Is Taylor Swift exploiting her fans? Yes, but... | It's Been a Minute
October 17, 2025
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23:18Now PlayingIs Taylor Swift exploiting her fans? Yes, but... | It's Been a Minute
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as posted by the channelLove it or hate it, your favorite pop star is a person and a product. How much are you willing to pay?
Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, smashed records for first week album sales. This was in part due to all the different limited-edition variants that went on sale; some for only 24 hours. Talk about pressuring your fans! Is this business strategy fan service, or fan exploitation? Where’s the line?
Brittany sits down with Stephen Thompson () , host for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour, and Ann Powers () , NPR music critic and correspondent, to get into the life of a business woman, why they think Swift had to make this album, and whether or not it's worth the cost.
Read Ann's (mostly positive) review of The Life of a Showgirl () .
(0:00) Is Taylor exploiting her fans? Yes and No!
(3:08) Taylor's business strategy isn't hers alone...
(6:11) Why Taylor is a proxy for all our rage
(10:43) Why vinyl sales in general have skyrocketed
(13:46) How the charts impact the music industry
(15:50) Why Taylor Swift HAD to make 'The Life of a Showgirl'
(18:15) Does greed make bad art?
(21:00) Responding to your comments :)
Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram@bmluse ()
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