An open letter to Taylor Swift

Dear Taylor,

How did it come to this? I’d certainly heard your songs before, but I’ve never felt strongly about your music. I wasn’t a fan, but I also didn’t despise your music like I do with Nickelback, whose music causes me to become nauseous. Your work, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. 

Then my daughter discovered “Shake it off” and loved it. I think she was 2 at the time. Next came songs like “Delicate”, and all of a sudden, your music was playing on our Sonos all the time. Somehow, she heard some of your older music, like “Love Story” and “Mean” (I think this was my wife’s fault). And then there were your latest mega-hits, “Me!” and “You Need to Calm Down”, which has been played enough that even our son knows the words. What happened, Taylor? How did you so completely infiltrate our Spotify playlists?

The last straw came today.

I love listening to music. I have music on all day at work, and most of the time at home. Today, I sipped my coffee, scrolled past all my usual picks, and pressed play on one of your songs. None of my children were in my office. Yes, I admit, I chose to play one of your songs willingly (for the record, it was “Style”).  I even enjoyed listening to it. Seriously, Taylor? Look what you made me do!

I’ve given this a lot of thought, Taylor, and I think I’ve figured it out. Ready for it?

What you’ve managed to do is appeal to something rooted deep in my core values. You managed to appeal to me through something that went beyond my usual tastes and preferences – through my kids. It turns out that appealing to someone’s core values can really change the way they think about something.

Taylor, you’ve adapted your music and the way you work within the constantly shifting landscape in the music business, yet you’ve never strayed too far from appealing to your audience’s core values. The enormity of your success cannot be denied.

Many business owners could learn a lot from this. Many business owners don’t even know what their customer’s core values are – so how can they hope to appeal to them? Where do they even start?    

Honestly though, I have to thank you for your musical contribution. You’ve saved us from many kid-related meltdowns, increased the number of dance parties in our house, and most importantly, kicked “Baby Shark” off our list of top-played songs.

Sincerely,

A begrudging fan.

PS If you are a business owner that needs a little help figuring out what your customer’s core values are, and how to appeal to them, our team of Business Consulting experts would be happy to sit down with you and figure out the answers. Learn more about our advisory services by completing the contact form below.