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Old 04-11-2016, 03:41 PM   #21
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I have no doubt that she works hard for her money, as most people do in that industry. In reality, she makes more than most CEOs, and many people claim CEOs are the villains.
Every Jan 2, you can count on a story in the news how the top CEO's made more by lunch that day than the average worker will all year...but, they never write a story on how Taylor Swift made more by lunch than the average lounge singer or the guy who played drums on her last CD.

It's always the CEO's that get dumped on, while celebrities and musicians get a free pass.

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However, removing the cap on SS taxes would allow more money into the SS fund. A lot more in this case.
If you want to remove the cap on SS contributions, then to be fair, the SS payout must also go up an equivalent amount.
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Old 04-11-2016, 03:51 PM   #22
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I admire Taylor Swift. She has a great business sense, taking on Apple, for example.

However, as far as earnings, she only made peanuts last year compared to Katy Perry.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:00 PM   #23
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Remarkable talent? I thought this thread was about Taylor Swift...
Yeah, she is quite a remarkable talent as far as pop artists go. I'd normally agree about most pop artists being uber talented rather than just being marginally talented but good looking and marketable. In her case, she is very good looking, very marketable, and very musically talented.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:00 PM   #24
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Funny but with all that money so few seem really happy.... Small wonder.
1)they change spouses like we change slacks.
2)zero privacy
3)the media is in your face dying to catch you in an unflattering position.

Then there's the tabloids: Stars Who Aged Poorly, Stars who gained weight, stars who are desperate for their next gig. Really dumb stars... Stars who cheat...

I always wonder who cares cause I sure don't.



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Old 04-11-2016, 04:03 PM   #25
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But I have been curious, I really don't know - is she talented, music-wise? Subjective of course, but if anyone can link to a youtube or other source which they feel shows off a solid musical ability, I'd appreciate it.
I'm not a fan of hers, but I do like seeing pop artists showing off musical ability. She seems solid with just guitar and vocals:

Wikipedia says she was one of 3 writers for that song. No telling who wrote how much.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:09 PM   #26
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Every Jan 2, you can count on a story in the news how the top CEO's made more by lunch that day than the average worker will all year...but, they never write a story on how Taylor Swift made more by lunch than the average lounge singer or the guy who played drums on her last CD.

It's always the CEO's that get dumped on, while celebrities and musicians get a free pass.



If you want to remove the cap on SS contributions, then to be fair, the SS payout must also go up an equivalent amount.

One of the problems is that CEOs can get a boat load of money and not be any good... I am bad with names, but I bet someone can give examples... one is Johnson at JC Penny.... I think Meyer at Yahoo has not been great... the guy who heads Sears...


If you are a performer, you ONLY get paid big bucks if you are GREAT... you have to be able to sell tickets... that lounge singer is not selling ticket... Swift is... lounge singer gets low pay, Swift gets a lot...

So, CEO can be paid big bucks without any talent... a performer cannot....
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:10 PM   #27
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I always wonder if remarkable people such as Taylor Swift had been born in a different era would their talents adapt to the societal interests or needs of that era. If she were born in 1940s, would she still be a huge pop star? If Einstein were born in the 1600s, would he rival the great scientists of that time, or would his thought patterns not resonate with the questions and technology of the era?

If I were born in 1989 would I be Taylor Swift instead??
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:15 PM   #28
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:25 PM   #29
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One of the problems is that CEOs can get a boat load of money and not be any good... I am bad with names, but I bet someone can give examples... one is Johnson at JC Penny.... I think Meyer at Yahoo has not been great... the guy who heads Sears...


If you are a performer, you ONLY get paid big bucks if you are GREAT... you have to be able to sell tickets... that lounge singer is not selling ticket... Swift is... lounge singer gets low pay, Swift gets a lot...

So, CEO can be paid big bucks without any talent... a performer cannot....
For every example of a bad CEO, there are just as many examples of high paid performers who are also not very good. A lot of well known high paid acts use auto-tune in the studio and when playing live because they are not good vocalists. There are plenty of instances of the artist recording tracks in the studio that are later re-done by better musicians once they have left. Some of the highest paid acts even lip sync in concert.

As to Taylor Swift...I have nothing against her, but she is a mediocre guitarist at best with average vocals. She's popular because a lot of people like her songs, not because she is extraordinarily talented.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:39 PM   #30
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I'm not a fan of hers, but I do like seeing pop artists showing off musical ability. She seems solid with just guitar and vocals:

Wikipedia says she was one of 3 writers for that song. No telling who wrote how much.
Thanks. I appreciate that it was just her voice and guitar accompaniment. Nice voice, I'd say she has some talent, but nothing all that 'special' (IMO only - and I also watched a few others from that show). Her guitar playing got the job done I guess, but I've seen dozens of local, small/no name performers who keep it a lot more interesting. It helps to pick out a bass line or alternate bass + fifth or something (anything?), along with the chords, and pick out a few notes as you go from chord to chord at times (like picking out descending G-F#-E-D as you move from a G to a D chord). A few little embellishments like that go a long way, some are pretty easy, others make you think you are hearing two guitar players at once.

Her piano accompaniment was about the same, I'd say.

But I can see why people like her, nice voice, nice songs, pretty - I just wouldn't call her 'great' myself. Listen to the guitar or piano work that Joni Mitchell does - an entirely different class. OK, Joni is an unrealistic standard to hold anyone up to, but it will give you an example.

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Old 04-11-2016, 04:46 PM   #31
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More power and money to her.

A long way from when her mother used to drive her around in Nashville, she walking into various studios and handing in her CD demos. Saying, Hi I'm Taylor this is my CD demo.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:51 PM   #32
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She's popular because a lot of people like her songs, not because she is extraordinarily talented.
Is that not enough to be considered talented, to write songs that people like?

Her lyrics do seem to resonate with a huge audience. True, it's mostly a teenage girl audience. But is it fair to dismiss her as untalented because she's not writing for us specifically? Or because she caters to an immature audience?

In the same vein I wonder if Stephen King is untalented. I don't particularly care for the horror genre. I don't think his writing is anything special. And plenty of intellectuals don't consider his work serious writing.

But a lot of people enjoy his novels and he produces more of them than nearly anyone alive. I'd say there's some talent in that.

Eventually we'll have a better idea as to whether Taylor Swift leaves a lasting legacy in music. I think Stephen King's legacy as a hugely influential writer is pretty secure. The jury's still out on Taylor, perhaps. But I'd say the odds are in her favor.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:57 PM   #33
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Taylor's "salary" for 2015 was in the Parade magazine's annual story on what people earn. This link I guess focuses on celebrities: What People Earn 2016: Take a Peek at Celebrity Salaries (I noticed it in Sunday's paper). Some people earn more than we think they should, some people earn less than we think they should. Good water cooler chit chat fodder. Not much documentation on how the publication came up with the figures.

I think the girl works hard for the money and good for her being able to follow her dreams.
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Old 04-11-2016, 05:11 PM   #34
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And the problem with CEO pay isn't that the numbers are so high, it's that the pay is determined by a board that the CEO often chairs and which is often comprised of other CEOs acting as "outside directors". And once one self-determined compensation package is signed it's used to justify the next self-determined package at other firms. Warren Buffet once quipped that these guys all use the same executive compensation consultants at Ratchet, Ratchet and Bingo.

The other problem with CEO pay is that it doesn't necessarily correlate with any kind of actual performance. Long-dated stock options grow into the money just because stocks go up. It doesn't really matter that your firm lagged all of its peers.

The third problem with CEO pay is that many large-company CEO's aren't adding any discernible value. Many are just caretakers of firms built by others.

I don't think anyone complained when Steve Jobs or Sam Walton rang the cash register. Just like people don't care that Lebron James makes mint. Or Taylor Swift, for that matter. That's because everyone knows why they're all getting paid.

But when some person rises up the bureaucracy at Mega Corp to lead a 100 year old firm it's a bit harder to see the value add.
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Old 04-11-2016, 05:22 PM   #35
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She was on a world tour from May 5th to Dec 12th. Grossed over $250 million in 7 months. That had to be a grueling schedule and of course the early part of the year was spent planning and practicing for the tour. People in her position have to put in 5000 hours a year or more while their "hot" because they won't be able to get a gig anywhere in a few years.
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Old 04-11-2016, 05:30 PM   #36
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They were talking about it on the radio this morning and mentioned a few other names, the lowest they mentioned I believe was Leonardo De Caprio at $20MM.



We all know it but it hit me, of course, they have their expenses and taxes too but still what these guys make in one year many of us will never see in a lifetime.

You know all those Swift trucks you see on the highways? I have been told that is the same family. She had a leg up when she started. Like many a politician or celebrity. Which makes those with real talent who came from nowhere really remarkable. And for every Taylor Swift there are a thousand people as talented or better who don't have a chance at such fortune.

I'm more apt to admire the Beatles and others like them. Just my generation I guess.


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Old 04-11-2016, 05:38 PM   #37
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You know all those Swift trucks you see on the highways? I have been told that is the same family. She had a leg up when she started. Like many a politician or celebrity. Which makes those with real talent who came from nowhere really remarkable. And for every Taylor Swift there are a thousand people as talented or better who don't have a chance at such fortune.

I'm more apt to admire the Beatles and others like them. Just my generation I guess.


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Made me look--Swift is merely an adjective, and the founder of that company was a truck driver named Carl Moyes and he is not part of Taylor Swift's family: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_Transportation

You can admire her maybe a little bit now for her hard work? (ETA: there are just soooo many people who had doors opened for them these days--our Chicago news has several reporters/anchors whose parents are in the biz, for example, and lots more movie actors are turning into family businesses, like Tom Hanks and his son, Will Smith and his son, etc., etc. But they still have to work hard once the door is opened.)

(I don't really have an opinion on Taylor Swift or most of the other current celebrities, but I do have time on my hands this afternoon )
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Old 04-11-2016, 05:42 PM   #38
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Old 04-11-2016, 05:51 PM   #39
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I just love to read "rich people" threads -
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Old 04-11-2016, 06:02 PM   #40
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Is that not enough to be considered talented, to write songs that people like?

Her lyrics do seem to resonate with a huge audience. True, it's mostly a teenage girl audience. But is it fair to dismiss her as untalented because she's not writing for us specifically? Or because she caters to an immature audience?

In the same vein I wonder if Stephen King is untalented. I don't particularly care for the horror genre. I don't think his writing is anything special. And plenty of intellectuals don't consider his work serious writing.

But a lot of people enjoy his novels and he produces more of them than nearly anyone alive. I'd say there's some talent in that.

Eventually we'll have a better idea as to whether Taylor Swift leaves a lasting legacy in music. I think Stephen King's legacy as a hugely influential writer is pretty secure. The jury's still out on Taylor, perhaps. But I'd say the odds are in her favor.
Technical musical ability and writing popular songs are two entirely different talents. I'm an amateur musician and sometimes overanalyze music, but I still can enjoy music written by people with limited technical ability. But, I also appreciate technical ability and will gravitate towards those who have both the ability to write and the ability to play.

I don't particularly care for Taylor Swift's music, but do give her credit for finding a formula that works and makes her money, even though I won't spend a dime on her music. Her guitar playing is not that good and her voice is average, but if I liked her songs it wouldn't matter that much.

One of my favourite bands is Pink Floyd. Roger Waters wrote some great songs but could barely play, in fact, David Gilmour played most of the bass on Pink Floyd albums and then had to show Waters a "dumbed down" version that he could play live. But, that doesn't prevent me from enjoying their music even though Waters lacked playing chops.
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