Taylor Swift is no stranger to the cold, unfair side of the music industry. For years, she refused to put her music on streaming services such as Spotify, and is forced to re-record her albums after her entire back catalogue was sold to Scooter Braun by her former record label, Big Machine Records. Now, Swift is speaking out about how being a woman in the music industry isn’t easy — even when you’re the highest-paid celebrity in the world.
“You’re always going to have people [asking] ‘Did she write her own songs?’ Talking about your private life. Talking about your dating life. There’s a different vocabulary for men and women in the music industry.” said Swift, in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. Elaborating on the “different vocabulary,” Swift explained, “A man does something, it’s strategic. A woman does something, it’s calculated. A man is allowed to react, a woman can only react.”
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Being such a famous woman comes with safety risks, too. Swift’s home addresses are available on the internet. She also says that she carried wound dressing with her, because she has stalkers. “I’ve had a lot of stalkers show up to the house armed, so we have to think that way,” she said, clearly uncomfortable with her own words. Men deal with security issues as well, but Swift’s public harassment is clearly specifically gendered.
Swift also firmly denies knowing about Braun’s acquisition of her masters in advance. When his name was said, she was viscerally shaken, making an “ugh” noise. “I found out when it was online...nobody knew,” she said. Braun has claimed that Swift was engaged in negotiations about her masters for 10 months prior to the sale. Braun also supported Lover in a tweet.