(By John Shomby) Taylor Swift, recently, became the first-ever billion-dollar concert performer. Let that sink in: her incredibly successful Eras tour has grossed over one billion dollars in total! Think of some major artists – The Stones, Garth, and Elton John to name a few – that have yet to hit that number for a tour in all their years.
If any of you have ever had the privilege of meeting Taylor during her rise to stardom, this all probably comes as no surprise. From day one, she was genuine, yet determined to be one of the best. She has never forgotten where she came from nor has she forgotten her supporters or fans… or staff! 55 million of that billion dollars has gone to bonuses including $100,000 to each of her 50 truck drivers.
Every concert is a sellout – most with record numbers. Her performances are all 3 hours plus featuring every hit and every fan favorite above that. Nothing is eliminated. Everything the audience wants. Not only is she performing all her songs on tour, but she’s gone back and re-recorded all her past hit albums (the ultimate fan favorite “1989” is up next). Legal issues aside, she has turned all these redone albums into fan events each time.
The final piece to all of this is Taylor going to the movies and her theatrical release of the “Eras Tour” set for October 13th. She set a record for first-day ticket sales and may wind up beating “Barbie” before it’s all over. Why? It’s another way to get close to her fans, plain and simple.
With the contact radio has had with Taylor, I’m somewhat surprised that more of us have not taken a page out of her fan loyalty book. A few weeks back, I wrote about the audience being in charge and for radio to do whatever it takes to get to know everything about them. Let’s study what Taylor has done:
- Know Your Audience – Who are they? What do they like? What is the key demographic? Taylor Swift was one of them and has stayed one of them and has used what she knows to stay close to them. She didn’t have a crew do it for her.
- Be Creative and Innovative – As with Taylor, don’t be afraid to take the occasional risk. She has always experimented with style and sounds. She crossed formats. She went so far as to re-record her past albums. Look outside your lines and see how your station can create some lasting memorability for the listener. Break some rules and make some new ones.
- Connect on a PERSONAL Level – Taylor has used her own experiences and emotions to get closer to her fans. Just listen to her lyrics. Know what your audience cares about and super-serve that on the air and in the community.
- Give The Audience What They Want – Solicit for and listen to the feedback from them and act on it. From day one, Taylor asked questions of her followers and you see the results. Make them feel heard and let them know they matter whether it would be with music, local topical events, or just everyday human issues.
- Recognize and reward your staff for doing all the above. Let them know THEIR value as much as you do your audience.
It was radio that really launched her career but now, it’s Taylor Swift showing radio how it’s done. There will be packed movie theaters this fall to back that up along with a one-billion-dollar tour.
Based in Nashville, TN, John Shomby is the owner and CEO of Country’s Radio Coach. He is focused on coaching and mentoring artists, radio programmers, and on-air talent to help them grow and develop inside the radio station and the industry. Reach John at [email protected] and 757-323-1460. Read John’s Radio Ink archives here.
