Let's not waste time, I have a tea to choose, a bath to run and an embroidery kit to start so I have something to do with my hands so I can FULLY focus on the lyrics that are sure to WRECK me at midnight.
Taylor is the QUEEN of world building. Each album is its own era. Each era takes on its own personality. It's own IDENTITY. And then, like the faithful fans we are, we do too. If you're one of God's favorites (*hair flip*) lucky enough to experience the Eras Tour - you saw it firsthand. You dress according to your favorite era or the one you identify with most. (I was RED, but I had snake earrings for REP, and purple nails for Speak Now.)
But this NEW era is in a league of its own. The QR codes made up of “TTPD” and “13” on buildings, the Spotify Library installation, the 5 stages of grief playlists, the timetable video, ALL OF IT.
We are SATURATED in the world and emotions of this album before it's even dropped.
My theory? She's going harder in the ink (see? I did it too!) because “The Tortured Poets Department” name was SUCH a deviation from her usual naming conventions and we collectively struggled with it at first. (That and she obvs has a bigger budget since the Eras Tour. And she loves mind games. And she wanted Joe/Matty to feel very, very, very, very small.)
But anyway, after the announcement the new album name was immediately reduced to “TTPD” because “The Tortured Poets Department” just didn't roll off the tongue the same way as her other albums did.
Taylor Swift - 3 syllables (or Debut - 2 syllables)
Fearless - 2 syllables
Speak Now - 2 syllables
Red - 1 syllable
1989 ("nineteen eighty nine") - 5 syllables
Reputation - 4 syllables
Lover - 2 syllables
Folklore - 2 syllables
Evermore - 3 syllables
Midnights - 2 syllables
2 words max. 5 syllables max.
Then – Dead Poets Society? No, that's not it. Tortured Poets Society? No, that's not it.
Oh yeah, “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT."
The - 1 syllable
Tortured - 2 syllables
Poets - 2 syllables
Department - 3 syllables
4 words. 8 syllables.
DOUBLE. Which means it's going to hurt more, probably. (2025 Update: OR THAT IT WAS A DOUBLE ALBUM?!)
All of this matters when you're naming your next big thing. You have to decide what the deviation from established conventions is worth? If you deviate, how are you going to compensate? How will you make it STICK? A bigger marketing budget? A more elaborate world?
Sadly, I'm not on Taylor's team, but if I were - I'd have NO notes. ;)
She's making sure the name sticks. Call it world building. Or borrow my name for it – conceptual positioning – same thing. It's what I do for my clients, it's something I'm covering in the naming workshop next week.
Don't miss it.
[2025 Update: The button has been removed because the offer has expired. lol]
P.S. The conceptual positioning of TTPD is already SO strong that there is an entire reddit thread about what drinks to make while listening to the album and the common consensus is this is a liquor album. Whiskey. Gin. Absinthe. But black coffee is acceptable for daytime listening.
