Fandom Nurturing with Authentic Storytelling: The “Taylor Swift” Way for Emotional Bonding

This study examines how globally successful singer-songwriter Taylor Swift implemented and stimulated storytelling and community nurturing, using authentic and transparent communication to create an emotional bond with her fans. Based on observation of the evolution of the artist's storytelling, and its community's reactions, across different media and sources, and interpreting archetypal storytelling with qualitative coding and thematic analysis, certain peculiar communication tactics for nurturing emotional bonds emerged. As an original contribution, this study proposes the Taylor Swift's way for fandom nurturing, in which an artist-brand could creatively bridge the gap between marketing and fan practices.