All language subtitles for Unstoppable Taylor Swift (2023) (1080p AMZN WEB-DL H265 SDR DDP 2.0 English - HONE)

So how did you find out?

I found out when
it was online, like
when it hit the news.

Nobody in your
inner circle knew.

Nobody knew.

And you didn't smell it?

No.

I knew he would sell my music.
I knew he would do that.

I couldn't believe
who he sold it to.

Because we've had
endless conversations
about Scooter Braun,

and he has 300 million reasons

to conveniently forget
those conversations.

Now, could you rerecord?

Oh, yeah.

Might you do that?

Oh, yeah.

- That's a plan.
- Yeah, absolutely.

Under
US copyright law,

a music release is subject
to two separate copyrights,

the copyright to the song or
musical composition itself

and the copyright to the
specific recording of that song,

which is usually
contained on a master.

The master from which copies
are made for use in sales

and distribution is the
original recording of the song.

Therefore, the owner of the
master also holds the copyright

to all means of distribution
for the recording,

including physical media,
like CDs and final LPs,

as well as digital distribution
for download or streaming.

On the other hand, owning the
musical work is referred to

as the publishing rights,

which covers the lyrics before
it became a sound recording.

Its melodies sheet,
music, composition,

and instrumental arrangements.

Songwriters generally
own the publishing rights

and are referred to as the
publishers of the music.

Over
your shoulder, Taylor,

and the back of the dress.

Over
your shoulder, love.

No one told us it
was country night.

Y'all wanna hear
some country music?

Yeah.

Later on you wanna
hear some Jack Ingram?

Yeah.

Right now you wanna
hear some Taylor Swift?

You're in the right place.

♪ I was riding shotgun
with my hair undone ♪

♪ In the front seat of his car

♪ He's got a one-hand feel
on the steering wheel ♪

♪ The other on my heart

♪ I look around,
turn the radio down ♪

♪ He says, Baby, is
something wrong ♪

♪ I say, Nothing, I
was just thinking ♪

♪ How we don't have a song

♪ And he says

♪ Our song is the
slamming screen door ♪

♪ Sneaking out late,
tapping on your window ♪

♪ When we're on the phone,
and you talk real slow ♪

In 2003
at the age of 13,

Taylor went to Nashville
to try and sign

with some major labels,
but was rejected.

♪ And when I got home

She tried her
luck again the following year

and received an
artist development
deal with RCA records

before becoming the
youngest artist, aged 15,

signed by the Sony
Publishing house,

but left shortly
afterwards due to concerns

that development deals
may shelf artists.

♪ Had gone all wrong
and been trampled on ♪

Swift took
part in an industry showcase

later that year at
Nashville's Bluebird Cafe,

where she was recognized
by Scott Borchetta,

a Dreamworks Records
executive, who was considering

starting his own
independent record company.

♪ Our song is the
slamming screen door ♪

Swift
ultimately agreed

to a 13-year recording contract
with Big Machine Records,

the new Nashville-based record
label founded by Borchetta.

In exchange for a cash
advance, Big Machine

received ownership of
the masters for Swift's

first six albums under the
terms of the agreement.

Through his media company,
SB Projects, Scooter Braun,

an American media
proprietor, talent manager,

and businessman, is credited
with managing the careers

of musicians Justin
Bieber, Ariana Grande,

Demi Lovato, and Kanye West.

When Braun acquired Big
Machine Label Group,

they encompassed all aspects
of Big Machine's business,

including its client
roster, distribution deals,

publishing rights,
and music masters.

On June 30th, 2019, Swift
made a post and stated

that she had tried to buy
the masters for years,

but was not given a chance

unless she signed another
contract that would require her

to create six more
albums under the label

in exchange for the
masters of the first six,

which she felt was unacceptable.

She emphasized
Braun's contribution

to making Kanye West's
2016 famous music video,

where West used a stunt
double to play Taylor,

which she called a
revenge porn video

which strips her body naked.

Swift also alleged that Braun
colluded with two clients

to bully Swift online, and
persuaded Kim Kardashian,

who was then married to West,

to arrange an
illegally-recorded snippet

of Swift's phone call with West.

She was alluding to a FaceTime
screenshot of Bieber, West,

and Braun that was posted
to Bieber's Instagram

after Kardashian
released the snippet.

Despite being aware
of Braun's involvement

in harassing Swift, Borchetta
was accused by Taylor

of betraying her loyalty by
selling the masters to Braun.

On November 14th, 2019,
Swift claimed that Braun

and Borchetta had
stopped her from singing

some of her older songs at
the 2019 American Music Awards

and using some of them in
her upcoming documentary,

"Miss Americana."

She said they were
exercising tyrannical control

over her music, and claimed
Borchetta told her team

that she would be
allowed to use the music

only if she agreed to not
rerecord copycat versions

of her songs.

Swift commented, "The
message being sent to me

is very clear.

Basically, 'Be a good
little girl and shut up,

or you'll be punished.'"

For an estimated $405 million
Braun sold the masters,

related videos, and artwork
to Shamrock Holdings

in October, 2020.

Swift claimed that she
tried to bargain with Braun,

but that he only gave
her the opportunity

to get the masters back if
she signed an ironclad NDA

that only let her talk
favorably of Braun.

She refused to sign the NDA.

She also claimed that
Braun mandated Shamrock

not to notify her about the
sale until it was complete.

After the news came out,

#WeLoveYouTaylor started
trending worldwide on Twitter,

with Swifties making
their feelings known.

Fans wondered if
Taylor was connected

to the investment fund,

but she released a statement
clarifying she wasn't part

of this deal at all, and still
does not own the masters.

Swift wrote her album
"Reputation" as a
defense mechanism

that allowed her to to
cope with the fallout

in public scrutiny.

She secluded herself
from press attention

because she needed to
protect her mental health

and stop feeling obliged
to explain herself.

On the Reputation Stadium Tour,

Swift was inspired by the
love she received from fans

to embrace positivity
and vulnerability.

Despite her tarnished
reputation in the press,

she realized her fans see her

as a flesh-and-blood
human being.

To this end, she conceived
her seventh studio album

as a personal vulnerable record

that would connect
her with her audience

and showcase her strengths
as a singer-songwriter.

Swift wrote "Lover" as a
reflection of her personal life,

describing it as
very confessional
and autobiographical,

yet also playful and whimsical.

She also said the album
was a love letter to love

in all of its
maddening, passionate,
exciting, enchanting,

horrific, tragic,
wonderful glory.

♪ Or 20 years

♪ Can I go where you go

♪ Can we always be this close

The track
list consists of 18 songs,

more than any of
her other albums,

depicting many sentiments
stemming from love.

The imagery of "Reputation"
was dark and cold.

"Lover"'s bright colors
and themes contrasted this.

However, a common misconception
is that "Reputation"

lyrically is all about revenge.

Although some songs
do touch on this,

the majority of the album
details falling in love with Joe

amidst all the personal tumult.

"Lover" acts almost
as a sister album,

further detailing
the relationship and
the highs and lows

of what she had
been going through.

In the closing track,
"Daylight," Swift contemplates

that love to her now is golden,
rather than burning red,

as she once believed, a
reference to the title track

of her 2012 Studio album, "Red."

The song represents Swift's
mature understanding of love,

her personal life,
and her public image.

Although mainly positive,

some critics felt as though
"Lover" was a bit too much

like an unnecessary course
correction from "Reputation,"

rather than a
collection of themes

Swift was really
interested in pursuing.

The album features
some career highlights,

"Cruel Summer,"
"Lover," "Cornelia
Street," and "Daylight."

However, fans often feel as
though the album is too long

and includes some of
Swift's worst work today,

including the lead single, "ME!"

Because of "Reputation"'s
poor critical success,

many believe Swift wanted to
distance herself completely

and start new with the pop
sounds and bright colors.

Both albums have now
become fan favorites

and have received their flowers,

but at the time it
seemed as though Taylor

was at a crossroads
with her career.

Although she was still
doing well commercially,

she wasn't at the height she
was at a couple years prior,

during her "1989" era.

The ongoing Kanye feud and
relentless tabloid scrutiny

had taken a toll on Taylor.

In April, 2020, Taylor
Swift was set to embark

on Lover Fest, her
sixth concert tour

in support of the album.

However, the tour was canceled
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 23rd, 202O,
nine captionless
black and white images

of Taylor standing alone
in the woods were uploaded

to Swift's Instagram account.

She posted another message

on all of her social
media platforms

saying that her
eighth studio album

would be released at midnight.

Swift stated, "Most of the
things I had planned this summer

didn't end up happening,

but there is something I hadn't
planned on that did happen,

and that thing is my eighth
studio album, 'Folklore.'"

The creation of the album
was totally unexpected.

Whilst Taylor was in quarantine,

she watched numerous films,
from "LA Confidential,"

"Jane Eyre," "Rear Window,"
and "Marriage Story."

She also read more books
than she ever had before.

Books that dealt
with times past,

a world that doesn't
exist anymore,

such as "Rebecca" by
Daphne du Maurier.

The fiction encouraged
Swift to write songs

that weren't strictly autobiographical,

and instead experimented with
alternative points of view.

She allowed her
imagination to run wild

when she was alone during
the period of lockdown,

creating a series of
thoughts and visuals

that later became "Folklore."

"Folklore" was supposed to
be released in early 2021,

but it ended up
being done earlier

and released without a
second thought in July, 2020.

She approached the
album's creation

without subjecting
herself to any rules,

and explained that she used
to put all these parameters

on herself like, how will
this song sound in a stadium?

How will this song
sound on the radio?

If you take away all the
parameters, what do you make?

And I guess the
answer is "Folklore."

Swift told Billboard,
"It started with imagery,

visuals that popped into my
mind and peaked my curiosity.

Stars drawn around scars.

A cardigan that still bears

the scent of loss
20 years later.

Battleships sinking into
the ocean, down, down, down.

The tree swing in the
woods of my childhood.

Hushed tones of, 'Let's run
away' and never doing it.

The sun-drenched
month of August,

sipped away like
a bottle of wine.

A mirrored disco ball
hovering above a dance floor.

A whiskey bottle beckoning,
hands held through plastic.

A single thread, that
for better or worse,

ties you to your fate.

Pretty soon these images
in my head grew faces

or names and became characters.

I found myself not only
writing my own stories,

but also writing about
or from the perspective

of people I've never
met, people I've known,

or those I wish I hadn't."

For "Folklore, Swift's lyrics
veered towards escapism

and romanticism.

She enlisted two producers
to achieve her desired sound,

her longtime collaborator,
Jack Antonoff,

with whom she'd
previously collaborated

on the albums "1989,"
"Reputation," and "Lover,"

and Aaron Dessner,

guitarist for the American
indie rock band, The National.

Due to COVID-19 concerns,
Swift, Antonoff, and Dessner

quarantined remotely
separate from each other,

creating "Folklore"
by continually
exchanging digital files

of instrumentals and vocals.

The album ensued
from a DIY process,

mixed and engineered
by personnel scattered
across the US.

"Folklore" was written
and recorded in secrecy.

Swift, her boyfriend,
family, management team,

Antonoff, and Dessner were
aware of the album's creation.

She did not disclose the
news or play the album

to her friends, like she
did with her previous works.

Near the end of "Folklore"'s
recording process,

Dessner reached out to
his regular collaborators,

including The
National band mates,

to provide
instrumentation remotely.

"Folklore" asserts
something that has been true

from the very start
of Swift's career.

Her biggest strength
is her storytelling,

but this time her sound
departed from pop maximalism

and synth-driven to an
alternative indie folk sound.

The stories told in
"Folklore" include a ghost

that discovers its
murderer at its funeral,

a young girl with a
traumatized friend,

an elderly widow shunned
by her community,

recovering alcoholics,
and a love triangle

between the fictional
characters, Betty, James,

and an unnamed woman, as
depicted in the tracks

"Cardigan," "Betty,"
and "August,"

with each of the
three songs written

from each of the
character's perspective

at different points
in their lives.

DIY techniques were used
to produce the album art,

packaging, and lyric
videos for "Folklore."

Due to COVID-19
issues, Swift worked

without a technical
crew on the visuals

with photographer
Beth Garrabrant.

The photo shoot marked a change
from Swift's older shoots,

where she would have
100 people on set

commanding alongside
other people

in a very committee fashion.

She styled herself, including
hair, makeup, and wardrobe,

and prescribed Garrabrant
a specific moodboard.

The black and white,
gray-scale filter on the photos

gives them their
distinguishing look.

Swift departs from the
technicolor carnival

of its predecessor, "Lover,"

and adopts a rustic,
nature-focused,
cottage-core aesthetic

for "Folklore" that reflects
its lyrical ideas of escapism.

She opens the music video for
"Cardigan" by settling down

at an old piano an a
quaint cabin in the woods.

♪ But I knew you

♪ Dancing in your Levi's

♪ Drunk under a streetlight, I

♪ I knew you

♪ Hand under my sweatshirt

♪ Baby, kiss it better, I

♪ And when I felt like
I was an old cardigan ♪

♪ Under someone's bed

♪ You put me on and said
I was your favorite ♪

The album
was instantly hailed

as Swift's magnum opus, met
with widespread critical acclaim

from critics and fans alike.

"Folklore" shows Swift
at her most vulnerable,

the emotional weight and
introspective songwriting

made it her most sophisticated
and subdued body of work.

She uses the eccentric
debutante, Rebekah Harkness,

who married into the
standard oil dynasty

and once lived in Swift's
Rhode Island house,

in her story in "The Last
Great American Dynasty"

to celebrate women who
have a marvelous time

ruining everything.

You're able to visualize the
song's events in your head

like a tale because it is rich
with historical information

and Americana imagery,

but it also makes a
powerful statement

about how society
views outspoken women.

At the conclusion, Swift
skillfully creates a distinction

between Harkness and herself.

The album has been contextualized

as the quintessential
lockdown album,

and felt like the
perfect accompaniment

for the weird
loneliness of 2020.

It is hailed as the
first great pandemic art.

"Folklore" and
its songs received

five Grammy-Award nominations
at the 63rd ceremony,

winning the Album of the Year.

Swift became the
first woman in history

to win Album of the Year thrice,

and the fourth artist overall,

tied with Frank Sinatra,
Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.

On December 10th, 2020, Swift
once again surprised her fans

with the announcement of
her ninth studio album

and "Folklore"'s sister
record, "Evermore."

She described "Evermore"
as an offshoot

of the Folklorian woods.

Swift and Dessner continued
to collaborate virtually.

After the release of
"Folklore," he would give her

instrumental recordings, to
which she would add vocals.

She stated the rave
reception of "Folklore"

encouraged her to experiment
further with its musical style.

"Evermore" was dubbed
"a weird avalanche,"

effecting from
"Folklore" by Dessner.

"Evermore"'s creation was
a more experimental process

than its predecessor was,

during which the duo did
not subject themselves

to any limitations.

Much like "Folklore,"
on December 10th, 2020,

three days prior to
her 31st birthday,

Swift posted nine
photos on Instagram,

which together formed an image
depicting the singer's back,

with her hair in a braid,
and facing a forest.

Swift wrote, "You've all
been so caring, supportive,

and thoughtful on my birthdays,

and so this time I thought
I would give you something.

I also know this holiday season

will be a lonely
one for most of us,

and if there are any of you
out there who turn to music

to cope with missing
loved ones the way I do,

this is for you."

Prior to the "Willow"
music video premiere,

Swift said she likens
"Evermore" to fall and winter,

in contrast to
its predecessor's,
spring and summer.

♪ The more that you
say, the less I know ♪

♪ Wherever you stray, I follow

♪ I'm begging for
you to take my hand ♪

♪ Wreck my plans,
that's my man ♪

♪ You know that my train
could take you home ♪

♪ Anywhere else is hollow

♪ I'm begging for
you to take my hand ♪

♪ Wreck my plans,
that's my man ♪

♪ The more that you
say, the less I know ♪

♪ Wherever you stray, I follow

♪ Begging for you to take
my hand, wreck my plans ♪

"Evermore"
is a personal album

that has a strong foundation
in character studies,

narrative mythmaking,
and complex first-person
storytelling

from third-person views.

It further explores the
fantastical universe that Swift

created with "Folklore," by
using fact and imagination.

The escapist themes of
both albums are similar,

but "Evermore" is bolder,
unrestrained, frivolous,

and impressionistic, digging
deeply into Swift's concepts

of adult love and grief,
in contrast to "Folklore"'s

more introspective and
sentimental nature.

It was at this point in Swift's
career that she was regarded

as the songwriter
of her generation.

These two albums were
career-redefining,

and threw emphasis on
Swift's work ethic,

helping critics recognize
her musicianship,

now viewing her as
a dedicated singer

moving away from her pop
star image in the mid 2010s.

Being a Taylor Swift
fan is hard work,

and she doesn't make it easy.

Ever since the beginning
of her music career,

the singer has constantly
left Easter eggs

within her work to
leave fans guessing.

Whether it be hidden
messages in lyric booklets

or teasing albums
months in advance,

Swift has been the queen of
teasing fans since day one.

"It's sort of a
tradition that we started

a very long time ago,"
Swift said to Jimmy Fallon

about the origins
of her Easter eggs.

"I think the first time
that I started dropping

sort of cryptic clues in my
music was when I was 14 or 15,

putting together
my first album."

While Swift stopped
this tradition

during the "Reputation" era,

she had a habit of hiding
messages in her old work.

Specifically, she
would hide liner notes

in the lyrics of each of her
songs in her CD booklets.

From "Fearless" to "Red," all
of her lyrics were lowercase

and the message
could be deciphered

through the capitalized letters.

For "1989," she
did the opposite.

During these eras,
Swift's dating life

was often much more
publicized than it is now.

The singer even used her
music to address her romances,

from hidden messages
to pointed lyrics.

Some of her references
were more obvious,

as the liner message
for "Should've Said No,"

just said the name
Sam repeatedly,

addressing a former boyfriend
who allegedly cheated on her.

Others were more subtle,
like the liner note

for "Last Kiss," being,
"Forever and always,"

a reference to a song
title from her former album

that is said to be
about Joe Jonas.

As the "Reputation" album
kicked into full gear,

the music video for
her lead single,

"Look What You Made Me Do,"
was full of Easter eggs.

Since she wasn't doing
interviews during this era,

Swift said it was her
way of communicating

and staying connected
to her fans.

"Literally the whole video
is just an Easter egg,"

she said to
Entertainment Weekly.

"There are thousands
of Easter eggs.

There are some that people
still haven't found.

It will be decades before
people find them all."

One of Swift's biggest
Easter eggs came in the form

of an Instagram post
in April of 2020,

when she shared a photo
of herself with a caption,

"Not a lot going
on at the moment."

Given that this was during
the height of the pandemic,

fans did not consider this
an Easter egg at the time.

Of course, once the singer
revealed she was releasing

her eighth studio album,
"Folklore," all became clear.

As "Folklore"'s release
had fans scrambling

to figure out all
her Easter eggs,

one major one was
William Bowery,

who was credited on
two "Folklore" tracks

and is later credited
on three for "Evermore."

Swifties were quick to figure
out that William Bowery

was a pen name for Swift's
boyfriend Joe Alwyn,

as his great-grandfather's
name was William Alwyn,

and the Bowery Hotel was
where Swift and Alwyn

first hung out in 2016.

Swift confirms William
Bowery's identity

in her Disney Plus
film, teasing that,

"William Bowery is
Joe, as we know."

On February 11th,
2021, she announced

on "Good Morning America"
that the rerecording

of "Fearless," to which
she added the subtitle,

"Taylor's Version," was
the first in the series

of her rerecorded albums.

She released an anagram-filled
video from the vault,

which referred to all
of her unreleased songs

from the album.

"The vault door is
about to be as unhinged

as you think I am after
you watch this video,"

she said on social media.

"Level: Expert.
Happy, decoding."

Fans managed to decode
the titles of the six new

vault tracks and the name
of one of her collaborators,

Keith Urban, who is
featured on a song.

The vault tracks Swift
wrote when she was

in her teenage years and
intended to include in,

but ultimately left out of the
original "Fearless" release.

Swift said by including
these unreleased tracks,

which she absolutely adored

but were held back
for different reasons,

the rerecorded album
proved that the artist

is the only one who really
knows that body of work.

The same arrangements and lyrics

are used as they were on
the original recordings,

which prompted numerous
critics to note

that a casual listener might
not know any differences,

but underlined
that the production

includes more
defined instruments,

a crisper mix, and
greater quality.

Journalists described
"Fearless [Taylor's Version]"

as a key event in
raising awareness

for artists' rights
in the music industry.

They considered that
Taylor's Version branding

an effective strategy
in mobilizing Swift fans

to consume the rerecorded
album over the original.

The album debuted at number
one on the Billboard 200 chart,

a return to the number one spot,

13 years after the
original release in 2008.

On June 18th, 2021,

Swift revealed that
"Red [Taylor's Version]"

would be released on
November 19th, 2021

and would contain all 30 songs

that were meant to be
on the 2012 version.

She also teased the original
10-minute-long version

of the fan favorite
track, "All Too Well,"

which had been highly
requested by fans,

as part of the track listing.

On August 5th, Swift
posted a cryptic video

across her social media
teasing a word puzzle

for the fans to solve.

It's spelled out, "Chris
Stapleton," "Phoebe Bridgers,"

"Babe," "Better Man," and "All
Too Well 10 Minute Version."

Swift revealed a teaser for
"All Too Well: The Short Film."

The Teaser showed a vintage
car driving past a road

bounded by autumnal woods, and
it was written and directed

by Swift, starring herself,
Sadie Sink, and Dylan O'Brien.

This song has always been
hailed as Swift's magnum opus

by critics and fans.

The song details the
story of her breakup

with actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Before "All Too Well" was cut
down to a 10-minute version

and then more to a final five
minute and 28 second version,

American songwriter, Liz Rose,

with whom Swift wrote the song,

believed it was probably
a 20-minute song.

Memories are the building
blocks of "All Too Well."

The song relies on specifics
of the rise and fall

of a romantic relationship
drawn from memory.

Apart from mentioning
more expository details,

"All Too Well [10
Minute Version]"

provides greater context
than the five-minute version.

Swift mentions the age
difference between her

and the subject several times,

and states how the subject
used it as an excuse

to terminate their relationship,

but continued to date
women of her age.

She recollects the
buildup and intensity

of falling in love and
acknowledges her naivety.

The track was met with
universal critical acclaim,

often hailed as the
standout track on "Red"

and a career
highlight for Swift.

Publications have
said the release

of "Red [Taylor's Version],"

"All Too Well [10
Minute Version],"

the accompanying short film,

and Swift's rerecording venture,

collectively is one of
the biggest newsmakers

in pop culture
moments of all time.

♪ Keep my old scarf from
that very first week ♪

♪ 'Cause it reminds
you of innocence and
it smells like me ♪

♪ You can't get rid of it

♪ 'Cause you remember
it all too well, yeah ♪

♪ 'Cause there we are
again when I loved you so ♪

♪ Back before you lost the one
real thing you've ever known ♪

♪ It was rare, I was there

♪ I remember it all too well

At the 2022 MTV
Video Music Awards,

Swift received five
nominations for the short film,

winning three of them.

In her acceptance speech for
the Video of the Year award,

she announced a brand
new studio album

scheduled for release
on October 21st, 2022.

Soon after, the phrase,
"Meet me at midnight"

and a clock that was
ticking down to midnight

were added to Swift's
official website.

Some of Swift's tracks on
Spotify had their song canvases

changed to a picture of a clock.

At midnight, Swift posted
across her social media accounts

that her 10th studio album
would be titled "Midnights."

She described the
album as the stories

of 13 sleepless nights
scattered throughout her life.

Swift's official website
crashed due to heavy traffic

following the posts.

According to Swift, the
subject matter of "Midnights"

was inspired by five
major topics, self-hatred,

revenge fantasies, wondering
what might have been,

falling in love,
and falling apart.

When Swift's and Antonoff's
partners, Joe Alwyn,

and American actress Margaret
Qualley, respectively,

were filming in Panama for the
2022 romantic thriller movie,

"Stars at Noon,"

they decided to team up
to co-produce "Midnights."

Since "1989," Jack Antonoff

has worked with
Swift repeatedly.

Swift and Antonoff
collaborated in New York City.

While their co-stars shot,

the duo wrote 11 of the
album's 13 songs together.

Of the remaining two,

Swift wrote the track
"Vigilante Shit" alone

and "Sweet Nothing" with Alwyn,

who is credited with his
pseudonym, William Bowery.

In contrast to "Folklore"
and "Evermore"'s

indie and alternative
folk sound,

Swift set out to make an
experimental pop album,

extending her alternative
approach to synth pop sounds.

"Midnight"'s, distinctive
sound has been described

as maximalist minimalism, which
incorporates soft melodies,

emphasized beats, and
vintage synthesizers.

After experimenting
with fictional plot
lines and characters

in "Folklore" and "Evermore,"

Swift makes a return to lyricism

that is primarily autobiographical
with this album.

The New Yorker said
"'Midnights' is a collage

of various emotions
during the spontaneous,

restless headspace
of nighttime thought,

with a distinctive
confessional, but cryptic tone.

The key topics include
feminism, insecurity, anxiety,

and self-criticism."

The lead single "Anti-Hero"
examines her mental insecurities

in depth, detailing the
things she hates about herself

and her struggle with not
feeling like a person.

Themes addressed include
ghosting acquaintances,

camouflaging
narcissism as altruism,

fears of relationships
being transactional,

and Swift's inability to
co-mingle with people,

normally due to her
celebrity status.

Upon the release of "Midnights,"

"Anti-Hero" earned
over 17.4 million plays

in its first 24 hours
on Spotify globally,

becoming the biggest
opening day for a song

in the platform's history.

♪ 'Cause you got
tired of my scheming ♪

♪ For the last time

♪ It's me, hi, I'm
the problem, it's me ♪

♪ At tea time,
everybody agrees ♪

♪ I'll stare directly at the
sun but never in the mirror ♪

♪ It must be exhausting always
rooting for the anti-hero ♪

"Midnights" is Swift's
most commercially successful

album to date.

It broke a string of sales,
streaming, digital, vinyl,

and official chart
records globally.

Billboard declared
it a blockbuster.

According to
Universal Music Group,

"Midnights" moved 3 million
global album equivalent units

in its first week, and over
6 million in two months.

It broke all-time
records on Spotify,

such as those for the most
streamed album in a single day,

with 186 million streams
in its opening day,

surpassing the previous
record of 155 million streams

by Drake's "Certified
Lover Boy."

She scored the most historic
week in the 64-year history

of the Billboard
Hot 100 Songs chart,

as she was the first artist
to claim the survey's

entire top 10 in a single frame.

Various publications dubbed
Swift as the Paramount pop star

of the 21st century,
wielding a commercial

and cultural dominance

surpassing those of
her contemporaries.

Swift had now
become unstoppable.

Her career has lasted longer
than that of The Beatles,

and even broke the band's once
deemed unbeatable records.

Critics lauded her ability
to remain culturally-relevant

and successful 18 years
into her music career,

writing that the Rolling
Stones, Bob Dylan, David Bowie,

and Bruce Springsteen were
past their prime at that age.

During her promotion of
"Midnights" on talk shows

such as "The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon"

and the "Graham Norton
Show" in October, 2022.

Swift hinted at
an upcoming tour.

On November 1st, she announced
on "Good Morning America"

and through her
social media accounts

her sixth concert tour, The
Eras Tour, describing it

as a journey through the
musical eras of her career.

The initial US states
were so popular

that several politicians
and government officials

demanded the tour be brought
to their country or city.

Everyone knew getting
tickets for Taylor Swift's

The Eras Tour was going
to be a challenge,

but no one, especially
not Ticketmaster,

the platform responsible for
distributing said tickets,

seemed remotely aware of
just how messy the process

would turn out to be.

The Verified Fan program from
Ticketmaster enables users

to sign up in advance and have
access to presale tickets.

The highest registration
in the site's history,

over 3.5 million individuals
registered for the program

in advance of Swift's tour,

and roughly 1.5 million were
allowed access to the presale.

However, according
to Ticketmaster,

when the presale began
on November 15th, 2022,

bots and fans without invite
codes crowded the site,

causing it to crash repeatedly

and aggravating fans
to the point of rage.

Fans complained of
hours-long wait times

that resulted in
technical glitches

as well as presale phases that
were rescheduled or canceled.

On November 17th, 2022,
Ticketmaster announced

that the general sale
wouldn't open at all.

"Due to extraordinarily high
demands on ticketing systems

and insufficient
remaining ticket inventory

to meet that demand,
tomorrow's public on sale

for Taylor Swift: The Eras
Tour has been canceled,"

the company tweeted.

Soon after tickets became
available on Ticketmaster,

they went on sale all
over resale sites,

selling from $200
to over $22,000.

Even some of the few
who did initially get

to purchase tickets may have
paid more than they expected

because of a dynamic
pricing model.

On November 18th, 2022, Swift
took to Instagram stories

to address the controversy,

writing a long statement
that read, in part,

"There are a multitude
of reasons why people had

such a hard time
trying to get tickets,

and I'm trying to figure
out how this situation

can be improved moving forward."

On December 12th, 2022,
Ticketmaster began notifying

select fans, identified as
fans who received a boost

during the Verified Fan presale

but did not purchase tickets,

of a second
ticket-buying opportunity

to purchase a maximum
of two tickets per user

through Ticketstoday.

Ticketmaster sold
the first US leg's

remaining 170,000
tickets over four weeks.

However, amid all the drama,
the tour received rave reviews

from music and
entertainment critics

who praised both the
high-end spectacle

and polished
artistry of the tour.

♪ Are you ready for it

♪ I'm drunk in the
back of the car ♪

♪ And I cried like a baby
coming home from the bar ♪

♪ Said, I'm fine,
but it wasn't true ♪

♪ I love you, ain't that the
worst thing you ever heard ♪

People would come up
to me and they'd be like,

"You're gonna just do a show
with all the albums in it?"

And I was like, "Yeah, it's
gonna be called The Eras Tour."

The versatility
of the show's, music, visuals,

and performance art was
often a point of praise

in its reviews.

Going through every era
of her musical career

creates a spectacle.

As Swift had released
four new studio albums

since her Reputation
Tour in 2018,

she thought this would
be a good way for fans

to be able to hear all
the different songs.

The Eras Tour broke ticket
sales records worldwide.

On the first day of
the US presale alone,

the tour sold over
2.4 million tickets,

the most sold by an
artist in a single day.

And on August 31st, 2023,

Swift announced
the concert film,

"Taylor Swift: The Eras
Tour," directed by Sam Wrench.

The Eras Tour had
a tremendous effect

on the entertainment world,
the music business, and more.

It was said to be one
of the most significant

21st century cultural phenomena,

attracting attention comparable
to Beatlemania in the 1960s.

The tour improved the local
economies of its stops

by boosting small
businesses and tourism,

drew sizable crowds of
fans outside stadiums,

dominated news cycles
and social media,

prompted government and
organization tributes,

and accelerated the public's
consumption of her discography.

Critics often
described The Eras Tour

as a monocultural event
demonstrating Swift's impact

on popular culture.

Swift is regarded as a
trailblazer of the 21st century

for her diverse music
ability, songwriting skill,

and business acumen,

all of which have served as
an inspiration to musicians,

entrepreneurs, and businessmen
all over the world.

She started out with country
music, migrated into pop,

and experimented with
alternative rock,

indie rock, and
electronic sounds,

erasing the lines
between musical genres.

Her unique mix of chart
success, critical praise,

and fervent fan devotion has
been characterized by critics

as a cultural quintessence,
allowing her to have

an enormous effect on the
music industry and beyond.

There really is no
stopping Taylor Swift.

Her career has had
its highs and lows,

but she's now untouchable
and unstoppable.