Unstoppable Taylor Swift (2023)

[bunniefuu]

[wind blowing softly]

So how did you find out?

I found out when

it was online, like when it hit the news.

Nobody in your

inner circle knew.

Nobody knew.

And you didn't smell it?

No.

I knew he would sell my music.

I knew he would do that.

I couldn't believe

who he sold it to.

Because we've had

endless conversations about Scooter Braun,

and he has 300 million reasons

to conveniently forget

those conversations.

Now, could you rerecord?

Oh, yeah.

[Interviewer]

Might you do that?

Oh, yeah.

- That's a plan.

- Yeah, absolutely.

[gentle music]

[Narrator] Under

US copyright law,

a music release is subject

to two separate copyrights,

the copyright to the song or

musical composition itself

and the copyright to the

specific recording of that song,

which is usually

contained on a master.

[gentle music]

The master from which copies

are made for use in sales

and distribution is the

original recording of the song.

Therefore, the owner of the

master also holds the copyright

to all means of distribution

for the recording,

including physical media,

like CDs and final LPs,

as well as digital distribution

for download or streaming.

On the other hand, owning the

musical work is referred to

as the publishing rights,

which covers the lyrics before

it became a sound recording.

Its melodies sheet,

music, composition,

and instrumental arrangements.

Songwriters generally

own the publishing rights

and are referred to as the

publishers of the music.

[reporters speak indistinctly]

[gentle music]

[Reporter] Over

your shoulder, Taylor,

and the back of the dress.

[Reporter] Over

your shoulder, love.

[video rewinding]

No one told us it

was country night.

Y'all wanna hear

some country music?

[Audience] Yeah.

Later on you wanna

hear some Jack Ingram?

[Audience] Yeah.

Right now you wanna

hear some Taylor Swift?

[audience cheering]

You're in the right place.

[country music]

I was riding shotgun

with my hair undone

In the front seat of his car

He's got a one-hand feel

on the steering wheel

The other on my heart

I look around,

turn the radio down

He says, Baby, is

something wrong

I say, Nothing, I

was just thinking

How we don't have a song

And he says

Our song is the

slamming screen door

Sneaking out late,

tapping on your window

When we're on the phone,

and you talk real slow

[Narrator] In 2003

at the age of 13,

Taylor went to Nashville

to try and sign

with some major labels,

but was rejected.

And when I got home

[Narrator] She tried her

luck again the following year

and received an

artist development deal with RCA records

before becoming the

youngest artist, aged 15,

signed by the Sony

Publishing house,

but left shortly

afterwards due to concerns

that development deals

may shelf artists.

Had gone all wrong

and been trampled on

[Narrator] Swift took

part in an industry showcase

later that year at

Nashville's Bluebird Cafe,

where she was recognized

by Scott Borchetta,

a Dreamworks Records

executive, who was considering

starting his own

independent record company.

Our song is the

slamming screen door

[Narrator] Swift

ultimately agreed

to a 13-year recording contract

with Big Machine Records,

the new Nashville-based record

label founded by Borchetta.

In exchange for a cash

advance, Big Machine

received ownership of

the masters for Swift's

first six albums under the

terms of the agreement.

[wind rustling]

[gentle music]

Through his media company,

SB Projects, Scooter Braun,

an American media

proprietor, talent manager,

and businessman, is credited

with managing the careers

of musicians Justin

Bieber, Ariana Grande,

Demi Lovato, and Kanye West.

When Braun acquired Big

Machine Label Group,

they encompassed all aspects

of Big Machine's business,

including its client

roster, distribution deals,

publishing rights,

and music masters.

[gentle music]

On June 30th, 2019, Swift

made a post and stated

that she had tried to buy

the masters for years,

but was not given a chance

unless she signed another

contract that would require her

to create six more

albums under the label

in exchange for the

masters of the first six,

which she felt was unacceptable.

[gentle music]

She emphasized

Braun's contribution

to making Kanye West's

2016 famous music video,

where West used a stunt

double to play Taylor,

which she called a

revenge porn video

which strips her body naked.

Swift also alleged that Braun

colluded with two clients

to bully Swift online, and

persuaded Kim Kardashian,

who was then married to West,

to arrange an

illegally-recorded snippet

of Swift's phone call with West.

She was alluding to a FaceTime

screenshot of Bieber, West,

and Braun that was posted

to Bieber's Instagram

after Kardashian

released the snippet.

[gentle music]

Despite being aware

of Braun's involvement

in harassing Swift, Borchetta

was accused by Taylor

of betraying her loyalty by

selling the masters to Braun.

[gentle music]

On November 14th, 2019,

Swift claimed that Braun

and Borchetta had

stopped her from singing

some of her older songs at

the 2019 American Music Awards

and using some of them in

her upcoming documentary,

"Miss Americana."

She said they were

exercising tyrannical control

over her music, and claimed

Borchetta told her team

that she would be

allowed to use the music

only if she agreed to not

rerecord copycat versions

of her songs.

Swift commented, "The

message being sent to me

is very clear.

Basically, 'Be a good

little girl and shut up,

or you'll be punished.'"

[soft dramatic music]

For an estimated $405 million

Braun sold the masters,

related videos, and artwork

to Shamrock Holdings

in October, 2020.

[soft dramatic music]

Swift claimed that she

tried to bargain with Braun,

but that he only gave

her the opportunity

to get the masters back if

she signed an ironclad NDA

that only let her talk

favorably of Braun.

She refused to sign the NDA.

She also claimed that

Braun mandated Shamrock

not to notify her about the

sale until it was complete.

[soft dramatic music]

After the news came out,

#WeLoveYouTaylor started

trending worldwide on Twitter,

with Swifties making

their feelings known.

Fans wondered if

Taylor was connected

to the investment fund,

but she released a statement

clarifying she wasn't part

of this deal at all, and still

does not own the masters.

[soft dramatic music]

Swift wrote her album

"Reputation" as a defense mechanism

that allowed her to to

cope with the fallout

in public scrutiny.

She secluded herself

from press attention

because she needed to

protect her mental health

and stop feeling obliged

to explain herself.

[soft dramatic music]

On the Reputation Stadium Tour,

Swift was inspired by the

love she received from fans

to embrace positivity

and vulnerability.

Despite her tarnished

reputation in the press,

she realized her fans see her

as a flesh-and-blood

human being.

To this end, she conceived

her seventh studio album

as a personal vulnerable record

that would connect

her with her audience

and showcase her strengths

as a singer-songwriter.

[gentle music]

Swift wrote "Lover" as a

reflection of her personal life,

describing it as

very confessional and autobiographical,

yet also playful and whimsical.

She also said the album

was a love letter to love

in all of its maddening,

passionate, exciting, enchanting,

horrific, tragic,

wonderful glory.

Or 20 years

Can I go where you go

Can we always be this close

[Narrator] The track

list consists of 18 songs,

more than any of

her other albums,

depicting many sentiments

stemming from love.

[gentle music]

The imagery of "Reputation"

was dark and cold.

"Lover" 's bright colors

and themes contrasted this.

However, a common misconception

is that "Reputation"

lyrically is all about revenge.

Although some songs

do touch on this,

the majority of the album

details falling in love with Joe

amidst all the personal tumult.

[gentle music]

"Lover" acts almost

as a sister album,

further detailing

the relationship and the highs and lows

of what she had

been going through.

In the closing track,

"Daylight," Swift contemplates

that love to her now is golden,

rather than burning red,

as she once believed, a

reference to the title track

of her 2012 Studio album, "Red."

[gentle music]

The song represents Swift's

mature understanding of love,

her personal life,

and her public image.

[gentle music]

Although mainly positive,

some critics felt as though

"Lover" was a bit too much

like an unnecessary course

correction from "Reputation,"

rather than a

collection of themes

Swift was really

interested in pursuing.

The album features

some career highlights,

"Cruel Summer,"

"Lover," "Cornelia Street," and "Daylight."

However, fans often feel as

though the album is too long

and includes some of

Swift's worst work today,

including the lead single, "ME!"

Because of "Reputation" 's

poor critical success,

many believe Swift wanted to

distance herself completely

and start new with the pop

sounds and bright colors.

Both albums have now

become fan favorites

and have received their flowers,

but at the time it

seemed as though Taylor

was at a crossroads

with her career.

Although she was still

doing well commercially,

she wasn't at the height she

was at a couple years prior,

during her "1989" era.

[gentle music]

The ongoing Kanye feud and

relentless tabloid scrutiny

had taken a toll on Taylor.

[gentle music]

In April, 2020, Taylor

Swift was set to embark

on Lover Fest, her

sixth concert tour

in support of the album.

However, the tour was canceled

due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[dramatic music]

On July 23rd, 202O,

nine captionless black and white images

of Taylor standing alone

in the woods were uploaded

to Swift's Instagram account.

She posted another message

on all of her social

media platforms

saying that her

eighth studio album

would be released at midnight.

Swift stated, "Most of the

things I had planned this summer

didn't end up happening,

but there is something I hadn't

planned on that did happen,

and that thing is my eighth

studio album, 'Folklore.'"

[wind blowing softly]

The creation of the album

was totally unexpected.

Whilst Taylor was in quarantine,

she watched numerous films,

from "LA Confidential,"

"Jane Eyre," "Rear Window,"

and "Marriage Story."

She also read more books

than she ever had before.

Books that dealt

with times past,

a world that doesn't

exist anymore,

such as "Rebecca" by

Daphne du Maurier.

The fiction encouraged

Swift to write songs

that weren't strictly

autobiographical,

and instead experimented with

alternative points of view.

She allowed her

imagination to run wild

when she was alone during

the period of lockdown,

creating a series of

thoughts and visuals

that later became "Folklore."

[gentle music]

"Folklore" was supposed to

be released in early 2021,

but it ended up

being done earlier

and released without a

second thought in July, 2020.

She approached the

album's creation

without subjecting

herself to any rules,

and explained that she used

to put all these parameters

on herself like, how will

this song sound in a stadium?

How will this song

sound on the radio?

If you take away all the

parameters, what do you make?

And I guess the

answer is "Folklore."

[gentle music]

Swift told Billboard,

"It started with imagery,

visuals that popped into my

mind and peaked my curiosity.

Stars drawn around scars.

A cardigan that still bears

the scent of loss

20 years later.

Battleships sinking into

the ocean, down, down, down.

The tree swing in the

woods of my childhood.

Hushed tones of, 'Let's run

away' and never doing it.

The sun-drenched

month of August,

sipped away like

a bottle of wine.

A mirrored disco ball

hovering above a dance floor.

A whiskey bottle beckoning,

hands held through plastic.

A single thread, that

for better or worse,

ties you to your fate.

[soft dramatic music]

Pretty soon these images

in my head grew faces

or names and became characters.

I found myself not only

writing my own stories,

but also writing about

or from the perspective

of people I've never

met, people I've known,

or those I wish I hadn't."

[soft dramatic music]

For "Folklore, Swift's lyrics

veered towards escapism

and romanticism.

She enlisted two producers

to achieve her desired sound,

her longtime collaborator,

Jack Antonoff,

with whom she'd

previously collaborated

on the albums "1989,"

"Reputation," and "Lover,"

and Aaron Dessner,

guitarist for the American

indie rock band, The National.

Due to COVID-19 concerns,

Swift, Antonoff, and Dessner

quarantined remotely

separate from each other,

creating "Folklore"

by continually exchanging digital files

of instrumentals and vocals.

The album ensued

from a DIY process,

mixed and engineered

by personnel scattered across the US.

"Folklore" was written

and recorded in secrecy.

Swift, her boyfriend,

family, management team,

Antonoff, and Dessner were

aware of the album's creation.

She did not disclose the

news or play the album

to her friends, like she

did with her previous works.

[soft dramatic music]

Near the end of "Folklore" 's

recording process,

Dessner reached out to

his regular collaborators,

including The

National band mates,

to provide

instrumentation remotely.

[soft dramatic music]

"Folklore" asserts

something that has been true

from the very start

of Swift's career.

Her biggest strength

is her storytelling,

but this time her sound

departed from pop maximalism

and synth-driven to an

alternative indie folk sound.

[soft dramatic music]

The stories told in

"Folklore" include a ghost

that discovers its

m*rder*r at its funeral,

a young girl with a

traumatized friend,

an elderly widow shunned

by her community,

recovering alcoholics,

and a love triangle

between the fictional

characters, Betty, James,

and an unnamed woman, as

depicted in the tracks

"Cardigan," "Betty,"

and "August,"

with each of the

three songs written

from each of the

character's perspective

at different points

in their lives.

[soft dramatic music]

DIY techniques were used

to produce the album art,

packaging, and lyric

videos for "Folklore."

Due to COVID-19

issues, Swift worked

without a technical

crew on the visuals

with photographer

Beth Garrabrant.

The photo sh**t marked a change

from Swift's older sh**t,

where she would have

100 people on set

commanding alongside

other people

in a very committee fashion.

She styled herself, including

hair, makeup, and wardrobe,

and prescribed Garrabrant

a specific moodboard.

The black and white,

gray-scale filter on the photos

gives them their

distinguishing look.

[soft dramatic music]

Swift departs from the

technicolor carnival

of its predecessor, "Lover,"

and adopts a rustic,

nature-focused, cottage-core aesthetic

for "Folklore" that reflects

its lyrical ideas of escapism.

She opens the music video for

"Cardigan" by settling down

at an old piano an a

quaint cabin in the woods.

[soft dramatic music]

But I knew you

Dancing in your Levi's

Drunk under a streetlight, I

I knew you

Hand under my sweatshirt

Baby, kiss it better, I

And when I felt like

I was an old cardigan

Under someone's bed

You put me on and said

I was your favorite

[Narrator] The album

was instantly hailed

as Swift's magnum opus, met

with widespread critical acclaim

from critics and fans alike.

"Folklore" shows Swift

at her most vulnerable,

the emotional weight and

introspective songwriting

made it her most sophisticated

and subdued body of work.

[soft dramatic music]

She uses the eccentric

debutante, Rebekah Harkness,

who married into the

standard oil dynasty

and once lived in Swift's

Rhode Island house,

in her story in "The Last

Great American Dynasty"

to celebrate women who

have a marvelous time

ruining everything.

[soft dramatic music]

You're able to visualize the

song's events in your head

like a tale because it is rich

with historical information

and Americana imagery,

but it also makes a

powerful statement

about how society

views outspoken women.

[soft dramatic music]

At the conclusion, Swift

skillfully creates a distinction

between Harkness and herself.

[soft dramatic music]

The album has been

contextualized

as the quintessential

lockdown album,

and felt like the

perfect accompaniment

for the weird

loneliness of 2020.

It is hailed as the

first great pandemic art.

"Folklore" and

its songs received

five Grammy-Award nominations

at the 63rd ceremony,

winning the Album of the Year.

Swift became the

first woman in history

to win Album of the Year thrice,

and the fourth artist overall,

tied with Frank Sinatra,

Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.

[soft dramatic music]

On December 10th, 2020, Swift

once again surprised her fans

with the announcement of

her ninth studio album

and "Folklore"'s sister

record, "Evermore."

She described "Evermore"

as an offshoot

of the Folklorian woods.

[gentle music]

Swift and Dessner continued

to collaborate virtually.

After the release of

"Folklore," he would give her

instrumental recordings, to

which she would add vocals.

[gentle music]

She stated the rave

reception of "Folklore"

encouraged her to experiment

further with its musical style.

"Evermore" was dubbed

"a weird avalanche,"

effecting from

"Folklore" by Dessner.

"Evermore" 's creation was

a more experimental process

than its predecessor was,

during which the duo did

not subject themselves

to any limitations.

[gentle music]

Much like "Folklore,"

on December 10th, 2020,

three days prior to

her 31st birthday,

Swift posted nine

photos on Instagram,

which together formed an image

depicting the singer's back,

with her hair in a braid,

and facing a forest.

Swift wrote, "You've all

been so caring, supportive,

and thoughtful on my birthdays,

and so this time I thought

I would give you something.

I also know this holiday season

will be a lonely

one for most of us,

and if there are any of you

out there who turn to music

to cope with missing

loved ones the way I do,

this is for you."

[gentle music]

Prior to the "Willow"

music video premiere,

Swift said she likens

"Evermore" to fall and winter,

in contrast to

its predecessor's, spring and summer.

The more that you

say, the less I know

Wherever you stray, I follow

I'm begging for

you to take my hand

Wreck my plans,

that's my man

You know that my train

could take you home

Anywhere else is hollow

I'm begging for

you to take my hand

Wreck my plans,

that's my man

The more that you

say, the less I know

Wherever you stray, I follow

Begging for you to take

my hand, wreck my plans

[gentle music]

[Narrator] "Evermore"

is a personal album

that has a strong foundation

in character studies,

narrative mythmaking,

and complex first-person storytelling

from third-person views.

It further explores the

fantastical universe that Swift

created with "Folklore," by

using fact and imagination.

[gentle music]

The escapist themes of

both albums are similar,

but "Evermore" is bolder,

unrestrained, frivolous,

and impressionistic, digging

deeply into Swift's concepts

of adult love and grief,

in contrast to "Folklore" 's

more introspective and

sentimental nature.

[gentle music]

It was at this point in Swift's

career that she was regarded

as the songwriter

of her generation.

These two albums were

career-redefining,

and threw emphasis on

Swift's work ethic,

helping critics recognize

her musicianship,

now viewing her as

a dedicated singer

moving away from her pop

star image in the mid 2010s.

[gentle music]

Being a Taylor Swift

fan is hard work,

and she doesn't make it easy.

Ever since the beginning

of her music career,

the singer has constantly

left Easter eggs

within her work to

leave fans guessing.

Whether it be hidden

messages in lyric booklets

or teasing albums

months in advance,

Swift has been the queen of

teasing fans since day one.

"It's sort of a

tradition that we started

a very long time ago,"

Swift said to Jimmy Fallon

about the origins

of her Easter eggs.

"I think the first time

that I started dropping

sort of cryptic clues in my

music was when I was 14 or 15,

putting together

my first album."

[gentle music]

While Swift stopped

this tradition

during the "Reputation" era,

she had a habit of hiding

messages in her old work.

Specifically, she

would hide liner notes

in the lyrics of each of her

songs in her CD booklets.

From "Fearless" to "Red," all

of her lyrics were lowercase

and the message

could be deciphered

through the capitalized letters.

For "1989," she

did the opposite.

[gentle music]

During these eras,

Swift's dating life

was often much more

publicized than it is now.

The singer even used her

music to address her romances,

from hidden messages

to pointed lyrics.

Some of her references

were more obvious,

as the liner message

for "Should've Said No,"

just said the name

Sam repeatedly,

addressing a former boyfriend

who allegedly cheated on her.

Others were more subtle,

like the liner note

for "Last Kiss," being,

"Forever and always,"

a reference to a song

title from her former album

that is said to be

about Joe Jonas.

[gentle music]

As the "Reputation" album

kicked into full gear,

the music video for

her lead single,

"Look What You Made Me Do,"

was full of Easter eggs.

Since she wasn't doing

interviews during this era,

Swift said it was her

way of communicating

and staying connected

to her fans.

"Literally the whole video

is just an Easter egg,"

she said to

Entertainment Weekly.

"There are thousands

of Easter eggs.

There are some that people

still haven't found.

It will be decades before

people find them all."

[gentle music]

One of Swift's biggest

Easter eggs came in the form

of an Instagram post

in April of 2020,

when she shared a photo

of herself with a caption,

"Not a lot going

on at the moment."

Given that this was during

the height of the pandemic,

fans did not consider this

an Easter egg at the time.

Of course, once the singer

revealed she was releasing

her eighth studio album,

"Folklore," all became clear.

[gentle music]

As "Folklore" 's release

had fans scrambling

to figure out all

her Easter eggs,

one major one was

William Bowery,

who was credited on

two "Folklore" tracks

and is later credited

on three for "Evermore."

Swifties were quick to figure

out that William Bowery

was a pen name for Swift's

boyfriend Joe Alwyn,

as his great-grandfather's

name was William Alwyn,

and the Bowery Hotel was

where Swift and Alwyn

first hung out in 2016.

[gentle music]

Swift confirms William

Bowery's identity

in her Disney Plus

film, teasing that,

"William Bowery is

Joe, as we know."

[gentle music]

On February 11th,

2021, she announced

on "Good Morning America"

that the rerecording

of "Fearless," to which

she added the subtitle,

"Taylor's Version," was

the first in the series

of her rerecorded albums.

[gentle music]

She released an anagram-filled

video from the vault,

which referred to all

of her unreleased songs

from the album.

"The vault door is

about to be as unhinged

as you think I am after

you watch this video,"

she said on social media.

"Level: Expert.

Happy, decoding."

[gentle music]

Fans managed to decode

the titles of the six new

vault tracks and the name

of one of her collaborators,

Keith Urban, who is

featured on a song.

The vault tracks Swift

wrote when she was

in her teenage years and

intended to include in,

but ultimately left out of the

original "Fearless" release.

Swift said by including

these unreleased tracks,

which she absolutely adored

but were held back

for different reasons,

the rerecorded album

proved that the artist

is the only one who really

knows that body of work.

[gentle music]

The same arrangements and lyrics

are used as they were on

the original recordings,

which prompted numerous

critics to note

that a casual listener might

not know any differences,

but underlined

that the production

includes more

defined instruments,

a crisper mix, and

greater quality.

Journalists described

"Fearless [Taylor's Version]"

as a key event in

raising awareness

for artists' rights

in the music industry.

They considered that

Taylor's Version branding

an effective strategy

in mobilizing Swift fans

to consume the rerecorded

album over the original.

The album debuted at number

one on the Billboard 200 chart,

a return to the number one spot,

13 years after the

original release in 2008.

[gentle music]

[soft upbeat music]

On June 18th, 2021,

Swift revealed that

"Red [Taylor's Version]"

would be released on

November 19th, 2021

and would contain all 30 songs

that were meant to be

on the 2012 version.

She also teased the original

10-minute-long version

of the fan favorite

track, "All Too Well,"

which had been highly

requested by fans,

as part of the track listing.

[soft upbeat music]

On August 5th, Swift

posted a cryptic video

across her social media

teasing a word puzzle

for the fans to solve.

It's spelled out, "Chris

Stapleton," "Phoebe Bridgers,"

"Babe," "Better Man," and "All

Too Well 10 Minute Version."

[soft upbeat music]

Swift revealed a teaser for

"All Too Well: The Short Film."

The Teaser showed a vintage

car driving past a road

bounded by autumnal woods, and

it was written and directed

by Swift, starring herself,

Sadie Sink, and Dylan O'Brien.

This song has always been

hailed as Swift's magnum opus

by critics and fans.

The song details the

story of her breakup

with actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

[soft dramatic music]

Before "All Too Well" was cut

down to a 10-minute version

and then more to a final five

minute and 28 second version,

American songwriter, Liz Rose,

with whom Swift wrote the song,

believed it was probably

a 20-minute song.

Memories are the building

blocks of "All Too Well."

The song relies on specifics

of the rise and fall

of a romantic relationship

drawn from memory.

[soft dramatic music]

Apart from mentioning

more expository details,

"All Too Well [10

Minute Version]"

provides greater context

than the five-minute version.

Swift mentions the age

difference between her

and the subject several times,

and states how the subject

used it as an excuse

to terminate their relationship,

but continued to date

women of her age.

She recollects the

buildup and intensity

of falling in love and

acknowledges her naivety.

The track was met with

universal critical acclaim,

often hailed as the

standout track on "Red"

and a career

highlight for Swift.

Publications have

said the release

of "Red [Taylor's Version],"

"All Too Well [10

Minute Version],"

the accompanying short film,

and Swift's rerecording venture,

collectively is one of

the biggest newsmakers

in pop culture

moments of all time.

Keep my old scarf from

that very first week

'Cause it reminds

you of innocence and it smells like me

You can't get rid of it

'Cause you remember

it all too well, yeah

'Cause there we are

again when I loved you so

Back before you lost the one

real thing you've ever known

It was rare, I was there

I remember it all too well

[soft dramatic music]

At the 2022 MTV

Video Music Awards,

Swift received five

nominations for the short film,

winning three of them.

In her acceptance speech for

the Video of the Year award,

she announced a brand

new studio album

scheduled for release

on October 21st, 2022.

Soon after, the phrase,

"Meet me at midnight"

and a clock that was

ticking down to midnight

were added to Swift's

official website.

Some of Swift's tracks on

Spotify had their song canvases

changed to a picture of a clock.

[soft dramatic music]

At midnight, Swift posted

across her social media accounts

that her 10th studio album

would be titled "Midnights."

She described the

album as the stories

of 13 sleepless nights

scattered throughout her life.

[soft dramatic music]

Swift's official website

crashed due to heavy traffic

following the posts.

According to Swift, the

subject matter of "Midnights"

was inspired by five

major topics, self-hatred,

revenge fantasies, wondering

what might have been,

falling in love,

and falling apart.

[soft dramatic music]

When Swift's and Antonoff's

partners, Joe Alwyn,

and American actress Margaret

Qualley, respectively,

were filming in Panama for the

2022 romantic thriller movie,

"Stars at Noon,"

they decided to team up

to co-produce "Midnights."

[soft upbeat music]

Since "1989," Jack Antonoff

has worked with

Swift repeatedly.

Swift and Antonoff

collaborated in New York City.

While their co-stars shot,

the duo wrote 11 of the

album's 13 songs together.

Of the remaining two,

Swift wrote the track

"Vigilante Shit" alone

and "Sweet Nothing" with Alwyn,

who is credited with his

pseudonym, William Bowery.

[soft upbeat music]

In contrast to "Folklore"

and "Evermore"'s

indie and alternative

folk sound,

Swift set out to make an

experimental pop album,

extending her alternative

approach to synth pop sounds.

"Midnight" 's, distinctive

sound has been described

as maximalist minimalism, which

incorporates soft melodies,

emphasized beats, and

vintage synthesizers.

[soft upbeat music]

After experimenting

with fictional plot lines and characters

in "Folklore" and "Evermore,"

Swift makes a return to lyricism

that is primarily

autobiographical with this album.

The New Yorker said

"'Midnights' is a collage

of various emotions

during the spontaneous,

restless headspace

of nighttime thought,

with a distinctive

confessional, but cryptic tone.

The key topics include

feminism, insecurity, anxiety,

and self-criticism."

[soft upbeat music]

The lead single "Anti-Hero"

examines her mental insecurities

in depth, detailing the

things she hates about herself

and her struggle with not

feeling like a person.

Themes addressed include

ghosting acquaintances,

camouflaging

narcissism as altruism,

fears of relationships

being transactional,

and Swift's inability to

co-mingle with people,

normally due to her

celebrity status.

[soft upbeat music]

Upon the release of "Midnights,"

"Anti-Hero" earned

over 17.4 million plays

in its first 24 hours

on Spotify globally,

becoming the biggest

opening day for a song

in the platform's history.

'Cause you got

tired of my scheming

For the last time

It's me, hi, I'm

the problem, it's me

At tea time,

everybody agrees

I'll stare directly at the

sun but never in the mirror

It must be exhausting always

rooting for the anti-hero

[upbeat music]

"Midnights" is Swift's

most commercially successful

album to date.

It broke a string of sales,

streaming, digital, vinyl,

and official chart

records globally.

Billboard declared

it a blockbuster.

According to

Universal Music Group,

"Midnights" moved 3 million

global album equivalent units

in its first week, and over

6 million in two months.

It broke all-time

records on Spotify,

such as those for the most

streamed album in a single day,

with 186 million streams

in its opening day,

surpassing the previous

record of 155 million streams

by Drake's "Certified

Lover Boy."

[soft upbeat music]

She scored the most historic

week in the 64-year history

of the Billboard

Hot 100 Songs chart,

as she was the first artist

to claim the survey's

entire top 10 in a single frame.

Various publications dubbed

Swift as the Paramount pop star

of the 21st century,

wielding a commercial

and cultural dominance

surpassing those of

her contemporaries.

[soft upbeat music]

Swift had now

become unstoppable.

Her career has lasted longer

than that of The Beatles,

and even broke the band's once

deemed unbeatable records.

[soft upbeat music]

Critics lauded her ability

to remain culturally-relevant

and successful 18 years

into her music career,

writing that the Rolling

Stones, Bob Dylan, David Bowie,

and Bruce Springsteen were

past their prime at that age.

[soft upbeat music]

During her promotion of

"Midnights" on talk shows

such as "The Tonight Show

Starring Jimmy Fallon"

and the "Graham Norton

Show" in October, 2022.

Swift hinted at

an upcoming tour.

[soft upbeat music]

On November 1st, she announced

on "Good Morning America"

and through her

social media accounts

her sixth concert tour, The

Eras Tour, describing it

as a journey through the

musical eras of her career.

[soft upbeat music]

The initial US states

were so popular

that several politicians

and government officials

demanded the tour be brought

to their country or city.

[soft upbeat music]

Everyone knew getting

tickets for Taylor Swift's

The Eras Tour was going

to be a challenge,

but no one, especially

not Ticketmaster,

the platform responsible for

distributing said tickets,

seemed remotely aware of

just how messy the process

would turn out to be.

[soft dramatic music]

The Verified Fan program from

Ticketmaster enables users

to sign up in advance and have

access to presale tickets.

The highest registration

in the site's history,

over 3.5 million individuals

registered for the program

in advance of Swift's tour,

and roughly 1.5 million were

allowed access to the presale.

[soft dramatic music]

However, according

to Ticketmaster,

when the presale began

on November 15th, 2022,

bots and fans without invite

codes crowded the site,

causing it to crash repeatedly

and aggravating fans

to the point of rage.

Fans complained of

hours-long wait times

that resulted in

technical glitches

as well as presale phases that

were rescheduled or canceled.

[soft dramatic music]

On November 17th, 2022,

Ticketmaster announced

that the general sale

wouldn't open at all.

"Due to extraordinarily high

demands on ticketing systems

and insufficient

remaining ticket inventory

to meet that demand,

tomorrow's public on sale

for Taylor Swift: The Eras

Tour has been canceled,"

the company tweeted.

[soft dramatic music]

Soon after tickets became

available on Ticketmaster,

they went on sale all

over resale sites,

selling from $200

to over $22,000.

Even some of the few

who did initially get

to purchase tickets may have

paid more than they expected

because of a dynamic

pricing model.

On November 18th, 2022, Swift

took to Instagram stories

to address the controversy,

writing a long statement

that read, in part,

"There are a multitude

of reasons why people had

such a hard time

trying to get tickets,

and I'm trying to figure

out how this situation

can be improved moving forward."

[soft dramatic music]

On December 12th, 2022,

Ticketmaster began notifying

select fans, identified as

fans who received a boost

during the Verified Fan presale

but did not purchase tickets,

of a second

ticket-buying opportunity

to purchase a maximum

of two tickets per user

through Ticketstoday.

Ticketmaster sold

the first US leg's

remaining 170,000

tickets over four weeks.

However, amid all the drama,

the tour received rave reviews

from music and

entertainment critics

who praised both the

high-end spectacle

and polished

artistry of the tour.

[upbeat music]

Are you ready for it

I'm drunk in the

back of the car

And I cried like a baby

coming home from the bar

Said, I'm fine,

but it wasn't true

I love you, ain't that the

worst thing you ever heard

People would come up

to me and they'd be like,

"You're gonna just do a show

with all the albums in it?"

And I was like, "Yeah, it's

gonna be called The Eras Tour."

[soft dramatic music]

[Narrator] The versatility

of the show's, music, visuals,

and performance art was

often a point of praise

in its reviews.

Going through every era

of her musical career

creates a spectacle.

As Swift had released

four new studio albums

since her Reputation

Tour in 2018,

she thought this would

be a good way for fans

to be able to hear all

the different songs.

[soft dramatic music]

The Eras Tour broke ticket

sales records worldwide.

On the first day of

the US presale alone,

the tour sold over

2.4 million tickets,

the most sold by an

artist in a single day.

And on August 31st, 2023,

Swift announced

the concert film,

"Taylor Swift: The Eras

Tour," directed by Sam Wrench.

[soft dramatic music]

The Eras Tour had

a tremendous effect

on the entertainment world,

the music business, and more.

It was said to be one

of the most significant

21st century cultural phenomena,

attracting attention comparable

to Beatlemania in the 1960s.

The tour improved the local

economies of its stops

by boosting small

businesses and tourism,

drew sizable crowds of

fans outside stadiums,

dominated news cycles

and social media,

prompted government and

organization tributes,

and accelerated the public's

consumption of her discography.

Critics often

described The Eras Tour

as a monocultural event

demonstrating Swift's impact

on popular culture.

[soft dramatic music]

Swift is regarded as a

trailblazer of the 21st century

for her diverse music

ability, songwriting skill,

and business acumen,

all of which have served as

an inspiration to musicians,

entrepreneurs, and businessmen

all over the world.

[soft dramatic music]

She started out with country

music, migrated into pop,

and experimented with

alternative rock,

indie rock, and

electronic sounds,

erasing the lines

between musical genres.

Her unique mix of chart

success, critical praise,

and fervent fan devotion has

been characterized by critics

as a cultural quintessence,

allowing her to have

an enormous effect on the

music industry and beyond.

[soft dramatic music]

There really is no

stopping Taylor Swift.

Her career has had

its highs and lows,

but she's now untouchable

and unstoppable.

[soft dramatic music]

[soft upbeat music]