The digital revolution has done a lot of damage. But some artists can still see the way forward
Taylor Swift’s music video for her latest single, Look What You Made Me Do, includes a scene where she is shown raiding the bank vault of a music streaming company. Having smashed records on YouTube and Spotify and notched up her first UK number one single, the scene is a telling one. Writing songs that exploit her personal life – from celebrity feuds to the short-lived romance that was Hiddleswift – and through deft manipulation of social media, Swift offers lessons in how to make a hit machine in the new digitally driven world of music.