My love for Taylor Swift is no secret among my family and friends. Still, putting into words her impact on the world feels incredibly difficult. But now is an excellent time to try, as Time Magazine recently announced Swift as their 2023 Person of the Year.
I gasped and jumped off the couch when I opened TikTok on Wednesday morning and saw the announcement from the Today Show. I’m glad I was not holding my freshly brewed hot coffee when I found out.
Time’s Editor-in-Chief, Sam Jacobs, explains why the pop icon was their final choice: “Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light. No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well.”
Speaking on behalf of the world about Taylor Swift feels impossible, but I would like to share my experience with her. Swift has influenced how I interact with music and has remained a consistent, comforting presence. As Sam Lansky said in his profile of the singer/songwriter—“She became the main character of the world.”
I have been a “Swiftie” since my parents gifted me the “Fearless (Platinum Edition)” CD for Christmas in 2009. I have many memories involving her music growing up, and each one felt like an event.
Afternoons spent prone on the carpet listening to her albums on my portable player, squinting to read the lyrics in the CD booklet, staring at the album artwork and studying liner notes for any secret messages defined my adolescence.
I would sit, hunched over the family laptop, entering iTunes gift card codes to download singles for $1.29 each. I once jumped off the bus and jogged home to watch the music video for the 2010 single “Mine” on YouTube the day it premiered. Any unfortunate soul that digs into my early Instagram history will find a heavily edited photo of “Red (Deluxe)” with the very 2013-coded caption: “Gotta have my t-swifty before school :-)”
Ten years later, I find myself still needing my “T-Swifty” before work—except now I listen to the re-recorded edition, “Red (Taylor’s Version).”
Each album or music video invokes specific memories that take me back to various “eras” of my life.
I was in the middle of a shift at my part-time food service job in Springfield, Missouri, when Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” music video dropped and “broke the internet” in 2017. My friend and I hid in the back to watch in shock with our hands over our mouths, trying not to get in trouble for not working.
I was driving back to Joplin, Missouri, for my college graduation ceremony after it had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic the day “evermore” was released in 2021. My dad was with me on the road trip and we listened to the album together.
I decided to leave a graduate program and had just moved into my first real apartment in a new city for a fresh start when Swift released “Midnights” in 2022.
Bestowing this accolade to Swift validates music’s impact on our lives and its essential role in forging strong and vivid memories.
Swift is the first Person of the Year to be recognized for success in the arts. This distinction has historically been granted to those, predominantly males, who wield traditional modes of power. Many presidents, politicians, CEOs, popes and industry leaders have graced the cover of Time in years past.
While Swift’s songwriting abilities contributed to Time’s decision, the feature profiling Swift focused on her contributions to the economy, culture and the music industry.
Swift recently became a billionaire because of her incredible Eras Tour. Lansky’s “Time” feature does a great job exploring the commercial success of her tour and the impact on local economies.
In addition to Time’s Person of the Year, Swift was placed in the fifth slot for Forbes’ Most Powerful Women of the Year list.
Maggie McGrath writes, “The so-called Taylor Swift Effect casts a wide financial halo. Two nights of her tour in Denver added $140 million to Colorado’s gross domestic product, thanks to fans spending an average of $1,300 apiece on hotels, restaurants and retailers.”
NBC News reported, “Ticket sales for Swift’s concerts have been so explosive, one Federal Reserve office said, the pop superstar is helping fuel the national tourism industry.”
In addition to her incredible Eras Tour and concert film, Swift and her fans have brought new life and energy to album releases and re-popularized going out and buying physical copies of albums. This detail was not mentioned in the Person of the Year feature but speaks to her power over fans.
According to Billboard, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” sold 580,000 vinyl copies between October 27 and November 1, making it the fastest-selling vinyl record since vinyl sales were first tracked in 1991. Swift broke her own record initially set by the release of her 2022 “Midnights” album.
Swift is also dominating the streaming world. She was named Spotify’s 2023 Top Global Artist and Apple Music’s Artist of the Year.
Hopping in the car early on a Friday morning to buy your favorite artist’s new album has become a rare ritual in our streaming world. Yet purchasing records has remained an essential aspect of how I consume music today.
Why do I still try to buy her albums when I already pay for streaming? It is because I am still holding on to the joy I experienced as a preteen and young adult when my parents drove me to the store to pick up a copy of a new album. It feels like when I would flip through CD booklets in my room after school, memorizing lyrics.
Swift’s discography is the soundtrack to my life. The powerful, unapologetic, vulnerable and brilliant nature of her lyrics has built a lasting connection and sense of loyalty to the artist.
The anticipation I felt as a teen listening to the drum-heavy intro of “State of Grace” for the first time in the Target parking lot 11 years ago bubbles up and resurfaces each time new music is released.
Maintaining a level of wonder and joy as an adult is important. It’s okay to be excited about things!
Swift is a generation-defining artist who has impacted the music industry and the world for the better. Her songwriting and her work ethic have driven her to become one of the most successful artists and businesswomen of all time. She is more than deserving of this accolade.
Jacobs concluded his article for “Time” with a question: “What is a higher form of influence, after all, than giving millions of fans, young and old, the time of their lives, where they can revel not only in Swift’s voice but in finding their own?”
At 33 years old, it feels like Swift is only getting started. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Creative coordinator for publishing and marketing at Good Faith Media. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Missouri Southern State University and her Associate of Arts degree from Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Missouri. Chisholm was an Ernest C. Hynds Jr. intern with GFM for the summer of 2021.
