slayZ
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Post by slayZ on Oct 7, 2015 15:17:51 GMT -5
Not only was she the youngest person on the list, she was also one of the very few musicians to even make the list...for the third year in a row. How's Taylor Swift NOT influential? And how's it even possible that people are questioning her success over "technicalities" right now? There's more to the word "influential" than helping shape a sound.
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Kinney
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Post by Kinney on Oct 7, 2015 15:30:28 GMT -5
^ She was also the only musician on Fortune's Most Powerful Women list that came out a few weeks ago. Among CEO's, International politicians and businesswomen. fortune.com/most-powerful-women/taylor-swift-51/I'm not saying other pop girls haven't had their impact (they obviously have), but to downplay the influence and impact Taylor has on the music industry as a whole is so shortsighted and very atrl-mentality.
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Post by lyhom on Oct 7, 2015 15:41:18 GMT -5
not too interested in getting too into this conversation because I admittedly don't care enough about most people's impacts to do research on the fly, but it's probably worth mentioning that "mine" by phoebe ryan (among others, but I know that song the best so I'm using it as an example) is currently in the top 200 n itunes mostly because of a post taylor made on social media.
kind of a minor detail (especially compared to the mentions of her TIME cover before me), but it's still kind of worth mentioning.
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Clauss
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Post by Clauss on Oct 7, 2015 16:19:31 GMT -5
not too interested in getting too into this conversation because I admittedly don't care enough about most people's impacts to do research on the fly, but it's probably worth mentioning that "mine" by phoebe ryan (among others, but I know that song the best so I'm using it as an example) is currently in the top 200 n itunes mostly because of a post taylor made on social media. kind of a minor detail (especially compared to the mentions of her TIME cover before me), but it's still kind of worth mentioning. Taylor posted a photo of a playlist with all unknown songs. Basically free promo
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Keelzit
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Post by Keelzit on Oct 7, 2015 17:22:48 GMT -5
The fact that people bring up the words 'money' and 'income' when talking about music, a form of art, is just sad and cheapens the significance of whatever point they try to prove. What does that have to do with how much an artist impacts the musical landscape, even if we're just talking about the pop/mainstream scene.
About Taylor being influential, I think that she is influential in the marketing department. I'll give her that. She's a marketing genius and whoever wants to make it big should look up to her. About her music being influential, that's a reach, as in the 10 years she's been in the game she hasn't set any trends nor has anyone been proclaimed 'the new Taylor!'. Rihanna, Britney, Gaga and Lana are far more influential in the musical department as there have been countless imitations of their sound ever since they emerged.
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Future Captain
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Post by Future Captain on Oct 7, 2015 17:28:07 GMT -5
Well, I'm kinda late for the addition, but I'm gonna clarify what I mean to say. I'm saying that Taylor isn't so influental is sctrictly speaking from musical point of view, and perhaps personality-wise, since, let's face it, she didn't pave the way for anyone because Shania and Faith already done what she do (Making Country crossove smash) and she didn't infuence other artists on the way they presents themselves like Lady Gaga did.
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Ling-Ling
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Post by Ling-Ling on Oct 7, 2015 17:31:46 GMT -5
Yeah, I just wanna clarify... Taylor is the most powerful woman in music right now. Hell, the most powerful person in music right now, male or female. Her songs are dominating radio, her tour is clearly massive, she's one of the few artists who can sell albums right now. She's ruling social media (as her recent playlist post displays). She's pretty much on the tip of all the media's tongue, if she farted it would make headline news. As a business woman, when she makes a decision it creates waves, all you have to do is look at her stance on streaming.
I was simply talking about musical influence. I don't think she's very influential on that front... yet. Maybe a year from now we'll start hearing it, but for now? I don't. She's not setting the trends at radio and she's not changing the musical landscape from a sonic standpoint. I think she makes very well-crafted pop music, but it's certainly not game-changing.
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popbox
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Post by popbox on Oct 7, 2015 17:55:05 GMT -5
I've yet to feel a real "influence" from Taylor throughout her career. Hell, the demise of the female country star kind of happened not too long after she took off. Not much of an influence there. 1989 is a huge album, but there's nothing particularly influential about it. It's not changing the scene or really dictating popular music. If anything she's kind of been in her own little bubble this era, and popular music on the whole has been quite different from what she's been doing. The last artists to truly have that kind of influence were Gaga and Adele. Both led to huge shakeups in the mainstream music scene at the time of their initial success.
And I've already discussed at length how she has left little of a mark in pop culture terms. People don't try to dress, dance, act, or do anything else like Taylor Swift. She doesn't have truly iconic music videos, performances, trends, looks, choreographies, or anything like that to her name. She just comes and goes with massive sales, airplay, and concert tickets every era. Though I will say 1989 is the first era I feel like she's been trying for some of the aforementioned pop culture influence, what with the big event type videos and things like that. Yet she still is kind of vanilla as an entertainer. There's not a whole lot of interesting stuff there to want to imitate or uniqueness to really set her apart. Taylor has always sold herself around being that relatable girl that you might know, except she happens to be a massively popular singer. But as a result of that every-woman type of image, her pop culture influence will always be limited.
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Kinney
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Post by Kinney on Oct 7, 2015 18:49:56 GMT -5
The lack of musical/sound trend influence (the point Ling Ling was making), I will agree with. Taylor has always been about making the most well crafted, universal music and with that comes a lack of influencing radio/music trends.
I do think she has had a huge effect on the way women present their confessional music nowadays. She was not the first (obviously), but the whole confessional/diary entry song is pretty much her domain now and anytime someone else does it, she is the comparison. And there has been a pretty much endless supply of up and coming artists that cite her as an influence/musical idol so her song writing influence is showing up in the new generation.
The other part about her not having "iconic" videos, performances, etc and it's correlation to her not having an impact on pop culture I do not and probably will never agree with.
I think the fact that she is able to shift boatloads of albums/boatloads of singles/sell millions upon millions of tour tickets/ receive more awards than she can store in her home, time and time and time again, is evidence of her impact. There is no one else in the music world who is as consistently dominant as she is and she does not need a stunt outfit/look/performance to validate her power and influence in the music world.
She might not have something gimmicky for stan culture to cling onto to display her "impact", but the general public coming back to her over and over again with their money/time/support/etc is more important and why I think she'll be remembered and respected more than most of her peers.
I'll leave it here though since I'm sort of derailing the thread.
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slayZ
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Post by slayZ on Oct 7, 2015 22:22:32 GMT -5
^ Not to mention, this is her actual first Pop era. Everything else before (even WANEGBT) they would try to blur the lines with. I hate the word "iconic" but if there was one music video (other than that one video where girls deep throat bananas and show off their buttholes for 3 minutes on screen to a song that tumbled down the charts after 3 weeks on Pop) that was talked about this year and and had a HUGE impact on social media - it was Bad Blood.
A lot of pop culture "impact" is often based on gimmicks, and she lacks in that department so her "influence" is overlooked, so I will agree that compared to the half naked stunt queens her "impact" has been minimal.
Anyways...this thread has gone off topic lol.
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godjanny
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Post by godjanny on Oct 7, 2015 22:29:33 GMT -5
^ Not to mention, this is her actual first Pop era. Everything else before (even WANEGBT) they would try to blur the lines with. I hate the word "iconic" but if there was one music video (other than that one video where girls deep throat bananas and show off their buttholes for 3 minutes on screen to a song that tumbled down the charts after 2 weeks) that was talked about this year and and had a HUGE impact on social media - it was Bad Blood. A lot of pop culture "impact" is often based on gimmicks, and she lacks in that department so her "influence" is overlooked, so I will agree that compared to the half naked stunt queens her "impact" has been minimal. Anyways...this thread has gone off topic lol. What was that? Colour me intrigued.
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slayZ
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Post by slayZ on Oct 7, 2015 22:39:42 GMT -5
Anaconda. I was kidding. Sort of.
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popbox
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Post by popbox on Oct 7, 2015 23:29:48 GMT -5
Pop culture impact doesn't mean gimmicks. Not unless your calling the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, or Madonna "gimmicky." It is exactly the kind of pop culture impact those artists had that made them so iconic and that Taylor lacks. She is about huge sales and hit songs and that has been about it so far. It could change, but it hasn't in her first decade on the scene.
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Au$tin
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Post by Au$tin on Oct 8, 2015 0:32:25 GMT -5
I love Taylor. I own all of her albums and thoroughly enjoy her music. What she does she does very, very well.
However, it is not influential. Influence and success do not go hand in hand. The only impact she may have had thus far is to have spiked a small interest in crossing country songs to pop post-Love Story. An interest that has always been then, but had a small spike in 2009-2013 thanks to Taylor's success. That's really it, though. Her musical style is stuff that has been done before. She's not influencing others to do her style because her style has been around for ages. That doesn't mean anything negative towards Taylor. In fact, I would argue that she's a completely different kind of artist. She perfects styles that have been done before. She makes them into things we still want to hear even if they've been done before. That takes skill. That is currently what she and her music will be remembered for. Not for its influence, but instead its brilliance at perfecting the styles of her time.
She could potentially start becoming influential. In fact, she has a very strong chance with her current single. "Wildest Dreams" is arguably unlike any prior single of hers and is a style that has never seen this size of success in the mainstream world before. It's certainly been done before (which should be obvious given the Lana Del Rey comparisons), but Taylor could potentially be helping pave the way for this sound to become more prominent. If that happens, "Wildest Dreams" will really be the first big influential thing Taylor has done. Which, again, is not a bad thing. Influence isn't the only factor in longevity.
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Post by neverduplicated on Oct 8, 2015 0:57:07 GMT -5
I would argue that Taylor has been very influential in inspiring lots of country musicians to mix other genres in with country. No, she's not the first to ever crossover from country to pop, but I think its clear that since her raise to fame more and more country musicians have been doing this, to the point where many artists are in the same boat that Taylor was in with Red - the "is it country or is it not?" question. Some of the biggest acts in country are doing this, such as Zac Brown Band, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt and Eric Church. People in this thread clearly only consider influence in pop music to be important, or people are just oblivious to trends in country music. Perhaps her influence in pop music has yet to become realised, and perhaps it won't be realised, but then again, she's only been making pop music for a few years now, so it's difficult to say.
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slayZ
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Post by slayZ on Oct 8, 2015 1:01:09 GMT -5
Pop culture impact doesn't mean gimmicks. Not unless your calling the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, or Madonna "gimmicky." It is exactly the kind of pop culture impact those artists had that made them so iconic and that Taylor lacks. She is about huge sales and hit songs and that has been about it so far. It could change, but it hasn't in her first decade on the scene. well.
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Ragin
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Post by Ragin on Oct 8, 2015 5:51:26 GMT -5
I think some of you are too influenced by what others call influence. Changing a sound or pioneering a new sound IS influential, but you are giving credit sometimes to an artist that had nothing to do with it. What I mean is that the typical hit makers find a pretty face that can't always sing and puts their music that they developed behind the face. Taylor Swift comes onto the scene with her own songs and is instantly respected for her ability to write songs. I would argue that her influence is the industry shifting toward songwriters because of the success of Taylor Swift and her ability to write a pop song. Most if the songwriters in the industry really respect her abilities there.
To me, that is far more influential than the ones that have their names on songs but never actually write their own songs, or those that consistently change styles until they find that lightning in a bottle that works. I didnt bring up Rihanna's name to take away from her success or her sound, but Rihanna is industry produced, not industry changing. And that's my point.
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Post by Mikel Echarri on Oct 8, 2015 5:54:39 GMT -5
I thought this thread was about Wildest Dreams
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Post by balletgirlmom on Oct 8, 2015 8:14:12 GMT -5
Wildest Dreams keeps on building UP UP and UP! Very strong single from our Taylor!
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Juan Carlos
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Post by Juan Carlos on Oct 8, 2015 8:59:13 GMT -5
THURSDAY 10/8 UPDATE:
CHR/Pop: 7 4 TAYLOR SWIFT Wildest Dreams 14995 12516 2479 92.734
+ 253 Spins - 157 Bullet + 2.090 Audience
Hot AC: 7 5 TAYLOR SWIFT Wildest Dreams 5615 4697 918 33.971
+ 139 Spins + 45 Bullet + 0.698 Audience
AC: 12 10 TAYLOR SWIFT Wildest Dreams 1017 852 165 6.754
+ 16 Spins + 11 Bullet + 0.053 Audience
Rhythmic: 30 29 TAYLOR SWIFT Wildest Dreams 910 824 86 3.07
+ 24 Spins + 5 Bullet + 0.051 Audience
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Ragin
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Post by Ragin on Oct 8, 2015 10:37:14 GMT -5
I thought this thread was about Wildest Dreams It is. I think a successful later single necessitates the talk of impact, legacy etc. these talks always creep up on singles threads when a high performance after a string of high performances has been achieved.
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SPRฮฮ
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Post by SPRฮฮ on Oct 8, 2015 10:44:03 GMT -5
Pop culture impact doesn't mean gimmicks. Not unless your calling the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, or Madonna "gimmicky." It is exactly the kind of pop culture impact those artists had that made them so iconic and that Taylor lacks. She is about huge sales and hit songs and that has been about it so far. It could change, but it hasn't in her first decade on the scene. well. Popbox is right tho. A great portion of what Madonna brought to the table besides a complete reinvention sonically from one album to the next...is that she had something to say. Something everybody else was afraid to address. Like sex, abortion, religion, gays, etc. That stuff made tremendous impact. What has Taylor had to say? Unless you think Spotify is a taboo subject.
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Au$tin
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Post by Au$tin on Oct 8, 2015 11:15:58 GMT -5
Pop culture impact doesn't mean gimmicks. Not unless your calling the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, or Madonna "gimmicky." It is exactly the kind of pop culture impact those artists had that made them so iconic and that Taylor lacks. She is about huge sales and hit songs and that has been about it so far. It could change, but it hasn't in her first decade on the scene. well. Madonna most certainly was not gimmicky. She impacted pop culture in a HUGE way. The likes of Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, etc. wouldn't exist today without Madonna's contributions.
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popbox
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Post by popbox on Oct 8, 2015 11:26:36 GMT -5
I would argue that Taylor has been very influential in inspiring lots of country musicians to mix other genres in with country. No, she's not the first to ever crossover from country to pop, but I think its clear that since her raise to fame more and more country musicians have been doing this, to the point where many artists are in the same boat that Taylor was in with Red - the "is it country or is it not?" question. Some of the biggest acts in country are doing this, such as Zac Brown Band, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt and Eric Church. People in this thread clearly only consider influence in pop music to be important, or people are just oblivious to trends in country music. Perhaps her influence in pop music has yet to become realised, and perhaps it won't be realised, but then again, she's only been making pop music for a few years now, so it's difficult to say. This I can kind of agree with. The line between country and pop did start blurring more after her huge crossover success. Though as you said, she was far from the first Country/pop crossover star. Country just got poppier in general in the last decade, and I will agree she might have something to do with that.
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allow that
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Post by allow that on Oct 8, 2015 13:45:05 GMT -5
if she farted it would make headline news. Just lol'ing here because..... there is no "if." She did at The VMA's... and it did make headlines.
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Post by balletgirlmom on Oct 8, 2015 14:36:47 GMT -5
AC Radio is really embracing this big time!
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Clauss
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Post by Clauss on Oct 8, 2015 21:20:21 GMT -5
grmypro.co/TSPart1I believe this is must watch. Taylor being honest and talking about every album and creation for 1989, how she met Max back before RED, how she labeled it as Country when it was "multi-personality", the RED-dom Access Memories at Grammy's and lot of more. Creation of Blank Space"Explore the production and songwriting process behind Taylor Swiftโs chart-topping fifth album, 1989, with Swift herself. In this intimate listening session presented by the Nashville Chapter and the Producers & Engineers Wing, Swift shares never-before-heard demos and personal cell phone videos from her experience crafting 1989 with co-executive producer Max Martin. In Part 1 of this three-part series, Swift recounts the musical journey that led to 1989 and dissects the creation of โBlank Space,โ recorded with Max Martin and Shellback. Stay tuned for Part 2 and 3 which explore Swiftโs collaborations with Jack Antonoff on โOut of the Woods,โ Ryan Tedder on โI Know Places,โ Imogen Heap on โClean,โ and Max Martin and Shellback on โShake It Off.โ The Grammys are coming.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Oct 8, 2015 21:25:04 GMT -5
What has Taylor had to say? Unless you think Spotify is a taboo subject. Really? So there wasn't any sort of impact as a result of her Spotify incident? You can continue to dismiss how significant she's been this year all you want. Just because she doesn't have the *same* sort of impact and influence as past stars doesn't mean she isn't having some sort of lasting effect in a new way yet to be fully realized.
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SPRฮฮ
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Post by SPRฮฮ on Oct 8, 2015 23:40:59 GMT -5
What has Taylor had to say? Unless you think Spotify is a taboo subject. Really? So there wasn't any sort of impact as a result of her Spotify incident? You can continue to dismiss how significant she's been this year all you want. Just because she doesn't have the *same* sort of impact and influence as past stars doesn't mean she isn't having some sort of lasting effect in a new way yet to be fully realized. Time will tell. I can see her caving eventually as streaming is only becoming bigger. I think she may eventually reach a point to where streaming revenue would be greater than album sales. Or maybe all streaming will have a price tag and she'll say fuck it. Yes her decision has had impact, but I don't see many following suit either. Look at single sales, they are the worst they've ever been.....because of streaming. Album sales seem to be plateauing, but it's not because of Taylor. Stanbases simply buy physical/digital copies still. Literally all those big name album sellers are still on Spotify. Taylor pulling her music off Spotify only made a moment for herself. It was a big moment, but the rest of world continued on it seemed. When you have a fanbase as big as Taylor's, you have leverage. All the others saw it as not such a good idea, when from a business perspective, the album sales line was curved down and the streaming revenue line was curved up.
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KissMyAxe
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Post by KissMyAxe on Oct 9, 2015 4:46:56 GMT -5
She is definitely influential and immensely huge in the money making process but in setting music trends and impacting pop culture? Nah this hasn't happened yet!!! Maybe in 10 years
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