The Deal with Taylor Swift’s Aug. 18th Press Conference (A Spoiler)
Ooooh! Ahhhh! What forever will Taylor Swift announce when she holds her much-anticipated live Yahoo video stream and Q&A on August 18th at 5:00 PM Eastern????
Give me a break.
The histrionics that mainstream country artists (and Taylor Swift too 😉 ) go through to release an album, and the hoops they make their poor fans jump through these days is just a little bit silly, don’t you think? Brad Paisley still has the majority of his gullible fans svengalied into believing he’s in trouble with his label for releasing irrelevant three-second snippets of the dumb songs from his upcoming record, and Eric Church is still trying to rationalize why he blew a 7-figure budget on producing cryptic teaser videos for The Outsiders that barely anybody watched. Come on Music Row, we’ve got shit to do. Just tell us when you’re going to release the damn thing and we’ll pony up the dough. Maybe. Or probably not.
Yes, Taylor Swift will be announcing her new album at this August 18th press conference. And she will release a single on the same day or shortly thereafter that she will preview during the event. And then she will perform that single on the MTV Video Music Awards (or VMA’s) on August 24th that she’s scheduled to perform at. And water is wet.
All of this has been preordained for quite some time ladies and gentlemen, and it is all transpiring as predictably as the lyrical hook of a Bro-Country song (Oh, you rhymed “beer” with “Girl, get over here“? How clever.)
According to Saving Country Music’s vast circuit of moles covertly embedded throughout the inner workings of the country music’s sprawling industrial complex that feverishly feed information into this site’s coffers to be aggregated an analyzed (or actually, this random dude on Twitter), Taylor Swift will release her new album on October 13th, 2014. Or basically, two years after she released released her album Red (October 22nd, 2012), and four years after she released Speak Now (October 25th, 2010). But yes, nothing, NOTHING about this Taylor Swift album release business is in any way predictable. So let’s just all pretend this upcoming press conference is about her re-uping her endorsement deal with the sensible yet stylish canvas shoes known as Keds so we can act surprised when she tells us a bunch of crap we mostly already know.
And the album will be named A Delicious Journey.
Actually I just made that up. I have no idea what it will be named. But it will probably be something fruit flavored and effervescent like that. Say my sources.
This is when I arrogantly point out that way back on June 11th, I predicted:
- Taylor Swift will make an announcement about her new album in late July, or early to mid August.
- The announcement will coincide with the release of a new single.
- The new album will be released in October, or early November.
- There will be at least one collaboration with Justin Timberlake on the new album.
- It will include about 15 to 18 songs.
- Despite Scott Borchetta’s rhetoric, country radio will still play Taylor Swift, and with a lack of other leading females to fill the spots, Swift will still get nominated for country music’s top female awards.
About the only thing I’m sweating at this point is the wild-assed, harebrained prediction that Justin Timberlake has anything to do with this Taylor Swift album business that was based simply off a hunch and a little timeline syncing. But hey, if it pays off, I look like a genius. So there you go.
The real speculation here is whether Taylor Swift’s music will still reside in the country music fold once it is released. We already know Taylor Swift doesn’t want to be country, but will the country music industry let her get away that easy? Taylor Swift means a ton of sales figures stimulating country music’s overall GDP, and she’s one of the few females country music has left that can actually raise a blip on mainstream metrics.
UPDATE (8-18): Rumor has it that Taylor Swift new single will be called “Shake It Off” and is a very pop-oriented song in a similar vein of the first single from her last album “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” It supposedly includes a horn section, and very little guitar. It also apparently contains the line, “They say I date too much and can’t make ‘em stay,” calling out the critics of her personal life. Some radio has already received advanced copies of the single.
Let’s face it, if Taylor Swift wants out of country, she’s screwed. She could release an album entirely of rap songs without a single human-played note on the entire thing … and it would still be considered country. Why? Because there’s numerous “country” artists who’ve already done this exact thing. If you release an album in 2014 and you’re white, then yeah, it’s pretty much country. Or it’s Imagine Dragons. Go listen to Jerrod Niemann’s “Drink To That All Night” or Sam Hunt’s “Leave The Night On”. Country music has literally regressed farther away from the genre’s roots in the last two years since Taylor Swift released an album than it did during the entire history of the genre before.
Though it may sound impossible to some, Taylor Swift’s new songs will be even more pop than what her music was before, and they still won’t have the power to extricate her from the genre. Country music co-opted pop, rock, and rap into the mono-genre, and now there is nowhere for Taylor Swift to go. And still, though not country by any stretch, Taylor Swift’s music will be better and more original than most of the gunk residing under the “country” flag.
READ: Taylor Swift Is Leaving Country. But Will Country Let Her?
August 13, 2014 @ 9:19 am
Taylor Swift may not want to be country, but she loves being a part of the country music industry. It’s been her bread and butter because that’s how she’s been marketed for so long. And while Borchetta and Swift may claim to be distancing her music from the genre, what you said is absolutely right. Country radio will continue to play her.
And not only that, but secretly, Swift loves it.
She loves the fact that the marketing of her as a country singer for the past (what is it, 10?) years now has basically allowed her to do whatever she wants while still garnering country awards and airplay.
At this point, there’s only one thing Swift could to that would gain my respect: when nominated for a country award, or winning a country award, if she were to say “no, I’m a pop artist now, these awards are for country music.
Now, we all know that’s not going to happen. As Red said in The Shawshank Redemption, “it’s a s*&^&y pipe dream.” It’s just flat out not going to happen.
Swift herself could come out and say that her new album will be pure pop, not country, and the country radio stations would still play it. Bobby Bones would probably end up calling it an edgy new form of country music.
August 14, 2014 @ 9:19 am
I agree on that except that her fifth album pop songs will be played on pop stations only. Taylor Swift needs to retire her country music career and move her country songs to pop this year. That way, Taylor Swift will now play her country songs on pop radio non-stop. So no country for fifth album this year. That’s just my opinion. Country radio will no longer play Taylor Swift and moved on to Luke Bryan and other country stuff. So how about this, have pop radio plays Tim McGraw, Picture To Burn, I’m Only Me When I’m With You, White Horse, The Best Day, Mean, Sparks Fly, Ours, Begin Again and Red so that way her country songs will be shown on pop. This will not effect the country songs’ Billboard chart though. So I want this happen this year. Taylor Swift’s county songs for pop stations please. 😀
August 13, 2014 @ 9:59 am
Excuse my ignorance, but is this analogous to Crystal Gayle back in the day? Where she blatantly said her new albums were going to be Adult Contemporary, yet still ranked top 10 on the country charts? And she still won CMAs for Female Country after that?
Certainly open to correction, thanks.
August 13, 2014 @ 11:31 am
I agree that the way she announced the livestream was very predictable, but the details are not really as predictable as you’re making it out to be. For example, Yahoo announced today that she will be livestreaming the music video of her lead single during the album announcement.
Who saw that coming? Nobody. Also the livestream will be 90 minutes long (unlike the Red webchat, which lasted 24 minutes) which leaves room for more surprises. So while I think the announcement was predictable, the details definitely aren’t/won’t be.
August 13, 2014 @ 12:39 pm
“Let”™s face it, if Taylor Swift wants out of country, she”™s screwed. She could release an album entirely of rap songs without a single human-played note on the entire thing ”¦ and it would still be considered country.”
LOL!
“Taylor Swift”™s music will be better and more original than most of the gunk residing under the “country” flag.”
Yup, this is pretty much a guarantee.
One very positive piece of information out there about Taylor’s upcoming album is this quote from Ed Sheeran:
“I don”™t think she”™s teamed up with anyone; I think she did it all on her own”
August 13, 2014 @ 12:51 pm
Yet there’s quotes out there saying Max Martin worked with her on the majority of the album. I guess we’ll just have to see.
August 13, 2014 @ 1:45 pm
I am hoping that Max Martin’s role this time was limited to only that of a producer. In that case, while the music might be bad, at least the lyrics will not be.
August 13, 2014 @ 2:09 pm
Ed Sheeran only meant that there will be no duets on the album, only Taylor will be singing on it. But there are several song writing collaborations, 6 or 7 Max Martin I think……but yes, we’ll see 🙂
August 13, 2014 @ 2:07 pm
“If you release an album in 2014 and you”™re white, then yeah, it”™s pretty much country. Or it”™s Imagine Dragons.”
This was hilarious. I take it we’re not an Imagine Dragons fan, Trigger? However could that be so? 😛
“Country music has literally regressed farther away from the genre”™s roots in the last two years since Taylor Swift released an album than it did during the entire history of the genre before.”
My feelings as well. I’m not saying that there wasn’t anything to complain about but I’m still of the opinion that country music wasn’t “horrible” until around 2011. Quite a few of the songs before that time still had substance and twang, despite a dud here and there.
August 13, 2014 @ 3:21 pm
Um, new info posted by radio DJs and several people who work within the industry:
The single is called Shake It Off. Very poppy. It’s sort of a FU anthem to the haters/address public view of how she dates and how they say she can’t keep a man. The song has no guitar, or the use of guitar is very minimal/insignificant in it. There are horns in the song. We’ll get to hear it when she premieres the music video during the livestream.
This is either gonna be really good or absolutely terrible. We’ll see/hear.
August 13, 2014 @ 7:52 pm
“The song has no guitar, or the use of guitar is very minimal/insignificant in it. There are horns in the song.”
Does not sound very promising.
Honestly, I think it is better to expect the worst from this new single. I don’t want to feel burned again like I did when “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” was released.
August 13, 2014 @ 3:47 pm
i heard from a reliable source that Taylor Swift plans to announce that her next record will a blues funk album produced entirely by Bob Log III. i for one applaud Ms.Swift on this huge career gamble and look forward to hearing it.
August 13, 2014 @ 5:15 pm
Pretty sure that Bob Log III would be a much better producer than Max Martin (though that’s a pretty low bar) 🙂
August 13, 2014 @ 6:16 pm
the world doesn’t know it, but it needs a Max Martin/Dallas Davidson collaboration
August 14, 2014 @ 6:19 am
I haven’t heard Taylor Swift’s new single, and I will ultimately reserve judgement on its quality until I do, but hearing that the song will be a response anthem to Taylor’s “haters” has me rolling my eyes prematurely.
I respect Ms. Swift’s abilities as a songwriter, but her music has become way too self-referential. She is the Bocephus of femme-pop.
August 14, 2014 @ 8:34 am
Trigger, I don’t know if you’ve heard about this yet or not but last month her record label already sent the CMA a video for her consideration for FVOTY and ETOTY for this years CMA awards. You were so right about country never ever letting her go. Also she could have some country influenced songs on the new album. I mean look at RED, the first single was extemrely pop and so were the rest, but a lot of the album tracks had some country influence to it. I guess well just have to wait and see.
August 14, 2014 @ 9:19 am
Of reference to Sam Hunt, that song is absolutely terrible. Its 100 percent pop. Not an ounce of country in it whatsoever. And actually, if you watch any of his stuff on youtube which I accidentally stumbled on one day, he messes up in about every acoustic song he plays (which I watched about 3). This guy is pop, 100% You did write an article though already hitting on this, but damn its worse than FGL.
August 14, 2014 @ 10:56 am
I noticed that Sam Hunt just released some new songs via an EP on iTunes. Honestly, I am *shocked* at how non-country the music is!
I know we all like to argue and debate about what real country music is, but there is literally not a single country element to the three new songs I heard, either musically or lyrically, other than the fact that the world “small town” appears in the title of one song. “Leave the Night On” is also included on the EP, and it is easily the most country song of the bunch.
August 14, 2014 @ 10:24 am
Is she releasing an album? Who did she dump this time?
August 14, 2014 @ 3:46 pm
I personally think that whether or not Taylor Swift will show up with a new song on country radio in the future depends on whether or not the songs are marketed as country. I’m pretty sure it will have nothing to do with the sound.
August 16, 2014 @ 11:13 am
Actually, I think Taylor Swift will not be doing anymore country. She will only make pop from now on. With her new lead pop single coming this Monday, country music has gave up Taylor Swift and moved on. So no more Taylor Swift for country as Taylor Swift has moved on. So in my mind, Taylor Swift will retire her country music career this year and move the rest of her songs from country to pop. That way, Taylor Swift will play her country music from country stations on pop stations. So how’s that, Eduardo. 🙂
August 18, 2014 @ 3:35 pm
It’s now official: Taylor called her new album her first official pop album.