Can Taylor Swift shake up the publishing world?

Taylor Swift, The most powerful pop star of the moment, can she change the book industry? On November 29, the official book of his world tour was released in all Target chain stores in America. But The Eras Tour Book, sold at the price of 39.99 dollars, was not published by any house but by “Taylor Swift Publications”. After having shaken up the music industry, by re-recording her first albums to recover the rights to her titles, would Taylor Swift also be capable of shaking up the world of publishing through her self-publication?

This decision will undoubtedly be a loss of income for traditional publishing houses – the book, sold nearly 814,000 copies in less than a week, gave rise to one of the biggest literary launches since 2020, enough to compete with the release of the memoirs of Barack Obama. Taylor Swift could start a movement among celebrities in search of beautiful letters. Usually, stars call on publishing houses to publish their works. Britney Spears had thus entrusted Gallery Books with the edition of his book, The Women in Me, released in 2023. Thanks to their name and popularity, personalities can attract many readers and sometimes allow publishing houses to survive. For example, Spears’ book had sold nearly a million copies, according to data from Circana Bookscan. Companies are therefore in the habit of banking on a few headlines like this each year. But this model, called “Vegas”, is increasingly tending to disappear, according to the publishing sector analyst, Thad McIlroy, interviewed by The Atlantic. And it’s not Taylor Swift’s doing.