Swift says fans ‘like a great love’

Bright side … Taylor Swift says she’s “an enthusiastic optimist” about the future of the music business. Picture: Getty
Source: Getty Images

“Before I tell you my thoughts on the matter, you should know that you’re reading the opinion of an enthusiastic optimist,” Swift wrote in an op-ed for
The Wall Street Journal
, going on to say that she believes “the value of an album is, and will continue to be, based on the amount of heart and soul an artist has bled into a body of work”.

She also gave her views on declining album sales. “I’d like to point out that people are still buying albums, but now they’re buying just a few of them,” Swift wrote.

TAY“They are buying only the ones that hit them like an arrow through the heart or have made them feel strong or allowed them to feel like they really aren’t alone in feeling so alone.”

Never one to shy away from romance, Swift then compared her relationship with her fans as a romantic one.

Sweet … Swift and actor Jamie King, left, posted this 4th of July snap. The singer says its essential for artists to reach out to their fans.
Source: Instagram

“I think forming a bond with fans in the future will come in the form of constantly providing them with the element of surprise … I believe couples can stay in love for decades if they just continue to surprise each other, so why can’t this love affair exist between an artist and their fans?” she wrote.

Swift also said that the way she interacts with fans is totally different from when she first started out. “There are a few things I have witnessed becoming obsolete in the past few years, the first being autographs. I haven’t been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera. The only memento kids want is a selfie. It’s part of the new currency, which seems to be, ‘How many followers do you have on Instagram?’”

However, there are “some things that will never change”, Swift said, adding, “there will always be an increasing fixation on the private lives of musicians”, which even she plans to watch play out as she gets older.

“I’ll just be sitting back and growing old, watching all of this happen or not happen, all while trying to maintain a life rooted in this same optimism,” she wrote. “And I’d also like a nice garden.”

Originally published as Swift and fans ‘are a love story’
www.news.com.au/entertainment/music