this is Emer trying

30s Swiftie dancing through the lightning strikes, sleepless in the onyx night.

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@griffieshq Astronaut

[Pop Crave @PopCrave]

Taylor Swift gifted an autographed guitar and handwritten letter to a young fan:

"I just wanted to let you know that it made me SO happy that you asked your neighbor to play my song for you. You brought the biggest smile to my face! I’m sending you your own guitar, in case you ever want to learn too!"

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

It was a Monday in early August 2023. The exhausted truck drivers of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour thought they were heading to a routine production meeting before the Los Angeles shows.
They had no idea what was coming.
Scott Swift walked in. Taylor's father didn't say much—he just began handing out envelopes. When the drivers finally peeked inside, some thought the check said $1,000. Others read $10,000. The third driver stared at his and said out loud: "This has to be a joke."
It wasn't.
$100,000.
Each driver. Nearly 50 of them. The industry standard bonus from the biggest stars? $5,000 to $10,000. Taylor had given them more than ten times that.
But here's what made it matter most: these drivers weren't wealthy. They lived in truck cabs. They hadn't seen their families in 24 weeks. They were people who would never own homes—until now. Until that envelope.
That moment of shock and tears? It was just the beginning.
Across the entire Eras Tour, Taylor quietly handed out $197 million in bonuses. The dancers. The band. The riggers. The lighting and sound technicians. The caterers. Every single person who built the show—they got bonuses, handwritten notes, and wax-sealed letters. When dancers opened theirs on camera in her docuseries, they broke down crying. Some couldn't believe she was real.
"If the tour grosses more, they get more," she explained simply. These people work hard. They deserve it.
But the crew bonuses weren't the only quiet revolution happening.
Starting in March 2023, in every city where the tour touched down, a call came to local food banks. Taylor wanted to donate. No press conference. No announcement. No photo op. One donation fed 75,000 meals. Another provided hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh produce. Across the tour, the total reached millions of meals—possibly more—all delivered in silence.
She never posted about a single one.
And it wasn't new for her.
In March 2020, when the pandemic locked down the world, Taylor scrolled through social media posts from fans who were breaking. A photographer about to lose everything. A person staring down eviction. She sent direct messages with rent money—$3,000 here, $13,000 there. Some fans got enough for months of bills. She read the Washington Post. She noticed the names. She helped.
She never announced it.
Years later, in October 2025, a two-year-old named Lilah—fighting a cancer so rare that only 58 families in America had ever known it—was filmed by her mother dancing to a Taylor Swift song. Lilah called Taylor her friend. A few days later, the GoFundMe received a $100,000 donation.
The note said: "Sending the biggest hug to my friend, Lilah! Love, Taylor."
Mike Scherkenbach has worked with the wealthiest people in music. He's seen the bonuses. He's seen the behavior. He's watched billionaires guard their money jealously.
What he saw with Taylor was different.
The biggest tour in history grossed $2 billion. The artist behind it became a billionaire from her own songwriting. And then she signed her name onto hundreds of envelopes by hand and sent enough money back to the people who built her dream that they cried opening their letters.
That isn't strategy. That isn't a publicity stunt.
That's what happens when someone, somewhere along the way, remembered what matters.

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@VINYLCORDALERTS That sleeve insert design should have been the vinyl pressing!

[𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 @Be_like_legend]

Neurodivergents will say “I need rest” but what they actually mean is “I need uninterrupted time where no one expects anything from me”

[Pop Base @PopBase]

Taylor Swift’s record contract could lead to millions of dollars being paid to artists as UMG prepares to sell half of their equity stake in Spotify.

When Swift signed her contract in 2018, she negotiated a clause stating that any sale of UMG’s Spotify shares would result in a distribution of money to their artists, non-recoupable.

Her “non-recoupable” clause ensures that artists receive that money even if they still owe advances to the label that signed them.

(https://t.co/a6vxKX98qo)

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@staystaystace Right?! Make it make sense!

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@VINYLCORDALERTS @SmythsToys_Fr You are a bad influence. 😂

[Noah Kahan @NoahKahan]

Reviewers saying the albums too long shit I don’t think it’s long enough

[ella ⭑ @torturedelle]

Pressing play on The Tortured Poets Department on April 19 2024:

[Noah Kahan @NoahKahan]

The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs

4 extra songs

Out now on all streaming platforms

And yes you get Staying Still

https://t.co/qrQPcZzihZ

[popvinylsigned @popvinylsigned]

Happy RSD friends! We’ll be monitoring over 200 record stores on our Discord tomorrow for when overstock goes up online.

Meanwhile, to celebrate RSD, like and repost this tweet for a chance to win one of two copies of Fortnight 7in from last year’s RSD 🫶🏻

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@2cool_4u_ This tweet being me finding out, then checking my copy.😭

[kris🦋 @perfectlyfine89]

🚨PLEASE don’t panic buy and give into resellers tomorrow. Wait until record stores put the extras online or just wait for the resellers to lower!
There was a massive stock of Fortnight and there’s the same or more of Elizabeth Taylor! This is Fortnight currently!

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@JordynLWYMMD Congratulations on your precious arrival!🩵

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@bleachersmusic Cork, Ireland please!

[Bailey @bailey4047]

FYI, 25% of all royalties from her name, image, and likeness go to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. The royalties along with provisions from her estate ensure that all donations directly fund HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs.

https://t.co/yT9oam50JA

[Katyayani Shukla @aibytekat]

How to understand ADHD overwhelm in 35 seconds.

[this is Emer trying @beginagain1389]

@staystaystace Oh how time flies! Happy Birthday little man!🎉💙

[Vertigo Vinyl @vertigovinylga]

VV x She & Him

(Repost to enter giveaway for free copy)

VV Exclusive: “Volume 1” by She & Him
Pressed on orange and red “solar burst” vinyl. This release is available in unlimited quantities for 7 days and is numbered of total units sold. Once the 7-day time is up, it will not return.

https://t.co/ioOyOJIa9z