Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

The future of Taylor Swift

Jeffrey Remz  |  July 23, 2010

The wait is on for Taylor Swift's third studio CD, "Speak Now," which does not reach your local retailer until Oct. 25. Swift also will release the first single, Magic, Aug. 16.

Swift made the announcement during an on-line session with thousands of her fans earlier this week. Swift picked a format that works for her to make the announcement. While some artists may have had a press conference to tell their big news, Swift did so on her terms. She communicated with her fans directly, not through the press. It was no surprise that Swift chose to communicate on-line as she was the first country artist to so extensively utilize the internet.

A few things became quite apparent during the nearly hour-long session. For starters, Swift was very very very excited to put out new music. That was quite palpable as her energy came through clearly. She said on more than one occasion that she "can't wait" for her fans to hear the music.

Another - and this is something that has stood Swift quite well thus far - is her connectedness with her fans. While one could argue that Swift made such a fuss over here fans that you could argue that the lady doth protest too much, the fact of the matter was Swift apparently feels such a tight relationship with her supporters. That came through extremely loud and clear.

There is no reason to indicate that could change, but Swift is facing the same question that others before her have faced - can she take her teenage female audience with her as she gets older? No guarantees exist that Swift will be able to maintain her fan base, nor is there any reason to believe she won't.

Chances are that Swift's interests and viewpoints will change as she gets older. That's only natural. Different influences result in a person altering what may be important to them, which, in turn, could affect what Swift writes about.

Fortunately for Swift, she has proven to be a very capable songwriter. Therein lies the key aspect - of whether a more mature Swift no longer writing about boys who done her wrong, will maintain her musical standing.