Taylor Swift: Audience and Industries blog tasks

 Audience

Background and audience wider reading

Read this Guardian feature on stan accounts and fandom. Answer the following questions:

1) What examples of fandom and celebrities are provided in the article?

Julia Fox and her active fan accounts on Twitter, Ariana Grande's fan who came after her ex boyfriend and Cardi B's fans who made efforts to attack her boyfriend.

2) Why did Taylor Swift run into trouble with her fanbase? 

Fans believed she was deemed as too prestige when she presented her celebrity lifestyle.

3) Do stan accounts reflect Clay Shirky's ideas regarding the 'end of audience'? How? 

No they don't as they present that fan culture is still active and important in the media which opposes Shirky's idea of audiences ending.

Read this Conversation feature on the economics of Taylor Swift fandom. Answer the following questions: 

1) What do Taylor Swift fans spend their money on? 

Fans purchase tickets for concerts and tours as well as merchandise in which they purchase off Taylor Swift's websites.

2) How does Swift build the connection with her fans? Give examples from the article.

She connects with them through social media and in the past she has responded to direct messages on Instagram and she has also on numerous occasions responded to comments on her posts.

3) What have Swifties done to try and get Taylor Swift's attention online? 

They have used many tactics, for example they have created theories and ideas of her which has forced her to respond, they also come up with a large number of messages and comments which directly have importance to Taylor Swift.

4) Why is fandom described as a 'hierarchy'? 

Because social classes exist between fan cultures as there is a judgemental culture involved within fandoms.

5) What does the article suggest is Swift's 'business model'? 

Her companies which include: Booking agency, management team, copyright, tour production company, dancers and crew.

Taylor Swift: audience questions and theories

Work through the following questions to apply media debates and theories to the Taylor Swift CSP. You may want to go back to your previous blogpost or your A3 annotated booklet for examples. 

1) Is Taylor Swift's website and social media constructed to appeal to a particular gender or audience?

It seems that it is meant to appeal to female audiences that are slightly younger.

2) What opportunities are there for audience interaction in Taylor Swift's online presence and how controlled are these? 

Fans can message her through direct messages and can also communicate through comments on her social media posts.

3) How does Taylor Swift's online presence reflect Clay Shirky’s ‘End of Audience’ theories? 

She has a huge online presence which opposes Clay Shirky's theory as she is proof that audiences are still impactful and are very much still alive.

4) What effects might Taylor Swift's online presence have on audiences? Is it designed to influence the audience’s views on social or political issues or is this largely a vehicle to promote Swift's work? 

Audiences will have increased engagement so their views will be affected. It is likely that social views may be linked to her presence under discussions from audiences.

5) Applying Hall’s Reception theory, what might be a preferred and oppositional reading of Taylor Swift's online presence? 

Preferred readings may be to deem her as a likeable celebrity that frequently interacts with her fans. An oppositional reading is that she comes across as arrogant and unlikable which will fit the usual celebrity stereotypes.

Industries

How social media companies make money

Read this analysis of how social media companies make money and answer the following questions:

1) How many users do the major social media sites boast?

As of Q4 2022, Meta formerly Facebook, had 2.96 billion monthly active users.1

Statista. "Number of Monthly Active Facebook Users Worldwide as of 4th Quarter 2022."

 Twitter (now X) stopped reporting monthly active users, but the last count in Q1 2019 was 330 million, while LinkedIn had about 900 million monthly active users as of Q1 2023.

2) What is the main way social media sites make money? 

Through targeted ads.

3) What does ARPU stand for and why is it important for social media companies? 

Average revenue per unit. It is important as it is majorly impactful towards the money making side for social media companies.

4) Why has Meta spent huge money acquiring other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp? 

In order to decrease their competition and allow for a higher market share percentage.

5) What other methods do social media sites have to generate income e.g. Twitter Blue? 

X premium which is a monthly subscription of $8 a month or verification checks which are payed for. 

Regulation of social media

Read this BBC News article on a report recommending social media regulation. Answer the following questions:

1) What suggestions does the report make? Pick out three you think are particularly interesting. 

• Implementing "circuit breakers" so that newly viral content is temporarily stopped from spreading while it is fact-checked, forcing social networks to disclose in the news feed why content has been recommended to a user, limiting the use of micro-targeting advertising messages.

2) Who is Christopher Wylie? 

A data consultant.

3) What does Wylie say about the debate between media regulation and free speech? 

Whenever social media regulation is proposed, there are concerns about stifling free speech.

4) What is ‘disinformation’ and do you agree that there are things that are objectively true or false? 

Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people.Yes as there is always the chance of things being false even when they are deemed as true.

5) Why does Wylie compare Facebook to an oil company? 

As Facebook also profits from harm like oil companies do even though it is a different type of harm that is done.

6) What does it suggest a consequence of regulating the big social networks might be? 

That free speech may be stooped and many users may lose their voice and opportunities to speak out.

7) What has Instagram been criticised for?

Because they have algorithms which decide on what audiences see.

8) Can we apply any of these criticisms or suggestions to Taylor Swift? For example, should Taylor Swift have to explicitly make clear when she is being paid to promote a company or cause? 

Taylor Swift is a high level user of social media so she may be criticised for using harmful applications that can negatively effect society.