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New research from the University of Glasgow reveals that Taylor Swift fans might be ready for an eco-friendly evolution of how they collect their favourite artist’s music, with one in four willing to consider plastic-free alternatives to traditional vinyl records.

The study, which surveyed over 1,000 Taylor Swift fans (known as Swifties) who collect vinyl, found that younger fans are more interested in vinyl as a way to display their fandom than for its audio qualities.

A striking 87% of respondents aged 18-24 rated “sharing and displaying your tastes and fandom” as very important, while only 29% of 45–54-year-olds felt the same.

Meanwhile, the factor ‘perceived difference in audio quality between listening on vinyl and streaming’ mattered less to young people and more to older groups, with 75% aged 45-54 considering it ‘very important’, contrasting with only 33% of 18–24-year-olds.

The survey asked a range of questions related to vinyl record purchasing, listening habits, and attitudes towards environmental issues such as climate change. The goal was to better understand how Swift fans valued collecting vinyl and to gauge potential interest in alternative low-plastic album packaging formats.

The survey report coincides with the launch of a new ‘Doughnut Music Lab’ based at the University of Glasgow. Doughnut Music Lab is an art and research collective that draws on ideas from Doughnut Economics to imagine what the music industry might look like in a post-fossil fuel future.

Professor Matt Brennan, Professor of Popular Music, based at the University of Glasgow’s College of Arts & Humanities and co-lead of Doughnut Music Lab said: “What we’re seeing is a fascinating shift in how younger fans interact with vinyl records. The survey findings suggest that for many Taylor Swift fans, especially Gen Z Swifties aged 18-24, vinyl may be less about the listening experience (eg playing a record on a turntable) and more about the tangible connection to their favourite artist.”

One in four of Taylor Swift fans who took part in the study say they are open to the idea of purchasing a 12-inch “sleeve-only and download code” version of the album in the interests of reducing plastic materials.

Dr Graeme Hunt, Research Association in the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering and co-lead of Doughnut Music Lab said: “We certainly don’t see a 12-inch ‘sleeve-only and download code’ album release as a one-size-fits-all solution, and we also know that music is a relatively low-emitting industry compared to other sectors, such as energy, transport, food, and manufacturing.

“However, the live and recorded music industries often rely on those high-emitting sectors and infrastructure in order to do business, and we’d like to see music culture influence high-emitting sectors to reduce their footprint where possible, including accelerating a transition to renewable materials.”

The research also revealed that 57% of fans own multiple copies of the same Taylor Swift album on vinyl (the artist’s albums are often released as collectable ‘vinyl variants’) with some superfans possessing up to eight copies of a single album. 

The top 3 Taylor Swift albums owned by respondents were:

• folklore (2020) with 643 respondents owning a copy
• The Tortured Poets Department (2024) with 636 respondents owning a copy
• Midnights (2022) with 634 respondents owning a copy

Some 86% of Taylor Swift fans says they consider music to be “very important” to them personally, with 57% saying it was “very important” in their daily lives. The survey found that Taylor Swift fans are avid music consumers with 55% of respondents spending over 16 hours every week listening to music.

When asked if they listened to their favourite Taylor Swift tracks via streaming platforms for the sake of convenience to albums rather than playing their vinyl copy on a turntable, 60% said they streamed for convenience ‘all the time’, a number which increased to 87% for those who answered ‘frequently’ or ‘all the time’.

The Taylor Swift fans research suggests that a significant minority of them (26%) would potentially consider purchasing album releases that include all the artwork and a digital download code, but without the plastic vinyl record itself – particularly if offered at a reduced price point. The majority of vinyl records are manufactured from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), widely considered to be among the most environmentally damaging plastics.

Professor Brennan added: “We’re interested in music culture’s symbolic and storytelling power, and the power of artists to direct attention and hold space for imagining alternative ways of being in the world.

“We’re also keen to imagine what a post-fossil fuel future looks and sounds like, and what role music culture can play in encouraging and accelerating this transition. Ultimately, we hope this report might encourage a sense of playful experimentation and prompt people to reflect on plastic consumption and carbon-intensive behaviours at individual, industrial, and institutional levels.”

Taylor and Turntables Report

The study surveyed 1,093 Taylor Swift fans between November 2024 and January 2025. The survey was disseminated through various online methods, predominantly social media platforms. It was circulated mainly online through Taylor Swift fan communities found on Reddit, X, Instagram and Facebook.

Taylor Swift fans were chosen for this survey because of the singer/songwriter’s dominance and influence in the vinyl record market – Swift is the best selling artist on vinyl of 2023 with 3.484 million vinyl copies of her records purchased in the USA alone that year. This means that Taylor Swift and her fans make the ideal subject to find out more about the listening habits of this new wave of vinyl fans.

Download the full report titled “Taylor and Turntables” here: https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/348084/

The Phonoautobothy was a unique solar-powered multi-purpose music trailer. This creative project, led by the University of Glasgow, brought together art and engineering science to showcase the use of renewable energy for power generation on a small scale to diverse communities in Glasgow.

Through encouraging families and adults alike to get hands on with instruments and record music powered only through solar energy, along with wider engineering activities highlighting other renewable energy including racing wind-powered cars, the Phonoautobothy aimed to prompt interest and inspire a deeper understanding of renewable energy locally, including new awareness of alternative means of energy generation different to diesel. Through this, the mobile music trailer looked to promote a positive attitude towards the practical steps that can be taken towards the environmental transition in Glasgow and understanding of the role of research to achieve this. The mobile nature of the activities meant it could be embedded in community settings and arts festivals, enabling the activities to connect with audiences who both have not previously engaged with University research and who are also newer to renewable energy conversations. For those involved in delivering the activities, like the volunteer researchers, the project aimed to foster new skills and confidence in public engagement, and build new collaborations across disciplines and organisations including Glasgow Life and Beatroute Arts.

In 2024 the project delivered six Phonoautobothy engagement events collaborating with community partners and music festivals across the city of Glasgow. 

The project’s activities were tailored to each event, but generally participants got involved in two main components of the Phonoautobothy. The first was a one-of-a-kind solar-powered trailer where participants were offered a free 20-minute slot to play, record a sample of music of their choice and transfer the result to a cassette tape which could then be decorated and taken home. The side panels were often opened so passers-by could watch and there were also performances from the booth. Drawn in through the format, the intention was to engage on the role of engineering in music production, including the energy and science that powered the Phonoautobothy – even in a cloudy Glasgow!

An engineering stall complemented the off-grid studio, focusing on connecting attendees with researchers and creating an accessible and engaging space for families with short “hook” activities, including colouring, engineering games and building a wind-powered car. Here whole families could talk with engineers and volunteers, who facilitated informal conversations, and ask questions on renewable energy topics as they built together, including portable renewable power, transition from diesel to low carbon power, community energy in the city, and different renewable energy sources.

In 2022 researchers at the University of Glasgow worked with a range of music industry stakeholders (Music Declares Emergency, BPI, Secretly Group, Beggars Group, Involved Group, and Key Production) on a new piece of audience research offering insights into the perception of climate issues amongst music fans. The research also assessed whether recent music industry initiatives are influencing audience thinking and the importance music fans place on climate issues in their purchasing choices. The project compared responses from a nationally representative sample of the UK population (2,184 respondents) via a YouGov poll, with targeted responses from music fans across a spectrum of genres.

The initial findings of the study, entitled ‘Turn Up the Volume’, revealed that music fans are most likely to care about climate change and place a higher priority on tackling the crisis than non-music fans. It also showed that music fans expect the music industry to do more around the climate emergency and sustainability.

The survey asked a range of questions related to music, listening/purchasing habits and attitudes towards environmental issues such as climate change.

On climate change, the poll found that 82% of music fans were concerned about climate change compared to 72% of non-music fans. These figures are broken down as 42% of music fans were “very concerned” and 40% “fairly concerned” compared to 31% non-music fans being “very” or 41% being “fairly” concerned.

In addition to being more likely to view climate change as a serious issue, results also show music fans as being more likely to place a priority on efforts to tackle climate change.

While both music fans and non-fans tend to see climate change as an important issue which should be addressed, music fans are significantly more likely to view it as a top priority with 54% of music fans agreeing that “tackling climate change should be a top priority now, above other issues” as compared to 47% of non-fans.

The University of Glasgow, Music Declares Emergency, the BPI, Secretly Group, Beggars Group, Involved Group, and Key Production have partnered as part of Turn Up The Volume study on this new piece of audience research, funded in part by the Natural Environment Research Council. Turn Up The Volume study is led by the University of Glasgow’s Dr Matt Brennan, and social data science expert Dr Mark Wong, alongside Music Declares Emergency’s Lewis Jamieson and Beggars Group’s Will Hutton.

Professor Matt Brennan, who was also the lead investigator of 2018’s UK Live Music Census, said: “The project findings are exciting because they demonstrate a clear relation between engaged music fandom, increased concern about climate change, and desire for action.

“Music culture has a long history of playing a key role in social movements, and the evidence shows this link is still strong in the present day when it comes to the climate emergency.

“This should send a strong message across the music industries – to record labels, concert promoters, streaming platforms, artists, and other sectors – that there is an appetite for industry initiatives to tackle climate change, and that fans support, and indeed demand, bolder action. It represents an opportunity for the music sector to play a more prominent role in accelerating a just and green transition.”

The poll findings come at a time when the music industry has seen several initiatives launched aimed at increasing awareness of climate issues and addressing the environmental impact of the music events and products. Announcements from the Music Climate Pact, Live Green, and The Association of Independent Music (AIM) have all made commitments to work towards a net zero future.

The survey tested the knowledge of these initiatives as well as the desire to hear more about them. Interestingly, even among music fans the knowledge of these initiatives was low. 64% of music fans had not heard of any music industry initiatives, with only 3% saying they knew a lot about such initiatives.

The poll showed evidence that many music fans are prepared to change their consumption habits to support more sustainable products and practices. For example, people who spend money on physical products such as records are especially willing to spend more on sustainable physical products, while live event attendees are especially willing to spend more on sustainable events. 43% of consumers who spend £5 or more in the average month on physical products would be willing to spend more money to reduce the environmental impact of record production, whereas only 20% of non-consumers would be willing to spend more.

The BPI (UK record labels association) was the lead industry partner on the project. MJ Olaore, Chief Operating Officer of the BPI, welcomed the findings: “Addressing climate change is the critical issue facing all of us, and, as this timely survey shows, it’s something that music fans really care about and are particularly determined to do something about. 

“As an industry we need to harness this passion and commitment and drive lasting and meaningful long-term change as we look to decarbonise in a sustainable way.”

Turn Up The Volume project is being curated with Music Declares Emergency, the UK based organisation working with the music community globally to place music at the heart of the conversation on climate action. 

Lewis Jamieson, co-founder of Music Declares Emergency, said: “Music Declares Emergency has been heartened to see such comprehensive work from businesses and organisations towards a truly sustainable future for the UK music industry.

To really achieve our aims we need to understand our audience and this research delivers the first real insight into how music fans feel about the work to date. It offers challenges in terms of how we communicate that work but also huge opportunities to bring music fans fully into the conversation to support UK music and artists in creating a future proofed, truly sustainable music sector.”