Taylor made

Everybody is talking about Taylor Swift. As an author—my book Look What You Made Me Do came out this summer, exploring the complications and joys of fandom culture—and a marketer specialising in brand and celebrity publishing, news of Taylor Swift’s forthcoming book lands dead centre of my two expertise. For me, Swift has once again brought us a fascinating cultural moment—this time, one for our industry.

We are in the thick of a publishing cycle that thrives in bringing the words of celebrities and creators to the printed page. For better or worse, depending which side of the fence you sit on, many celebrities are bestselling authors.

A fact universally agreed upon in publishing—until now, anyway—is that celebrities need publisher partners to support their written output. Publishers are experts of a craft and annually work tirelessly to support editorial constructions thick with non-disclosure agreements and ghostwriters, lengthy press tours and high budget consumer outreach to secure the next celebrity smash hit.

Enter: The Eras Tour Book by Taylor Swift. In the US, The Eras Tour Book publishes on 29th November, stocked exclusively by Target (Swift’s long-time retail partner). They’ve sold thousands of her CDs and record exclusives: why wouldn’t they add her first foray into publishing to their shelves? But with no publisher attached and no book retailer, this revelation has raised eyebrows.

What happens when a celebrity decides that their own brand experience supersedes the industry they’re taking it to?

The Eras Tour has been a phenomenon—with Swift performing to millions globally across 149 shows. Equally unprecedented, in November 2023, Swift released the three-hour long "The Eras Tour" film into cinemas—without a partner. Swift’s team bypassed the option of working with a film distribution company, presumably to level maximum profit, creative control and fan outreach. Starting to sound familiar?

What happens when a celebrity decides that their own brand experience supersedes the industry they’re taking it to?

The Eras Tour Book is, indeed, following a similar narrative—it’s "The Story of Us", but the "us" in question is Taylor and her fans, rather than Taylor and a publishing partner. The Swift ethos seems to follow a dedication to delivering a product her fans will love, even if that means a new approach. Swift thrives on two things: breaking records and breaking rules. It begs the question: if an artist like Swift understands what her fans want, why should she give up a percentage of her royalties? More so, why should she hand over her creative brand to a third-party? Can anybody really do it better than her and promise to add "bestselling author in the world" to her many accolades?

Apparently not: without a distributor, "The Eras Tour" film broke all records, grossing $262m globally, with tickets on sale for £19.89 and exclusive popcorn buckets disappearing from cinemas faster than you could say "Cruel Summer".  

So, will this track in publishing? At the time of writing, The Eras Tour Book does not have a UK retailer. There is no pre-order opportunity in any region—yet. The likelihood is that wherever Taylor’s fans can get hold of product, they will. Swift’s most recent album, "The Tortured Poets Department", has been released in 34 (yes, you read that right) variants. Is The Eras Tour Book the latest celebrity merch drop—or a product our industry will proudly add to its shelves?

Only time will tell. There is a division of thought here, hard to qualify until we see the book: is it glorified merchandise with a spine (and a $40 price tag), or is it a heartfelt gift to the fans, a commemoration of an event that holds great sentimentality to many? In publishing, does merch by any other name smell as sweet? Celebrities and authors alike have stories to tell and those stories matter to their fans, or readers, or both. We tend to assume that celebrity publishing is a quick cash grab—I see your point, dear reader, but I (mostly) disagree.

Either way, Swift has decided she doesn’t need industry collaborators. Perhaps she’s secretly commissioned a freelance editor, or savvy publishing expert. I doubt it. She has long held the ethos that nobody knows her brand better than her. Could this mentality extend to other celebrities planning to add a book to their list of achievements?

Here’s my secret hope for The Eras Tour Book in the UK. My passion for working with celebrity campaigns is due to their presence inviting many non-readers into bookish spaces—whether Waterstones, your local independent or library. The path to becoming a book lover isn’t always linear. For all of us in publishing, surely that’s our end goal—to create readers? If Swift can bring more people into bricks-and-mortar spaces that offer reading as an expression of fandom, and many other celebrities do the same, isn’t that what we want?

Is Taylor Swift the new anti-hero of publishing? There must always be a blank space in the industry for new readers. Thanks to Swift, it appears there may be unthought of, untraditional ways to bring books to them too. You might even say "It’s Been a Long Time Coming"… and that is where Taylor Swift’s wild success often lies: in doing something driven by her fans, not the rule book that we know all too well. Could we all learn a thing from her business model?