It seems as though Taylor Swift is always hitting new peaks, surpassing new records, and is constantly changing the game for artists in the music industry. One way a fellow Swiftie and student Ivy Maas thinks Swift has flipped the script for pop music is by, “the records she has broken, the amount of number one hits, vinyl sales, it was something really unseen with other artists.” Swift has had more than one influence on the pop culture world, some include; standing up against sexism within the industry, setting new streaming records, writing about her mental health journey, is honest about how fame has negatively changed her life, and is open about standing up against parasocial relationships. Many newer artists have recently given Swift a lot of credit paving the way when it comes to mental health, success, fame, privacy, and even creativity when it comes to songwriting. Newer artists like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter have recently skyrocketed in popularity. Carpenter got her start on Disney Channel over ten years ago on a show called “Girl Meets World”. She released her first album in 2015, but it wasn’t until Swift took notice that Carpenter really had her “big break”. Carpenter was asked to join Swift on tour as one of her openers, and ended up performing at 25 shows across the globe. Carpenter is now, according to Swift, a “pop princess” and one of the biggest names in the pop music scene. 

Swift has been very open within her songs about how fame makes her feel. She often compares fame to “living in a fishbowl”, boyfriends having to take hits just to be with her, and not being able to leave her house without the paparazzi nitpicking at everything she wears. Swift has admitted to her fans that she is unhappy with fame and didn’t think the level of scrutiny would come to what it has. “I know Taylor Swift has talked about needing to take a step back in the past, specifically when she has kind of “gone off the grid” at times. Having so many people attack her and her music seems to have impacted her mental health,” said Anna Bross, a math teacher who has been to five live performances. Chappell Roan seems to have taken some notes from Swift’s book with one of her recent instagram posts where she states that she as a celebrity doesn’t owe fans anything. Not a photo, autograph, or even a hug. Roan states, “I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.” These statements were met with some backlash from haters and even some fans. Roan and Carpenter look up to Swift as a mentor and have said online that they have all met up to talk about how quickly fame had been forced upon them. Fans believe that this announcement from Roan stemmed from that conversation. 

Another way Swift has revolutionized the music industry is her complex theories, stories, and lyricism. Swift has simply just, “set a higher standard when it comes to developing music”, says Reagan Walker, who has been a swiftie for two years.  When Swift was first coming into the music space, she was ostracized for only being a little girl and not writing her own music. Swift rebutted that argument by writing an entire album by herself called, Speak Now which she released in 2010 at only 19 years of age. Many newer artists give credit to Taylor for inspiring them to either write their own music or come up with their own tunes, like Olivia Rodrigo. Rodrigo was given special authority from Swift and her co-producer, Jack Antonoff, to use one of their piano melodies in her song called, “1 step forward, 3 steps back”. “I played it over the chords of “New Years Day” and just thought it fit perfectly,” says Rodrigo. 

Swift has done many wonders for the music industry, and helping bring other artists up into the world of success is one of her best qualities as a pop star. Who knew? Carpenter’s newest album, Short n’ Sweet may not have gotten the recognition it deserved if it wasn’t for Carpenter joining Swift on “The Eras Tour”. Maybe we wouldn’t get artists like Chappell Roan to continue to put out music because of burn out. Swift is doing much more than just creating a crazy and obsessive fan base and writing little heartbreak songs about her exes, she is paving the way for the next generation of artists.