A couple of years ago, the trend of celebrities launching their apps took off and many celebrities launched their own apps. These apps were premium and offered the fans of that particular celebrity an opportunity to become acquainted with some exclusive piece of news about them.
The news and content which was posted on such apps was not accessible by the general public unless they bought exclusive access to the app.
Almost a year ago, the music sensation Taylor Swift also launched her own app, a place where she shared information regarding her lifestyle. Unfortunately, it seems like that journey has come to an end.
About the App
Taylor Swift had launched her lifestyle app called The Swift Life where she shared all the extra-juicy details about her life as a superstar in the music industry. The app was launched alongside Taylor Swift’s Reputation album, which was her 6th studio album.
Taylor Swift’s lifestyle app also had a gaming element attached to it which allowed the fans to make some in-app purchases.
Despite the fact that the app was designed by Glu, the company that also launched Kim Kardashian’s world famous app (and perhaps the one that started this trend), Taylor’s app failed in achieving much success.
The main reason behind this failure was that it had no solid theme or concept for backing it up. The app was merely a fan page and offered nothing exclusive to the fans. All the app had was a message board and Taylor Swift-themed emojis known as Taymojis. It also promised exclusive content, although that was barely available.
What Caused Its Failure?
Apart from the fact that Taylor Swift most likely barely put in any effort in the development of the content or promotional campaigns for the app, the app itself was full of bugs. It was glitch-y and prone to crashing without cause. Furthermore, since no one really moderated the message boards, it became a hub for Trump supporters, homophobes, and all sorts of internet trolls.
Another reason behind the failure of the app was the legal troubles that it brought upon Taylor Swift. According to a report by TMZ, a company named SwiftLife filed a lawsuit against the music celebrity for using their trademark in her app.
Due to this possibly accidental trademark infringement, the company SwiftLife may have suffered huge losses as Taylor Swift’s app had pushed their company’s SEO ranking on the web way down. The company was also receiving a lot of negative comments from Taylor Swift’s fans who accidentally signed up on the SwiftLife app instead of The Swift Life app.
Of course, considering it was never that famous to begin with, the pop singer did not think the app was worth a lawsuit and instead decided to shut it down after a year.
Announced on Twitter
The announcement regarding the shutting down of The Swift Life was posted on the app’s official Twitter page. Reasons behind this shutdown were not mentioned but it was explained that the app was a part of the Reputation era, hinting that the app was merely a part of the promotional campaign for the Reputation album.
It was also mentioned that the app was created to provide a virtual platform to the fans to connect with Taylor Swift. It was an interactive space that allowed fans to express their love for the pop singer in a more direct manner.
Following that it was announced that The Swift Life journey will be ending soon since the Reputation era had come to an end as well. Now, The Swift Life is unavailable for download and all of its in-app purchase options have been disabled as well. However, fans can still use their in-app virtual money till the date of February 1st, 2019.
The trend of lifestyle apps seems to have ended in 2018 and Kim Kardashian, along with her celebrity sisters, also announced that they were shutting down their individual apps with a collective message from the Kardashian-Jenner sisters.
Furthermore, they stated how much they enjoyed the whole experience and hoped that their fans loved it as well, and also that they were now excited for what the future held. Whatever the future has in store, lifestyle apps are likely not to make a return anytime soon.