Taylor Swift fans, or “Swifties,” will spend ridiculous money on seeing her perform live. For many fanatics, the motto is “I’ll spend the money now and worry about paying it off later.”

Spending $3,000 or even more for a Taylor Swift ticket is ridiculous. Looking at it from a surface level, even if you are affluent, spending this money on a concert is a bit irrational.

I will not judge Swifties or fans of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, etc., for spending this kind of money because experiences have a different price tag for everyone. For one person, the experience can be transformative; for another, it’s $1,000 an hour to watch someone sing live. These stars have built large, dedicated communities, and fans will spend; this is nothing new in fandom or consumer behavior.

The problem with Taylor Swift as an artist is that she isn’t generational. She is a product of Wall Street. A talented songwriter/musician who understood the business aspect of the music industry and cashed in. Taylor Swift’s father is Scott Kingsley Swift, a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch. Her mother was a mutual fund marketing executive. Her career is managed like a wealth portfolio, and it shows.

I am not questioning Taylor’s talents or abilities. The problem with Taylor is that she didn’t break down any barriers or transform the music industry. America loves artists saved by the music industry or musicians who went from rags to riches. Tayor was born into a well-off family that provided her the resources and connections to become the star she is.

My theory is that the most influential artists are highly flawed individuals. These “broken” musicians can manifest their struggles and life experience into their music. The music produced can be volatile, raw, and out-of-the-box, ultimately redefining music genres and reshaping the industry.

Many of the most influential musicians suffered from abusive parents, alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, trauma, or something tragic that happened to them. Mixing that in with Hollywood and paparazzi can create an explosive solution that garners a lot of eyeballs. None of the above fits Taylor. Her story is kind of uninteresting. Imagine a millionaire who already manages their money well, winning the lottery.

Taylor is a highly talented artist who manifests a whimsical/cookie-cutter view of capitalism. With her music, I don’t feel a real sense of struggle, passion, or purpose. The most passion she has shown was fighting for her music catalog rights, which was more about profits than the actual music.

There are better role models for musicians than Taylor Swift. As an entrepreneur, yes, but as an artist, no. Taylor’s music is highly curated and manufactured. More about ROI and profit margins than taking risks and breaking barriers. More about image control than raw vulnerability. Around the world, you can find thousands of talented undiscovered artists playing at smaller intimate venues and watch them perform live at a fraction of the price of an Era Tour Ticket.

Unfortunately, we see a lot of Taylor Swift clones emerging in the industry with younger artists like Olivia Rodrigo, who are drawing inspiration from the more commercialized version of Taylor. Do people remember when she was a country singer?

Truly, generational artists take risks, even dangerous ones, and the audience decides whether that risk is worth taking. Taylor’s career arc has been a consistent slope towards playing it safe and mediocrity. That is a slam on her as an artist, not an entrepreneur. Unlike a lot of musicians, she thinks like an executive. She’s more Sheryl Sandberg than Amy Winehouse.

In the future, I would expect her to launch her own record label and become a billionaire. In 10 years, her empire will be worth more than Ye, Rihanna, and even Jay-Z/Beyoncé. Taylor has the Millennials and Gen Z demographic locked down pat, who will continue to pay their hard-earned savings to watch her perform live.

I am not knocking Swifties. However, they should evaluate the actual reason for their worship of Taylor. Rooting for Taylor is the equivalent of rooting for TicketMaster, Alabama Crimson Tide, Facebook, or Amazon. She doesn’t look at her fans as fans but as lifetime customers who pay, in essence, an annual subscription for her merchandise and events. To Swifties, she may seem down-to-earth, but in reality, she is an opportunistic savvy business genius.