to seize the day for themselves, regardless of disappointments and setbacks: “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.”
These bracelets–the OG of DIY crafting, accessible and available to everyone–also reminds us that we don’t need expensive investments or fancy technology to thrive. We can do that for each other with small gestures of care.
Every traded friendship bracelet offered an opportunity to connect with friends, celebrities and strangers alike. And while each trade offered an instagrammable moment, it was the act of exchange that captured the gift, joy and power of deeply human micro-moments of meaning.
Could these bracelets counteract the polarization and toxic social media culture we find ourselves in? Maybe not entirely, but each trade–each small gesture–reminds us that we have choices in how we show up for one another.
Futurists embrace the ongoing journey of learning and becoming
Perhaps the biggest lesson Taylor Swift gives us is permission to keep changing, growing and learning, even when it’s messy, painful and hard. Often that growth happens privately, behind closed doors, but Taylor shares her personal journey through her writing, interviews and the 2020 Miss Americana documentary.
I recently had a conversation with a mother who attended the concert in Denver with her daughter who said, “Taylor Swift has literally changed my daughter’s teenage brain. She’s helped my daughter see life through aspiration. She’s become stronger — more confident and hopeful.”
In a time when the US Surgeon General has warned of an epidemic of isolation and loneliness affecting our young people, and skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety, Taylor Swift’s very real impact on our next generation feels like a much needed glimmer of hope.
In her graduation speech to the NYU’s Class of 2022 Taylor Swift’s opened up about the opportunity — and challenge — of finding your path:
And I know it can be really overwhelming figuring out who to be, and when. Who you are now and how to act in order to get where you want to go. I have some good news: It’s totally up to you. I also have some terrifying news: It’s totally up to you.
She later goes on to say:
I leave you with this: We are led by our gut instincts, our intuition, our desires and fears, our scars and our dreams. And you will screw it up sometimes. So will I. And when I do, you will most likely read about it on the internet. Anyway…hard things will happen to us. We will recover. We will learn from it. We will grow more resilient because of it.”
Let’s continue to enjoy and learn from Taylor Swift. We don’t need to take higher ed classes dedicated to Taylor Swift’s lyrical genius and range or its links to personal growth and psychological theories (as fun as that sounds). We just need to listen and of course, sing along.
In the coming months, there’s more Taylor Swift to look forward to including the Eras Tour movie, the latest re-record of “1989: Taylor’s version,” the start of the international leg of her tour, among other surprises surely on the horizon.
But we can also remember the other gift she’s given us as Taylor Swift, Futurist: the inspiration and living example of how to invent the futures we want to be a part of.
We can translate our awe into agency and action.
We can choose abundance over scarcity.
We can look for the micro-moments to further our preferred futures.
We can turn uncertainty into opportunities for ourselves and others.
And we can embody a posture of hope and practices of resilience as we continue our own journeys of becoming “Fearless.”
__________________________________________________________
Huge gratitude to Nancy Murphy, my “evermore” editor, who helped me shape this piece with the most generous spirit and discerning red pen I could ever hope for!
