Swift judgement

In case you, ironically, have been living in a cave for the past week, you’ll know Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album.  

The response has been, well let’s just say mixed. But the criticism of a bland and, at times, cringy set of songs has seemingly had no impact on sales, with 3.5m units already flying off the digital shelves in a week. Nor does it seem to have overly bothered TayTay, who responded by saying "everybody is allowed to feel exactly how they want." Unless they’re Charli xcx, of course.

The reaction poses a much bigger question - do reviews even matter?

They certainly used to. Professional critics held an immense amount of power over the commercial success of art, food, and other cultural institutions. But that has been diluted by falling trust in traditional media and the rise of social media as peer-to-peer review platforms.

Almost two thirds of US adults say they use TikTok to look at product reviews. Content creators now build entire careers on the foundations of takes, including ‘bogan food reviewer’ Russ Eats’ opinion of Hungry Jack’s new saucy tenders range - a review so impactful, The Australian labelled it breaking news. Aussie model, Izzy Cant, is posting pie reviews online until she gets a boyfriend. We’re leaving that one well alone.

Back in the world of old media, we’re about to find out about the power of food reviews after the Good Food Guide dropped Merivale venues following allegations of exploitation and ignored claims of sexual harassment.

Chasing a positive review is entirely understandable - impressing the right online personality can make or break a venture. But it also leads to a narrowing of effort or focus in search of the sugar rush of instant fandom. Like The Cave writing about Taylor Swift, for example.