‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ is Record-Breaking
Why this rerecording proves Taylor Swift should never be underestimated.
Taylor Swift proved her power once again last weekend with the release of ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ on November 12th. This was her rerecording of the 2012 record, which now has 30 songs, including 9 ‘From The Vault’ tracks.
‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ quickly broke two records on Spotify. First, it became the most-streamed album by a female artist, beating the previous record set by her own ‘Folklore’ by 10 million listens. Second, Taylor broke the record for the most-streamed female artist in a single day in Spotify history with 122.9 million listens.
These milestones are incredibly impressive considering that ‘Red’ did not originally achieve the success of some of her other albums. ‘Fearless’ had been a much larger record, but the impact of the ‘Red’ rerecording is already much larger. A significant portion of this success could be related to the fact that ‘Red’ marked her initial transition into pop music. She was originally limited by her label to include only 3 pop tracks, so it was anticipated that the vault tracks would include new pop hits.
Known for her brilliant moves in the music industry, Taylor released this rerecording with several new strategies accompanying her, along with her signature use of Easter eggs. Beginning with a collaboration with Starbucks, she started a movement of brands supporting her. A variety of brands, such as Sour Patch Kids and Wet Brush, hopped on social media over the weekend with memes about lyrics and the subjects of the songs.
Arguably the most significant part of the content Taylor released this weekend was related to the 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’. The 5-minute original has long been a fan-favorite, recognized by many to be her best-written song for its imagery and unmatched storytelling. Since 2012, there’s been a myth of a 10-minute version that was never expected to see the light of day.
The new lyrics are brilliant by themselves, and the song is even enhanced by the risk Taylor and her team took by altering the production and tempo of the original. It was even performed on SNL and a week later it remains No. 1 on Spotify’s US and Global Top 50. Many are shocked by the immediate impact of a song of this length.
To accompany the song, she made her film directorial debut with a short film. An entire book could be written on the masterpiece that is ‘All Too Well: The Short Film' and this move by Taylor in general. She took the song with her most vivid imagery – the one favored by critics – and turned it into a film.
She used the technique of meta casting to make the characters truly represent the real story - with 30-year-old Dylan O’Brien portraying Jake Gyllenhaal (supposed subject of the song) and 19-year-old Sadie Sink portraying Taylor. The use of a well-liked actor with a reputation of playing nice guys in a role of a toxic relationship counterpart proves Taylor’s vision and versatility as a creative. In addition, she released a music video for another one of her songs, ‘I Bet You Think About Me,’ marking Blake Lively’s directorial debut.
If anything, this weekend has proved that Taylor Swift should never be underestimated. Her decision to rerecord her music was questioned by many, but her second release only further proves the importance of knowing your audience. And no one knows their fans better than Taylor Swift. She listened to direct feedback on social media and gave them what they wanted, rather than focusing on what those distanced from the fans advised. Her next rerecord will be eagerly awaited.