Taylor Swift: Audience and Industries blog tasks

 Audience

Background and audience wider reading

Read this Guardian feature on stan accounts and fandom. Answer the following questions:

1) What examples of fandom and celebrities are provided in the article?

Some of the many examples of fandom and celebrities that are provided in the article are Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters, Beyoncé’s Bey Hive, Taylor Swift’s Swifties, and Nicki Minaj’s Barbs.

2) Why did Taylor Swift run into trouble with her fanbase? 

Taylor Swift ran into trouble with her fanbase as when a presale came out for Taylor Swift’s tour, it turned  into a battle royale for fans as they were locked out of Ticketmaster’s system. Frazzled Swifties voiced their disappointment. Ticketmaster and Swift quickly apologized, with the singer calling the process “excruciating”. Ticketmaster ended up testifying in Congress in a hearing about consolidation in the ticketing industry.

3) Do stan accounts reflect Clay Shirky's ideas regarding the 'end of audience'? How? 

I feel like stan accounts do reflect Clay Shirky's ideas regarding the 'end of audience' theory as now we have many ways of spreading our messages and viewpoints across to people. People who just used to be consumers of text or what they were witnessing or seeing can now have a say and share their viewpoints and opinions. Stan accounts heavily support Clay Shirkys theory as we now have 'one to many' communication as stan accounts can create a tweet or reply back to a post of a certain someone they do not like and cause a lot of arguments and fights online. E.G Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial and Amber Heard followers were being targeted by Depp 'stan account' fans and siding and defending Depp when there were accusations going towards Depp.  

Read this Conversation feature on the economics of Taylor Swift fandom. Answer the following questions: 

1) What do Taylor Swift fans spend their money on? 

Taylor Swift fans 'Swifties' spend their money on a numerous different things that Taylor Swift has to offer such as spending money on her tickets for her tour dates (breaking record of 3.5 million fans trying to book a presale code ticket which made news headlines), spending money on her albums and the merchandise that she has to offer such as clothes and personalised items having Taylor Swift on them. 

2) How does Swift build the connection with her fans? Give examples from the article.

Taylor Swift builds the connection with her fans by memorising facts about each fan in attendance, surprising them with comments about new haircuts, academic achievements and relationship milestones. She also has a history of sending fans surprise gifts in the mail, ranging from handwritten letters of support to gift boxes full of things she says “remind her” of the fan in question. 

3) What have Swifties done to try and get Taylor Swift's attention online? 

Swifties have tried many different ways to get Taylor Swift's attention online by putting the date and type of interaction in their bio to broadcast the attention they received from Swift's official social media team 'Taylor Nation' by liking, replying to, or retweeting their messages which then fans share by putting onto their bio so it gets noticed by others in within the fandom community making them stand out more from the rest. Another way fans get noticed is through the Taylor Nation twitter account who retweets and engages with fans who have shared screenshots of merchandise receipts (from increasingly frequent, themed merchandise releases), pictures of themselves with multiple copies of albums, or particularly over-the-top displays of emotion and creativity. This all helps to get closer and into the eyes of Taylor Swift. 

4) Why is fandom described as a 'hierarchy'? 

Fandom is described as a hierarchy because they are set and put into place in which fans have their status elevated by participating in certain ways. For Swift fans, these hierarchies are heavily tied to practices of consumption, including the purchasing of concert tickets. In addition to this the more you pay towards Taylor Swift the better the experience you will get. This is because within the fandom, fans who travel to shows, attend multiple nights, or have seats near the stage are labelled “dedicated” and “committed” but these tickets come at a very high price (the Australian tour dates will set fans back $1,249. For that price, fans will get an “unforgettable A Reserve floor ticket” and “exclusive VIP merchandise”). Those who miss out on tickets often express their frustration at missing out to others who they don’t deem to be “real” fans.

The higher the levels of sacrifice reported, the more someone can project to other members of the fandom just how big a fan they are. This can result in increased attention and a reputation as someone who “deserves” to meet Swift.

5) What does the article suggest is Swift's 'business model'? 

The more you spend money into Taylor Swift and purchase everything she sells and invest your time and money and 'life' into her the closer you will get into meeting her. This is just a possibility however nothing is set in stone where this is all true and if fans do follow this 'business model' of Swifts it will make you meet her in person. 

Taylor Swift: audience questions and theories

Work through the following questions to apply media debates and theories to the Taylor Swift CSP. You may want to go back to your previous blogpost or your A3 annotated booklet for examples. 

1) Is Taylor Swift's website and social media constructed to appeal to a particular gender or audience?

I think that Taylor Swift's website and social media is not constructed to appeal to a particular gender or audience even though Taylor Swift fans are female dominated (52%) I think that T.S tries her best to appeal to all. This is through her website and social media trying her best to include all and not try to be focused on one type of audience or gender. 

2) What opportunities are there for audience interaction in Taylor Swift's online presence and how controlled are these? 

There are many opportunities for audience interaction in Taylor Swift's online presence such as fans putting in their bios the date and time and what kind of interaction they received from the official Taylor Swift team 'Taylor Nation'.  However, this is heavily controlled by Taylor Nation as they choose who gets to stand out from the rest. We see this on the social media platform Twitter where they retweet a particular fan's comment or shares pictures of them on their posts of how over hyped they are at being at one of Taylor Swifts' concert. 

3) How does Taylor Swift's online presence reflect Clay Shirky’s ‘End of Audience’ theories? 

Taylor Swift's online presence reflects Clay Shirky's 'End of Audience' theory as we see Taylor Swift who is the lead dominant celebrity being able to share her viewpoints and opinions on certain matters such as the upcoming November elections in America and who she is supporting. This supports Clay Shirkys 'one to many' theory as this shows Taylor Swift sharing her thoughts and opinions to her staggering amount of followers making them aware and letting them know where she stands with this and influencing them in a way to vote for who she wants to vote for (Kamala Harris). 

4) What effects might Taylor Swift's online presence have on audiences? Is it designed to influence the audience’s views on social or political issues or is this largely a vehicle to promote Swift's work?

I feel like on certain types of social media platforms Taylor Swift tries to show her different sides she has judging on which social media platform it is. For example, on Instagram Taylor Swift is heavily just focused on promoting her tour dates and uploading and showing pictures of her performing on stage and singing and smiling and having fun trying to persuade her fans to come and join her and watch her perform on stage and buy tickets which again can help to promote capitalist ideologies that Swift might have. However on Twitter, we see another side of Swift her showing off her more dominant and political side of herself making her fans know where she stands and that she is politically aware with what is going on. Moving slightly away from the promoting and marketing side, Taylor Swift on Twitter focuses on influencing her fans to listen to her and vote for who she is voting for as she has that power and is capable to influence the population of America into what she sees is best as she has a strong fan base and following around her giving her that stability and control. 

5) Applying Hall’s Reception theory, what might be a preferred and oppositional reading of Taylor Swift's online presence? 

Preferred reading - Taylor Swift's online presence can be a force for good. She is not afraid to share her viewpoints and opinion and call out on people who she thinks are a bad influence (Trump). She can be seen as a dominant female role model for young girls trying to help women singers in the music industry as well be recognised more and treated more fairly. 

Oppositional reading - Taylor Swift can just be showing her fans what they want to see. Swift only shares what she wants her fans to believe into and sees creating that 'genuine' connection with Swift when in reality they could be miles apart from knowing the true Taylor Swift. In addition, Swift can be seen as a person who just wants money and power and nothing else. Promoting her tour dates and tickets on all her social media accounts can support the idea of capitalistic ideologies and that she does not care about her fans as much as she says she does and just cares about the money and power more instead. 

Industries

How social media companies make money

Read this analysis of how social media companies make money and answer the following questions:

1) How many users do the major social media sites boast?

The major social media sites boast about the amount of users they have:

Facebook 2022 - 2.96 billion

Twitter (X) 2019 (most recent) - 330 million

LinkedIn 2023 - 900 million 

2) What is the main way social media sites make money? 

Social media companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) and X Corp. (formerly Twitter Inc.), primarily make money through selling advertising. Television, newspapers, and media companies have been making money via advertising long before social media.

3) What does ARPU stand for and why is it important for social media companies? 

For social media, the importance of the number of viewers glued to their computer or smartphone screens is every bit as important (if not more so) as it is to commercial television. There’s a reason why Meta’s 10-K filing with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uses the acronym ARPU, which means average revenue per user

4) Why has Meta spent huge money acquiring other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp? 

Meta has spent huge money acquiring other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp in order to grow out their user base. WhatsApp boasts over 2 billion monthly active users, which to Meta management means an even greater stock of susceptible minds to sell as a unit to companies looking to, for instance, move a few more smartphones this quarter. Every acquisition Meta has made since, whether it was $1 billion for Instagram or $19 billion for WhatsApp, was conducted with the same goal in mind.

5) What other methods do social media sites have to generate income e.g. Twitter Blue? 

Twitter (X) 

Other social media companies are also exploring new ways to increase their revenue. For example, after Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he rebranded the site X. Corp. and changed the site's blue "verified" checkmark system. These checkmarks were once given to prominent or important accounts (such as journalists, politicians, celebrities, and newspapers, and other media accounts) to show that their identities had been verified and could be trusted. Under the new system that Musk implemented in 2023, however, checkmarks became a symbol that users had subscribed to X Premium. X Premium subscribers receive benefits including editable posts, fewer ads, longer posts, and more robust security measures. This service costs $8 per month or $84 per year

Facebook (Meta)

Meta does not make money directly from any content that you post. This includes photos, videos, text posts, or any other form of communication. Meta only makes money by placing advertisements throughout its platform that are paid for by companies or individuals.

Regulation of social media

Read this BBC News article on a report recommending social media regulation. Answer the following questions:

1) What suggestions does the report make? Pick out three you think are particularly interesting. 

*Implementing "circuit breakers" so that newly viral content is temporarily stopped from spreading while it is fact-checked.

*Banning the use of so-called dark patterns - user interfaces designed to confuse or frustrate the user, such as making it hard to delete your account

*Making it illegal to exclude people from content on the basis of race or religion, such as hiding a spare room advert from people of colour

2) Who is Christopher Wylie? 

Christopher Wylie is a data scientist and the whistleblower who reported Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. Listed in TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World and Forbes’ 30 Under 30. Author of bestselling book Mindf*ck: inside Cambridge Analytica’s plot to break the world.

3) What does Wylie say about the debate between media regulation and free speech? 

What Christopher Wylie says about the debate between media regulation and free speech is you are free to say what you want, within the confines of hate speech, libel law and so on. But you are not entitled to have your voice artificially amplified by technology. These platforms are not neutral environments. Algorithms make decisions about what people see or do not see. Nothing in this report restricts your ability to say what you want. What we're talking about is the platform's function of artificially amplifying false and manipulative information on a wide scale.

4) What is ‘disinformation’ and do you agree that there are things that are objectively true or false?

Disinformation is the spreading of fake news around which others believe is real.  I agree that there are things that are objectively true or false as the internet is heavily unregulated and anyone can go about spreading a rumour around on a social media platform which others can believe into thinking is real. 

5) Why does Wylie compare Facebook to an oil company? 

An oil company would say: "We do not profit from pollution." Pollution is a by-product - and a harmful by-product. Regardless of whether Facebook profits from hate or not, it is a harmful by-product of the current design and there are social harms that come from this business model.

6) What does it suggest a consequence of regulating the big social networks might be? 

A consequence of regulating the big social networks might be that it if you have a platform that has the unique selling point of "we will allow you to promote hate speech, we will allow you to deceive and manipulate people", I do not think that business model should be allowed in its current form. Platforms that monetise user engagement have a duty to their users to make at least a minimum effort to prevent clearly identified harms. I think it's ridiculous that there's more safety consideration for creating a toaster in someone's kitchen, than for platforms that have had such a manifest impact on our public health response and democratic institutions.

7) What has Instagram been criticised for?

Instagram have been heavily criticised for promoting "perfect" images of how bodies on female should look like which has led to an affect on mental health and how females perceives and views themselves through the eyes of others making them paranoid. 

8) Can we apply any of these criticisms or suggestions to Taylor Swift? For example, should Taylor Swift have to explicitly make clear when she is being paid to promote a company or cause? 

I think that Taylor Swift has some of these criticisms when it comes to her online presence. This is because of her posting herself on her Instagram account and her website showing off her body and how slim she is which can cause her female 'Swifties' to try to copy her look and try to become as slim and as skinny as her as Taylor Swift is a massive female role model that a lot of young girls look up too.