Taylor Swift: New studio album "The Life of a Showgirl" sets new marketing records

"And, baby, that's show business for you," along with a virtual confetti bomb, is currently appearing on every screen where someone typesTaylor Swift into a Google search. The US singer announced her twelfth studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," on Tuesday in the "New Heights" podcast, stirring up excitement not only among her fan base but also among numerous companies. The artist created a social media spectacle that quickly generated millions of likes and mentions.

The album, which is scheduled to be released on October 3rd in an orange glitter look, triggered a veritable marketing wave not only at Google but also at numerous global corporations. Companies were overwhelmed with creative posts. In addition to US corporations like United Airlines, Starbucks, FedEx, McDonald's, Domino's Pizza, Walmart, and Netflix, German companies also seized the opportunity and immediately filled their channels with orange memes.

German Swifties include rental car company Sixt , which posted one of its cars in an orange glitter look with the slogan "Tailor-made cars for Showgirls." DIY store Obi advertised its "TS12" trash can on TikTok. Aldi and even the German Federal Employment Agency are also getting in on the action.

No wonder: According to estimates by Forbes, the advertising value (“earned media value”) of Swift’s posts and media coverage alone was $130 billion in the past two years – this refers to the calculated value of high-profile mentions in social media, the press, and TV.

The so-called "Taylor Effect" thus becomes a "prime example of modern, reactive marketing and sustainable product placement," says Silvia Lange , co-founder and managing director of the influencer-tech company medialabel. "Within a very short period of time, brands around the world have tapped into a cultural trend and benefited from organic reach that would otherwise only be achievable with large media budgets," she says.

Smaller companies, from sponge manufacturers to laser eye surgery providers, are also taking advantage of the impact. They are benefiting from Swift's reach (almost 280 million Instagram followers) and her ability to connect pop culture, community, and economic power.

Fans are fueling this effort, incentivized by Swift's domino effect: Fans who celebrate their star particularly lavishly online are often rewarded with invitations to concerts. Thus, they are actively involved in marketing – the more Swift content, the higher the likelihood of being seen by "Taylor Nation," her official social media team.

This creates a huge wave of free advertising for the singer. But it also creates a business model with Swift influencers who earn a lot of money with their reach in the millions. "This community drive ensures that trends aren't controlled from the top down, but emerge from the heart of a movement," says Lange.

Swift's team has perfected this strategy and keeps turning the wheel. For years, Swift has been hiding "Easter eggs," little clues for fans, in her music, stage sets, and social media posts. "Strategies that pique curiosity have worked particularly well in marketing in the past," says Sarah Montano , a marketing professor at the University of Birmingham. Swift's fans love these games and diligently guess what the singer wants to say in millions of posts about her theories.

This turns their fans into active participants. "It activates a deep psychological need for belonging and participation, combined with the thrill of being part of a cultural moment," explains social media expert Lange. "This not only creates visibility, but also emotional connection," she says.

This isn't the only reason Swift is dubbed a "mastermind" in the business world. "This reputation also extends to her characteristically cryptic marketing strategy," says Montano. "Most of what is publicly known about the album is pure speculation," says expert Montano.

Swift had already become one of the entertainment industry's most powerful economic factors by 2024. During her "Eras Tour"—the highest-grossing concert tour of all time—Swift generated more than two billion US dollars in revenue from ticket sales alone—twice the company Douglas recently reported as its corporate revenue . This nearly doubled Coldplay's previous record.

Last year, the news agency Bloomberg dubbed the singer's impact "Swiftonomics." Over 10 million people worldwide attended her 149 sold-out shows. Taylor Swift's estimated personal wealth is now over one billion US dollars. This has also had an impact on the cities where she performs: In some cities, hotel bookings skyrocketed by over 150 percent during her tour.

The economic impact is enormous: The US Travel Association estimates the total economic impact of the US leg of their tour at over $5 billion for the participating states—more than the gross domestic product of 35 US states. Tickets for their concerts cost between $200 and $800; in addition, there are gigantic sums for outfits, merchandise, travel, and accommodation.

The singer's economic importance was even highlighted by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve: In June 2023, she appeared in the "Beige Book," which noted that May, in which Swift performed three times at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, was the busiest month for the city's hotels since the pandemic. While just two concert nights of Taylor Swift's tour in Denver generated an economic added value of approximately $140 million for the state of Colorado, fans invested an average of around $1,300 each for overnight stays, restaurant visits, and shopping.

The merchandising business is also booming, with sales of approximately $2 million per show. Even the NFL benefited massively: During Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce, sales of Kansas City Chiefs merchandise increased by nearly 400 percent – and the Super Bowl set new records with 123.4 million TV viewers.

Swift is also generous to her crew: Over the course of the current tour, she paid out bonuses totaling $197 million to dancers, technicians, truck drivers, and other team members.

Added to this is income from her music. Her last album, "The Tortured Poets Department," broke all records as the most-streamed album on Spotify. Her current 140 billion streams equate to approximately €100 million for Swift. Music sales, licensing, and rights management generate another €400 million for Swift's company. And that income is expected to grow even further this year. In June, the singer repurchased the rights to her first six albums from the investment firm Shamrock Capital for around €360 million. This means she now fully owns the master recordings and the rights to "Taylor Swift," "Fearless," "Speak Now," "Red," "1989," and "Reputation."

“Therefore, great expectations are placed on Swift to reach the same heights with her latest musical work, not only for her own commercial ambitions, but also to increase sales for others,” says Professor Montano.

However, the impact on the platforms is even greater. Spotify alone reached 100 million monthly users thanks to Swift.

Google's slogan "And, baby, that's show business for you" is not just a sideshow, but rather sums up what Taylor Swift is currently doing in the corporate world: She is turning show business into a real money-making machine.