How Paul McCartney’s Later Career Has Been Shaped by Pop Stars Like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé

When it comes to seminal songwriters like Paul McCartney, most of the discourse surrounding this prolific artist involves how he has influenced others. But McCartney is as much of a creative sponge as the next artist navigating this weird, wild world, and the former Beatle has found plenty of guidance in looking at what his younger counterparts, like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, are doing—and how he can fit himself in around that.

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McCartney has been in the music business for decades, long before most of the artists dominating the Billboard charts were even born (and maybe even their parents). Keeping up with the times can be difficult for older artists. Try too hard, and you can come across as cringey or overzealous. Don’t try enough, and your music will seem stale and outdated. In McCartney’s case, he’s finding a happy medium by letting pop stars take over the singles business while he focuses on full concept albums.

One such concept album is McCartney’s 2018 album, Open Stations, which he discussed with Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on The Tonight Show. McCartney’s reasoning for his artistic direction proves he’s still as cheeky as he is creative.

How Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Influence Paul McCartney

Egypt Station is the 17th solo studio album by Paul McCartney, and just like the title would suggest, the album traverses from one destination to the next, much like stops on a train. “I liked the words ‘Egypt station,’” McCartney explained in a press statement. “It reminded me of the ‘album’ albums we used to make. Egypt Station starts off at the station on the first song, and then each song is like a different station. So, it gave us some ideas to base all the songs around that.”

In the age of digital streaming and individual singles, putting out a concept album—especially as an older artist—can be a risky move. The idea might appeal to McCartney’s original audience of folks in their 50s and above. But younger artists might not be as willing to dole out attention for a full record. While speaking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, McCartney said he wasn’t worried about not joining in on the singles bandwagon.

Speaking of the production process for Egypt Station, McCartney said, “We figured we can’t really do kind of the modern pop album, where it’s just a bunch of singles. People like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have got that kind of thing covered. And they’ve got better legs than me.” Looking at the audience with that tongue-in-cheek sincerity, McCartney holds up two fingers close together and says, “Just.”

McCartney was obviously joking, but his approach to music-making in his 70s and beyond proves that he’s not trying to pretend like he’s the freshest, hottest artist around. He’s simply a legacy artist looking to continue his life’s work for as long as he can, even as the industry around him changes.

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