I’ve been thinking a lot about performance. What with its increased financial necessity and relative (operative descriptor: relative) feasibility post-pandemic, touring has been an even higher priority for anyone trying to establish a music career. 2022 was a record-setting year for the touring sector; there were many nights where I actually had to choose between two shows I would have really liked to see. Even as that initial wave passes, it still feels like everyone is on the road, sometimes for years at a time.
It remains unclear how this regimen—wake up, drive to a new city, unload, play the hits, tell your fans you love them, rinse, repeat—impacts musicians, but we’re already starting to see the repercussions of breakneck touring schedules. Lizzy McAlpine recently announced that to prioritize her “mental and physical well-being” she elected to reschedule the second leg of her tour. Last year, Justin Bieber canceled his world tour due to a Ramsay Hunt syndrome diagnosis and general exhaustion from returning to playing live shows.
But concerts are not the only kind of performance that audiences have come to expect from the artists they love. They perform their politics, perform mental wellness, perform appreciation for their fans. Nothing is assumed; everything is an opportunity for a display. Nothing is private; everything is up for critique.
Taylor Swift has been all over the Internet in news about her yet unconfirmed relationship with 1975 frontman Matty Healy. Fans were first bereft over her apparent split from her partner of six years, inside seat-sitter and actor Joe Alwyn—so upset that they managed to get Lover (2019) to re-enter the charts. When they found out that her rebound was Healy—of raw meat-eating fame—they were confused to the point of outrage.
One thing about Swifties is that they can really organize; if I was running for office I’d be sure to hire a campaign team of exclusively Taylor Swift mega-fans. Usually, they’re scouring the Internet for anybody saying anything even remotely negative about Taylor Swift and promptly invoking character defamation against the original poster, but it turns out that they can apply equal passion to their own critiques of the fandom’s matriarch. There’s been a lot of outside commentary on the ethics of Taylor Swift dating someone who is frequently trending for being offensive, but the latest and most pointed of all these is the efforts that seem to come directly from her fans, centered around the hashtag #SpeakUpNow.
People are imploring, demanding, that Taylor Swift break up with Matty Healy. The open letter from which the hashtag originates encourages Taylor to engage in a “process of personal and social transformation” and take this “opportunity to make amends.” Not even getting into the gall of the degrading tone, the content of the message implies that Taylor Swift, as a famous person with a platform, is responsible for the actions of her rumored boyfriend.
I’m not going to wade into the shark-infested waters of defending Matty Healy; he probably deserves a lot of the flack he’s received for being intentionally inflammatory and refusing to accept the accountability-related consequences of his fame, or maybe he’s just an asshole. That point aside, who Taylor Swift chooses to spend time with might be a reflection of her character, but certainly shouldn’t implicate her in that person’s controversies. That point aside, someone whose music you like cannot be expected to reflect your personal moral values and should not be criticized for failing to meet the ethical standards you’ve set for them without their consent or knowledge.
Feeling personally betrayed by Taylor Swift’s romantic choices is unfortunately what one might call a “you problem.” Taylor Swift is too focused on being rich and becoming an eco-terrorist to respond to fans renouncing her and her music over a few pictures of she and Healy having dinner. Furthermore, Healy is, if anything, a return to her typical pattern of dating chaotic and controversial figures. It’s baffling to me that her fans are so surprised.
The outrage around Taylor Swift and Matty Healy brings to the mainstream an important question: what do artists owe their fans? Eras Tour opener Phoebe Bridgers has talked openly about erecting boundaries between herself and overzealous fans, who are devoted to the point of violating her privacy. Taylor Swift has dealt with that kind of infringement her entire life, criticized by the media for just about anything. #SpeakUpNow is just another example of how fans feel entitled to influence over the personal lives of the musicians they purportedly love. Leave her alone! Let her date a greasy man if she wants to!
There is a trade-off and I'm sure many people would love to rise to the level of fame that Swift endures. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for her. Obviously she chooses to continue in her career, even though I'm sure she has amassed enough savings to be able to do anything she pleases for several lifetimes. Choose may be the wrong word, inasmuch as, she might feel trapped in that world, feeling that if she loses momentum, she won't be able to go back, like a person trapped in a bad relationship where it is easier to stay, than to leave.
On the other hand there are a million musicians who would love to have those problems.
In simpler times, we often didn't learn about artist's private lives until their biographies came out.
There's been a trend toward musicians/bands saying no to touring. Where once, the ideal was to "get in the van," today more and more artists seem content to focus on the music, ship 5-1500 units via Bandcamp, and call it good. Maybe some local dates, and /maybe/ a few regional ones.
Swift is obviously at the top end of the scale and is an edge case. But for a lot of other bands, touring is a cost center, with not a lot of upside (see Wednesday's disastrous trip to SxSW as Exhibit A).
I'm curious what your take is as a musician.