What he said is all over the place and ignorant.
Quote:
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At the Bleachers show in Williamsburg in March, Dunham watched from the rafters with Taylor Swift, with whom Antonoff wrote the Golden Globes-nominated song “Sweeter Than Fiction.” Antonoff is a hardcore Swiftie, and he talks about her with the protectiveness and pride of an older brother. “We live in a fascinating time where there’s a weird shift in pop, and certain pop stars aren’t really resonating in the way they were,” he says. “The reason why Taylor stands above everyone else is because she’s a songwriter. She sits in rooms and she writes songs. Most importantly, they sound like her. All the other pop stars, to put it in a really simple way, they’re just not as talented.” Swift’s ability to craft her own material is what sets her apart, he believes. “Other pop stars have to go through, like, a goth phase. You can imagine the marketing meetings behind other pop stars. Whereas the meeting behind Taylor is like, ‘Write a great ****ing album,’ which she can.
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What a load of nonsense. We have more songwriting popstars now than we have had in a long, long time. Gaga, Adele, Katy, Taylor, Lorde, Ke$ha, Lana, Bruno etc. Just because you've seen Taylor's process and extent of creative independence doesn't mean you know anything about the others. It's assumption.
Taylor stands out because her act is relatively unique in the top 40, not because she's a talented songwriter. The average person neither knows nor cares who writes what.
It's hilarious that he thinks there aren't marketing meetings behind Taylor. She's a goddamn popstar. These people are brands that sell products, and like any brand there are suits who ensure the product is sellable and ensure it's sold well and to the right people. If there's minimal interference in the product, it's because Taylor knows - and they know that she knows - her brand and who her audience is...not because she's written a 'great album'. It could be a great heavy metal album, or a great dance album...but they would certainly have something to say about that.
She's not the only good songwriter in the pop world but okay. And there are definitely others with immense talent as well. Sad he needed to bring others down to bring her up but oh well. 
but Gaga is a songwriter, and co/produces, which is a lot more than MOST artists do.
