When will Taylor Swift be eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
CLEVELAND (WJW) – It’s music’s highest honor – being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rock Hall announced the 2024 class of inductees over the weekend, but one of the world’s most talked-about artists is years away from the honor.
Taylor Swift released her 11th album Friday at midnight.
The “Tortured Poet’s Department” broke multiple records within hours, according to Spotify.
Here’s a list of Spotify records the album broke within 24 hours of its release:
- The first album in Spotify history to have more than 300 million streams in a single day.
- Most-streamed album in a single day in 2024.
- Most-streamed song in a single day in Spotify history: “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone).
Swift was also breaking her own records.
The previously most-streamed album in a single day was “Midnights,” Swift’s 10th studio album.
She was also the most-streamed artist of 2023 with more than 26 billion streams worldwide. To put that into perspective, there are about 8 billion people in the world.
Swift also became the only singer ever to win Album of the Year four times at the Grammy Awards with “Midnights.” All that success at only age 34.
But there’s one honor that will elude her for several more years: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
To be eligible for a nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, artists are considered for their musical influence and cultural impact, but the only formal criterion is that an artist must have released their “first commercial recording” at least 25 years before the nomination.
No artists who debuted in 1999 were nominated this year.
It was the first year of eligibility for artists such as Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Lil’ Wayne and John Mayer.
So where does that put Swift? Big Machine Records released her debut album, self-titled “Taylor Swift” in October 2006, when Swift was only 16 years old.
That would mean her first year of eligibility would likely be in 2030 or 2031, depending on when the voting happens.
Even then, very few artists make it into the Rock Hall with their first nomination.
LL Cool J was famously nominated six times before he was inducted into the class of 2021.
Cher has been eligible since 1990. She received her first nomination and subsequent induction in the 2024 class.
Of course, many debate whether these are rock and roll artists. The Rock Hall says, however, it’s simple.
“Rock & Roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that impacts culture and moves generations,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a press release announcing this year’s class. “This diverse group of inductees each broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”
Over 1,000 artists, historians, and music industry professionals vote on the nominees. There’s also a fan vote online and at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The top five artists picked up by the public make up a fans’ ballot that is tallied with the other professional ballots, according to the Rock Hall.
While she isn’t eligible for the Hall yet, the museum has Taylor Swift memorabilia and artifacts.
The Legends exhibit includes the throne from “Look What You Made Me Do,” the Balmain dress she wore in the video and her famous cardigan from her song of the same name.
One artifact is the outfit Swift wore during the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, where she inducted Carole King.
Here’s what the legendary songwriter and performer said about Swift at the time.
“Over the years, I have known some great songwriters, and I have also known great singers and performers,” King said. “It’s rare to see all those talents in one person. Taylor Swift – she is one of the only modern pop artists whose name appears as the sole songwriter in her song credits. Her lyrics resonate across all generations, her songs touch everyone, and her impact around the world is extraordinary,” she said of Swift.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held a Taylor Swift Fan Day on Friday when “Tortured Poets Society” was released.
See a list of all Rock Hall Taylor Swift artifacts and where to find them at the museum.
The 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction will be live in Cleveland at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Oct. 19.