This past week there have been major elections that have completely changed the political climate of our nation, and Taylor Swift took all of her music off Spotify. While the political climate of our nation changes, it remains a constant, tired cycle. But Swift’s recent decision begs more unique questions about greed, the music business and integrity in American pop culture.

Buzzfeed reported earlier this week that Swift had removed all of her music from the streaming service, with some emphasis placed on the fact that her label Big Machine Records is looking to make big business moves. The artist and label are one in the same, and by attempting to sell, they saw Spotify as a potential weakness. This is where the greed comes in. Taylor Swift herself is worth $200 million according to Forbes, at only 24 years old, and the label could make just as much from the sale on the table. And yet, they chose to remove her music to earn possibly even more money from the sale. This has received mixed opinions from critics and fans, some praising the bold move, while others point out the inconsistencies.

The primary inconsistency is that the music was solely removed from Spotify, not other online streamers like Beats or Rdio. Most believe this is because of the immense traffic Spotify gets, and by removing it from the service the music is considered scarce, despite it being on YouTube and iTunes. Another aspect is that Spotify has a free streaming plan, which other services do not offer. Therefore, by the economic laws of supply and demand, all Spotify users will be forced to look to other services, that pay the artist or label directly, to get their Taylor fix. This shift simply lines the pockets of the millionaire artist and the label, and only benefits the future sale of the successful label.

Swift has been considered a superstar and an incredibly role model for our society. She has been known for sweeping judgments of other celebrities, and often writes songs about them. Her prominence in our society cannot be overlooked, and with such publicity it might be important to her to consider her image, which right now looks fairly greedy. Business minded folk have looked into the situation and seen the plan, she has removed her music as part of a long-term business model. It looks like a waiting game, as in Swift removed her music from the service, and it will stay off until album sales decline. Once the album sales decline, she will return it to Spotify just to remain relevant and rake in the royalties, which are significantly less than complete album sales. This is probably one of the most effective plans for long-term financial gain I have ever heard of, and it has been set in motion by America’s favorite country pop star.

While this is not anything similar to the financial crisis and faulty bank loans of 2008, there is a lot to be said of this situation. What this is, at the bare bones, is Taylor Swift taking advantage of her fame, and being the epitome of the 1% that was protested against on Wall Street not too long ago. She is the picture of the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer, on a different scale. While each person is only affected in a minor way, Swift feels the benefit of the millions small contributions to her lifestyle.

I respect art and recognize that stealing is wrong, but this entire situation just reeks of American greed in an industry that is so “about the art,” but it is an industry after all. For an artist who slams others for their choices, this is fairly questionable behavior.

At what point is enough truly enough? Clearly $200 million is not enough, and frankly, I could understand making smart business decisions. But the Taylor Swift that came about crying over some boy appears to be long gone, and in her place is a business-savvy “artist.” As a college student, I completely understand the value of a dollar. But I think my discomfort with this situation stems from the selfish nature. Personally, I will not be purchasing this album unless half of these proceeds are benefitting someone other than T-Swizzle’s cats.

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