Before Taylor Swift was the biggest pop star in the world, she was a teenage girl trying to make it big in the Nashville music industry. In other words, she was just like everybody else. However, after performing at Nashville’s infamous Bluebird Cafe in 2004, Swift would start the journey of becoming the most popular celebrity on the planet. And it’s all thanks to record executive Scott Borchetta and country music icon Toby Keith.
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After Borchetta saw Taylor Swift perform at the Bluebird Cafe, he knew he needed to sign her. Although there was one major problem: Borchetta didn’t have a label to sign her to. Consequently, Borchetta created Big Machine Records. But he needed a bit more support, and that is where Toby Keith came in handy.
Right around the same time as Big Machine’s founding, Toby Keith had just started his record label, Show Dog Nashville. Subsequently, Keith and Borchetta went into business together. And as a result, they were able to officially sign Taylor Swift to Big Machine Records in 2005. After that, well, Taylor Swift became a superstar, and everyone who helped her out made quite a pretty penny.
Taylor Swift Became Famous and Toby Keith Earned a Buck
Toby Keith clearly played an integral part in Taylor Swift’s first record label signing. That being said, Swift has always thanked Keith for being a mentor, a friend, and in essence, a person who seemingly had unwavering faith in her career. In her first TV interview in 2005, Swift told WSMV4, “You’re in the room with him and you can feel it, there’s a power there.”
“And you’re just like ‘oh my God,’” she continued. “I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I don’t see him and are just like, ‘Oh my God that’s Toby Keith.’”
Per these comments and others, it seems Swift is incredibly grateful for Keith’s presence in her career. Keith did take a leap of faith when putting some trust in Swift, though; he seemingly knew it would pay off immensely in the long run.
In 2006, Big Machine and Show Dog Records parted ways. However, Keith continued to own a minority stake in the company and received royalties from Swift’s music. Regarding his stake in the company and Swift’s music, he simply stated, “If I just took the royalties I had off of that, I wouldn’t have to do anything else. A bunch of people could live off that,” per the Chicago Tribune.
Needless to say, everyone benefited from this partnership. And in addition to making some money off the partnership, Keith was surely pleased to see Swift become one of the most successful musicians of all time.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BMI
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