Taylor Swift is the soundtrack of heartbreak and female empowerment. You’d struggle to go one day without being infected by her catchy melodies. Recently Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur and Gorillaz, attempted to have a jibe at pop superstar Taylor Swift about her songwriting.
Damon Albarn, recently stated in an interview with the LA Times that Swift “doesn’t write her own songs.” He went on to say that co-writing “doesn’t count”, which is an ironic twist coming from a man who co-writes songs with his own band.
Taylor Swift, who recently was crowned Record Store Day’s global ambassador, responded on Twitter by tagging Damon Albarn alongside correcting his mistake, “I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.” following up with a salty, “P.S I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering.” It’s disappointing and frustrating that in 2022, female songwriters are still having to defend their skills to their male counterparts.
He proceeded to do a complete 180, by stating that he prefers Billie Eilish - who actually is a co-writer - having written all her top hits with brother and producer Finneas. "I'm more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It's just darker — less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she's exceptional."
Not only has Damon Albarn lost Taylor Swift as a fan, but created a Twitter battle between him and Swift fans protecting the singer.
Unsurprisingly, it has created uproar within the music industry, with well-respected musicians speaking in support of Taylor. Long-term Taylor Swift collaborator, Jack Antonoff, rose to Albarn’s challenge adding “If you were there … cool … go off. If not … maybe … shut the fuck up?”
Albarn attempted to defend himself by claiming what he said was reduced to clickbait, though the interviewer actually corrected him.
It brings a lot of questions to the forefront. Why do women get constantly undermined for their contributions in music, when men can have songs written for them and no one bats an eyelid? It’s no wonder that there are a few women in the music industry, when they have to constantly prove themselves to be worthy of success.
Hopefully, this incident will make Albarn think twice before making unnecessary comments on women and their creations.
The music industry needs to create safe, nurturing spaces for women, which is what we hope to achieve with our charter of good practice. Creating safe spaces in the recording studio, where people like Taylor Swift create chart toppers. Everyone deserves safety within the music industry, to find our more click here.