Taylor Swift is not only a beloved musical artist with an ever-growing catalogue of innately singable songs; the billionaire pop star is increasingly the preeminent example of a powerhouse business strategist forging a new path for those who seek to steal market share and run the game their way.
The mega star’s business acumen is the subject of Sinéad O’Sullivan’s forthcoming book, “Good Ideas and Power Moves: Ten Lessons for Success from Taylor Swift.” O’Sullivan, a defense economist, investor, and writer, used her own business expertise to analyze Swift’s career.
As O’Sullivan navigated her own high-powered career with stints at the Department of Defense and NASA, the Harvard Business School alum and self-proclaimed “massive Swiftie” told Business Insider that she couldn’t get Swift’s singular road map out of her head.
“Anytime I thought about her, I thought about how what we’re teaching at business school no longer resonates with what she is doing,” O’Sullivan said in a June interview. “I started to think less about what Warren Buffett would do, and more about what Taylor would do.”
“Good Ideas and Power Moves” is the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of O’Sullivan’s obsession with Swift, she told Business Insider. “It was all in my head already, so the book only took me six weeks to write.” In it, O’Sullivan unpacks 10 of Swift’s unique power moves that anyone from Fortune 500 CEOs to small-time retailers can emulate to build their base and top the charts.
Here is a sample of some of the tips O’Sullivan explores in her book, which is out September 9.
Build power laterally — not from the top down
Much of Swift’s massive cultural power comes from her fiercely loyal and ever-expanding fan base. The Swifties, as her fans are known, have played a major role in the singer’s ability to maintain relevance for more than a decade amid a rapidly shifting music industry. From shelling out thousands for Eras Tour tickets to exclusively listening to the singer’s re-recordings (and shaming anyone who refuses to do the same), Swifties are among the most zealous fans operating today.
Unlike traditional business structures, where power and control flow from executives at the top down to employees at the bottom, Swift’s power moves laterally, O’Sullivan said.
The singer has emphasized her own relatability and nurtured her relationship with her dedicated devotees to create a fanbase that feels as though Swift is one of them, the author told Business Insider.
“She has enabled an entire group of people not by being above them, but by being one of them,” O’Sullivan said. “A lot of the time, she’s not even in the room, and her fans move without her.”
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When one of Swift’s Eras Tour shows was canceled in Vienna in August 2024, her fans organized impromptu gatherings where they sang her songs, exchanged friendship bracelets, and recreated the concert experience — all without any guidance or direction from the singer herself.
Wielding her power horizontally has allowed Swift to scale very quickly, O’Sullivan said, citing the singer’s “peer-to-peer currency.”
“She no longer even needs to be present for her power to increase,” O’Sullivan said. “Her fans feel like she is always there, but what they actually are experiencing is having other Swifties around.”
Be antifragile
Swift has managed to catapult herself to unmatched levels of power amid a particularly unpredictable moment in business.
“We live in a weird time. Everything feels like it no longer fits our models,” O’Sullivan said. “The rules have kind of stopped following the traditional, long-held patterns.”
Uncertain times, however, present a unique opportunity for those who have figured out how to get stronger, not weaker, in moments of adversity. After nearly two decades in the music industry, Swift has mastered antifragility, jumping in popularity and sales at moments where other singers have fallen, O’Sullivan said.
Take the pandemic, for example. COVID lockdowns curtailed artists’ abilities to do their jobs as tours were put on hold, studios shut down, and promotion took a back seat.
But where others saw a closed door, Swift saw an opportunity. With people sitting at home under lockdown, the singer understood people needed more content, not less. And because she owns her entire supply chain — an in-house recording studio, strong relationships with other musicians, and the ability to go direct-to-consumer — she was able to give the people what they needed during a difficult time. In July 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the singer released “folklore,” which became the best-selling album of the year.
“When others find difficulties in the system breaking down, that’s when Swift is able to get in and win big,” O’Sullivan said. “Every time something ‘bad’ happens to her, she is actually able to use it to make big leaps in her career and steal market share.”
Negotiate with authenticity
From the moment she burst on the scene at 16 years old, Swift’s superpower has always been her authenticity, O’Sullivan said.
“In the world of business and finance, it’s uncommon to have unwavering beliefs and such a strong sense of self,” the author said. “People tend to shift quite quickly depending on the markets or who is in power.”
Not Swift, according to O’Sullivan.
Sure, the singer initially gained popularity by singing about romance and relationships, but as she moved into her older teens — a time when the music industry typically forces female performers into sex-centered stereotypical roles — Swift removed herself from that equation and doubled down on her real self.
Authenticity is especially important for Swift because the product she’s selling is herself, O’Sullivan said; any hint of phoniness or fraud in the superstar’s marketing would be immediately obvious to her dedicated fans who feel like they personally know the singer thanks to her confessional lyrics.
Swift’s reverence for her own deep feelings and emotionality — traits that are traditionally scorned in the male-dominated business world — have actually given her significant leverage among her primarily female fan base, O’Sullivan said.
“She’s just a great example of doing things in a totally different way,” the author said.
Don’t eat the marshmallow
That Swift’s profile is as massive as it is, nearly two decades into her career, is proof enough that she’s something special, O’Sullivan said. The music industry, like so many others operating under capitalism’s quarter-to-quarter earnings system, churns out performers and products at a rate meant to capitalize on novelty and the next big thing.
Swift’s long-game mindset has garnered her longevity and legacy in a world where so many others have achieved only immediate validation, O’Sullivan said.
“Good things take time and patience,” she said. “Real success often requires you to forgo early wins.”
Instead of chowing down on the proverbial marshmallow as soon as it’s been roasted, Swift has built an empire on taking her time to create the perfect s’more.
“If you’re a CEO, you probably feel that pressure every minute,” O’Sullivan said. “But it’s about having a long-term strategy so you don’t have to just take the next thing coming.”
