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Taylor Swift is one of the most popular singer-songwriters in the world, and her fans are known as Swifties. On Nov. 13, Rolling Stone published a joint interview with Swift and Paul McCartney. In the interview, Swift revealed how she took inspiration from McCartney in being “selfless” with fans.

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift | Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV

Taylor Swift saw Paul McCartney in concert

The Rolling Stone interview focused on how Swift and McCartney used 2020 to work on very personal projects. Swift released folklore in July 2020, and McCartney is releasing his album McCartney III in December 2020.

As the two discussed making projects for themselves, Swift brought up a time she saw McCartney in concert, saying:

“I think it’s so cool that you do projects that are just for you. Because I went with my family to see you in concert in 2010 or 2011, and the thing I took away from the show most was that it was the most selfless set list I had ever seen. It was completely geared toward what it would thrill us to hear. It had new stuff, but it had every hit we wanted to hear, every song we’d ever cried to, every song people had gotten married to, or been brokenhearted to. And I just remembered thinking, ‘I’ve got to remember that,’ that you do that set list for your fans.”

Taylor Swift learned to be ‘selfless’ for fans

After seeing McCartney in concert, Swift realized the importance of being “selfless” when making a setlist for a concert.

“I think that learning that lesson from you taught me at a really important stage in my career that if people want to hear ‘Love Story’ and ‘Shake It Off,’ and I’ve played them 300 million times, play them the 300-millionth-and-first time,” she told McCartney. “I think there are times to be selfish in your career, and times to be selfless, and sometimes they line up.”

McCartney agreed, saying, “I always remembered going to concerts as a kid, completely before the Beatles, and I really hoped they would play the ones I loved. And if they didn’t, it was kind of disappointing. I had no money, and the family wasn’t wealthy. So this would be a big deal for me, to save up for months to afford the concert ticket.”

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Why she thinks this lesson is so important

Given that Swift and McCartney are both fans of other artists and grew up as music fans, they know firsthand what it is like to be hopeful in the audience.

“Yeah, it feels like a bond. It feels like that person on the stage has given something, and it makes you as a crowd want to give even more back, in terms of applause, in terms of dedication,” Swift said. “I love learning lessons and not having to learn them the hard way. Like learning nice lessons I really value.”

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