We are bringing back #TuneTuesday because this weekend was a total blast, and though this song was first released in 2015 (and blew up around this time last year), I only just recently got the privilege of watching this video.
If you haven’t seen it yet…. you’re so welcome. This chick is on fire 🍑🍑🍑
I don’t care what you think. Ain’t no shame in my game. This song is freakin’ catchy.
All I’m saying is tell me what you wanna do.
“There’s an art to life’s distractions…”
This chick is the realest.
In other news, I quit my job.
Well, it’s not that dramatic. Like, I put in a two weeks notice and everything. Shit just got real today because I just sent e-mails out to all my clients telling them Thursday will be my last day. In my last week of work before I start at this new place, I kind of feel like a cop a week before retirement… I’m trying to play it as safe as possible so I can leave quietly and unscathed.
The uncertainty of the future used to make me uncomfortable. It gave me so much unwanted anxiety. I’m beginning to realize the real anxiety comes from settling for one thing when you know something bigger is out there. Now I’m filled with this excited anxiousness for what’s in store for me… and I can’t wait.
Oh y’know… just posting this music video on this #TuneTuesday because… important.
Surprisingly, The Replacements originally released this song in 1984. Almost 30 years later we’re still giving people shit for trying to do and be who and what they want… Anyway, here’s a video that was released on Friday featuring Miley, Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! and Joan Jett rocking out for Miley’s new campaign, The Happy Hippie Foundation, aimed to support our homeless youth. Rock on, you beautiful, lovely ladies, you.
You see her everywhere. Whether you love her or hate her, this girl knows how to make money–a lot of it. Here’s three things she’s doing that make her more successful than the average pop tart megastar…
There’s not much more to her music than that. Even if you hate her, you will still have one of her songs stuck in your head at some point. And that’s the whole idea… because one day you may sing along. And then the next day you may go out of your way to listen to it. Mind games, man. It’s all mind games.
Aka, she understands her target audience from a mass marketing standpoint. She didn’t take the plunge into a sex-driven image once she matured, like other female music artists who have grown up in the spotlight have (i.e., Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and more recently Miley Cyrus). So, in addition to the twenty-somethings that grew right along with her (I got to celebrate my 22nd birthday with her song ‘22’ blasting on the radio on my ride home), she is able to penetrate other age groups ranging from young girls to their parents. While taking your 12-year-old to a Miley Cyrus concert may cause child services to come and relieve you of your motherly duties, that’s not the case with Swift. Twenty-year-olds want to go to her concerts with their best friends or drag their (poor) boyfriends, and the 12-year-olds will drag their parents. She has tripled her audience and magnified her profits by not turning to sexuality in her music, her videos, and her live appearances.
A basic economic concept that eludes most 24-year-olds. On November 3rd, Swift completely removed her music from free-streaming sites. Since you can no longer listen to her on music platforms like Spotify (though her music is still on Pandora, Beats Music and Rdio), she is cutting her supply and increasing her demand. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this has everything to do with the recent release of her fifth studio album, 1989, and the fact that no artist has gone platinum yet in 2014. She spoke out about music needing to be consumed in the form of albums, not only during an acceptance speech at the American Music Awards, but also all the way back in July when she wrote an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal (link is to an overview of the piece, since you cannot read the WSJ article without a subscription).
The girl is igniting a fire that is going to royally screw with my Spotify playlists while I’m at work, seeing as Jason Aldean and countless other artists followed suit and pulled their music from Spotify after Swift… but I can’t hate on her for it. It was a smart move, albeit annoying. And it’s working. Her album sales are through the roof – hell, I even considered buying it for a second. However, she is attempting to revive a product that I would argue is on a market decline (or very close to it). When was the last time you purchased a CD? Just like books will soon be obsolete in the wake of e-readers; just like buying VHS and DVDs are slowly being replaced by RedBox and Netflix; albums for consumption is a declining industry, shifting with the times toward .mp3s and iTunes purchases which are currently in the growth phase (and are more likely to be purchased on a per-song basis rather than an entire album). While one business-savvy mega-star may not completely alter the market structure with a few groundbreaking actions, these calculated moves will definitely have an impact that we will see the effects of very soon. All I will say regarding this is, I’m now finding myself cranking her new song just a little bit louder when it comes on the radio, since I’m unable to listen to it on Spotify.
Taylor Swift just mind-fucked the world with a business model. And—love her or hate her—that’s why she will stay on top.
I’m only adding this music video so I can come back here and shamefully watch it, over and over. Damn you, T-Swift. Damn you.
Happy December! Make these last 31 days of the year count.
kcincleveland 