Self made billionaires don't exist. She grew up in a mansion, and every business in existence makes its money solely from the exploitation of its workers.
She’s not a business though, and she pays her employees better than average. She’s also an outlier because she’s the only person to become a billionaire just off of music.
She sells plenty of merchandise, sends C&Ds to Etsy creators, and as you mentioned, has employees. She is a business. And didn't make her money just off music. Even if she did, she would be a ghostwriter-made billionaire, not a self-made one. It is literally impossible to make a billion dollars without exploiting others.
Didn't ask whose workers they are. They provide the labor that creates her profit. Doesn't matter that other rich people exploit those same workers. It doesn't matter how many other businesses get a piece of that pie. How many billionaires do you stand up for? Just the ones whose products you enjoy?
Yes, but we're talking specifically about billionaires here. Not musicians. There doesn't exist a single self-made billionaire. The one you like isn't an exception.
She is an exception in the fact that she’s the only person to become a billionaire off of music. She’s in a different league when compared to other billionaires.
Her dad’s money helped but not the reason she’s as successful as she is. Money can get foot in the door but if you don’t have the talent and drive to back it up then it’s just a waste of money.
If she is sending C&D letters, aren't the Etsy creators exploiting Taylor? If Disney was selling trinkets from an unknown musician, wouldn't Disney be the exploiter? (You know the answer is yes). Why is it different for Etsy creators exploiting Taylor? She paid the truck drivers 100k each as a bonus and 55 million in bonuses to everyone else. With the exception of cover songs, she has written or co-written all of her songs.
I know it's the cool thing to say, that one can't be a billionaire without exploiting, so that is why you say it. I'm sure that somewhere, somebody was taken advantage of. But that is not why Swift is a billionaire.
You have to protect your copyrights or you'll lose them, that's what C&Ds are for.
What they meant by the off only music is that other billionaires musicians like Dre or Jay Z took their capital and either invested it (Beats) or created other companies (Rockafella). She made a billion from album sales and ticket sales as well as royalties.
Employees are not necessarily exploited, especially if they are paid above market rate. Ghostwriters are paid for a product they sell, not exploited. Who knows, she might even have royalty contracts with them.
Lastly, speaking in certainty about exploitation to wealth is ludicrous. I agree with you that she started on third base and isn't self made, but to say she exploits people is disingenuous at best. How could you possibly know? Did you work for her?
Capitalism is inherently exploitative. Other people provide the labor of making and distributing her merchandise, and they get a pittance out of that. No billionaire exists whose fortune isn't made that way.
How about making those shirts? Getting pallets of them onto trucks? Actually getting those trucks wherever they need to go? What's the difference between a warehouse worker destroying their body to move Taylor Swift's stuff as opposed to Jeff Bezos's stuff?
Nothing, as long as they are receiving a market rate based compensation. I think your issue here lies with how capitalism works, instead of T Swifts success story.
An unknowable sentiment for people in a position such as ourselves. We've never worked for her, do not personally know her and do not know the inner workings of her business.
I'll go so far as to agree with you that I don't really like the fact that billionaires exist. It's a product of a system that lacks proper regulation. I'm from a more social democratic system than the US and we only have 30 billionaires in a country of 40 million. That being said, how they have acquired that wealth, like any group of business owners, is a diaspora. Lumping her in with the exploitative billionaires like the Waltons is jumping to conclusions without evidence.
She could be an exploitative hard nose grind stone business owner. She could be a lovely artistic song writer caught up in the whirlwind of her own success who just loves to get out on that stage as much as possible. We have no idea.
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u/NoMarionberry8940 4d ago
I would argue that as an independent, self made billionaire, Swift could be an excellent role model for anyone.