Now that Taylor Swift became one of the biggest superstars of the generation, her old manager gave an interview in which he talks about Taylor's work ethic and the control she has over her own career.
Here are some of the highlights from the interview:
- She takes time to meet every fan.
He told Swift if she wanted to sell 500,000 albums, she’d need to meet 500,000 people. "One of the things that Taylor is insistent upon is that they’re not rushed," Barker told Pollstar at the time. “You know, they obviously can’t spend five or 10 minutes individually but she never wants to make them feel like it’s a cattle call."
Even then, Swift would sign for nearly four hours after a show was done. "One time, they shut down the venue and we brought everyone outside,” Barker said. “I held a flashlight to her face so people’s camera phones would work. There were 300 people lined up. If she starts something, she doesn’t stop until it’s completely finished.
“Basically they leave there with that picture, that autograph, that memory and they share it with everybody that they know. If they have a bad experience with it, they share the same thing.”
- He doesn't take any credit for her career.
"I don't take any credit for Taylor's success. She hasn't changed her strategy from the first day she and I sat in my red Suburban, along with her mom, and started our radio tour in San Diego. She told me, “I want to be the biggest star in the world.” Her strategy was to go out and meet as many people as she possibly could. She says in the liner notes of her first CD, “Everything I learned about radio I learned in the back seat of Rick's truck. I'm so proud of her for staying true to who she is and staying true to her plan."
- He doesn't take any credit for her career.
"I don't take any credit for Taylor's success. She hasn't changed her strategy from the first day she and I sat in my red Suburban, along with her mom, and started our radio tour in San Diego. She told me, “I want to be the biggest star in the world.” Her strategy was to go out and meet as many people as she possibly could. She says in the liner notes of her first CD, “Everything I learned about radio I learned in the back seat of Rick's truck. I'm so proud of her for staying true to who she is and staying true to her plan."
- Taylor has always been her own manager.
"In reality Taylor has always been her own manager, and as I had the “title” of manager, I was blessed to be a part of a great team." , he says. "I can tell you one of the coolest things ever was having Taylor thank me from the stage after winning an award and watching my email and phone light up with people asking if I was really that Rick Barker."
- No sugar daddy bought her career, she did it all herself.
When talking about the untrue things said about her, he said that "Everybody likes to think her daddy bought her this or, because they had money, that happened. It's all bullshit. There's no shortage of daddies with money with daughters who sing. If that's the magic pill, why don't we have a 1,000 Taylor Swifts?"
- People laughed at her in the beginning, but she proved them wrong.
"The secret is Taylor cared so much about her fans and she used her music as a way to do research, then sold that music to her friends. Most other artists record an album, try to sell it to strangers, then wonder why it doesn't sell. That's because people forgot how to build relationships. Not Taylor! She wanted a gold record, so she met 500,000 people. People laughed at her and I in the beginning. Here's this 16-year-old kid and a guy who came from small town radio. But they weren't laughing in the end. Now she's changing the game. I'm so proud of her and I don't take any credit. We both wanted to learn and we taught each other a lot of things. She was amazing to learn from and I'm honored to have been a part of it. She did the work."
"In reality Taylor has always been her own manager, and as I had the “title” of manager, I was blessed to be a part of a great team." , he says. "I can tell you one of the coolest things ever was having Taylor thank me from the stage after winning an award and watching my email and phone light up with people asking if I was really that Rick Barker."
- No sugar daddy bought her career, she did it all herself.
When talking about the untrue things said about her, he said that "Everybody likes to think her daddy bought her this or, because they had money, that happened. It's all bullshit. There's no shortage of daddies with money with daughters who sing. If that's the magic pill, why don't we have a 1,000 Taylor Swifts?"
- People laughed at her in the beginning, but she proved them wrong.
"The secret is Taylor cared so much about her fans and she used her music as a way to do research, then sold that music to her friends. Most other artists record an album, try to sell it to strangers, then wonder why it doesn't sell. That's because people forgot how to build relationships. Not Taylor! She wanted a gold record, so she met 500,000 people. People laughed at her and I in the beginning. Here's this 16-year-old kid and a guy who came from small town radio. But they weren't laughing in the end. Now she's changing the game. I'm so proud of her and I don't take any credit. We both wanted to learn and we taught each other a lot of things. She was amazing to learn from and I'm honored to have been a part of it. She did the work."
