In 2006, a teenage Taylor Swift debuted on the musical charts with a self-titled country album. Soon after, she would go on to release ten studio albums and, in the process, earn 14 Grammy Awards. Furthermore, through all of her different eras, consistency at the top of the ranking charts stood present. In 2023, the singer would shatter a glass ceiling by becoming the only artist to achieve a billionaire status based on the weight of her music alone. Finally, ahead of the rollout of her next album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, she not only stands on the cusp of a financial milestone but also landed numbers similar to the ones last achieved by Michael Jackson.

A look down at her journey reveals that a major part of achieving such success came from the brand power that Taylor Swift built for herself and here are five striking ways how.

A pivotal part of every artist’s musical career remains the drop and announcement of new albums and music. Opting to make things bigger than herself and giving her fans a sense of curious intrigue, Taylor Swift employs a variety of tactics to hide clues regarding her next music in the form of easter eggs. The ‘1989’ singer has a history of hiding hidden messages within her CD lyric booklets with capitalized letters spelling out crucial details regarding her next album.

In her music videos, the singer lays bare motifs and imagery referencing future projects or past relationships such as a paper airplane necklace from ‘Out of the Woods’, nodding at her ex-boyfriend, Harry Styles. Similarly, her lyrics in themselves are stark hints at important life events surrounding herself such as love gone sour, unrequited passions, or even dropping bombshell clues about past feuds.

Taylor Swift Continues Her Easter Egg Tradition As Her Team Drops a Major Throwback

Taylor Swift defines an ‘era’ as a thematic and visual flair associated with the rollout and the period following it until the release of another of her albums. The singer takes a unique color choice for the cover’s canvas and settles on a theme based on which the entire marketing and visual appearance of her merchandise, websites, and social media take shape. The distinction helps mark a clear mood and conveys to the fans exactly what kind of beats remain set to headline the drop.

Interestingly, Taylor Swift has also taken to different hairstyles and self-appearances for each of her eras. The visual identity then passes its fervor down to the fans, who bask and try to replicate the same. A few prominent ones happened with her 2008 ‘Fearless’ era which spoke of sequins and romanticism, whereas her 2022 ‘Midnights’ era had a retro-inspired ‘70s aesthetic, and her upcoming ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, settling for the canvas of white with a tint of sepia.

The 34-year-old pop star leaves no stone unturned in making her album concert tours stand out. Featuring gigantic set pieces, full of color, lighting, bright hues, sparkles, a memorable line-up of hit songs, and of course, special guests. Each of her tours presents the opportunity for fans to witness a spectacle while also lending a helping hand to the economy, turning it into a prized affair. Intimate acoustic performances, multiple stages, high-energy dance routines, and light shows come across as the staples that make each concert more appealing than the last.

In recent memory, Taylor Swift climbed into the billionaire club based on the massive reception and sell-out crowd of millions at her Eras Tour shows. Rather, her influence stands so strong that over 96,000 people thronged to the arena in Melbourne making way for the biggest concert she has ever hosted. Finally, with word-of-mouth fanning the credibility of the experience, many cannot afford to resist attending one of such concerts and falling in love with more of Swift’s songs.

Hollywood stands ripe with artists who have earned fortunes on the backs of building ventures based on their artistic prowess. Ryan Reynolds, for example, commands several billion-dollar empires and steers them with the graceful hold of his wit and creative humor. Taylor Swift, however, did not divert away from music but instead used it to leverage herself as an omnipotent personality. From debuting as the face of a collection for CoverGirl in 2010 to starring as an ambassador for Coca-Cola, she started tapping into audiences who stood yet unaware of her.

The returns came in hordes. The extended visibility brought in more people to stream her music and swing up sales numbers. Additionally, her idea to rollout exclusives and aesthetics for each personality such as the most recent one of four different editions for ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ has resulted in presales and predictions, putting her on track to sell over 1 million vinyl copies, a feat last achieved by Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’.

Fans of Taylor Swift, Swifties, as they stand popularly known, boast an inseparable bond with each other. The singer has often taken long steps to ensure her fandom’s happiness and received unabated love and support in return. During the 2023 Eras Tour shows in Brazil, a severe heatwave led to several injuries and the death of a fan for which the organizer stood liable. However, the ‘Wildest Dreams’ singer went out of her way to hold condolences for the departed, postponed shows until better weather, and arranged sufficient amenities and care.

Swifties, on their part, stood in vocal defense of Taylor Swift when an AI-deep fake controversy sprouted up. A united push of positive posts on X drowned the sea of spam, thus having them stand as her saving grace. Additionally, the singer also sends out messages of love and support on her social media handles for her fans, maintaining the relationship for eras to come.

Travis Kelce Being "protective" for Taylor Swift Has Fans Swooning All Over the Power Couple

In her crafty ways, Taylor Swift stands at the top of being her own brand, paving the way for unparalleled chart-topping success. What are your thoughts on the singer’s climb to the top in these ways? Let us know in the comments below.