Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar
A new course titled The Entrepreneurial Genius of Taylor Swift (ENTR 4397) is being offered this spring semester by the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship.
The course will explore how Taylor Swift has used an entrepreneurial edge to become an international star. It is advertised to cover marketing and press strategies, fan engagement, community building and more.
Kelly McCormick professor of practice at the Wolff Center in the C.T. Bauer College of Business said that attending the Eras Tour in April was a major inspiration for her to teach this class and an opportunity to take a deep dive into Swift’s career.
“I was so impressed, not only by her songwriting but by what she’s done as a businesswoman to accelerate her success,” McCormick said. “Specifically some of the marketing, engagement and community building she does is so impressive.”
Swift’s recent success and broken records have interested many students in learning and exploring this topic. Senior media production major Hannah Bittick said she joined the class after hearing about it on social media. In addition to being a Swiftie, this class will count towards her minor.
“I’m going into the entertainment industry, although in a different way than Taylor,” Bittick said. “She’s an amazing businesswoman, not just an artist and I feel like people can learn a lot from her.”
Bittick hopes that this course will give her more insight into promotion in the entertainment industry. “I’m excited. I’m not sure what to expect curriculum-wise but I’m expecting the class to be full of fellow Swifties,” Bittick said.
Swift has dedicated herself to her craft and does so in a very effective way to reach a market that loves her, according to McCormick. This has had enormous outcomes that many can learn from such as her new billionaire status and becoming the second-richest self-made woman in music. This makes her a great example to learn from.
“I think if people want to learn about entrepreneurship, it’s a great opportunity to learn from a popular creator and entrepreneur,” McCormick said. “She’s done so many things in her career that students can implement in their own lives and in their businesses.”
The course will have various aspects that will delight Swifties, McCormick said. Each class will explore a specific era of her career and what she did entrepreneurially during that time. In addition, the class is open to all undergraduate students and majors.
“You don’t need a background in business to take it and appreciate it,” McCormick said. “In fact, I think students outside the business school can learn a lot about operating a successful business through the strategies we’ll explore in Swift’s career.”
The class will also focus on a specific business topic and discuss how Swift did that well. For example, the topic of branding and how Swift has handled her image and reinvented herself several times over the years.
McCormick will use this to answer various questions like “What can be learned from that?”, “How could you use those lessons to do that well yourself?”, and “How do other businesses do that very well?”
McCormick expects students to learn about entrepreneurship in general and more, specifically; how Swift has executed the components necessary for business success. The course will also attempt to apply such lessons to other businesses, industries, and fields students are interested in pursuing.
“I’m hoping the class will be a lot of fun —both for Swifties and anyone interested in learning more about how to be an entrepreneur,” McCormick said. “I’m excited to start teaching it next semester!”
