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- Taylor Swift’s new concert film, “folklore: the long pond studio sessions” premiered on Disney Plus on Wednesday.
- This is the second Taylor Swift project for the platform, which also made the singer’s 2019 concert in Paris available for a month earlier this year.
- With Swift’s massive fan base and Disney looking to drive new sign-ups to its streaming service, a business that has become a top priority during the pandemic, the exclusive film represents a savvy move by Disney to grow the platform.
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Taylor Swift debuted “folklore: the long pond studio sessions” concert on the Disney Plus streaming platform Wednesday. The concert film features the album’s producers and Swift herself detailing “the stories and secrets behind all 17 songs.”
A Disney Plus exclusive, the move is a smart one by Disney that taps into a large fanbase that is known to follow Swift’s every move. This is the second Taylor Swift project for the platform in 2020, as her Paris “City of Lover” concert was available for a month on both Disney Plus and Hulu.
With 87.5 million followers on Twitter and 140 million on Instagram, her legions of fans made Swift the highest paid celebrity in 2019, with $185 million in pre-tax income. Much of her money comes from tour dates, and Swift holds the title for the highest grossing US tour of all time, with each show making about $9 million a night.
But unable to tour amid a pandemic, Swift’s film on Disney Plus offers fans the next-best thing.
—Disney+ (@disneyplus) November 24, 2020
Taylor Swift fans— aka Swifties— were speculating that something was going to happen with the singer soon, as she posted a snap on Instagram with the caption "not a lot going on at the moment."
—tanya 💕✨ 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑘𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒 (@tanya1992x) November 22, 2020
—Aiden ⚓️🦋✊🏾🏳️🌈 (@akr93) November 22, 2020
—2020 Predictions (@2020predicts) November 22, 2020
Some fans have decided to subscribe to the streaming platform in order to watch the film.
A relative newcomer to the streaming scene, exclusives like this one from Swift fits squarely into Disney Plus' mission to quickly grow its subscriber base amid the pandemic, which has forced Disney to close many of its parks and dock its cruises. Disney announced in September that it was cutting 28,000 jobs, and in October it reorganized its business to prioritize streaming content.
With the streaming business front and center, releasing content that drives new sign-ups is top of mind for the company.
—Sarah P (@SSass34) November 24, 2020
—bri💖 (@bridache) November 24, 2020
—error404⁷ (@btsnumber1lover) November 24, 2020
Some fans, however, called on fellow Swifties to provide a password for viewing the concert.
—Anke 🇩🇪 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑘𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒 🙀🙀 (@ateamswiftie13) November 24, 2020
—Shadia Zaher 🇵🇸 (@shadiaezzaher) November 24, 2020
—karoll (@redxmoonlights) November 24, 2020
Songs from the film will also be available on streaming services, according to Variety.
Read More: Disney Plus sign-up data around 'The Mandalorian' season 2 shows how essential original series are for the streamer's growth
This has been a whirlwind month for Swift, who had her masters sold by Scooter Braun and won "Artist of the Year" at the American Music Awards, but did not attend in person because she was re-recording her first six albums.
Disney Plus has premiered numerous exclusives to the streaming site this year, including a live-action "Mulan" and Beyoncé's "Black is King," which also scored a Grammy nomination.
The "folklore:the long pond studio sessions" concert film is now available on Disney Plus.