User:Tekrmn/sandbox

The way Swift interacts with her fans is very intentional and very unique for an artist of her stature. Swift follows her fans closely online and interacts with them directly on social media, she has been known to send packages to fans, donate money to them, and she hand select fans to invite to her home for small performances after following them online over periods of months, a practice referred to as "Taylurking." fan theories are a way for Swifties to feel a sense of community with each other and to feel connected to Swift herself, and are a defining feature of the fandom. Swift's fans have grown up with Swift and her music, which makes the relationship even more significant to them. Swift is well known for her prolific use of easter eggs, and the committed involvement of her fans is something other artists have tried to replicate in recent years, using methods Swift has made her own, such as easter eggs, after seeing the way Swift's fanbase has propelled her career and given her unprecedented longevity for a female artist. Despite this, Swift, her fanbase, and their relationship remain very unique.

Swifties' unexpected support for Reputation, an album that was expected to be a big failure, showed that the fans were committed to Swift's brand even in a total shift of her artistry and a disappearance from the public eye. This showed just how strong the relationship between Swift and her fans is, and how united the Swiftie fandom is itself. Reputation was also a significant moment in that Swift started using easter eggs more heavily during this era, as a way to continue communicating wither her fans when she had decided not to give interviews, which is a practice she has continued since.

Swiftie's overwhelming support for the re-recorded albums Swift released following the controversy over her masters is further evidence of the unique power of Swift's brand. Swifties broke streaming records with her re-records and put re-masters on the Billboard Top 200 and the Billboard top 100 for the first time in history many times over. Swift was able to leverage her fanbase to negotiate a new contract to gain control of her original masters, and to make tangible legal changes to standard contracts between labels and artists.