Taylor Swift is always having a busy year, and 2023 is no exception.
She recently kicked off the “Eras Tour,” her first outing in years. The fans that were able to brave Ticketmaster's (LYV) Verified Fan registration service and fight off the bots and ticket scalpers have been giving the show a rave review. She’s also made a….fan out of Elon Musk, apparently.
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But Swift took time out of packed schedule to appear at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, where she received the The Innovator Award from her friend Phoebe Bridgers.
"I'm really flattered by this award," Swift said. "The Innovator Award, I never a single time woke up in the morning and thought, ‘You know what I’m going to do today? I'm going to go innovate some stuff.'"
She then expanded on her creative philosophy, and gave a little insight into what she termed “the key” to her world-conquering success.
"What I did do was try to make the right decision for me at the time, whether or not it had ever been successfully done before," she said. "I think maybe that might be the key, because often times in any industry people are looking for a precedent, or data that shows this idea is a good one or a feasible one."
Swift, who in recent years has changed her sonic approach from album to album (from the pop sensibility of 2019’s “Lover” to the acoustic “Folklore” in 2020) and is currently re-recording her entire catalog due to a rights dispute with her previous label Big Machine Records, made it clear that she’s not one to wait for permission to take a big swing.
"People want an example of something working before. I think the coolest ideas are the new one, ones that set a new precedent."
She added that said big swings don’t always work out, and that’s completely fine.
"I really want everyone to know, especially young people, the hundreds or thousands of dumb ideas that I've had are what led me to my good ideas. You have to give yourself permission to fail," she said.
"I try as hard as I can not to fail because its embarrassing, but I do give myself permission to, and you should too," Swift said. "Someday someone might think that they're innovative."
