Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
You probably already knew that Taylor Swift is on tour. You know, the tour that was in such high demand that Ticketmaster had a complete meltdown during the presale, making millions of Swifties, as her fans are known, angry when they couldn’t get tickets.
If you know anything about Taylor Swift, it’s probably that she is fiercely protective of her loyal fans. Swift is famous for going out of her way to make her fans happy, so you can imagine that her first tour in more than four years was going to be a spectacle.
Well, the Eras Tour opened this past weekend in Glendale, Arizona, and fans who were lucky enough to get tickets got their money’s worth. Swift performed 44 songs over three hours during the opening show.
For one fan, however, the show was extra special. Five years ago, 8-year-old Isabelle McCune had tickets for Swift’s Reputation Tour, but suffered severe burns in an accident and couldn’t attend. Swift found out about what happened, visited McCune in the burn unit in Arizona’s Children’s Hospital, and left her with a promise.
“Isabella, I hope you feel better soon,” Swift wrote in a note. “I’m so honored you’ve been listening to my music. You’re so awesome and I can’t wait to have you at a show. Stay strong, gorgeous. Love, Taylor.”
The note alone would have been the highlight for a lot of fans. Last week, however, Swift delivered on the promise with four tickets to her opening weekend.
“Not only the fact that I’m able to go and I got these tickets gifted to me, they’re from Taylor Swift and her team and they remembered me, and thought of me to give me these tickets,” McCune said.
That, really, is the point. It takes very little for Taylor Swift to give away four tickets to a concert. Her tour is already expected to be the highest-grossing in history and giving away those tickets costs her basically nothing.
On the other hand, the payoff is huge–especially for her fans. In this case, it’s not just because one of them got to see the show. Yes, that part is nice, but what really matters is that Swift was thoughtful enough to remember McCune and keep her promise from five years ago.
There are few people as good at cultivating the affection of their fans as Swift, who–during the worst of the pandemic–dropped a surprise album for her fans. While most of us were trying to figure out how to do Zoom calls and where to buy toilet paper, Swift secretly recorded an entire album during lockdown.
Not only that, the fact that the show itself was three hours long is a testament that Swift wants to give her fans exactly what they want. Especially after the debacle of trying to get tickets in the first place.
More important, though, is that Swift kept her promise. There is nothing more powerful than being remembered–than feeling like you are valued enough that someone went out of their way to notice you.
It’s a reminder that the little effort it takes to remember your promises, even those from five years ago, goes a long way. When you’re fiercely protective of your fans, and intentional about providing them the very best experience you can, they become fiercely loyal to you. That might be the most valuable lesson of all.
