How many products with Taylor Swift do we need? It's worth asking, considering the arrival of the six-episode docuseries Taylor Swift: The End of an Era on Disney+
Released with its first two episodes on Disney+, the six-part docuseries Taylor Swift: The End of an Era raises an inevitable question: has it really come to an end? Not for the billionaire pop star, who, while the series was landing on the platform, had already returned with a brand-new album, The Life of a Showgirl. Still, in theory, this marks the farewell to a phenomenon that swept across the globe and defined a moment destined to remain etched in music history, one that even those who weren’t there experienced almost firsthand, thanks to a level of virality that engulfed everyone, willingly or not. For this reason, one year after the official end of The Eras Tour, which kicked off in March 2023 and wrapped up in December 2024, still hearing about it can feel a little exhausting.
Taylor Swift, entrepreneur first and pop star second
Like many of the world’s most influential artistic figures, Taylor Swift is an entrepreneur, something akin to what Tom Cruise represents for the film industry. Over the years, she has carefully built her image and consolidated a form of hegemony rooted in her musical career, first constrained and then liberated by the creative and bureaucratic strategies she eventually reclaimed. Swift has managed to capitalize on every aspect of her life, both personal (see her upcoming marriage to football player Travis Kelce) and professional. At times, she even gives the impression of being willing to squeeze her work dry to the very last drop if the market allows it,and the market, in turn, seems eager to consume any new product, song, album, gadget, pre-order, or vinyl she releases. Swift, understandably, appears to think: if they want it and I can make it, why not?
The Disney+ docuseries about the tour (and Travis Kelce)
Taylor Swift: The End of an Era seems to fit perfectly into this logic. One year later, and, as mentioned, with yet another previously unreleased album already out, Disney+ adds the docuseries to its catalog, alongside Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which allows those who didn’t attend to relive the epic concert experience. Apparently, though, that still wasn’t enough. Alongside the first episodes of Taylor Swift: The End of an Era, Disney+ also uploaded Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour – The Final Show, the recording of the tour’s final stop in Vancouver. This version includes, compared to Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, the full sequence dedicated to her eleventh album The Tortured Poets Department, released in the middle of the tour in 2024. So what else is this, if not yet another serialized product Swift has profited from?
To be clear, it’s more than fair for anyone who fully understands their potential to know how to leverage it. Still, the constant revenue streams generated by her brand are starting to feel more significant than the music itself. And perhaps that’s exactly what affected The Life of a Showgirl, which received a lukewarm response and mixed reviews. Taylor Swift: The End of an Era is also an integral part of the construction of a persona that seems to be losing more and more spontaneity. Everything the pop star does or says feels meticulously calculated, and probably is. Strategy is everything when it comes to reaching that level of fame, and showing that you personally handwritten and sealed every letter given to your employees (along with a bonus likely securing their families’ futures for life) certainly plays well. Whether it’s true or not is up to skeptics to decide (and there’s nothing wrong with being one of them, just as there’s nothing wrong with using a computer and printer to write dozens upon dozens of letters).
Enough of Taylor Swift talking about Taylor Swift
Perhaps, at this point, to bring this The Eras Tour - considered one of the highest-grossing concert tours ever - to a fitting close, Taylor Swift didn’t need to place herself front and center in yet another project. Instead, she could have let an external perspective tell the story of the effort, commitment, and creative and commercial spark that define her everyday life. That approach might have added a greater sense of authenticity to a narrative made for fans, and could have revealed the star behind the mask or, given the many eras, the masks. And it doesn’t really matter that the docuseries features guest appearances by Ed Sheeran, Florence Welch, Sabrina Carpenter, and Gracie Abrams. We would have preferred to see Taylor Swift in action, not through (her own) words.
